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Students adding post-it notes to a white board.
Teaching Strategy

Graffiti Boards

Help students process their thoughts and emotions on a topic by engaging them in a written conversation with their classmates.

Subject

  • Advisory
  • English & Language Arts
  • History
  • Social Studies

Grade

6–12

Language

English — US

Published

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About This Teaching Strategy

Graffiti Boards are a shared writing space (e.g., a large sheet of paper or whiteboard) where students record their comments and questions about a topic. The purpose of this strategy is to help students “hear” each other’s ideas. Some benefits of this strategy include that it can be implemented in five to ten minutes, it provides a way for shy students to engage in the conversation, it creates a record of students’ ideas and questions that can be referred to at a later point, and it gives students space and time to process emotional material. You can use the Graffiti Boards strategy as a preview activity by introducing a new topic and helping students to organize any existing knowledge about that topic. You can also use this strategy to prepare for a class discussion or writing assignment about a text by asking students to share their reactions to the text on the Graffiti Board.

Graffiti Boards Classroom Example

See our graffiti boards classroom strategy in action in the classroom.

JENNY STAYSNIAK: The Graffiti Board Strategy is a great way to get everyone involved in the lesson, particularly those who might be a little on the shy side or quiet side. So you have students typically come to one big space. If you have one large chalkboard, it's perfect-- or a whiteboard. So I have students all come to the chalkboard. They grab a piece of chalk. And it's centered around a prompt. So I'm asking them, I want you to just brainstorm. Write down all the ideas you can think of as fast as you can. And in the words of graffiti or tagging the board, right? So you're writing down all your thoughts on the board, and you're observing what other people are writing. It's a little chaotic, but it's fun. And students get into it. If you have a limited amount of space, what I ask to do is have students take a step back and let others move forward. And while you're taking a step back, to observe what everyone's writing. So at the end, what you should have is a representation of all these different thoughts. Though silent, in terms of speaking, is very much the voice of students. And it gets people really brainstorming together and playing off one another's ideas and threads. So I think the Graffiti Board Strategy is an excellent way to really get those quieter students involved. But also to have maybe a student who's on opposite side of the classroom talking to one another through writing, that maybe for an entire month, if that's the seating chart, they don't get to talk during class. And I really like students to be able to rotate who they're communicating with and who they're bouncing ideas off of. And the Graffiti Board is a great way to do that. I'm going to ask you to all come up to the chalkboard. And we have a variety of colors. Yes? I want you to choose a piece of chalk, and I want you to, as fast as you can with the little time we have remaining, I want you to write down just all the ideas you have in your brain. Just get them out there about what you might want to do for your memorial. Questions? All right. Come on up. [CHATTER] Once you write something down, maybe take a step back too so someone else can get in there. And then when you take a step back, feel free to maybe look over shoulders and read what people have written. I'm seeing some great stuff. I see barbed wire handcuffs, freedom, a child alone behind bars. [CHATTER, LAUGHTER] I see isolation. Mirror that says free on one side and guilty on the other. That is good. [CHATTER] Something with prison cells and bars, cell numbers. STUDENT 1: So wait. What's that say? JENNY STAYSNIAK: Freedom? Freedom. [CHATTER] So breaking down a wall between the two sides. If you have any other thoughts, go on up there. If you did take a step back already, make sure you're reading what you see. And remember, this is a collective effort like our class is collective, right? So even though you're all going to have individual projects, play off of one another's strengths and ideas. I see something going on with the 13th Amendment there, which makes me super happy because we learned so much about the 13th Amendment and its effect on the prison system today. [CHATTER, LAUGHTER] I see a lot of different materials up here. I see glass frequently. What are some of the trends we see? Anyone? SIOBHAN: Breaking things down. LYDIA: Inside of prison. JENNY STAYSNIAK: Siobhan just said, breaking things down. Lydia said, what's happening inside of prisons. STUDENT 2: Parentless children. JENNY STAYSNIAK: Parentless children. Things we've been talking about, right? What else do we see? STUDENT 3: Lack of freedom. JENNY STAYSNIAK: A lack of freedom. STUDENT 4: A lot of barbed wire and just prison cells. JENNY STAYSNIAK: Handcuffs, barbed wires, and prison cells. STUDENT 5: Race. JENNY STAYSNIAK: Rights. STUDENT 6: Race. JENNY STAYSNIAK: Oh, yes. Race. Lydia added race to this. We have to always keep in mind definitely the racial discrimination when it comes to the prison industrial complex. Isn't that beautiful? STUDENT 7: Mm-hmm. JENNY STAYSNIAK: All right. Why don't you have a seat? LYDIA: Empathy. JENNY STAYSNIAK: Did everyone hear what Lydia just said? STUDENT 8: No, what'd she say? JENNY STAYSNIAK: She said empathy. STUDENT 9: Oh, my gosh. STUDENT 10: Where did you write it? JENNY STAYSNIAK: So in just those two minutes, look at this beautiful creation of ideas that you've all come up with. STUDENT 11: We can post that but with our pictures. JENNY STAYSNIAK: Well, I'm going to take a picture of this so that we have it as a historical record of the narrative of this project. Are you all excited to make it? STUDENTS: Yeah. JENNY STAYSNIAK: All right. And I'm really excited that the graffiti board, how well they played off of each other. I think it was nice how they all just gave each other space and stepped back. It took a little bit of work for me to say, all right, take a step back and re-enter the space and look at what everyone's looking at. But I was happily surprised how well and fluid the whole graffiti board worked.

Steps for Implementation

Step 1: Prepare the Space

You will need a large space in your room where several students (the more the better) can write at the same time. Some teachers cover a section of the wall with butcher or chart paper, while others use a whiteboard or chalkboard. You will also need plenty of pens and markers. For this activity, markers work better than pens or pencils because they allow students’ comments to be read from a distance. It is best if you supply one for each student.

Step 2: Contract with Students

Before the activity begins, contract with the students in terms of what an appropriate response is and how to express one's discomfort with something in an appropriate way. Students should be told that they are to remain silent during this activity. Make sure students know that several of them can write at once. Students can write their own response to the prompt as well as respond to the questions and ideas that other students have written. They should draw lines connecting their comments to those of other students. Some teachers require all students to post at least one question or comment to the Graffiti Board.

Step 3: Students Comment on Graffiti Board

Students are invited to write comments and questions on the Graffiti Board. It is typical for most students to be standing near the Graffiti Board during this activity so that they can more easily read and comment on what has been written. Writing on the board often starts out slow and then increases as the board comes to contain more comments that elicit student response. Typically, teachers give students five to ten minutes for silent writing on the Graffiti Board, but the activity can go longer if students are still writing.

Step 4: Hold a Group Discussion

The ideas on the Graffiti Board make an effective springboard for a discussion. You could begin a conversation by asking students to summarize what they see on the board or what they notice about areas of agreement and disagreement.

Variations

Like the Big Paper strategy, the Graffiti Board strategy can be effective after a powerful, emotional conversation, video, guest speaker, or reading. While the Big Paper strategy is good for emotional and intellectual processing, Graffiti Boards are better for debriefing something that has really shaken up the students. It can be a helpful technique when you want to avoid analytical or intellectual discussions and allow students to process emotion. This strategy might be useful in situations such as these:

  • After watching a politician give a speech
  • After seeing graphic footage
  • After hearing from a witness to violence or a survivor
  • After hearing hate speech After having someone share a powerful personal story

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