Graffiti Walls

The Graffiti Wall is a cooperative strategy for reviewing, checking for understanding, discussing and responding, and increasing memory. It works well as an anticipatory set, a closure activity or as an energizer during any lesson where the generation of ideas or the recall of facts is essential for student understanding. Having students visualize and create graphic symbols for what they are reading and studying will help them to develop as readers and writers. Sharing their individual responses in cooperative group activities deepens their understanding and skills. Graffiti Walls will motivate students who love to doodle and those who are reluctant to join group discussion.

Implementation

1. Cover a wall with bulletin board paper according to how many students are in the class and the amount of material to be reviewed.

2. You will need a large space where several students (the more the better) can write at the same time. You will also need plenty of different colors of markers.

3. Give students markers and have them to respond to a given topic on the graffiti wall using symbols, drawings, shapes, words and/or quotations.

4. The teacher may then process what they have written or drawn, or the student may explain what they have drawn to another student or the class.

5. The teacher may also want students to do a walkabout where they walk past the wall noting everything that the other students in the class have put on the wall.

Classroom Management

1. Discuss and model what an appropriate response is and how to express one's discomfort with something in an appropriate way.

2. Students are to remain silent during this activity.

3. Have as many students as possible write at the same time.

4. Students can write their own response to the prompt as well as respond to the questions and ideas that other students have written.

5. All students are to post at least one question or comment to the graffiti wall.

6. Allow 5-10 minutes for silent writing on the graffiti board.

7. Variations:

• · Add some fun by going outside and having students list what they already know or what they have learned about a topic with sidewalk chalk. Then take a class walk around and read students’ responses aloud.

· Literary Graffiti Interactive is an online drawing tool that can incorporate technology into this activity.