1st Grade Monarch Butterflies

This lesson was taught as a cross between a guided drawing, and an observational drawing. I put a large photograph of a monarch on my Promethean board, and guided the students through all the necessary observations. We began with the shape of the body; it's very skinny. Then, I asked questions to help the students notice that the top wings extend way above the head. We drew the shape of the wings, and then I guided the students through observing the patterns. We drew the white spots along the edge of each wing first. Then the students drew a looped line. Lines from the loop to the edge of each wing made the rest of the pattern.

The students drew the butterfly with black crayon, and then painted the wings with orange watercolors. My educational goals for this lesson are for them to learn to notice details and be able to draw from observation on their own later on. They were asked to choose anything else they liked to draw in their picture; many drew flowers around the butterfly. They could choose to use watercolors, crayons, or both for their details. The success rate for this lesson was very high; I don't think there was a single painting in the bunch that didn't easily represent a monarch!