Drawings to Enhance Communication and Emotional Awareness in the Classroom
By Caitlyn Pereira
Elementary School Teacher
In today’s world with the social isolation and increased screen time, the emotional development and social skills need of our students demand our increased attention. A report published in August 2021 by the Center on Reinventing Public Education reviewed the evidence on how the pandemic impacted students’ social-emotional well-being, showing that they need the support of their teachers more than ever during this time.
The art of teaching involves more than just math or science lessons and meeting standards. Teaching consists of providing a safe environment for students and creating relationships to inspire them, teach life skills, and expose them to the world. We are responsible for helping to create adults who become productive members in society.
Through working as an elementary school teacher in Long Island, New York during the pandemic, I have experienced a broad range of socio-emotional development amongst the students that I have never seen before. Our students have widely differing levels of maturity. Therefore finding tools to enhance self-awareness, self-expression, critical reasoning, and creative thinking are crucial.
Implementing drawings into the classroom can ease a lot of students' anxieties, allowing them to practice being present in the moment, and enhance focus.
Drawings have been part of the human expression as long as mankind has existed, as evidenced by cave drawings.
Every one of us can draw without ever being told how to.
Drawings are a way to access subconscious information and express ourselves. They are universal, non-denominational, and can be utilized in any situation - in any class - at any age. Incorporating drawings can be very beneficial for the students in a classroom.
Within my classroom, one of my students was having a social problem with her peers during recess. She had difficulty expressing how she felt with words. I sensed she wanted help, and tried a drawing technique that Dr. James Gordon discusses in his book The Transformation: Discovering Wholeness and Healing After Trauma.
I gave her a piece of paper. On one side of the page, I asked the student to draw the problem. On the other side, I asked her to draw the solution.
This experience was so powerful because I was able to connect with this student in a deeper way. The problem she was facing was that a group of students did not want to include her in what they were doing during recess, which made her upset. She was conflicted on how to handle the situation, because she kept telling the students she wanted to be their friend. The student needed help with solving her problem. She thought her solution was the only way to solve the problem.
Together, the student and I brainstormed another solution to solve the problem. We came up with the idea to take some time away from the peers she was having difficulty with, and to make friends with someone else in the class. The suggestion made sense to her, and she wondered why she did not think of it before.
Through drawing, I was able to guide this student and teach her how to express her feelings in a different way.
The student was able to communicate and solve her problems, in a way she could not do verbally.
Instructions for Practice
Materials: Blank paper, markers, colored pencils, pen, crayons, paint
5 drawing prompts for the students in the classroom:
Draw the most important people in your life.
Draw something that you think about but don’t speak about.
Draw the person you are now. Then draw the person you want to be.
Draw your biggest dream in life.
Draw what’s in your heart.
Create your own prompts and see what works in your classroom. Make your own discoveries.
Just remember, practice makes purpose. Continue repeating these prompts, sharing, and encouraging parents to participate and for students to share these drawings with their families.
As an important note, sometimes the content of drawings reveals what’s deep within. Professional art therapists integrate art within a psychotherapeutic relationship. Visit American Art Therapy Association to learn more. If there is a safety concern, take the appropriate professional action for the safety of the student.
Check out Caitlyn’s Article on her personal experience with drawings while participating in Dr. Singh’s Mind-Body Skills Group here: A Teacher’s Perspective: Mind-Body Techniques to Enhance Emotional Awareness and Self-Care.
