Brooke Wharton - brookelyn.wharton@gmail.

com

Big Read Arts integration Prompts and Projects:

Note: When looking at these, please consider the age-level of your students. That is up to your
discretion. These projects are meant to fit within a unit/theme that uses a Big Read novel; you
may substitute novels. However, the art projects should not stand alone. They should be apart of
a larger question, theme, or unit.

Painting/Drawing
When reading, When the Emperor Was Divine, students may not understand exactly
how harsh the conditions are for the characters. Have them draw a scene from the train
car with as much detail as possible. Students will benefit from visualizing the
environment that the family lived in.
When reading To Kill a Mockingbird, ask students to visualize a scene from what they
have read so far in their mind. Then, ask students to pair this scene with a quote from the
text and illustrate it. (Note: this quote should not be from the same scene). This activity
helps students to recognize themes that re-occur throughout the novel and helps them to
make these connections. Idea based on Eisenkraft (1999)
After When the Emperor Was Divine, ask students to make a flip book on how a theme
develops throughout the novel. Based on Wang (2015).
Have students place themselves in a scene drawing from When the Emperor Was Divine
(Willhelm, 1995). What kind of character are they? What are they wearing? What are
they doing in the scene? How do they interact with the characters?
Ask students to respond to a writing prompt through watercolors...a prompt for When
the Emperor Was Divine could be: Why does the author choose not to give the
characters names in this story?
Ask students to make two flip books of their story: one told from their point of view and
one told from another, more powerful individuals point of view. Then, ask them to make
flip books for the familys story in When the Emperor Was Divine, one told from the
families point of view and one told from a more powerful figures.
Ask students to paint one of the letters from the book (not the text, but the images and
feelings that the letter evokes, or a scene in which the letter is set, etc.).

Clay/3D Art
Have students create cut-outs or find objects that [will] represent important characters,
settings, forces, or ideas that [play] a part in their reading of a particular story or
episode. (Willhelm, 1995, p .479). They can also make cut-outs of themselves to enter
into the story, what they did, noticed, felt, saw, how they moved and related to other
characters (Willhelm, 1995, p. 479).
 Ask your students to consider the social inequality in To Kill a Mockingbird and how
that may be relevant to the present. They are to take a scene from the novel and relate it
to a present day event, and then create a diorama of that event contrasted next to the
book event.

Mosaic/Collage
While reading To Kill a Mockingbird ask students to create a collage of one of the
symbols in the book. What colors they choose, whether or not they choose to include
words, the types of lines, etc. all matter. They will have to write a one-page write up
explaining their artistic choices, or you can have them do presentations
Have your students use collage to depict some of the objects in When the Emperor Was
Divine as symbols.
Make collages about the enduring human spirit after discussing this concept in class.
Go over what a collage looks like and how you can use different pieces to create meaning
in the piece.

Photography
Do a photography project on the enduring human spirit as it is represented in the
books. The students should take a picture that represents something they have endured
in their story. Then, make a photo collage with your whole class and examine how the
pieces work together and how they might add to the literature.
What is an american? Create a photography collage in your classroom from pictures that
students take of american things. As a class, attempt to synthesize what you see in front
of you at the end. Have each student provide an explanation for why they took their
photo a certain way or why they took if of that american aspect.
Focus on perspective. This novel is told from multiple different point of views. Have the
class take photos that show how things can be seen in multiple different ways, but still
have the same pieces. Connect this to When the Emperor Was Divine by showing that
each character experienced and witness their journey to the camp and back differently,
and how history can often be seen differently by different people.

Open-ended
Have students do a detailed (not necessarily facially accurate) portrait of a character
from To Kill a Mockingbird with explanation as to why they made the character a certain
way.
Ask your students to create a piece of art about To Kill a Mockingbird to show what they
have learned. Note that the assignment does not tell students WHAT to make, HOW to
make it, or what aspects of the novel to include.
You could tell them you want them to consider the symbols or metaphors in the
novel, or ask them to create a piece of art based on a particular question that the
novel tries to answer.
 Ask your students to create a piece of art based on a theme in When the Emperor was
Divine.
For these examples, you could make it a little less broad by having students to
project proposals which they have to get approved by you before they continue.
This may eliminate some confusion and some failure. (Michaels, 2009)
Challenge students to associate writing elements with the elements of art. How would
this translate into a painting/drawing about the poetic language in the When the
Emperor Was Divine?

Community-oriented tactics
Allow students to work together while they create art.
Put students in groups of four to analyze each others pieces of art, ask questions, and
describe what is going on in each piece. Then, have them present to the class what they
discovered from discussing each others pieces of art.
Hold a gallery in your classroom or community. This will spark deep and meaningful
conversations about art and literature.

Arts-oriented tactics
Have a local artist or the art teacher come to your class to talk about how to use a
medium that you will be using in your class.
Pull up a YouTube video to show students how to use a specific medium. Prior to this
make sure that you have mastered the concepts in the YouTube video.

References
Eisenkraft, S.L. (1999). A gallery of visual responses: Artwork in the literature classroom.
English Journal, 88(4), 95-102.

Michaels, J.R. (2009). Reimagining Coleridges Rime of the Ancient Mariner through visual
and performing arts projects. English Journal, 99(2), 48-54.

Wang, E. (2015). Art as meaning-making in a secondary school english classroom: A secret

compartment book project on Toni Morrisons B eloved. English Journal, 104(5), 79-87.

Willhelm, J.D. (1995). Reading is seeing: Using visual response to improve the literary reading
of reluctant readers. Journal of Reading Behavior, 27(4), 467-503.