Hero Trading Cards: Silk Screen

Sixth Grade Learning Support
Teacher Partner: Mrs. Farland
Teaching Artist: Karen Talley

How might we define heroism on a personal level? Who are the heroes in our daily lives? With the goal of personalizing the concept of heroism, students began this project by writing in their journals and discussing these questions. This dialogue then led to the students identifying people among their family and friends who exhibited heroic or admirable characteristics. Using baseball trading cards as models, students collaborated on the design of their own Hero and Heroine trading cards. By co-opting the tools of popular culture students become familiar with re-contextualizing knowledge thus the content becomes personally relevant and worth experiencing. The hand drawn portraits and text were then photo-transferred to silk screens and printed by the artist with the help of the students.