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Grade 3 · LESSON 460 OF 519

Sleepy Fox: Faces with Feelings

Make an expression sheet featuring a fox with an alarm clock. The character wants to wake up for a picnic, but keeps pressing snooze. One possible ending: it moves the picnic blanket beside the clock. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer.

45 minutes; extend to a second meeting as neededPencil, eraser, and optional black drawing pen on paperCartooningExpressions

One way your story could work

The character wants to wake up for a picnic, but keeps pressing snooze. One possible ending: it moves the picnic blanket beside the clock. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer. Face 1 shows hopeful anticipation; face 2 shows surprise or frustration; face 3 shows relief. The eyes and mouth change while the head stays recognizable.

The image introduces the character and prop; it is shared across ten different skill lessons. Follow this lesson’s directions to make its specific finished piece, using your own design.

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Modern Art Lessons Studio Guide
YOUR STUDIO GUIDE SAYS

This is one of ten skill lessons using the Sleepy Fox story seed. Teach it independently or keep the character for a short skill sequence. Use large, clear shapes and show one understandable change. A character study is shared across this sequence; the written worked example explains this lesson’s specific outcome.

STUDENT WORKSHEETPlanning, material testing, midpoint revision, and reflection prompts matched to this project.
OPEN + PRINT WORKSHEET ↗

Right-sized challenge · Grade 3

Core goal: Use large, clear shapes and show one understandable change.

Before starting: Try one small expressions sample. If the main action is unfamiliar, model it before the full project.

If it feels too hard: Reduce the number of details; offer prepared panel boxes, larger tools, a partner, and dictated labels.

If the skill is already secure: Make a second version with a different visual choice and compare how an unfamiliar reader understands it.

Adult support: Students choose their own designs. Adults prepare tools, supervise binding, and preview external resources.

Time: One 45-minute meeting for a focused study; two for a flipbook or a longer revision. Finish the core skill before optional decoration.

Safety: Use school drawing tools. Adults handle stapling and difficult cuts. Keep jokes kind; do not caricature classmates or stereotype identities. No public account or upload required.

Suggested teaching starting points, not fixed ability bands. Adjust after observing the learner. Informed by NAEYC process-art guidance and the National Core Arts Standards framework.
Studio Guide introducing the project

THE STUDIO GUIDE'S PROJECT PLAN

What students are making

Make an expression sheet featuring a fox with an alarm clock. The character wants to wake up for a picnic, but keeps pressing snooze. One possible ending: it moves the picnic blanket beside the clock. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer.

Student directions

  1. 1

    Your finished project is an expression sheet featuring a fox with an alarm clock. Read the story seed: The character wants to wake up for a picnic, but keeps pressing snooze. One possible ending: it moves the picnic blanket beside the clock. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer.

  2. 2

    Start with round muzzle, pointed ears, and a big tail. These are helpful shapes, not a tracing template.

  3. 3

    Draw the same head shape three times before adding facial features.

  4. 4

    Show the feeling before the problem, during it, and after the solution. Change eyebrows, eyes, and mouth deliberately.

  5. 5

    Keep the head shape and identifying features consistent. Add a short feeling label only after a partner guesses.

  6. 6

    Cover feeling labels and ask a partner to name each emotion. Revise one unclear face. Use large, clear shapes and show one understandable change.

Artist connection

Mo Willems OPEN THE DIRECT EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE · TEACHER PREVIEW REQUIRED

The Eric Carle Museum describes how simple shapes create expressive characters. Classroom connection: notice how a small face or pose change can communicate a feeling. For this lesson, investigate expressions using your own a fox with an alarm clock.

Teaching rule: borrow the artist’s question, process, material thinking, or relationship to audience—not a recognizable style.

Current art-world practice

Original cartoon storytelling through expressions. This classroom task studies visual communication; it does not reproduce a published character or strip.

Ask students where they might encounter this practice today: a museum, public space, screen, community event, landscape, or temporary installation.

Teacher preparation

  • Preview the linked Mo Willems resource and choose one classroom-appropriate example. No purchase or whole-film viewing is required.
  • Prepare a quick expressions demonstration using a different original character.
  • Prepare a page or card layout for an expression sheet featuring a fox with an alarm clock; print the matching worksheet.
  • Offer large paper and short word banks; an adult may scribe dialogue.

Demonstration notes

  • Begin with round muzzle, pointed ears, and a big tail.
  • Draw the same head shape three times before adding facial features.
  • Show the feeling before the problem, during it, and after the solution. Change eyebrows, eyes, and mouth deliberately.
  • Keep the head shape and identifying features consistent. Add a short feeling label only after a partner guesses.
  • Show one unclear version and explain a small revision rather than presenting a perfect picture to copy.

Learning goals

  • Practice expressions through an original cartoon.
  • Three facial expressions are distinguishable without reading their labels.
  • Use large, clear shapes and show one understandable change.

Materials

  • drawing paper and scrap paper
  • pencil and eraser
  • optional black drawing pen
  • ruler for panel guides when useful

Teaching sequence

  1. 1

    0–5 MIN · LAUNCH — Introduce a fox with an alarm clock. Read the goal and obstacle; let students propose an ending.

  2. 2

    5–10 MIN · MODEL — Demonstrate Draw the same head shape three times before adding facial features. Use round muzzle, pointed ears, and a big tail. Explain that the character reference is not a finished assignment.

  3. 3

    10–15 MIN · TRY — Show the feeling before the problem, during it, and after the solution. Change eyebrows, eyes, and mouth deliberately. Students compare small trials before committing.

  4. 4

    15–32 MIN · MAKE — Keep the head shape and identifying features consistent. Add a short feeling label only after a partner guesses. Use large, clear shapes and show one understandable change.

  5. 5

    32–40 MIN · TEST + REVISE — Cover feeling labels and ask a partner to name each emotion. Revise one unclear face. Record the partner's response before explaining the intended meaning.

  6. 6

    40–45 MIN · SHARE + CLEAN — Collect the work and one revision note. Do not grade drawing speed or realism.

What success looks like

  • The work addresses a fox with an alarm clock and the chosen skill.
  • Three facial expressions are distinguishable without reading their labels.
  • The student makes an original choice rather than copying the reference.
  • Use large, clear shapes and show one understandable change.

Teacher questions

  • How can we show that the character wants to wake up for a picnic?
  • Which visible clue shows that it keeps pressing snooze?
  • Cover feeling labels and ask a partner to name each emotion. Revise one unclear face.
  • What does the reader understand without your explanation?

Common problems + responses

  • The picture is busy — remove a background detail that does not support the skill.
  • The character changes accidentally — compare its three identifying features.
  • The ending is unclear — strengthen the visible clue before adding more words.

Access + differentiation

  • Provide the page divisions or large head outlines; let the student choose the expression and action.
  • Use large, clear shapes and show one understandable change.
  • Extend by trying a second version with a different viewpoint or pacing and explaining the effect—not by adding unrelated materials.

Material substitutions

  • Use pencil only if drawing pens are unavailable.
  • Use larger paper, adapted grips, a partner recorder, or spoken reflection.
  • For motion, arrange numbered drawings and move through them by hand if flipping is difficult.

Four-part assessment rubric

SKILL — Three facial expressions are distinguishable without reading their labels.

STORY — A viewer can identify the intended action or idea.

PROCESS — Trials and a purposeful change are visible.

REFLECTION — The student cites a reader response or visible detail.

Vocabulary

expressioneyebrowconsistency

Student reflection

What did you notice? Which choice feels most like yours? What would you change next?

National Core Arts Standards

VA:Cr1.1.3a — Elaborate imaginative ideas

VA:Cr2.1.3a — Create personally satisfying art

VA:Cr3.1.3a — Revise through reflection

STUDENT PROMPT

Make an expression sheet featuring a fox with an alarm clock. The character wants to wake up for a picnic, but keeps pressing snooze. One possible ending: it moves the picnic blanket beside the clock. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer.

Make your own version. Test an idea, notice what changes, and keep the choices that help your meaning.
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