Skip to content
Oak National Academy
Oak National Academy
View my library
0
Teachers
Pupils
New
New
Year 3

Draw and observe insects in detail

I can observe and draw insects.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils
New
New
Year 3

Draw and observe insects in detail

I can observe and draw insects.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.

View new resources

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Sketching from observation helps you capture the form of an insect by noticing its details and shapes.
  2. Planning your composition allows you to think about where to place your insect and what it might be next to.
  3. Using tone (light and dark areas) and colour helps make your drawing look more realistic.

Keywords

  • Observational drawing - carefully looking at something real and drawing what you see

  • Tone - how light or dark something is

  • Sketch/sketching - making quick and simple drawings to show ideas or the things we see

  • Form - to take or make something take a particular shape

  • Composition - is the combination of a selection of elements arranged and organised

Common misconception

Pupils may think the insect needs to be in the centre of the page for a balanced composition.

Remind children that composition can be balanced even if the insect is placed off-centre. Balance is about how all elements (insect, plants, background) work together, not just where the main subject is.


To help you plan your year 3 art and design lesson on: Draw and observe insects in detail, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

For the drawing exercises, let children use whiteboards. This keeps the activity quick, low-pressure and helps challenge the idea that every drawing needs to be perfect or polished.
Teacher tip

Equipment

paper, pencil or charcoal, other drawing tools such as coloured markers or pastels (optional) eraser

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

Skip lesson video

Loading...

Prior knowledge starter quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
Which tool is best for sketching an insect?
paintbrush
ruler
Correct answer: pencil
Marker pen
Q2.
What does observational drawing mean?
Drawing something from your imagination
Copying a cartoon from a book
Correct answer: Looking carefully at a real object and drawing what you see
Tracing over a photo
Q3.
What do we call the marks we make when we draw with a pencil?
Correct Answer: lines
Q4.
What can help you draw an insect more accurately?
Rushing through your sketch
Drawing without stopping
Using only your imagination
Correct answer: Looking back and forth between your insect and your paper
Q5.
What is the best way to show the texture of an insect’s body?
Colouring it all one colour
Tracing it neatly
Erasing part of the drawing
Correct answer: Using lines, dots, and shading
Q6.
What is one important thing to look for when observing an insect before drawing it?
Correct answer: The shapes of its body parts, like wings and legs
What it sounds like
What it eats
How fast it can fly

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
What does it mean to do an observational drawing of an insect?
Draw an insect from your imagination
Copy someone else’s drawing
Correct answer: Draw an insect by carefully looking at a real one or a picture
Trace an insect
Q2.
What word describes a light or dark area in a drawing that helps show how bright or shadowy something is?
Correct Answer: tone, tones
Q3.
What is a continuous line drawing?
Correct answer: A drawing where you don’t lift your pencil from the page.
A drawing where you trace over your work many times.
A drawing made by colouring inside the lines.
A drawing made by using only straight lines.
Q4.
What does it mean to use your non-dominant hand when drawing?
Drawing with both hands at the same time
Correct answer: Drawing with the hand you don’t usually use
Drawing with a pencil in your mouth
Drawing without using your hands
Q5.
Put these steps in the correct order for creating an observational drawing:
1 - Sketch the form loosely
2 - Add details
3 - Continue to look back and forth from the object to your paper
Q6.
Match the key word to its meaning:
Correct Answer:Sketch,A quick, light drawing to plan or practise

A quick, light drawing to plan or practise

Correct Answer:Form,The shape and structure of an object

The shape and structure of an object

Correct Answer:Composition,The way shapes and lines are arranged on the page

The way shapes and lines are arranged on the page

Additional material

Download additional material