33 Book Cover Ceiling Tile Murals- IN ONE DAY!

My 8th grade students had participated in the Big Day of Reading for 2 years already. As 6th and 7th graders, the activities they participated in included reading circles, found poetry, author talks, and readers theater. Although all of those activities are fun and engaging, I felt that their role as 8th grade Students needed to shift to an advocacy role and promote reading to their younger peers. It is from that belief that my Donors Choose grant was written. When my students learned that they would be creating Book Cover Murals for the Media Center on the Big Day of Reading, they were apprehensive, but excited!

On The Big Day of Reading 88 students collaborated by painting 33 ceiling tile murals in the style of book covers. EVERY genre of book was represented ranging from children's picture books to horror novels. EVERY mural was successful and turned out stunning! The project, which was executed in one day, was so successful that we decided to display the murals in an art exhibit for the month of January before installing them in the school library. My students feel pride in their effort, understand that their work will have a lasting impact on the culture of our campus and have set a high standard for future students. This experience has made my students more aware of their role as leaders and how they can communicate ideas through the creation of public art!