Drawn Cities
Created 2021
Design lead: Eve Moreau
Audience: Grades 5 to 8
Two classes needed to exchange postcard art
Second language or additional language learners
Drawn Cities has been developed to support the personalized of learning in a second or additional language. The general objective is to offer a learning experience that develops linguistic competencies and critical language awareness while affirming multilingual and transcultural identities. The city is explored and personified through writing prompts and various artistic disciplines which enrich the process of learning.
Where do we live?
Begin the class with the following text (translate into the language of instruction):
Every neighbourhood, every street, every corner of the city has a story to tell. Sometimes inspiring, sometimes devastating, the stories of the city possess a special power that allow us to explore, learn and reinvent our place.
Explain that students will work on a creative writing and postcard art project to explore the seemingly simple, but essential question, Where do we live? The last day of the learning cycle, there will be a celebration of learning with the school community. The celebration can include readalouds using literature and poems about cities and a postcard art exhibition displaying their work titled, Drawn Cities. After the exhibition, postcards will be sent to another school in Calgary or in another city to establish a link between students learning the same language.
To begin the project, students will conduct a small ethnography of their neighbourhood. Explain that the best writing stems from the author’s detailed observations. When they go out to their neighbourhood they will observe and take note of what they see with great detail, as if they were taking a photograph with words. Show them the chart entitled, ‘Ethnography of my neighbourhood’ to help them organize their observations. They can write and draw; they can use their first language initially but encourage them to look up words in the target language they are learning to build a personalized lexical repertoire.
Ethnography of my neighbourhood
| Observations | Questions | |
|---|---|---|
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Places Describe the location, the atmosphere (natural and architectural), and the context of your ethnographic study. |
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People What are the people you see doing? How are they dressed? Who are they with? What role/s do they have (ex. Peace officer, mother…)? |
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Words & Phrases What do you hear? What words and symbols do you see? |
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Objects Which physical objects and structures do you see your neighbourhood? |
For the next class, students will review their notes on the ethnography and write or provide an oral response to the following questions:
- What grabbed my attention when I did the ethnography?
- What did I notice that I didn’t notice before?
- What questions do I have about my neighbourhood? What did I see but don’t understand?
- What does the urban landscape (architecture, signage, etc.) together with the people I saw tell me about the culture of my neighbourhood?
Materials
- Selection of images of the city (photos, postcards, etc.)
- ‘Magic box’ full of creative writing prompts for postcard project.
Hook
Photography with words
Form a circle and explain to the class that their group of 2-4 will receive an image and create a ‘photo with words.’ Give them the image facing down. When every group has an image, ask them to flip it over and observe for one minute. You can do this silently, or ask them to name out loud everything they see. Once the minutes is over, give the group one more minute to write down all their ideas in as much detail as possible. When they are finished, groups will present the written description to the class, followed by a viewing of the photo.
Reading
Create a table on the board that includes one column for ‘image’ and one column for ‘text.’ This will become a student and teacher generated list of criteria of excellence that can be used for both formative and summative assessment of their postcard art.
From your collection, select 3-4 postcards that you will share with students. Be sure to select postcards that are intriguing both in terms of the imagery and text. After sharing each one, ask students:
- Who is this postcard written to? Where do they live? Who is it from? How do we know?
- In your opinion, what are the most interesting postcards in this collection? What characteristics do the special ones have?
As students share their ideas about the characteristics of the most interesting postcards, write the descriptions under the appropriate columns. Add to the columns as you feel appropriate to ensure students have clear learning intentions for the creation of their own work.
Writing
Review the writing process making reference to the postcards you shared.
- Purpose (What was the purpose of writing the postcard?)
- Audience. Explain the importance of writing with a clear audience in mind (Who received the postcard?)
- Textual genre (How does the postcard serve its purpose? (Would the message have been different if it were a children’s book, a news article or a comic?)
- Develop a theme (What theme about the city can express through a postcard?)
- Brainstorm (Ask students to take out their notes from the ethnography of their neighbourhood. Give them time to brainstorm possible writing themes for the creation of their postcard art. When they are ready, ask them to share their ideas with peer groups.
Present the ‘magic box’ (ex. black box for older students) to the class and tell students that inside are various writing prompts that they can use for their postcard art (prompts listed below). Each student will randomly select a piece of paper. If a student doesn’t like their prompt they can select another. The purpose of these prompts is to open the door to an imaginative space. The prompts have been selected to build their capacity to observe, describe and interpret. After students have selected a prompt, give them time to write and draw a draft version. Later, they will share drafts with peers to receive actionable feedback based on the criteria of excellence listed on the board.
Prompt #1
Front of the postcard
- Date, address, stamp
- List 10 things in your neighbourhood/city that you can’t live without
- Reflection | How do these things on your list reflect a theme (ex. Survival, connection, etc.)?
Back of the postcard
Choose one of the things on your list and draw it.
Prompt #2
Front of the postcard
- Date, address, stamp
- You are an object in your neighbourhood/city (a bench, a sign, a prison, etc.) On the postcard, describe what your life is like.
Back of the postcard
Draw or create a collage so that your audience can see the personification of the object you chose.
Prompt #3
Front of the postcard
- Date, address, stamp
- The five senses include sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. Use the five senses in a poem to describe the character or atmosphere of your city.
Back of the postcard
Go outside or look out the window. Look deeply for five minutes. Draw what you see.
Prompt #4
Front of the postcard
- Date, address, stamp
- If your neighbourhood or city were a city, who would it be? Think about all the characteristics of a person (appearance, stature, personality, likes/dislikes, etc.) and apply them to your description.
Back of the postcard
- Draw your personified neighbourhood/city.
Prompt #5
Front of the postcard
- Date, address, stamp
- Who cleans our city streets? What do they find when they are cleaning? How do they feel when they are cleaning the sidewalks? What dreams do they have for our city? Write a postcard from their perspective.
Back of the postcard
Illustrate part of the story.
Prompt #6
Front of the postcard
- Date, address, stamp
- Write a free verse poem about a person who lost something in your neighbourhood or city. What did they lose? Where did they look for it? Where did they find it?
Back of the postcard
Illustrate the place they lost or found the object.
Prompt #7
Front of the postcard
- Date, address, stamp
- What part of your neighbourhood or city scares you? Use the five senses to describe it (sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch).
Back of the postcard
Draw the place that scares you trying to represent the senses you describe visually.
Prompt #8
Front of the postcard
- Date, address, stamp
- What are the three most intriguing places in your neighbourhood? ‘Take a photo’ with words.
Back of the postcard
Visually represent the three places that you described.
Prompt #9
Front of the postcard
- Date, address, stamp
- Invite your audience to visit your city. Explain which tour you will give them so they get to know your neighbourhood/city in one day.
Back of the postcard
Map out or make a collage of the tour you propose to do.
Prompt #10
Front of the postcard
- Date, address, stamp
- Write a short love song about your neighbourhood or city.
Back of the postcard
- Incorporate music in the visual representation of your neighbourhood/city.
Materials
- Card stock for postcards
- Sharpies
- Scissors
- Glue
- Old magazines that can be cut up
- Paint, markers, etc.
Before asking students to provide peer feedback their postcard art, review how postcards are formatted (ex. stamp upper left-hand corner, etc.). If there are any linguistic elements that you want your students to focus on in the target language, address them now. Ask students to apply necessary corrections to their draft.
Organize students into groups of 3. Each student will share their draft postcard. Prompt group members to listen respectfully. Then, the writer will ask for suggestions on how to improve their work. For example, the student can ask questions such as (translate as needed):
- I am not sure… how do you spell ‘X’?
- I wanted to describe ‘X’. Is the idea clear to you?
- Could you please give me some suggestions on how I can describe ‘X’ in more detail?
The teacher can circulate to groups to offer backup support and feedback. Remind students to actively engage in supportive peer feedback and to use their dictionaries or any support resources needed.
Once students have received feedback on their work, give them time to apply it for their final draft. At this point, teachers can show examples of gallery displays, which can help motivate students to produce their best work. When student work has been submitted display and host a celebration of learning. Following the exhibit, students can exchange postcards with another class that speaks or is learning the same language.