When Looking at Me, What Do You See? Interacting with Murals

When Looking at Me, What Do You See?: Interacting with Murals is a visual arts curriculum unit that teaches students to engage with public artworks and murals in their neighborhood.  Over the course of the two month unit, students will practice looking at, thinking about, and exchanging ideas about local art.  As students interact with the murals in their community, they will expand their understanding of the elements and principles of design, such as line, shape, texture, color, balance, repetition, and contrast.  The unit culminates with a group project that gives students the opportunity to collaborate and create a class mural to display in their school.  Though this unit is primarily focused on visual art, students spend a large percentage of class time developing their speaking and listening skills. When Looking at Me, What Do You See?: Interacting with Murals was designed for kindergarten students in the regular classroom setting.  However, the lessons could easily be adaptedfor higher grade levels or small group settings.  Additionally, depending on the subject matter of the murals visited and created, this unit could span subjects, incorporating history or science, for example, with just a little extra planning.