A Peek Into Ms. Camila’s Perspective Drawing Class

In Ms. Camila’s Upper School Elective Perspective Drawing Skills class, students are learning to create two-dimensional representations of three-dimensional objects. These sketches are used in fields such as patent drawings, architectural design, and furniture making. At Acera, they connect directly to woodshop with Mr. Josh and will support future Physics classes with Ms. Alexis.

By the end of the trimester, students will have practiced three key methods of pictorial sketching: oblique, isometric, and perspective. Alongside drawing, they complete exercises that strengthen visual and spatial reasoning and sometimes build 3D models based on their sketches. So far, we have worked with oblique sketches on graph paper and are now beginning with one-vanishing point perspective.

Ms. Camila reminds them often that she is never disappointed in them when the work is not going well and that mistakes are expected and valuable. However, she also holds firm that her role is to guide them towards improvement and academic rigor, not to pretend work is finished or to good standards when it is not, and definitely not to celebrate effort that is not consistent or visible. 

Students are developing an essential tolerance for challenges that will serve them well in middle school, whether in conducting a science lab, building a project, or writing an essay. The struggles they may describe are expected, natural, and productive. In class,Ms. Camila spends time doing whole-group instruction, and then as much time as possible working with students one-on-one. When some of them truly grasp the process, they step into the role of peer tutors for their classmates, reinforcing their own learning while supporting others.