LOCATE IMAGES

Decide what the topic of your coloring page will be (leprechauns? rainbows? bears?), and then look for an image you can use as your tracing background. Things to consider:

• Simplicity: You'll want to outline the image and add just a few lines and dots for detail. Don't use images that require a lot of detail drawing.
• Singularity: Think one -- one duck, not three; a snowman, not a snowman in a yard by a house.
• Shape: Does it have a shape that's easily recognizable? If it's a common shape -- a round baseball, for example -- you might need to draw in a few more details.

Where might you find those images?

• Microsoft Word's Clip Art: Go to Insert > Picture > Clip Art and browse for art there. The advantage to clip art is that, unlike photographs, usually it's already simplified for you. Remember that Microsoft also has many more images online. Look on the Clip Art window or pane for a link to go Online (it sometimes looks like a globe).
• Pic4Learning: Free images for educators. You'll have more options for photos and clip art, although some are fairly small files, so when you insert them they might not be big enough. If you stretch them, you can distort the picture, although if you're just going to outline the photo, that's not too much of a problem.
• Discovery Schools' Clip Art Gallery: Up to 10 images in one file are free to educators. (See their use policy).
• See Free Photos on the Web for more educator-friendly images.

Next: Inserting images.