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Students respond well to a lesson about their identity, exceptionally well because they are in the process of figuring out what makes them unique. So I developed an Avatar Drawing Lesson to help students explore their identity. The graphic cartoon-like avatars that you see in advertising and other graphics caught my eye!
I particularly like the avatar drawings where there were no facial features. The hair, clothes, and accessories gave each avatar their identity and distinguishing characteristics. What if students did the same thing? Each of those things is a choice we make based on our identity, what we prefer and what we want others to know about us. Many of these choices come from our culture and the groups to which we belong.
The lesson could get even more interesting if students trace their choices to something in their culture. This connection could be a fun extension!
If you’d like to learn more about identity and how I use Big Ideas to plan lessons, check out this blog post:
I came up with is a lesson packet that teaches students about the concept of “Identity” through a presentation. But, first, there is a formative assessment where students will write a few things about their identity.
Then, after the presentation, the teacher can assess that they understood the presentation and class discussion about identity. The teacher can also determine that they have a few ideas for their avatar drawing and are ready to design their avatar.
Next students will write a mission statement. The mission statement can be about school or life. There is also a “work” mission statement writing sheet in case you or colleagues want to try this.
They will write their name at the top of the page with BOLD letters. I’ve included a guide to help them out with that.
Then they will draw their avatar using the Avatar Gal and Avatar Guy drawing sheets.
If you like the idea of making the avatar on a square and displaying a grade level or school’s avatar’s together, you could use a square paper instead of the sheet I provided, or you could make the sheet included in the lesson the practice drawing and have the final drawing on a square paper that gets displayed with the others.
You can take a look at the Avatar Lesson lesson here.
Remind yourself and others of the social and emotional benefits of art. This is a great graphic to include in parent newsletters or display in your room.
You can read more about Social Emotional Learning in Art in this blog post.
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I create engaging drawing resources that help students build confidence and express themselves through art. I'm a former elementary art teacher of 25 years turned business owner. Giving you the tools you need to bring more drawing into your classroom brings me joy.
I create engaging drawing resources that help students build confidence and express themselves through art.
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Connect with a group of dynamic art teachers where we chat about all things drawing. Come ask me your questions or search for ideas in the posts. We’d love to have you!
Connect with a group of dynamic art teachers where we chat about all things drawing. Come ask me your questions or search for ideas in the posts. We’d love to have you!
This free infographic, emotion wheel, and drawing activity will help you incorporate social & emotional learning into your classroom.
