The Gruffalo Follow Directions Drawing Activity
What you need:
One Gruffalo body outline printable per child
Pencils or markers in brown, purple, orange, black, white, and green
Optional: Visual cards showing Gruffalo features (for reference)
A completed example to show at the end (optional)
Learning Goals and Standards:
- Children will follow step-by-step verbal directions to draw details on the Gruffalo.
- Children will identify and label different Gruffalo features from the story.
- Children will practice descriptive language and positional awareness (e.g., on his nose, around his back).
What you do:
Introduction (2–3 minutes)
Begin with a quick review:
- “What does the Gruffalo look like?”
- “What are some of the terrible things about him?”
Hold up a picture from the book and name some features together.
Activity Instructions (10–15 minutes)
Guide the class through each step slowly, using big motions or pointing to your own face/body to support understanding.
Say something like:
“Let’s give the Gruffalo terrible claws. Can you draw sharp claws on his hands?”
“Now draw one terrible tusk poking out of his mouth!"
“Add his terrible teeth. Make them pointy!”
“Let’s draw terrible horns on top of his head. Two curved horns!”
“He has knobbly knees—make little bumps on his knees.”
“Now his toes are turned-out—draw funny, sideways toes at the bottom of his feet.”
“Don’t forget the poisonous wart on his nose—a green bump right in the middle!”
“His tongue is black—draw it sticking out of his mouth!”
“The Gruffalo has purple prickles all down his back—use your purple crayon!”
“Give him orange eyes—two big, round ones!”
“Now draw brown ears—small and round, on each side of his head.”
“Last step—his bushy tail! Draw a long tail with a fuzzy end.”
Encourage children after each step:
“Great claws! Those are some scary teeth!”
Wrap-Up Discussion (2–3 minutes)
- “What was your favorite part to draw?”
- “Why do you think the Gruffalo looks so scary?”
Let each child share their drawing with a friend or small group.
