The first drawing the students see upon entering my classroom is the eagle. It is my ultimate "carrot". Of all the drawings, this is their favorite. The most asked question is "When do we get to draw the eagle?" Since it is the ultimate carrot, I save it for the end of the year.

The instructions for this drawing form the newest chapter in the book. The artist, Marilyn Grame, has graciously given me permission to use her idea for the eagle. About 15 years ago I purchased an art book in which I found her inspired painting. It really spoke to me so I set about creating a simplified version of Mrs. Grame's painting that I hoped my students could draw. Next I overlaid my recreation with a transparent grid and outlined the entire eagle with points. Finally, I named all the points with ordered pairs. So my students recreate the eagle using those ordered pairs. Next, they trace their eagle onto plane white paper. Then we set about trying to capture the regal character that Marilyn Grame's eagle emanates.