What comes to mind when you hear the word "graffiti"? Is it positive or negative? It’s actually a positive graphic organizer for critical thinking/reflection, if used properly. See the example below of how a group of students used the Graffiti Board as part of their reading activity.

Graffiti Board Example:

Note: Click on the image above to get a clearer picture of the graphic organizer.

Materials/Procedures for Graffiti Board*

*A large sheet of brainstorming chart paper

*A marker for each person

Directions:

1. Students engage in some type of shared experience, such as reading from a particular Text Set or shared book set, exploring a particular concept, or participating in a science observation.

2. During the shared experience, students sit in small groups at tables with a large piece of brainstorming paper in the middle of the table. At various points throughout the experience, students are invited to stop and write their observations and reflections on the paper in the form of graffiti. Each person takes his or her own corner of the paper and works alone, sketching and writing images, words, and phrases that come to mind. There is no particular order or organization to these images and words. They are simply added randomly to the graffiti board.

3. Students within each small group share their graffiti entries with each other and use these to identify issues and connections to begin a dialogue or to create a more organized web, chart, or diagram of their connections, either in the small group or as a whole class.

*Source: Creating Classrooms for Authors and Inquirers by K. Short, J. Harste, C. Burke