Description
Each student will work to make a poster that tells all about themselves! This is the first day of a four-part project. The students will be working on setting up their All About Me poster and painting a background that will display their name. (A visual display of this first portion of the ongoing project can be found in the Additional Notes section).
Supplies
- Posters (one per student)
- Variety of colors of washable paint
- Cups for water
- Small paper plates
- Painter’s tape
- Paint brushes or sponges
- Optional: Art smocks or garbage bags with holes cut out for head and arms to keep clothes clean
How to Play
- Prep Work: Take the poster board and lay it down horizontally so you have the longer side to write the student’s name. Use the painter’s tape to write out each student’s name or initials on the shiny side of the poster board and along the top, long edge of the board. Only tape the student’s name at the top of the poster, because there are three more activities that will be put on the lower half of the poster. Put water in the cups for students to use to wash their brushes. Put a variety of paint colors on each plate for each student to use.
- Explain to the students that they are making All About Me posters! Everyone is unique so at the end, everyone’s All About Me poster will look different and should be a reflection of yourself!
- Tell your group that today we are working on the heading of the All About Me poster with their name and designing the background. The goal is to paint all around their taped name so that when the tape is removed their name is shown in white.
- Challenge your group to try their hardest to fill the entire All About Me poster with different colors and to work hard to keep paint only on the poster. Encourage the group to use different brushes and different strokes to make the poster even more unique. It’s okay for students to paint on the tape because the tape will be removed after the paint dries.
- When finished, show them where to move their artwork somewhere safe to dry.
- Make sure to set aside time, in the end, to clean up the supplies and allow time to wash the paint off their hands.
Activity Prompts for Reflection
- What is one emotion you felt during this activity?
- Is painting a strength of anyone? Does anyone else have an artistic strength they want to tell the group?
- Was there anything you would do differently next time if we did this activity again?
- Can someone share with me one unique thing about themselves that they want to include on their All About Me poster?
Other Ways to Play
- Use markers instead of paint to draw over and around the painter’s tape.
- Write the student’s name in block lettering with a pencil and have him/her trace it in marker and then decorate the remainder of their All About Me poster.
- Allow students to use tape to make other stripe designs on the rest of the All About Me poster and background design.
- Have students think of adjectives or emotions that start with the same letters in their names. For example, Joyful Jessica or Active Aidan.
Additional Notes
- Use the SEL Activity Prompts to tie other SEL competencies to this activity.
- Recommend setting up All About Me posters with taped names ahead of time and having the plates with paint on them ready to go, but waiting to pass out paint and other supplies until all instructions are given so students are not distracted by supplies.
- Put down a tablecloth to make sure the table or surface does not get too messy.
- Other parts to this activity:
