Hey there! I hope your weekend was awesome — I know mine was.
On today’s agenda we explored puppets, the modes, methods, materials, and more. It’s something I have absolutely no experience in and have never necessarily been interested in. So, when Barrington began with that, I wasn’t sure how to feel but, I like to think of myself as pretty open minded so I went with it. Suddenly, I became pretty interested in what was being talked about and even excited to start my own.
I started with sketching and brainstorming key attributes that make me, ME. Thinking about my hair, earrings, style, etc. in order to make my puppet look identifiable to me. I’m even going to give my puppet roller skates — a sport/activity I’ve done since I was a kid. Because I could relate this assignment to my own interests and niches I think it made me more attached to the idea and made the project more relevant. Which is why I think it’s a great seed for lesson ideas. Speaking of which, let’s see what I whipped up this week;
LESSON CONCEPT #1 The Habit Machine
1. Assignment Connection
Puppet Building: Doppelgänger Self-Portrait
2. Key Question
What everyday behaviors reveal who we are?
3. Primary Understanding & Learning Goals
Students will understand that identity is communicated not only through appearance but through repeated actions, gestures, habits, and routines.
Students will investigate how small behaviors can become forms of self-portraiture.
4. Technical Objectives
Students will:
Observe and document personal habits.
Identify a repetitive gesture that reflects part of their identity.
Design and build a simple puppet or kinetic object that performs that behavior.
Present a short performance demonstrating the gesture.
5. Materials, Equipment, & Tools
Cardboard
Wire
Hot glue
Fabric scraps
Dowels
Found materials
6. Sequence of Activities
Day 1: Identify and sketch personal habits and gestures.
Day 2: Design a puppet centered around one behavior.
Day 3-4: Construct puppet.
Day 5: Perform and discuss how behavior communicates identity.
7. Formative Assessment
Behavior sketches
Design plans
Puppet prototypes
Reflection on chosen gesture
8. Artists
Jim Henson
William Kentridge
Paul Klee
LESSON CONCEPT #2 The Alter Ego
1. Assignment Connection
Puppet Building: Doppelgänger Self-Portrait
2. Key Question
Which parts of ourselves are hidden, exaggerated, or performed?
3. Primary Understanding & Learning Goals
Students will understand that identity is layered and that people often present different versions of themselves depending on context.
Students will investigate the concept of the doppelgänger as an alternative, exaggerated, or hidden self.
4. Technical Objectives
Students will:
Identify aspects of their identity that are visible or hidden.
Develop a character based on an amplified version of themselves.
Build a puppet representing that character.
Create a short performance exploring the relationship between self and alter ego.
5. Materials, Equipment, & Tools
Cardboard
Fabric
Paint
Found materials
Hot glue
Wire
6. Sequence of Activities
Day 1: Explore examples of alter egos and character identities.
Day 2: Develop character concepts and sketches.
Day 3-4: Build puppets.
Day 5: Perform short scenes and discuss identity construction.
7. Formative Assessment
Character sketches
Written character profiles
Peer feedback
Performance rehearsal
8. Artists
Nick Cave
Cindy Sherman
Jim Henson
LESSON CONCEPT #3 Self-Portrait Without a Face
1. Assignment Connection
Identity & Contemporary Self-Portrait Unit
2. Key Question
How abstract can a self-portrait become while still representing a person?
3. Primary Understanding & Learning Goals
Students will understand that self-portraiture does not require physical resemblance.
Students will investigate how objects, colors, materials, movement, and symbols can communicate identity.
Students will consider how abstraction can reveal aspects of the self that realism cannot.
4. Technical Objectives
Students will:
Identify symbols, materials, and movements connected to their identity.
Design an abstract puppet or animated object.
Create a short performance using movement rather than dialogue.
Reflect on how abstraction communicates meaning.
5. Materials, Equipment, & Tools
Mixed media materials
Fabric
Found objects
Cardboard
String
Wire
6. Sequence of Activities
Day 1: Analyze abstract and symbolic self-portraits.
Day 2: Develop symbolic representations of personal identity.
Today was my last day at Taunton High School (THS) for this school year since MassArt’s summer intensive classes have started in full swing. I can’t lie I honestly didn’t want it to end, and I’m feeling incredibly lucky and grateful for my experience so far at THS. I wish I could close out the school year with my lovely and funny students, but I am excited to see them in August.
It was such a wonderful feeling to have students verbalize and express that they love you and will miss you after you leave. Getting surprise hugs and asked to take a photo with shows me that I’ve done at least one thing right this year. It motivates me to take this summer to work on myself so that I can come back in the Fall with even more to give my students. This year has shown me the immense value in building relationships in the classroom — it goes so far and you have no idea how much you impact these students on a daily basis.
Today I spent my studio time at work at Taunton High School — as the graphic design tutor, training to be a graphic design teacher this coming Fall. I find that I learn something from my job every day, through my students, co-teachers, and administration. Whether they’re positive or negative lessons, there’s so much learning to be had in these buildings.
I start my day with my prep period which allows me to get things done for students — things like printing their work and assembling demos. And then I have interns in my second period who help us design and produce products for the school and district, today it was t-shirts and magazines.
Then for my third through fifth period I co-teach graphic design level 1 students. This week we’re working on candy design, prompting students to create unique and special candy inspired by the Willy Wonka movies. Students are using clay to make their creations and being enriched to design logos for their candy too.
My last period I have the honor of co-teaching graphic design level 2 students, which I find very enriching because their projects are usually a lot more creative and demanding. So, this is a space where I really get to challenge students and have them thinking in different capacities.
How can artists challenge systems of power when they are not allowed to permanently alter a space?
3. Primary Understanding & Learning Goals
Students will investigate how artists have developed alternative forms of street art in response to legal restrictions, surveillance, and institutional control.
Students will examine how the inability to leave permanent marks often leads to more creative and conceptually sophisticated forms of intervention.
4. Technical Objectives
Students will:
Analyze examples of graffiti, street art, and public art.
Document marks found throughout their school or community.
Categorize marks according to power structures.
Design a site-responsive temporary installation or drawing that comments on visibility and permission.
5. Materials, Equipment, & Tools
Cameras or phones
Sketchbooks
Chalk
Painter’s tape
Paper
Markers
6. Sequence of Activities
Day 1
Discussion: What counts as a legitimate mark?
Students examine examples ranging from cave paintings to graffiti tags to public monuments.
Day 2
Site walk around school.
Students document:
official signs
student marks
graffiti
announcements
memorials
Day 3-4
Students identify a location where a temporary intervention could reveal a hidden power structure.
Day 5
Students install and document their work.
7. Formative Assessment
Site observations
Sketch proposals
Written rationale
Peer discussion regarding how effectively the work addresses power
8. Artists
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Mossy Giant
Keith Haring
LESSON CONCEPT #2 Mapping Invisible Systems
1. Assignment Connection
Systems Thinking & Information Design Unit
2. Key Question
How can artists reveal invisible systems without adding permanent objects to a space?
3. Primary Understanding & Learning Goals
Students will understand that systems of power often operate invisibly through rules, routines, expectations, and social structures.
Students will investigate how schools, cities, governments, social media platforms, and communities organize behavior through hierarchical systems.
Students will learn that artists can reveal hidden structures through visual representation
Students will investigate how site-responsive artists expose hidden systems through subtle interventions.
Rather than making a mural, students create work that points viewers toward something already present but often ignored.
4. Technical Objectives
Students will:
Identify a system they participate in.
Analyze relationships between individuals, institutions, and authority.
Create a visual map of a system.
Use design strategies to communicate hierarchy and power relationships.
5. Example Interventions
Social Traffic Maps
Students use temporary chalk arrows showing how people actually move through a school versus intended routes.
Power Maps
Students identify spaces where:
students have authority
teachers have authority
administrators have authority
and create temporary visual markers highlighting those zones.
Reverse Graffiti Pathways
Students use water or cleaning techniques to reveal overlooked circulation patterns.
6. Materials, Equipment, & Tools
Sketchbooks
Large paper
Colored markers
Illustrator or Canva
Projector
7. Sequence of Activities
Day 1
Discussion: What is a system?
Students brainstorm systems they interact with:
school
social media
transportation
sports
family structures
Day 2
Students create diagrams identifying power relationships.
Day 3-5
Students transform diagrams into large-scale visual maps.
Day 6
Critique focused on clarity and interpretation.
8. Formative Assessment
Brainstorming charts
System diagrams
Draft reviews
Reflection explaining identified power structures
9. Artists
Candy Chang
LESSON CONCEPT #3 Guerrilla Kindness: Reimagining Public Space
1. Assignment Connection
Site-Specific Installation & Community Engagement Unit
2. Key Question
How can artists temporarily transform public spaces to empower others?
3. Primary Understanding & Learning Goals
Students will understand that public space is not neutral.
Artists can use temporary interventions to:
disrupt expectations
encourage participation
create community
challenge social hierarchies
Students will investigate how street artists use creativity rather than property damage to reshape experiences of shared spaces.
4. Technical Objectives
Students will:
Analyze examples of site-specific street art.
Identify underutilized or overlooked spaces.
Design temporary interventions.
Document public interaction with their work.
Possible Interventions
Yarn Bombing Transforming fences, bike racks, or trees with knitted coverings.
Plant Graffiti Using natural materials to create temporary images.
Hidden Messages Installing temporary signs that encourage reflection.
Community Prompt Walls “What should change about this space?”
Projection Art Temporary nighttime projections.
Interactive Chalk Installations Inviting participation from others.
5. Materials, Equipment, & Tools
Research materials
Sketchbooks
Presentation boards
Digital design software
6. Sequence of Activities
Day 1: Explore & Discuss
Examine examples of green graffiti, reverse graffiti, yarn bombing, and public interventions.
Discuss how artists use temporary art to challenge or reshape public space.
Conduct a site walk and identify potential locations for intervention.
Day 2: Plan
Sketch ideas and select a site.
Write a brief proposal explaining the site’s significance and intended impact.
Receive peer and instructor feedback.
Day 3: Create & Install
Create and install temporary, site-responsive interventions.
Photograph and document the work.
Day 4: Reflect & Share
Present documentation.
Discuss how the intervention engaged with power, systems, or hierarchy.
Complete a short written reflection.
7. Formative Assessment
Students document:
Their intervention.
Why they chose the site.
What system, hierarchy, or social norm they hoped to address.
