Themes: What it's all about

Title: Themes: What it's all about!

Author: Christine Petro

Subject:Murals and mural making

Grade: 6

Week: 2

Unit/Lesson Plan #: 2

Unit theme: Murals and mural making

Textbook references:

Conflict Resolution in Middle School. William J Kreidler. Educators for Social Responsibility: 1997.

Learning objectives:

1. For students to work together in order to achieve a goal-oriented outcome.

2. For students to collaborate on decision-making and create a small mural-based project together.

3. To introduce the importance of themes in mural making.

4. To expose students to a diversity of murals around the world.

5. For students to begin to think critically about the content of murals and how it can link to broader ideas.

Key Questions, Concepts, or Themes:

What is a theme? Recurring themes in murals? How are murals a form of communication about broad ideas?

Stage 1:

Activity 1/Quick Activity: Teacher tapes paper to students backs. Each paper has a mural/public art related word on it (e.g. Diego Rivera, wall, composition, etc). Without talking or knowing what word is on their own back, the students must put themselves in alphabetical order. When they are finished, the teacher puts the words on the board. Students share what was easy and what was challenging about the activity and why. Students write down these words to use when discussing murals.

Purpose: For students to work together in order to achieve a goal-oriented outcome.

[Loosely based on Non-Verbal Birthday line-up activity. Pg. 338. Source: Conflict Resolution in Middle School. William J Kreidler. Educators for Social Responsibility: 1997.]

Introduction: Ask the students what we discussed/learned in class the week before. Ask them how this relates to our end goal of creating a mural together. Go over homework (Students responded to HW question: How would you tell the story of CSS so far?) Ask students why they think we responded to this question.

Draw themes from their homework and use it for a quick introductory activity. For example, what images could we use to represent the theme of "CSS = hard work"? Pull other themes from their homework and challenge the students to come up with images to represent those themes. Chart their answers. This will prepare students for the "Theme team" activity.

Stage 2:

Activity 2: Making murals: Theme teams!

Split class into three to five groups. Each group gets a theme (e.g. Science and Technology, Environment, Health, Education, Work/Labor, Arts/Culture) that they draw from a hat. Each group must design and make a mural based on that theme. Before students start working in their own groups, we do a practice round. Example theme: Thanksgiving.

Each team gets a planning sheet to guide them in developing their mural. The students will work together to determine how to represent that theme and fill out worksheet. What images will they use to represent their theme?

Each mural must include representations of people, places, events and things (objects). Students should have a specific place (geographical reference) in mind as they decide on images. For this activity we will use New York City. As each group develops it's theme, "place" must be considered. (e.g. what images will students choose to represent Education in NYC? Environment in NYC?).

Students decide on the size of images, colors, and composition of mural. Once they fill out the worksheet and show it to the teacher, the materials are distributed to the group. The team works on the mural together. When the murals are completed, each group takes a turn while the rest of the class guesses what theme the mural signifies.

Stage 3:

Break/Short Activity: Students go outside (if nice out). The students form a circle. Ask students to say their names and make a gesture that goes with their name. Students cannot use words, but they can use hands, mouths, arms, and legs to make their gesture. After each person says his or her name and then makes a gesture, everyone in the group repeats the name and gesture. Then students go around the circle again without saying their name and only showing their gesture.

[Name Game with Motion. Pg. 338. Source: Conflict Resolution in Middle School. William J Kreidler. Educators for Social Responsibility: 1997.]

Activity 3: Famous Muralists: Starting with Diego Rivera

Look at select images from Diego Rivera's murals. Students look at image and make their own title based on the images they see. We look at Rivera's titles and students discuss. How close were the students' guesses? If the title was much different, did students identify any of the themes? Were there any recurring themes? How much can we learn from looking at these murals? What was hard about this activity?

Materials: Laptop, projector, Diego Rivera's Web Museum [http://www.diegorivera.com/murals/index.php], paper, pencils
Purpose: To introduce students to the work of a famous muralist. To begin to draw meaning from content of the murals.

Homework, Week 2: Please answer the response below. Send your response to me by email or through shared documents. Homework due no later than Wednesday, November 14. Send to: Christine.Petro@gmail.com.

In her lecture at Columbia University, Dr. Guadalupe Rivera Marin, the daughter famous Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, stated that murals are an important tool for educating the public. What do you think it means to "educate" people through murals? What are we educating about? Why should we educate through murals?

Purpose: For students to begin to think critically about the content of murals and how it can link to broader ideas.

Assessments: (attach/link copies)

__ Group assessment

X__ Observation of process/student work

__ Self-assessment by student

X__ Teacher generated assignment

X__ Written project

__ Test/Quiz

__ Other: ____________________________________