Here is a fun drawing activity to help kids analyze and improve how they communicate when giving directions.Pair kids up. Give them each clipboards, paper, and colored pencils or crayons. Then have the pairs sit back-to-back.
Tell the pairs that they will each be drawing a picture. The goal of the activity is to make their pictures as similar as possible.
Begin by having one of the partners choose a simple thing to draw, such as a tree, a house, or a person. Both partners draw it without talking about what they are drawing or peeking at each other’s papers.
Then have the second partner choose something to add to the picture. Again, both partners draw that thing.
Partners continue in this fashion until the teacher says to stop – 10 minutes is probably about right. Then they share their pictures.
Give the partners a few minutes to discuss how their pictures are the same and how they are different. If time allows, then have a brief class discussion on what they could do differently to make the pictures more alike.
Now try the same activity again. Partners should choose different things to draw than they did in the first round. Most likely, partners will give more specific directions and the pictures will come out more alike than the first time.
Finish up by having students share their pictures with the class and discuss what strategies worked well for giving directions.
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