From Early Stories to Today · Drawing 30
A slate to write on
Long ago
At school, children could write on a small slate with chalk. They could erase the marks and start again on the same surface.
Look together
What would you draw on this slate?
An idea to try
On an erasable board, draw a shape, erase part of it and change it into something else. Without a board, make two drawings on paper to show the change.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
Québec’s cultural heritage catalogue describes a slate fragment associated with Montréal’s Petit séminaire. The record explains that chalk or a slate pencil could leave marks on the stone that could then be erased. The object provides an example of a reusable learning tool.
This page focuses on trying, erasing and beginning again. It complements the classroom scene by inviting the child to invent a drawing of their own. The pictured slate is simplified; the page does not reconstruct a particular pupil or classroom.
Sources and context
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. Source titles appear in their original language; some linked pages are in French.
Source review: 2026-09-14. Illustrations simplify places and scenes; they are not historical documents.