Activity 01
Whole Class Demo: Brush and Colour Play
Model selecting a brush, changing its size, and picking colours on a shared screen. Students replicate steps on individual tablets, then swap devices to try a partner's colour choice. End with a quick show-and-tell of one screen each.
Compare drawing with a digital brush to drawing with a physical pencil.
Facilitation TipDuring the whole class demo, move around the room with a tablet so students see your fingers on the screen while you explain brush adjustments.
What to look forAsk students to hold up their tablets showing a drawing. Prompt: 'Show me a drawing where you have used the eraser tool. Point to the part you erased and explain why.' Observe their ability to locate and articulate the use of the tool.
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Activity 02
Pairs: Shape House Design
Partners use basic shapes to build a house, adjusting brush sizes for details and colours for features. They take turns controlling the tablet and narrate choices to each other. Pairs present one feature they changed digitally.
Explain how to change colours and brush sizes in a digital art program.
Facilitation TipFor the Pair Shape House Design activity, assign clear roles: one student picks brushes, the other selects colours, then switch halfway.
What to look forProvide each student with a small card. Ask them to draw one simple shape (e.g., a circle) and colour it in using one colour. Then, ask them to write one word describing how drawing this on the tablet felt compared to using a crayon.
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Activity 03
Small Groups: Digital vs Pencil Match
Groups draw a simple fruit on paper first, then recreate it digitally with matching colours and brushes. Discuss differences in erasing and resizing. Photograph both for a class display.
Design a simple digital drawing using only basic shapes and colours.
Facilitation TipIn the Digital vs Pencil Match small group activity, set a 5-minute timer for each station so all students experience both tools before moving on.
What to look forAfter students have experimented with changing brush sizes, ask: 'Imagine you are drawing a big sun and then a tiny ladybug. Which brush size would you use for the sun and why? Which would you use for the ladybug and why?' Listen for their reasoning based on size and detail.
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Activity 04
Individual: Free Colour Experiment
Students explore eraser and colour tools freely for 10 minutes, creating abstract patterns. Add labels for one new skill used. Share digitally projected work.
Compare drawing with a digital brush to drawing with a physical pencil.
Facilitation TipDuring Free Colour Experiment, provide a simple prompt like 'draw something that makes you happy' to focus creativity while allowing freedom.
What to look forAsk students to hold up their tablets showing a drawing. Prompt: 'Show me a drawing where you have used the eraser tool. Point to the part you erased and explain why.' Observe their ability to locate and articulate the use of the tool.
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Generate Complete Lesson→A few notes on teaching this unit
Teachers should model curiosity and experimentation themselves, narrating their thought process aloud as they try different brush sizes or colours. Avoid correcting errors immediately; instead, ask guiding questions like 'What happens if we change this setting?' to encourage discovery. Research shows that guided play with digital tools builds both technical skills and self-efficacy in young learners, so balance structure with open exploration. Keep sessions short and focused to match young attention spans.
Successful learning looks like students confidently selecting tools, adjusting settings intentionally, and using digital brushes or pencils to create shapes and designs. They should explain their choices during discussions and demonstrate control by correcting mistakes with the eraser without frustration.
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
During Whole Class Demo: Brush and Colour Play, watch for students pressing too hard on the screen, assuming digital brushes require force like pencils.
Pause the demo to show how light touches create smooth lines, then have students practice drawing the same line with varying pressure to discover the effect themselves.
During Small Groups: Digital vs Pencil Match, watch for students assuming digital tools are 'cheating' because corrections are easy.
Ask each group to intentionally make a mistake on paper, then correct it digitally, and discuss how the digital eraser preserves the paper drawing underneath.
During Individual: Free Colour Experiment, watch for students randomly clicking tools without purpose.
Prompt students to explain their choices aloud to a peer, using sentence stems like 'I chose this brush because...' to encourage deliberate tool use.
Methods used in this brief