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These free directed drawing worksheets are grid drawing puzzles: children start at the red dot and follow the arrow code square by square to draw a house, a rocket, a cat face and a fish. Each worksheet has an answer page and comes on US Letter and A4, in colour and in black and white. I’m Patrick Elliott, a teacher and Inclusion Lead. I designed the four pictures myself as original grid outlines, then checked every arrow code by following it move by move to make sure it closes the picture exactly at the start dot.

In this guide, you’ll find which picture to start with, how to teach children to read the arrow code, and how to use the sheets as a following directions activity.

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What’s in the Directed Drawing Worksheets

Worksheet	What is on it
House Directed Drawing	Easy: 22 arrow moves, with the finished picture
Rocket Directed Drawing	Medium: 52 arrow moves, with the finished picture
Cat Face Directed Drawing	Medium: 48 arrow moves, with the finished picture
Fish Directed Drawing	Medium: 52 arrow moves, with the finished picture

👉 Each box in the code is one move: “3 →” means draw a line 3 squares to the right along the grid lines. Page 2 of every file shows the finished picture, so you can check each drawing.

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What Is a Directed Drawing Worksheet?

Most directed drawing lessons ask children to copy a picture one step at a time. These grid drawing worksheets work a little differently: children follow written directions instead of a model. They start at the red dot, read the arrow code in order, row by row, and draw each move along the lines of the grid. When the last move is done, the line meets the dot again and the picture appears. That makes each sheet a following directions activity as well as a drawing one: it practises counting, left and right, up and down, and checking work as you go. The four pictures are original grid outlines designed by Patrick Elliott for Word Made Easy.

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Which Directed Drawing Worksheet Should You Choose?

• House Directed Drawing (easy): 22 arrow moves on a 15 x 12 grid, the best first one to try.
• Cat Face Directed Drawing (medium): 48 arrow moves on a 19 x 15 grid, with two pointed ears.
• Rocket Directed Drawing (medium): 52 arrow moves on a 13 x 16 grid, with fins at the bottom.
• Fish Directed Drawing (medium): 52 arrow moves on a wide 20 x 9 grid, with a tail fin.
• Answer pages: page 2 of every file shows the finished outline on the same grid.
• For December, the Christmas directed drawing worksheets use the same arrow code to draw a Christmas tree, a present, a stocking and a gingerbread house.

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How to Use the Directed Drawing Worksheets

1. Choose your paper size above, download the ZIP and print page 1 of each file, one per child.
2. Show one box on the board: count the squares first, then draw that many along the grid lines in the direction of the arrow.
3. Ask children to tick each box when they have drawn it, so they never lose their place in the code.
4. Read the moves aloud for a whole-class listening activity, or let children work on their own.
5. Check the drawing with the answer page, then let children color their picture and add details.

Start with the house: it has the fewest moves, so children learn the arrow code before the longer pictures. If an outline does not close, go back to the last box that was right and count again, because most slips are one square out. Ready for a new challenge? The coordinate graphing mystery pictures use ordered pairs instead of arrows, and the printable mazes make good early-finisher work too.

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Black and White Versions

Every directed drawing worksheet also comes in black and white: the same arrow code and grid, with a black start dot and grey grid lines, so it prints clearly on any printer. In the download box, choose Colour, Black and white or All, then your paper size: A4, US Letter or both.

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How to Print the Directed Drawing Worksheets

Print at 100% (Actual size) on the same paper as the file, US Letter or A4, so the grid squares stay square. Each file has the worksheet on page 1 and the finished picture on page 2, so print page 1 only for the class and keep page 2 as your answer key.

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FAQs

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Conclusion

These directed drawing worksheets turn following directions into a puzzle with a picture at the end, made by a teacher in Microsoft Word.

Choose your paper size above, download the ZIP, and for December, try the christmas directed drawing: grid drawing worksheets.

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Related Tutorials

• Christmas Directed Drawing: Free Grid Drawing Worksheets
• Free Coordinate Graphing Mystery Pictures for Word
• Free Printable Mazes for Kids