Share the Love in Your Classroom with our Valentine’s Day Doodle Icebreaker Copy

Sharing is caring, and Valentine’s Day brings a perfect opportunity to facilitate sharing in the classroom.

For Valentine’s Day we are sharing a fantastic icebreaker activity called My Secret Valentine Friend in which students will Doodle a Geometric Heart and give it to a classmate. This activity will help your students get to know each other and support them in building positive relationships with others. Please see the steps below!

  1. First have your students Doodle their Geometric Heart. Let them know they will be giving their Doodle away to another student in the My Secret Valentine Friend activity.
  2. Next have students write out the following four facts about themselves on an index card:
    • their favorite color
    • their favorite animal
    • their favorite book
    • their favorite subject at school
  3. Collect all of the cards, shuffle them, and hand one out to each student.
  4. Have students find their Secret Valentine Friend by talking with everyone in the classroom to find out whose card they have. Set a time limit for them (and feel free to grade some papers while they’re sharing)!
"The most surprising benefit of these pens is that they’ve really allowed some students that tend to struggle with relationships and peers to shine. They amaze the other students with their skills and creations, and it raises their confidence. That has opened the door for them to begin to build positive relationships with others."-Mrs. Melinda O'Reilly, Pembroke Elementary School, Virginia Beach, VA Share
Sharing is caring, so please post some of your classroom Doodles on Twitter! @3Doodler #3Doodler #3DoodlerEDU

Share on Twitter

Five misconceptions about Doodling

Welcome to our 4-part blog series on Demystifying Doodling. Written by educator and author, Julia Deck, this series explores the use of 3D pens in the classroom and reflects on common questions that teachers have about Doodling.

Working with students in grades 3-5 has afforded me the opportunity to explore the gifts and wonders of Doodling across the curriculum. If you’re a teacher and haven’t Doodled yet, what’s stopping you? Could it be one of the following misconceptions?

Tooth made with 3D pen.

“My students’ Doodles don’t look like the ones in the lesson plan images.”

This misconception is also referred to as the “all Doodles must be perfect” myth. It would be incorrect to believe that the Doodle is the main objective. The goal of Doodling is the development of rigorous thinkers who are unafraid to create, problem solve, make mistakes and try again within the course of an assigned activity or task. The clever teacher knows that Doodling is a means to an end, and never the end itself.

Creating 3D heart art with a 3D pen

“Teachers must be excellent Doodlers to teach Doodling.”

How many subjects do teachers teach in a day? Are we expert mathematicians, scientists, biologists, counselors, writers, or literary critics? Probably not, but good teachers know that we don’t have to be the master of every subject we teach, we just need to be great teachers. That means knowing how to guide, encourage, direct, redirect and assess your students in order to enhance their growth in all aspects of learning.

Heart drawn using a 3D pen on paper with plastic strands.

“My students don’t have time to Doodle – I need to prepare my students for high-stakes standardized tests.”

This is the most dangerous misconception. Do not allow standardized tests to inform your instructional methods. The curriculum and standards are meant to outline “what” we teach. It is up to the master teacher to determine “how” to best teach this curriculum in a way that feeds the heart and mind. Short-term rewards come from short-sighted instruction. Long-term rewards result from practices that incorporate open-ended ideas and problem-solving.

Flower drawn on paper with a 3D pen.

“Students must always follow a template or stencil when Doodling.”

There are times when a structured format with stencils or templates will maximize your students’ results. But there are also times when students should be encouraged to explore their imaginations freely, and to color outside the lines and see what happens. It’s during these times that your students will develop new connections and fearlessly learn from their mistakes, as there are no expectations, only pleasant surprises!

Blue handles on white surface - 3D pen art

“There’s not enough money in the budget to purchase 3Doodlers for all of the students in my classroom.”

A 3Doodler is much more than a solitary drawing tool. It is a wellspring in which communal learners dive, splash and play together. This culminates in a rich, diverse tapestry of ideas and talents. Skills like brainstorming, collaboration, compromising, problem-solving and creative thinking are all enhanced when Doodles are the results of pooled talents and joyful socialization. You don’t need a cart full of 3Doodlers to get started. Rather than a detractor, allowing students to share 3Doodlers in small groups enhances the learning experience.

It’s easy to get hung up on misconceptions. As teachers, it’s critical that we let go of these misconceptions if we want to create the best learning experiences for our students. Education should fill our students’ minds with the extraordinary wonders of the world. Doodling is a great way to do this.

If you think you’re ready to challenge these misconceptions, check out our library of Lesson Plans here.

View Lesson Plans

Julia Dweck is a published children’s author and public school teacher who works with students in grades K-5. Her teaching style focuses on the importance of creative and open-ended thinking. Julia is the 2016 winner of the Da Vinci Science Award for her innovative integration of technology in the classroom.

She serves as a school resource and exemplar for inventive implementation of the arts and sciences. Julia encourages her students, friends, and peers to take risks, whenever possible, in order to grow. Follow her on Twitter: @GiftedTawk

Back to School Inspiration

The New Year has begun, and that means it’s time to start preparing lesson plans for the remainder of the school year.

Whether you’re teaching Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, or English, our 3Doodler Lesson Plans are FREE for you to use! We have highlighted some exciting lessons for you to launch the new year with.

As always, please reach out to us if you have any questions. We’d love to speak with you and offer specialized support for your unique classroom needs.

Kindergarten – 2nd Grade

Students explore subtraction and decipher a color-key in order to Doodle a dog, bones, and bowls using the appropriate colors.

3rd Grade – 5th Grade

Students research what causes the apparent brightness of stars and constellations, write on the topic, then Doodle a glow in the dark model of a constellation.

6th Grade – 8th Grade

Students create a poem based on pieces of published poetry. They use the 3Doodler to block out words and phrases, while adding 3D imagery relevant to the poem.

9th Grade – 12th Grade

Students Doodle a Rutherford model of an atom.

Share your classroom creations on Twitter and connect with our EDU community! @3Doodler or #3DoodlerEDU

Shop Now