The concept of giving kids freebie rein to bang out on the walls is a lovely scary one. On the contrary, with trustworthy controls in deposit and a collection of enthusiasm for the life, the graffiti wall may ripen into the top attraction in your classroom. The image that their thoughts and comments deserve common keeping is elegant to kids—along with the “forbidden” attribute of writing on the walls. As a communication-starter, the graffiti wall is a sure-fire winner: Every interval, ideas for writing assignments Testament simply gambol elsewhere at you and your students.
Instructions
1. Assemble certain you keep the go-ahead from your administrators to make the graffiti wall. All you Testament be asking for is permission to repaint the wall repeatedly during the academy year. Whether this is a dilemma, you can simply limit a wall with butcher paper, on the contrary this sorely reduces the appulse of the animation.
2. Pick up a unusual gallons of dye and some brushes at a native whitewash store. Keep a timer there as well, so students can time others who seem to be hogging the privilege.5. Take selected comments from the wall once a week and type them up as free writing assignment ideas. Discuss both viewpoints that pertain to controversial statements, and ask for interpretations of quotes that appear on the wall.
Dramatize the introduction of your graffiti wall by casually strolling over and writing on it in full view of your students. Ask, “Who’s next?” Then, before actually handing over a marker, pass out a “Graffiti Greetings” sheet on which you have written--in appropriately random form and varied fonts--your rules about writing on the graffiti wall. Some ideas for those rules include the following: NO use of anyone’s name or specific description; NO to profanity or crude language; YES to quotes from song lyrics, poems and books; YES to ideas about what’s positive or negative in your school and community; and so on. If kids have trouble thinking of things to write, point them to the link in Resources, which features thoughtful contemporary quotes.
4. Make sure students know at what point during class they are free to write or draw on the graffiti wall. Allow only three or fewer students at the wall at any one time. Keep a supply of markers on a table or file near the wall. Bring out what you are doing, and buzz to study light-colored latex whitewash they might bear mixed that did not turn elsewhere to the customer’s gratification. These batches normally sell at a very low cost—and you might even be able to receive them donated (along with some brushes).3.
