You’re probably asking why should I use or even teach my students to use Google Draw?  How many times have you assigned some kind of research for your students to do and when you get it back it’s filled with many, many images that the student just inserted?

Images the students found on the internet but not given any attribution.  What about images that probably violated copyright use?  I’m not suggesting that we CAN NOT have students use photos or professionally made illustrations in reports or projects.

But how much will the student learn from just inserting an image?  Wouldn’t the student learn more about the subject if he or she actually had to do a drawing (or even take their OWN pictures)?  That’s why I teach my students to use Google Draw and make their own illustrations.

How Do I Use Google Draw in my Classroom?

One of the units of study in third grade in my district is the Solar System.  I created a digital interactive notebook for the students to use while we learn about the solar system.  The first planet we learn about is the Earth.  We learn about all its layers, movement in space, the seasons, and more.

So after I had taught them about the layers of the Earth, it was time for them to construct their own model.  For this model, they will use Google Draw.  Of course, it would have been so easy to tell them to search for an image and insert it onto the page.

Here’s an Example from One of my Students

As you can see it came out very nicely for our first time using Google Draw for a project.  But by virtue of having to use Google Draw, they learned all the ins and outs of the tools and how to draw with layering.

Since this would be the first time my students would be using Google Draw, I did the entire process with them by projecting all the steps from my laptop to the screen. They followed along on their Chromebooks.

In my district, each student is set up with a Google Account.  So the final drawing would be saved on their Google Drive.  Once it’s on their Google Drive, they can import the image (saved as a JPG) to any App such as Google Slides or Google Docs.

Here’s the Tutorial on How to Make the Layers of the Earth.

It took approximately 30 minutes of class time to make this image.  My students were already adept at using their Chromebooks and were already familiar with Google Apps.  If you find that it’s taking too long, you can always save it and come back to it later to finish it.

You can follow the tutorial here or you can sign up for my Newsletter and receive the tutorial as a printable PDF.   Just sign up below!

Was it all some fancy exercise to justify the expenditure of district funds for Chromebooks?  NO!  Here’s what my students learned by drawing their OWN cutaway diagram:

So the next time you want to have students include pictures or illustrations, turn them on to Google Draw and let them create their own!

More Google Articles to Read!

If you’re new to setting up Google Classroom, you’ll want to avoid these 5 mistakes. Click to read more!

Want to see how I use Google Classroom to present at Back to School Night? Then click here to read more!

If you’re new to the 1:1 classroom setting, then check out my Valuable Tips for the 1:1 Classroom.

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