Walls That Speak: Using Street Art to Build Global Connections

Outline

0–10 min | Stop 1: Expression – Baltimore as the Canvas
Participants begin their journey in Baltimore, examining local murals as authentic cultural texts. Through ACTFL’s Interpretive Mode, they analyze how art communicates identity, emotion, and community.
Activity: In small groups, participants identify messages and visual vocabulary in Baltimore murals.
Focus: Connecting local culture to language learning.

10–25 min | Stop 2: Exploration – From Local to Global
Participants compare Baltimore murals with international street art, analyzing shared themes of justice, pride, and resilience through Interpersonal Mode. Using Google Slides, groups create discussion questions or prompts to help students analyze and compare cultural perspectives.
Activity: Collaborative global art comparison and reflection.
Focus: Building global awareness through authentic resources.

25–45 min | Stop 3: Culture – Design the Wall with Canva and Google Gemini
Participants design a classroom-ready task or digital mural using Canva and Google Gemini. They generate sentence frames, vocabulary supports, and creative visuals that invite students to add themselves to the cultural conversation.
Activity: Create a prototype “My Wall Speaks” mural or lesson plan.
Deliverable: Editable Global Mural Project task aligned with ACTFL modes.

45–55 min | Stop 4: Assessment – The Global Wall
Participants share their creations in a collaborative Google folder, forming a collective “Global Wall.” They discuss implementation strategies and equitable access to authentic materials.
Activity: Gallery walk and reflection on classroom application.
Focus: Presentational Mode and student self-expression.

55–60 min | Closing Reflection – My Wall Speaks
Participants complete a short Google Form reflection and leave with a digital artifact connecting language, art, identity, and global citizenship.

Outcomes

After this session, participants can:

Create authentic, ACTFL standards-based language learning tasks that connect the interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational modes through authentic resources such as street art.

Use Google products, Canva, and Gemini to design learning experiences that foster creativity, collaboration, and equitable student access to authentic cultural perspectives.

Guide students to express identity and global citizenship by producing a “Global Mural Project” that bridges their local community with target-language cultures.

Supporting research

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). (2015). World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages. Alexandria, VA: ACTFL.

Kramsch, C. (1993). Context and Culture in Language Teaching. Oxford University Press.

Coyle, D., Hood, P., & Marsh, D. (2010). CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning. Cambridge University Press.

Gay, G. (2018). Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice. Teachers College Press.

Ladson-Billings, G. (2021). Culturally Relevant Pedagogy in Practice. Teachers College Press.

Lantolf, J. P. (Ed.). (2000). Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning. Oxford University Press.

Herrera, S. G., & Murry, K. G. (2020). Mastering ESL and Bilingual Methods: Differentiated Instruction for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. Pearson.

Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching Visual Culture: Curriculum, Aesthetics, and the Social Life of Art. Teachers College Press.

UNESCO. (2023). Arts Education and Global Citizenship: Creativity as a Bridge Across Cultures.

Canva for Education (2024). Teaching with Visual Storytelling: Tools for Creativity and Collaboration.