Activities
Day One
On the first day of this unit, I will generate student thought and interest over themes “identity” and “place.” To prompt students thinking about the topic, I will have them create a “word splat” on their own paper or white board. In the center of the room on the white board, I will write “Richmond” in large font. I will then ask my students to do the same on their own paper. Then outside of the word, there are to write as many ideas, moments, people, and places that connect to the word. With every vague word, like “restaurants,” I will encourage them to think of more specific places or ideas. Students will take turns walking up to the board and writing various words that stand out to them. Once our word splat transforms into a Richmond word-mural, student will partner up and write a “Richmond Is” sentence about the city.
Next, we will begin the discussion on public art and how it connects to identity. After coming up with a consensus over what constitutes public art, I will divide the class into groups. Using a large white board, each group will list examples of local public art. Next, each group will create either an image, cartoon, or write a sentence that answers the following question: “What does Richmond’s public art say about the city?” I will close the day’s lesson by briefly outlining how the theme of public art fits with our unit. I will tell the students that as readers of American literature, we are trying to understand our texts reveal about the American experience. Just as we may analyze text to answer this question, we may also newspapers, podcasts, film, or art. As an exit card, I will ask students to answer the question in a two-minute timed essay, “How can public art be political and divisive?”
Day Two
On the second day of the unit, students will begin class as a “walking tour.” As they walk into the classroom, I will ask students to fold their paper in half creating two columns, one column labeled “details” and the second “questions.” Before beginning our “walking tour” of Monument Avenue, students will either watch a video or an art teacher will visit our classroom and explain how to analyze art. Because touring all on boulevard is not feasible, students will instead walk around the classroom critiquing large images of the monuments
After this activity, I will then inform students that we are going to visit and critique the last monument added to the avenue. For schools without access to the monuments, I would suggest using Google Maps for this part of the class tour. At the Arthur Ashe Monument, I will ask that students silently observe and critique the statue. They will have plenty of time to talk on the way back, and it is important for their initial reactions and questions to be their own. When we return to the school, I will ask students to finalize their observations and their questions. We will use this page to start our K-W-L chart for the next class.
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