Graffiti Castle, 4th Grade

This lesson was inspired after Kelburn Castle (also known as the Graffiti Castle), in Scotland. In 2007, the owners of the castle were told that the facade was going to have to be replaced. Before completely replacing the facade, they invited graffiti artists to paint their castle. This beautiful castle was the inspiration for our castle drawings this year. Last year, I did a similar castle project with the students, but this year I changed it a bit. Last year it was a completely black and white castle, while this year we added color. I really liked how these turned out. I started this lesson by giving the students stencils for the pillars of the castles. The stencils were in many shapes and sizes. Students then chose where to put their pillars and created their castle. The castle was first drawn in pencil, and then outlined with black marker. After the castle was created, students got to graffiti their castle. I encouraged students to put different patterns on each pillar. I also showed them how they could use both thick and thin lines for their designs. Once the patterns were drawn with black marker, they used crayons to color their castle. My students did an absolutely amazing job on these castles. They seemed to be extremely focused while working on this project. Usually my fourth graders are a very chatty group of kids. However, while working on this project, they were completely silent (and I didn't even ask them to be!). They were so focused on making perfect castles, that no one said a word. It was WONDERFUL! I just wish every class went this smooth.