Lesson Plans for Curriculum

Curriculum Project Title: My Education Matters

Lesson Title: My School Matters
Lesson Number: 2
Teacher(s) Name & contact information
Katelyn Durst
katelyn.durst@gmail.com
katelyn.durst@eastern.edu
(989)709-1977
Art Teachers from Dunlap Elementary School and Rainier Beach High School
Lesson Overview
Scholars will attend field trip/academic service learning trip that allows them to interact
with their alma matter Dunlap Elementary by revitalizing a mural on the school grounds
as well as planning a celebratory event that allows them to show off the mural and invite
the community into the conversation about revitalizing Rainier Beach High School
(RBHS) through theatre of the oppressed exercises. Scholars will be split up into two
groups: community artists and event planners. One group will complete mural and other
will plan the celebration. Dunlap and RBHS art teachers will lead mural group and I will
lead event planner group.

Teaching Objectives
Introduce scholars to community art building through painting a mural.
Complete mural revitalization in 5 hours
Complete event planning in 5 hours
Meet state requirements for visual arts ( i.e.
Students become visually literate thinkers and creators as they examine, produce, and
present original work.
They use aesthetic criteria to analyze and respond to art and make connections across
disciplines, cultures, place, and time.)

Learner Outcomes
Have 100% of community artists complete mural revitalization project by end of day.

 Have 100% of event planners complete the planning of the a celebratory event by end
of day.
If event planners finish all details before mural is complete, have 100% of event
planners contribute to the finishing of the mural revitalization project by end of day.
Have 100% of scholars feel confident about painting and/or event planning abilities.

Lesson Description
1. Pre-Assessment/Welcome( 15 minutes): Greet each scholar as they arrive. Have them
sit in the circle and say, you are all scholars. Today you will become community
artists and event planners as well. Some of you will focus on art making and some of
you will focus on event planning but each of you is collaborating with the other to
create a meaningful piece of art and event. Pass out postcards that have images of
famous art pieces. Have students break into groups of four and plan an event for the
world reveal of their art piece. Each group will receive a brief summary prepared
ahead of time that has information about the artist and era/area of world that artist
lived and created in. Scholars have 5 minutes to plan and will share in circle their
ideas. Instruct them to have a scribe in each group to record exact details for their
event. This opportunity gives scholars chance to build visual art comprehension,
problem-solving and event planning skills.
2. Introductory Activity/Experiential: ( 10 minutes) Instruct scholars to close their eyes
and imagine that it is 2026. That they have graduated from college , have amazing
jobs and are living in Rainier Beach with their families. Then ask them to draw an
image of what they imagine their children will experience in the community of
Rainier Beach in 2026. Have each scholar share one thing, implement talking piece,
that they want to see completely ratified in their community by 2026.
3. Mini-Lesson: (20 minutes) Introduce art teachers from Dunlap and RBHS, many
scholars will already know them. Have art teachers from Dunlap explain that the
mural at Dunlap is depleting and in desperate need of revitalization, so who better to
recruit then Dunlap alumnus. Have art teachers recruit half of students ( no
exceptions!) by voluntary first and teacher selection if necessary. Art teachers will
take that half of class into hallway to set up cooperation contract and roles. The
remaining half of class will stay in classroom and develop cooperation contract and
roles for celebratory event and theatre of the oppressed exercises . Explain that
theatre of the oppressed topics will be around revitalization of RBHS through acting
out different scenarios of going about that.
4. Demonstration/Exercise: (5 hours) Community artists, event planners and all teachers
will walk over to Dunlap from RBHS. Community artists will go to mural where
there will be pre-set up ladders and paint supplies. As mural is images of prominent
international social justice leaders, art teachers will break community artists into the
roles they previously discussed. Some community artists will start on one end and
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others the opposite end, while teachers begin to touch up the faces. All community
artists will meet in the middle and help complete faces. Community artist group will
take half an hour for lunch break to discuss and reflect on mural process. Meanwhile,
event planners will convene in Dunlap computer lab and begin planning for
celebratory mural reopening event. They will divide up into pre-discussed roles such
as media correspondents, social media planners, caterer recruiters and logistic
coordinators ( when it comes to decoration and tables/chairs need). Event planners
will break for half an hour lunch to discuss process and iron out additional details.
Should event planners finish all duties before mural is completed, they are to become
community artists and join in on the mural revitalization.
5. Applied Work life lessons/Outside-the-classroom application; assignments for next
class. (15 minutes) Reflect in journal: What is the image I want my life to reflect?
What are some major events I dream of happening in my life? What are three steps I
can take now to achieve these dreams? Talk about event with friends and family
engage in three recorded conversations where you ask friends/family what they like
about Rainier Beach and what they would like to see changed? Hand out permission
slip to meet teacher for pre-event class 2 hours prior to event start and 1 hour postevent conclusion.
6. Conclusion/Metaphor:(10 minutes) Have scholars teach the teachers the closing
ritual of good job chant and ask what lessons have you learned about community
development and yourself through this process and by incorporating cooperation
contract expectations set up by yourself and peers. Have them sitting outside in
Dunlap soccer field in a circle as they share, implement talking piece.
7. Post-Assessment:(20 minutes) Have each scholar get out their drawing for their
vision of the Rainier Beach community in 2026 for their children. Have them pass
their drawing to the left. Give scholars 5 minutes to observe the picture in front of
them. Instruct each scholar to think of three descriptive observations about the image
and a question for the artist and write them down in their journal. Then have scholars
share observations and questions until each scholar has gotten a chance to reflect
about an art piece that is not theirs and to respond to a question about their own art
piece. This will show that scholars are developing visual literacy s they examine,
produce, and present original work.
Materials & Supplies
Post Cards with familiar/famous images of art pieces
Summary about famous art pieces/era they were created
Pens/Pencils
Construction Paper
Markers
Journals from previous week
Big sheets of paper ( for Cooperation Contract)
Ladders
Paint
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Paintbrushes
Computer Lab
Mural at Dunlap