Copy the picture
The model on the left and an empty grid on the right. Pupils count rows and columns to colour each square in the same place. In Grade 3, at double size or onto a dot grid with no lines.
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Teaching guide: drawing on a grid
Copying a picture square by square, following an arrow code or finding a square from its coordinates are some of the clearest ways to build spatial awareness: left and right, up and down, counting squares and finding your way around a grid. This free grid drawing worksheet generator makes A4 worksheets from Kindergarten to Grade 3 with our own pictures (houses, rockets, cats, robots, castles…), always different and with an answer key.
Student worksheet 
Answer key Follow the arrows
From a marked dot, each number and arrow says how many squares to move and which way. Followed correctly, the path closes back at the start and draws the outline of a picture.
Write the code
The reverse task: the path is already drawn and pupils write its code. In Grade 1 only the numbers, with the arrows printed; from Grade 2, the number and the arrow of every step.
Mystery pictures
Coordinates as in Battleships: A3 is column A, row 3. Colouring every square on the list reveals a picture, and pupils write what it is.
From Kindergarten to Grade 3
Grids grow from 7 × 7 to 14 × 14, so do the pictures, and arrow codes go from 12 to 36 arrows. From Grade 2 a code may start at any corner and go round either way.
Black and white friendly
One-colour pictures print in grey. With the colour option, each colour prints as a pattern with its name, so pupils colour with the right one.
Frequently asked questions about the grid drawing worksheets
Which ages are these worksheets for?
Kindergarten (age 5) to Grade 3 (Reception to Year 4). Kindergarten copies pictures on 7 × 7 grids with large squares and follows short arrow codes; Grade 1 adds coordinates and paths to write the code of; Grade 3 copies at double size or onto a dot grid and follows codes of up to 36 arrows.
What is an arrow code on a grid?
It is a list of arrows with numbers (3 right, 2 down…) that pupils follow from a marked dot, tracing along the grid lines. If they get every step right, the path comes back to the start and makes the outline of a picture.
Can an answer be ambiguous?
No. Every arrow code is the exact outline of a picture, which never touches itself or leaves the grid; a path to write the code of has its starting dot and direction marked, so only one code fits. Copies and mystery pictures are checked square by square.
How are the coordinates read?
The letter is the column (along the top of the grid) and the number is the row (down the left, counting from the top), as in Battleships. In Grade 1 the squares are listed in reading order; in Grades 2 and 3, in random order.
Can I print them in black and white?
Yes. By default the pictures are in one colour, printed in grey. If you choose coloured pictures, each colour prints as a pattern (stripes, dots, checks) with the colour name next to it.
Which other worksheets go well with these?
The symmetry worksheets use the same pixel pictures; the unplugged coding worksheets take arrows to a robot that has to reach a goal, and for younger children there are pre-writing and dot-to-dot worksheets. Find every resource under maths worksheets.
Is any pupil data sent anywhere?
No. Worksheets are generated in your browser and templates are saved in your browser's memory.
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