Inspired by the picture book A is for Activist, in this project students explored the power of “muralism” to create change in communities.

Students studied timelines of San Diego’s history, focusing on the effect of the creation of the border on San Diego’s communities, as well researching the history of San Diego’s Chicano Park and visiting the park itself to speak with muralists who are working today. 

They also learned about tableaux and created “living murals” moving through a series of key words from the project, such as “community,” “resistance,” and “empathy.”

After that, each student created a poem for a letter of the alphabet. Fourth graders created poems for the upper-case letters and first graders created poems for the lower-case letters. 

Teacher Reflection

I loved seeing students fired up about important history in their communities, and connecting to the power of art to create change! It was also incredible to watch fourth graders and first graders connect and work together to explore important themes like community, empathy, and protest.

—Amanda Borow

Student Poetry