Year 3 Insects: drawing and printmaking worksheet

“Look Closely at Insects” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 3 art unit “Insects: drawing and printmaking”, for children aged 7 to 8, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 15 to 20 of the year, 6 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Look Closely at Insects

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 3 · Art & design · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can look carefully at an insect and draw its basic shapes and tones.

A Look back3 min

1.
What is the name of this shape? Circle it.
trianglecirclesquareoval
2.
Red and yellow mixed together make which colour? Circle it.
orangepurplegreenbrown
3.
What is the name of this 3D shape? Circle it.
cubesphereconecylinder

B Watch me, then you4 min

Ayo is drawing a ladybird. She sketches the body first, then shades the shadow underneath it.

Watch me

Tone steps run from pale at step 1 to dark at step 5.

Shadows sit underneath the body, so Ayo presses hardest there.

She uses step 5 for the darkest shadow.

Now you

1.
Ayo draws a bee. Its darkest shadow goes under the body. Which step on the ladder is the darkest?

C Your turn8 min

Look closely at the ladybird on the leaf. Answer each question about how Ayo draws it.

A ladybird on a green leaf beside a small pink flower

1.
Ayo starts the ladybird's body with one basic shape. What shape is it? Circle it.
an ovala long wiggly linea tiny dota star
2.
Ayo presses lightly with her pencil. Where does she press lightly? Circle it.
under the bodyon the shiny top
3.
Ayo puts the ladybird slightly to the left, next to a leaf. Can it still look balanced? Circle one.
yes, it can look balancedno, it must be in the centre
4.
Look at the ladybird picture. Write one basic shape you could use in a one-minute sketch of it.

Say it out loud: What changed from the last question? Which part of the drawing did that change?

D Spot the mistake3 min

An open sketchbook with a pencil lying across a blank page

Kit says: “My bug must sit in the middle of the page, or the picture will not look balanced.”

1.
Kit draws a bee near the edge, next to a flower. How could the picture still look balanced?

E Think deeper4 min

A grey moth resting on the edge of a leaf in the lower left corner of a page

1.
Sketch a small insect on a leaf in one corner of a page. Explain how you kept the picture looking balanced.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Look Closely at Insects · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. triangle

2. orange

3. sphere

B

1. 5

C

1. an oval

2. on the shiny top

3. yes, it can look balanced your child may think the bug must sit in the middle. Point to the leaf and ask whether the bug and leaf work together on the page.

4. Look for: A named basic shape such as an oval, circle or triangle that fits part of the insect.

D

1. Look for: Says the bug can sit off-centre if other things, such as a flower or empty space, balance it. your child may think the bug must sit in the middle. Point to the flower and ask whether the bug and flower fill the page together.

E

1. Look for: Explains that the insect, plant and empty space work together to balance the page, not that the insect must be in the centre.

Words to use

Say“Which part did you look at first? What did you notice that you had not seen before?”

Instead of“Just draw it again, neater, and stop fussing about the shapes.”

After the sheet

Find a picture of a bug in a book, or look at one outside. Stare at it for one minute, then draw its basic shapes with a pencil held lightly. Add shadow underneath with a firmer pencil.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

5 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Bold and simple prints(with a plan)
Make one-of-a-kind prints(with a plan)
Inky bumps and white grooves(with a plan)
Repeat pattern prints(with a plan)
Chine collé insects(with a plan)

Every Year 3 art worksheet

The worksheets plan opens a printable sheet for every lesson in Years 1 to 6, each with its answers on a separate page for you. It costs £6.99 a month or £59 a year for the whole family, with no free trial.

The full StudyDen plan adds the lessons themselves, marked as your child works, with the worksheets included. It is 7 days free, then £29.99 a month.

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