Third Grade Students are Muralists for a Day

Third grade students at Monsignor Slade recently read a passage in their  English Language Arts textbook, Wonders, about Judy Baca, a famous American mural artist.  This non-fiction reading supplement in the McGraw-Hill Wonders series offered the students opportunities to learn about the accomplishments of an artist who has had significant impact on popular culture in California.

 After moving as a young child, Judy attended a school where she could not speak Spanish, only English; when Judy struggled to understand lessons in school her teacher would give her the opportunity to paint or draw  Judy began to love art.  She studied art in college. After college, while working for the city of Los Angeles, Judy taught teenagers in a neighborhood where different groups of teens did not get along. Deciding to help them work together, Judy invited 20 teens to help her create a mural.  As they did so, they put aside their differences. The mural, called Mi Abuelita, depicted a Mexican American grandmother with open arms; it became a symbol of unity for the community.

Following the success of the Mi Abuelita mural, Judy started a city wide program to encourage and help people to paint murals throughout Los Angeles. In 1976, Baca created a mural known as the Great Wall of Los Angeles. The mural tells the history of the city and shows how many different cultures have contributed to the city.  It depicts the Native American people of the area; the arrival of the Spanish. It shows the stories of immigrants and how some were treated poorly.  It also illustrates black and Hispanic people fighting for equal rights. The mural is a half-mile long and one of the longest murals in the world. More than 400 people contributed to the artwork from 1976 - 1983.  Many were teenagers from different backgrounds.

After reading about Judy Baca, third grade students were inspired and decided to create a mural depicting the story of their class at Monsignor Slade.  The students spent a class period discussing what might symbolize their class and school. The next day, they worked together to combine each individual’s contribution into a mural expressing their excitement and anticipation for the school year ahead!