Nature Drawings Under Magnification

Jacquelien of Kids Artists shares a wonderful art exercise that will help teach your upper elementary students about detail and perspective.

Supplies You'll Need
- Drawing paper (or an art journal)
- Colored pencils
- Magnifying glass

Armed with art journals, colored pencils, and a magnifying glass, take your students on a nature walk around the school yard. Invite them take a look at the world around them from a different "perspective" - investigating how grass, trees, insects, etc. look through a magnifying glass. After taking time to explore, encourage your students to pick an object or scene from nature that they'd like to sketch. Have them draw everything normally then choose one part to draw under magnification (e.g. a student might choose to capture the the grass and trees at the edge of the school property, then explore the detail of individual blades of grass, drawing them as they would look if seen under a magnifying glass). For better transition between the two elements, invite your students to include the magnifying glass in their sketch. Students can use these art journal sketches as practice for a larger version that you can frame and place around the classroom!