Finish the Drawing
This is not a circle… it's a sun! Turn simple shapes into big ideas.
Finish the Drawing is a no-prep printable that flips the usual worksheet on its head. Instead of one "right" answer, students are handed a simple shape — a square, a spiral, a squiggle, a star — and challenged to transform it into anything their imagination can dream up. A circle becomes a sun. A spiral becomes a lollipop. A box becomes a house. There are no wrong answers, only new possibilities.
It's the kind of open-ended activity that gets even your most hesitant students reaching for their pencils, while giving your creative thinkers room to run.
Why teachers love it:
- Builds creative and critical thinking — students learn to look at one thing and see many, a foundational divergent-thinking skill.
- Truly differentiated — the same page works for a Foundation student drawing a quick sun and a Year 6 student designing a detailed scene. Every level succeeds.
- Zero prep — just print and go. Perfect for busy mornings.
- Handwriting practice built in — each page includes a guided word line so students name their creation, linking drawing to early writing.
- Endlessly reusable — because answers are open-ended, students can complete the same shape a dozen different ways.
Perfect for:
- Fast finishers and early-finisher folders
- Morning work and bell-ringers
- Art lessons and creativity warm-ups
- Relief / substitute teacher days
- Brain breaks and calm-down corners
- Home learning and holiday activities
What's included (10 printable A4 pages):
A "Finish the Drawing" challenge for each of these shapes — square, circle, triangle, line, squiggle, spiral, semi-circle, heart, star and raindrop — each with the prompt "This is not a [shape], it's a ___" and a space to write.
Print as a full booklet for an instant creativity centre, or pull out single pages as you need them. However you use it, you'll be building imagination, confidence and thinking skills one shape at a time.
Need a game for that awkward last twenty minutes?
Our no-prep classroom games guide has more ideas and practical tips to use alongside this resource.
SPECIFICATIONS
Format: PDF, set up for A4 paper. Exactly what's inside is listed above.
Editing: This download is not editable. The PDF is flattened to protect the design and the artists' work we license.
Printing: Open the file in a PDF reader and choose 'Fit to page' or 'Actual size'. Do a test page on plain paper first — card, colour and black-and-white all print well.
Licence: One classroom, one teacher. Please don't share, resell or post the file online; buy an extra licence for each colleague who wants their own copy.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
You'll need a PDF reader on your device — the free Adobe Acrobat Reader is the most reliable. Double-click the downloaded file to open it.
If a page shows on screen but won't print properly, open it in Acrobat Reader, choose Print → Advanced → tick 'Print as image'.
Stuck? Contact us and we'll sort it out.
OUR HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
We want you to love every Mrs Edgar resource. If something isn't right, contact us within 30 days and we'll make it right. Because this is a digital file we can't refund a download that has already been opened, but we will always help you get it working. See our Returns Policy.
FAQS
Where is my download?
Check your inbox (and junk folder) for the email from Mrs Edgar with your link. You can also log in to your account at mrsedgar.com.au and download it from your order.
It came as a ZIP file — how do I open it?
On a Mac, double-click it. On Windows, right-click and choose 'Extract All'. Your PDFs will be inside.
Can I print in colour or black and white?
Yes. Our resources are designed to work both ways; black-and-white versions look great on coloured card.
The download won't start on my school computer.
Some school networks block downloads. Try again at home, or right-click the link and choose 'Save link as'.
