Graphic Arts Unit: Leave No Trace or as one of my students said, “Don’t be Trashy, Be Classy!”

 Post by Lori DeMark Harmony Middle School

One of the things I take away from the TTEC pedagogy is how I can make an impact in my classroom with my students on a daily basis. What small step can I make that will impact the bigger picture? My Harmony colleague and TTEC partner, Nancy and I decided that we wanted the common thread through our curriculum and Harmony Hikes Club to be the Leave No Trace Principles. In the classroom we would focus on the principles that would impact our school environment and in the club we would focus more regionally with the Appalachian Trail.

I introduced my 8th grade art students to the Leave No Trace Principles. We compared being on the Appalachian Trail with walking down our school hall or being in the cafeteria. What principles could we address in our school community? We narrowed the seven principles down to two, “Trash Your Trash” and “Leave It as You Find It.”

My students had previously completed a Typography Unit and had a great base to build on for our Graphic Arts Leave No Trace Poster Design. First, we brainstormed possible phrases and images students could use in their design , then students created a rough draft of their idea, we discussed their designs, and refined their text, images, and layout before they created their final design.

7th grade art students were also introduced to the Leave No Trace Principles, they also worked on a graphic arts unit. Their end result was to create a Leave No Trace inspired button. Students worked through design sketches involving typography and layout before creating their final design. As part of American Education Week (November 18-22), students will wear their buttons at school to kick off our school wide Leave No Trace campaign.  After the poster designs and buttons were completed students in 7th and 8th grade completed a rubric and art statement as a reflective assessment of their work.

8th Grade LNT posters are displayed throughout the school and one design from each class was selected for enlargement to display in our cafeteria. Now we begin our environmental stewardship campaign. In addition to displaying posters in our school, we will display posters at the AT kiosk at Bear’s Den, Bluemont , VA. Artwork should be installed before the end of November.

Thank you TTEC for the inspiration!