Smart Cookie is one of the directed drawing projects in my Back to School Directed Drawing and Writing Pack, and I love seeing this little character BIG!
My directed drawing packs really focus on drawing for writing. Students can complete the drawings in a writing journal or use the writing paper included in the pack, giving them a fun starting point for talking, thinking and writing.
But that doesn’t mean the drawings have to stay small!
Take Smart Cookie to the Art Room
For a stand-alone art project, try following the same directed drawing steps on large art paper with a black marker, then bring Smart Cookie to life with paint.One of the things I love about this drawing is how simple shapes build the whole character. Smart Cookie begins with a big, wobbly circle - definitely no need for it to be perfectly round!
From there, students use lots of c and o shapes to create the glasses, eyes, shoes and, of course, all those delicious chocolate chips.
Those repeated shapes make this a fun opportunity to connect art with the movements children need for early handwriting. While we're drawing circles, curves, eyes and chips, we're also getting lots of practice with the movements used to form letters such as c and o.
Add Some "oo" to Your Smart Cookie!
Smart Cookie also gives you a playful way to explore the oo sound.cookie, cook, book, look, took...
Say the words, listen for the sounds, brainstorm some more and then use them in your writing. A simple directed drawing can become a springboard for phonemic awareness, vocabulary and sentence writing - especially when children are excited to write about the character they've just created.
A Smart Cookie Back-to-School Theme
Pair your art project with a Smart Cookie-themed picture book and use it to start some wonderful beginning-of-the-year conversations.What does it really mean to be a "smart cookie"?
We can talk about how everyone is clever in different ways. One cookie might look different from another, but we're all part of the same batch!
You could even extend the cookie analogy into your classroom community. When we're cooking, we follow steps and procedures - just like we learn to follow new routines and procedures at school. Sometimes cookies crumble, and sometimes we crumble a little too when something is difficult. But friends, teachers and learning together can help us put the pieces back together and keep going.
It's a sweet way to begin conversations about belonging, friendship, perseverance and celebrating our differences at the start of a new school year.
And at the end of it all, you'll have a classroom full of wonderfully wobbly, completely individual Smart Cookies!
Find Smart Cookie in my Back to School Directed Drawing and Writing Pack on Teachers Pay Teachers.
