Monday, May 31, 2010  Mural Project  Step 1: Get funding and
permission!  My district has a foundation that raises money to
support the schools. Teachers are given the opportunity to apply
for classroom grants.  I discussed my idea with my principal,
got permission, and wrote the grant.  Step 2: Introduce students
to the project.  On the first day of the project, I made a
PowerPoint that showed murals from Art History, murals in Kansas
that they might be familiar with, and murals that I have
painted. We talked about the different reasons that people paint
murals and how murals make a big statement.  I told the students
that the mural would be in the school after they leave so it was
their chance to show what was important to them and what they
are "about".  Step 3: Students make drawings/proposals for the
mural.  I told the students that I wanted to pull parts from
different drawings to make the final design so it would reflect
more than one idea.  I didn't give the students a set theme, I
just said it obviou