Landform Illustration Books

Einstein Sherwood Forest

1st Grade, Social Studies, Visual Arts

Emily Chiarizio/ Erin Straub

The 1st graders in Ms. Straub’s social studies class have been focused on being careful observers of the world around them and showing their observations through artwork. In this lesson, students learned about the features of different types of landforms. After an introduction to the terms plains, desert, mountains, and several types of bodies of water, students made connections to when they have observed these landforms in real life. We then looked at photographs of each landform and discussed the types of lines we saw, noticing that the horizontal lines in the plains, the zigzag lines of mountain ranges, and the wavy lines seen in bodies of water.

Students then used their observations to illustrate a book showing each landform. Looking at photographs and working with colored pencils to draw the line types we have been studying, students created colorful drawings on each page, labeling each landform. Students were excited to share their completed books with their classmates and teachers. Ms. Straub said she is so happy with how arts integration has increased both grades and engagement in social studies!