Literary Graffiti

Teaching high school students to visualize what they are reading and to create graphic symbols helps them develop as readers. The Literary Graffiti interactive combines the process of drawing with analytical thinking about a text by pairing an online drawing space with writing prompts (shown at left) that encourage students to make connections between their visual designs and the text. The tool can be used for whole-class discussion of a text, small-group work, or individually, where students use "graffiti," symbols, drawings, shapes, and colors to construct a graphic of the text they are reading. After completing their individual or group images, students have the ability to print out their final versions for feedback and assessment.