Our Street Art Unit kicked off the day before we departed on our 3-day Ashland trip. And from my experience, trying to teach middle school students the day before an overnight field trip is like herding cats. UNLESS you are teaching students about Graffiti.
This project started off with viewing many forms of Graffiti in the US from tags, stencil murals, and spray painted messages. Then we viewed Graffiti in Argentina where store owners welcome this art form and contract artists to graffiti their storefronts to attract customers. After viewing these contrasting intentions, the students discussed their views on the many forms of graffiti, the impact on graffiti and whether or not graffiti is vandalism.
Then the students were tasked with choosing and inspiring word to paint in the style of Graffiti.
It has been one week since we returned from Ashland AND Spring Break- with 7 more weeks of school and based on the level of engagement, effort and creativity it seems like we just started the school year! Check these out!