Theme: Graffiti
Lexical area: art, vandalism, museums
Instructions for language assistants in Italics
Classroom materials
Introduction
This lesson offers a variety of activities based on graffiti and the Banksy exhibition in Bristol (summer 2009). Task 1 is a warm up activity which introduces the topic and gives the students chance to say what they know about graffiti. Task 2 is a quiz about graffiti for students to do in pairs. Task 3 is an article to read about Banksy and graffiti in the UK, followed by a comprehension exercise. In Task 4 students have a chance to discuss graffiti and related topics in more depth. Task 5 is a role play involving group work and pair work where Banksy is interviewed by a journalist.
1. Mind map
Draw the following mind map on the board and ask students to tell you the missing word (graffiti). Give clues if necessary, e.g., ‘It’s a kind of painting on walls.’ ‘You usually see this in big cities.’ ‘It begins with ‘G.’. Next ask students to tell you what they know (if anything) about graffiti.
vandalism? art? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ wall paint
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Task 1 Mind map
Complete the mind map on the board with the missing word.
2. Graffiti quiz
Hand out the quiz to the students. A higher level class can do the quiz in pairs. Set a time limit of five minutes then check answers as a class. With a lower level class do the quiz as a whole class activity, checking that students understand each question. Students can then choose the correct option in pairs, and then check the answers as a class.
Answers:
1a, 2b, 3 all off them, 4c, 5c(the Berlin wall, dividing East and West Germany was demolished in 1989), 6b, 7c
Task 2 Graffiti quiz
Do the quiz to find out how much you know about graffiti.
| Graffiti quiz 1 Graffiti artists usually use: a) spray paint b) coloured paint c) crayons 2 A graffiti tag is: a) a small picture b) a signature c) a series of paintings 3 Which ancient civilization has evidence of graffiti? a) Greek b) Egyptian c) Aztec 4 Which type of music is related to graffiti? a) Grunge b) Rock c) Hip-hop 5 Which of these walls was graffiti painted from end to end? a) The Great wall of China b) The wall on Wall street c) The Berlin wall 6 What is graffiti? a) graffiti about animals b) graffiti in very high, inaccessible places c) very colourful graffiti 7 The modern word graffiti is from the Italian word ‘graffiato’ which means: a) illegal b) wall c) scratched |
3. Art or vandalism?
Write the question ‘Is the writer’s attitude positive or negative attitude towards graffiti?’. Give the students a time limit of 2 minutes to read the text very quickly and answer the question (answer: positive). Then ask the students to read the text again more slowly (consulting the glossary where necessary) and then in pairs to make notes
saying what the numbers, places and people refer to in the text. For a lower level class you could write the answers in jumbled order on the board (or show on an OHP/data projector if available to save class time) for the students to match. Pairs can compare with another pair before checking answers as a class.
You could show some of Banksy’s work, either photocopies or on a data projector if available. Ask the students to give each piece a mark out of 10 or think of an adjective to describe each piece. You can find examples of his work here-www.banksy.co.uk/ or at the links at the end of this lesson.
Answers:
Numbers
2009 – The year of the ‘Banksy versus the Bristol Museum exhibition’.
100 – The number works by Banksy at the Bristol Museum exhibition.
1973 – The year Banksy was (probably) born.
2 million – The money (in dollars) Brad Pitt paid for a Banksy painting.
2003 – Banksy designed an album cover for Blur.
four – The number of times Banksy has refused to do adverts for Nike.
360 – The length of the graffiti wall in Dundee.
Places and people
Bristol –The location of the museum and Banksy’s hometown.
Banksy –The world’s greatest graffiti artist.
Palestine - Banksy painted on the Israeli West Bank Barrier.
Israel – Banksy painted on the Israeli West Bank Barrier
Brad Pitt –He bought a painting Banksy painting for 2 million dollars.
Dundee – The longest legal graffiti wall in the UK is here.
Mike Crilley – He organizes the legal graffiti wall in Dundee, Scotland.
Task 3 Art or vandalism?
Read the article and then discuss with a partner what the numbers, places and people refer to in the text.
| Art or vandalism? Where do you expect to see graffiti? Probably not in a museum. Bristol city museum, in the south west of England, was the kind of place you go to see classical statues and stuffed animals in cases until the arrival of the ‘Banksy versus the Bristol Museum’ exhibition in the summer of 2009. The exhibition hosted more than 100 works by Banksy, the world’s most famous graffiti artist. Banksy is a man of mystery. He hardly ever gives interviews and likes to be anonymous. Nobody knows much about his life or his background but many people believe that his real name is either Robin Gunningham, Robert Banks or Robin Banks and that he was born in 1973 near Bristol. Banksy’s controversial ‘street art’ includes spray paintings on live sheep and cows and graffiti on the huge wall erected to divide Israeli and Palestine. Brad Pitt recently spent over 2 million dollars on a Bansky original. Banksy designed an album cover for the Brit pop group Blur in 2003 but he has refused at least four requests to do adverts for Nike. Bristol isn’t the only place in Britain to welcome graffiti. The DPM Park in Dundee, Scotland has the longest legal graffiti wall (360 ft to be precise) in the UK. Anyone can paint on the council owned wall any time they like. Mike Crilley, the graffiti wall project organiser, promotes the positive side of graffiti and runs workshops for local children. So has graffiti gone mainstream? Not exactly. It’s illegal to paint on somebody else's property so make sure you find a legal graffiti wall like the one in Dundee if you want to have a go. [284 words, information from wikipedia, The Guardian, BBC] Glossary anonymous (adj) – not known by people background (noun) – personal history have a go (expression) – try doing something hosted (verb) – had mainstream (adj) – seen as part of normal society refused (verb) – said no stuffed animals (expression)- dead, preserved animals Numbers 2009 100 1973 2 million 2003 four 360 Places and people Bristol Banksy Palestine Israel Brad Pitt Dundee Mike Crilley |
4. Discussion
The first 7 questions are more suitable for a lower level class and the last 3 can be added for higher levels. Give students a few minutes to read the questions and make notes of their answers. Students discuss the questions in pairs. Ask some students to tell the class what their partner said about 1 or 2 questions.
Task 4 Discussion
Discuss these questions:
| What graffiti have you seen in your town or city? Have you seen any of Banksy’s graffiti? Is all graffiti the same? Why/Why not? What do you like or dislike about graffiti? Is there a place to do legal graffiti in your area? Would you visit a museum to see a graffiti exhibition? Why/ Why not? What kind of exhibitions have you seen in museums? Which did you like most? Why do people do graffiti in public places? Do graffiti artists like Banksy have a message? Who should remove illegal graffiti? |
5. Role play
This is a light-hearted role play where student A is Banksy and B an interviewing journalist. Divide the class into As and Bs. Bs can prepare their questions as a group (or in small groups), referring to the article in Task 3 for help. Prompt them to prepare questions about family, friends, school, work, his ‘message’, his money etc if necessary. The As need to use their imagination to prepare Banksy’s background (family, friends, school, work, his ‘message’, his money etc). Next, split the students off into AB pairs to do the role play. The students could write up their interviews in the same AB pairs as a follow up writing activity.
Task 5 Role play
You are going to do a role play with a partner. Read your role card and prepare your thoughts before you begin.
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Internet links
This is Bansky’s website and has pictures and information
www.banksy.co.uk/
This site shows photographs at Bristol City museum
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2009/jun/12/banksy-bristol-art-exhibition?picture=348798024
This site shows a video of graffiti at DPM Park in Dundee (the legal graffiti wall mentioned in the article in this lesson)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8l9m38ajN0
Read more about Banksy exhibition in Bristol here
http://browse.guardian.co.uk/search?search=Bristol+banksy&sitesearch-radio=guardian
This site shows a video of Banksy painting in Palestine
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZK7D6WqzR0
This site helps you create your own graffiti to print out
http://graffiticreator.wordpress.com/2008/07/10/wwwgraffiticreatornet/
This site tells you about using arts and crafts with young learners
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/arts-crafts-with-young-learners
This site is a lesson about music, including hip-hop
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/languag-eassistants/essential-uk/music
By Sally Trowbridge
| Attachment | Size |
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| grafitti.pdf | 57.38 KB |
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Comments
Thanks to add the link to the video of the graff we did at DPM Park in Dundee.
I've added a tutorial (how to do a graffiti piece) on my blog, also the writers bench page that might contain interesting information, please check them out, and let me know if it could be useful for your class and your students.
Best
Marc
fresh paint workshop
Great idea, hopefully something that the kids will actually find interesting, but question 6 in the quiz doesn't make sense. What is it supposed to be asking?
TE Team
Thanks for spotting the typo! Question 6 in the quiz should say 'What does giraffiti mean?'. It' s a type of graffiti so high up that only a giraffe could have done it!
Aha, thank you!