Drawing and Writing About Yourself Using a Picture Frame
Grade: Second · Subject: Identity & Self · Time: 30 min · Difficulty: Standard

Learning Objective

Students will create a self-portrait and write a short description inside a picture frame to express their identity and practice drawing & illustrating skills.

Teacher-Selected Inputs

  • Grade: Second
  • Subject: Identity & Self
  • Skill: Drawing & Illustrating, Writing, Labeling
  • Educational Setting: General Education
  • Difficulty: Standard
  • Duration: 30 min

Why this printable fits

This printable fits perfectly with the Identity & Self subject because students use the picture frame to draw and write about themselves, connecting self-illustration with personal identity exploration. It supports drawing and illustrating skills by providing a clear space to organize their artwork and expression.

Vocabulary

PRE-TEACH
  • portrait: A picture of a person.
  • describe: To tell about something.
  • frame: The border around a picture.
USE DURING LESSON
  • draw
  • color
  • label
  • title
  • describe

Materials

  • Picture Frame printable (one per student)
  • Pencils
  • Crayons or colored pencils
  • Erasers

Prep

  • Print one Picture Frame template per student
  • Prepare a word bank card with sentence frames for writing descriptions
  • Prepare example drawing and description for modeling

Lesson Steps

  1. Introduction and Modeling6 min
    Teacher actions: Show the Picture Frame printable to the class. Explain the task and model drawing a simple self-portrait inside the frame. Write a short description and label parts of your drawing. Show how to add a title at the top.
    Teacher script: Today we will use this picture frame to draw a picture of ourselves and write a few words about who we are. Watch me as I draw my face inside the frame and write about myself.
    Example / model: Teacher draws a simple smiley face inside the frame, writes 'This is me!' at the top, and a sentence 'I have brown hair and blue eyes' under the picture.
    Printable use: Use printable as the space to draw and write inside the frame outline.
    Move on when: Students are focused on the frame and understand the task after the model.
    Support if needed: Show an extra sample or provide a sentence frame on the board.
  2. Planning Your Drawing6 min
    Teacher actions: Ask students to think about what their self-portrait will look like. Help them plan by asking questions about their hair, eye color, and favorite clothes. Encourage simple labeling ideas for the drawing.
    Teacher script: Think about what you want to draw inside your frame. What do you look like? What colors will you use? Let’s say some words you could write to describe yourself.
    Example / model: Teacher asks, 'What color is your hair? Can you write 'brown hair' next to your picture?','Printable shows pencil marks sketching the face outline.
    Printable use: Students lightly sketch their self-portrait within the frame before full drawing.
    Move on when: Students have started light pencil sketches or can name details of their drawing.
    Support if needed: Provide a word bank card with words for hair colors, eye colors, and easy labels.
  3. Drawing and Labeling9 min
    Teacher actions: Guide students to draw detailed self-portraits inside the frame using pencils and crayons. Support them in writing labels on important parts of their drawing. Circulate and ask questions to prompt labeling.
    Teacher script: Now carefully draw your self-portrait inside the frame. You can add labels to show your hair, eyes, or clothes. Remember to use your best colors!
    Example / model: A student draws a face with glasses and writes 'glasses' next to it.
    Printable use: Students fill the frame with their colored drawing and add labels inside the frame area.
    Move on when: Most students have drawn a recognizable face and added at least one label.
    Support if needed: Provide sentence frames such as 'My hair is ___' on a word bank card.
  4. Writing a Short Description and Title6 min
    Teacher actions: Help students write 1-2 sentences about themselves at the bottom or side of the frame. Show how to add a simple title at the top. Encourage sounding out words or using the word bank card.
    Teacher script: Let’s write a short description about you under or near your picture. You can say, 'I like to…' or 'My favorite color is….' Then add a title at the top to tell what your picture is about.
    Example / model: Student writes: 'I like to play soccer.' Title: 'This is me!
    Printable use: Students write their sentences inside the frame or outlined section reserved for description and title.
    Move on when: Students have written a simple sentence or phrase describing themselves and added a title.
    Support if needed: Use sentence frames on word bank cards and let students orally say their sentence before writing.
  5. Sharing and Display Preparation3 min
    Teacher actions: Invite students to share their framed drawings and descriptions with a partner or small group. Collect work for classroom display or arrange for student display. Praise effort and connection to identity.
    Teacher script: Who wants to share their amazing picture and writing? Tell your partner what you drew and wrote about yourself.
    Example / model: Two students show each other their drawings and read their descriptions aloud.
    Printable use: Students hold up their completed framed pieces for peer sharing or poster display placement.
    Move on when: Students can explain at least one thing about their drawing or description to a peer.
    Support if needed: Assign partners for sharing or use sentence frames like 'My picture shows…

Formative Check

  • Step: Drawing and Labeling
  • Ask students to: Show your self-portrait inside the frame with at least one label added to your drawing.
  • Look for: Students have started detailed drawings and labeled parts such as hair, eyes, or clothing.

Success Criteria

  • Students can draw a face with at least three recognizable features inside the picture frame to represent themselves, including at least one correctly used label.
  • Students can write a short descriptive sentence using at least three words about themselves inside or near the picture frame with 80% accuracy in word spelling and clarity.

Differentiation

Support: Provide a word bank card with common descriptive words and sentence stems to support writing and labeling.
Scaffold tool: Word Bank Card
Standard: Students draw and label their self-portrait and write a short descriptive sentence independently.
Extension: Add at least two detailed labels to your drawing and write two or more sentences that describe yourself in detail.
Early Finishers: Draw and label a self-portrait of a family member or friend using a second Picture Frame printable.

Accommodations

  • Provide additional writing tools such as pencil grips if needed.
  • Seat students near teacher for close support.
  • Allow extra time to complete drawing and writing.
  • Offer verbal prompts or one-on-one conferencing.

Common Misconceptions

  • Students may think the title should be their name only rather than a descriptive phrase.
  • Students might try to draw outside the frame area, so reinforce frame boundaries.
  • Students may struggle to use labels instead of only drawing.
  • Students might write incomplete sentences without main words or verbs.

Assessment

  • Observe student drawings to ensure they depict self-portraits with clear features.
  • Review labels for accuracy and relevance to the drawing.
  • Evaluate sentence writing for a clear descriptive idea about the student's identity.
  • Listen during sharing to confirm students can explain their illustration and description.

Teacher Notes

Standards
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.2: Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic and supply some facts about the topic.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.4: Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details.
IF SHORT ON TIME
  • Keep: Introduction and Modeling step to ensure clear instructions.
  • Skip or shorten: Sharing and Display Preparation step can be shortened or skipped if time is limited.
FOLLOW-UP OPTIONS
  • Create a family portrait using the same picture frame format.
  • Write a 'My Favorite Things' description and draw inside the frame.
  • Illustrate a scene from a favorite story and write a short summary.
HOME CONNECTION

Ask your child to draw a picture of themselves at home and tell a family member one thing they included in their drawing and why.

Source summary

Based on: Picture Frame
Printable summary (sanity check): A second-grade classroom lesson plan focused on Identity & Self subject using drawing and illustrating skills with a Picture Frame printable. This standard difficulty whole group lesson guides students to create self-portraits, label features, and write simple
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