The Arts · Foundation · Making Marks and Telling Stories · Term 1

Storytelling Through Drawing

Using a sequence of drawings to tell a simple narrative or convey an event.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9AVAFE02
• AC9AVAFR01

About This Topic

Storytelling Through Drawing helps Foundation students build simple narratives with a sequence of pictures. They draw events in order to show a beginning, middle, and end, such as a child finding a lost toy, searching for it, and celebrating its return. Key questions prompt reflection: What happens at each stage of your drawing story? What changes if you swap the order of pictures? How do you draw a character's feelings on their face?

This topic meets AC9AVAFE02 by exploring personal ideas through visual artworks and AC9AVAFR01 by responding to their creations and peers' work. It strengthens early literacy skills like sequencing and emotional awareness, which support reading comprehension and social-emotional growth. Children practice cause-and-effect thinking visually before tackling written stories.

Active learning fits perfectly because drawing stories is playful and immediate. When students create panels in pairs, rearrange them for different endings, or share in a storytelling circle, they experiment freely, receive instant feedback, and connect personal experiences to narrative structure.

Key Questions

1. What happens at the beginning, middle, and end of your drawing story?
2. What would happen to your story if you put the last picture first?
3. How can you show how a character is feeling by drawing their face?

Learning Objectives

• Create a sequence of drawings to visually represent a simple narrative with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
• Identify the key stages (beginning, middle, end) within a drawn story.
• Demonstrate how changes in the order of drawings alter the narrative's meaning.
• Illustrate character emotions through facial expressions in their drawings.

Before You Start

Making Marks

Why: Students need to be comfortable using drawing tools and making marks on paper before they can use drawings to convey meaning.

Identifying Basic Shapes and Objects

Why: The ability to draw recognizable shapes and objects is necessary to represent characters and events in a story.

Key Vocabulary

Sequence	The order in which things happen or are arranged. In drawing stories, it's the order of pictures.
Narrative	A story that is told or written. A drawing story uses pictures to tell what happens.
Beginning	The first part of a story where the characters and setting are introduced.
Middle	The part of a story where the main action or problem happens.
End	The final part of a story where the problem is resolved.
Expression	Showing feelings or thoughts through facial features or body language. We can draw happy, sad, or surprised faces.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Pictures in a story can go in any order.

What to Teach Instead

Sequencing activities like shuffling and reassembling panels let students see how order affects meaning. They retell stories before and after rearranging, building understanding through hands-on trial. Peer discussions clarify logical flow.

Common Misconception

Drawings cannot show how characters feel.

What to Teach Instead

Emotion charades and face-drawing relays help students link expressions to feelings. When they guess peers' drawn emotions in groups, they refine techniques and gain confidence. This active practice makes abstract ideas visible.

Common Misconception

Stories must copy real life exactly.

What to Teach Instead

Imaginative prompts and chain stories encourage wild ideas like flying animals. Sharing fantastical sequences in class normalizes creativity. Students vote on favorite parts, reinforcing that drawings spark original narratives.

Active Learning Ideas

Pairs: Three-Panel Adventure

Partners brainstorm a simple story idea together, like a walk in the bush. One draws the beginning panel, the other the middle, then they collaborate on the end. Pairs present their sequence to the class, explaining choices.

30 min·Pairs

Small Groups: Feeling Faces Sequence

Groups draw four faces showing happy, sad, surprised, and angry. They sequence these into a story, adding simple bodies and actions. Groups act out their story while holding up drawings for the class to follow.

35 min·Small Groups

Whole Class: Chain Story Wall

Start with a teacher-drawn beginning panel on butcher paper. Each student adds one drawing to continue the story. Class discusses emotions and events as the chain grows, then retells the full narrative.

40 min·Whole Class

Individual: Mix-Up Fix

Students draw a three-part story, then cut panels and shuffle them. They reassemble in correct order and draw a new ending. Share one change with a partner.

25 min·Individual

Real-World Connections

• Comic book artists and graphic novelists plan their stories using sequential art, deciding panel by panel how to move the plot forward and show character development.
• Animators use storyboards, which are sequences of drawings, to plan out scenes in movies and television shows, ensuring the visual narrative flows logically from one moment to the next.
• Children's book illustrators create picture books where each drawing contributes to a larger story, helping young readers understand events and emotions through visual cues.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

Provide students with three blank boxes. Ask them to draw a simple story with a beginning, middle, and end. Collect the drawings and check if the sequence is logical and if there is a clear progression of events.

Quick Check

Observe students as they draw their story panels. Ask individual students: 'What is happening in this picture?' and 'What happens next in your story?' Note their ability to articulate the sequence and the narrative.

Discussion Prompt

Show students a short, simple sequence of drawings (e.g., a character looking sad, then finding a toy, then smiling). Ask: 'What is the beginning, middle, and end of this story?' and 'How do you know the character is happy at the end?'

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I teach sequencing for storytelling through drawing in Foundation?

Use three-panel storyboards where students draw beginning, middle, end events. Incorporate key questions during creation: What happens first? Practice shuffling cut-out panels to show order's impact. Follow with partner retells to reinforce structure, aligning with AC9AVAFE02. This builds narrative skills playfully over repeated sessions.

What prompts work best for Foundation drawing stories?

Choose familiar Australian themes like a beach day, bush walk, or family picnic. Prompts such as 'Your pet's adventure' or 'A rainy day surprise' spark ideas. Tie to key questions on order and feelings. Display exemplars first, then let students adapt, ensuring inclusivity for diverse experiences.

How can active learning help students with storytelling through drawing?

Active approaches like pair panel-building and class chain stories make narratives tangible. Students manipulate drawings, act them out, and get peer input, which clarifies sequence and emotions better than worksheets. This hands-on iteration boosts engagement, confidence, and retention, directly supporting AC9AVAFR01 responses.

How to link drawing stories to visual arts responding?

After creating sequences, hold gallery walks where students describe peers' stories: What is the beginning? How does the face show feeling? Use thumbs-up feedback circles for positives. This meets AC9AVAFR01 by building observation and language skills through shared critique, deepening appreciation of visual narratives.