Key Stage 2 art and design · Sketchbooks

KS2 sketchbooks: recording what you see, a guide for parents

From Year 3 to Year 6, children keep a sketchbook to record what they see and to practise and experiment with materials. It is a working notebook, not a book of finished pictures. Drawing from real objects trains children to look closely, and the control they build there carries into painting, sculpture and every other part of art.

Sketchbooks and observation, explained

The National Curriculum asks children to create sketchbooks to record their observations. Observational drawing means drawing what is in front of you, not what you remember or imagine. It is harder than it sounds, because young children tend to draw a symbol for a thing (an almond shape for an eye, a lollipop for a tree) rather than the thing itself. Teachers help by slowing children down and making them look more than they draw. A typical instruction is to spend as long looking at the object as drawing it.

A sketchbook is where children try ideas out, so teachers deliberately want to see messy pages. You might find a pencil drawing of a shell next to a rubbing of its texture, a small colour test, a note saying “smooth on the outside, rough on the inside” and a second attempt that fixes a mistake in the first. Children also stick in photographs, leaf rubbings, fabric samples and pictures of artists’ work that inspired them. Pages that look very tidy can actually be a sign that a child has not been experimenting.

Alongside recording, the curriculum asks for children’s techniques to develop: control, use of materials, creativity, experimentation and a growing awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design. In many schools, Year 3 and 4 children are learning to control light and dark with a pencil, to draw proportions more accurately and to try a few materials such as pencil, pen, charcoal and watercolour. Year 5 and 6 children are usually expected to choose materials with more independence, show texture and detail, and say why they chose them. Individual schools vary, so ask your child’s teacher what a typical sketchbook task looks like.

Teachers generally look at sketchbooks for evidence of looking, trying and thinking, not for neatness or finished results. Some schools use one sketchbook across several years, some start a new one each project, and some mix sketchbook pages with larger finished pieces. You may get to see your child’s at a parents’ evening. The next step, going back over pages to review and develop ideas, is covered in its own guide.

Words your child will hear

Observational drawing: Drawing from real life, by looking carefully at the thing in front of you.
Sketch: A quick, loose drawing used to record or try out an idea.
Annotate: Add short notes to a drawing about what you see, what you tried or what you would change.
Proportion: How big the parts of something are compared with each other and with the whole.
Tone: How light or dark something is, from pale grey to deep black.
Medium: A material used to make art, such as pencil, pen, charcoal or paint. The plural is media.
Thumbnail sketch: A very small, quick drawing used to test an idea or the way a picture could be arranged.

What the National Curriculum says

In Key Stage 2, pupils should be taught to:

Create sketch books to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas
Develop their techniques, including their control and their use of materials, with creativity, experimentation and an increasing awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: a sketchbook page from observation

Fill one sketchbook page by recording a pear on a windowsill.

Set up. Put the pear in good light, such as by a window, on a plain background. Write the date at the top of the page. Spend a full minute turning the pear in your hands and looking at it before drawing anything.
Draw lightly first. With a pencil, sketch the main shape using soft, light lines: a tall rounded body that is wider at the bottom than the top, and a short stalk. Check proportions: how tall is the pear compared with how wide it is at the bottom? Adjust the drawing now, while the lines are still easy to change.
Add detail and tone. Look for where the pear is darkest, on the side away from the window and underneath, and where it is lightest. Press a little harder in dark areas and leave the lightest places almost bare. Add small marks for the speckles on the skin.
Annotate. Write three short notes beside the drawing: “yellow-green with brown freckles”, “shiny near the top, dull near the bottom” and “the stalk is thinner than I expected”.
Try a second version. Beside the first drawing, draw the pear from another angle, or draw it again in pen or charcoal. Write one line about what was easier or harder.

A finished page has two drawings of the pear, a date, three observation notes and one comparison note. It doesn’t need to look like a photograph. What matters is that the drawing shows the child looked closely, tried different marks and thought about what they saw.

Common mistakes and how to help

Treating a sketchbook as a place for “best” work and tearing out pages that go wrong

At school and at home children are praised for neat results, so a spoiled page feels like a failure.

What helps: Keep the messy page. Draw again next to it and write what changed. A sketchbook that shows mistakes and corrections is a sign of learning.

Drawing what they know rather than what they see

Children store simple pictures in their heads, like a round face with two circles for eyes, and draw those instead of looking.

What helps: Ask them to look at the object much more than at the paper. Ask them to compare angles and gaps: “Where does the top edge slope?” “How wide is it compared with its height?” Draw one part at a time.

Thinking a good drawing must look like a photograph

Children in Years 5 and 6 become aware of realism and may feel their work falls short, so some give up drawing around this age.

What helps: Praise careful looking and interesting marks rather than likeness. Try varied approaches, such as drawing with the non-writing hand, or drawing without lifting the pencil.

Using heavy, dark outlines straight away

Pressing hard feels confident and decisive, but it leaves lines that are difficult to change and flattens the drawing.

What helps: Start with the lightest lines and build up. Think of finding the shape first and committing to it afterwards.

How to help at home

Give a blank notebook of their own. A plain, cheap notebook and a pencil is all that is needed. Tell your child it is private and not for marking, and that mistakes are welcome. Let them choose what goes in.
Ten minutes, one object. Pick something on the table, such as a mug, a shoe or a piece of fruit. Draw it for ten minutes, date the page, and write one or two notes. Little and often builds the habit.
Draw it three ways. Draw the same object from the front, from the top and from the side. Notice how the shape changes. Then try a different tool, such as a pen or a soft pencil, and compare.
Collect and stick in. Rubbings of leaves, bark or coins, ticket stubs, scraps of fabric and photographs all belong in a sketchbook. Add a note about where each one came from and why you picked it.
Sketch when you are out. On a trip, a walk or a long wait, sit with the sketchbook for a few minutes and draw one thing you can see. Choose a safe spot away from roads. Quick drawings from life are valuable practice.