Tricia Fuglestad's Blog

Celebrating Black History with LEGOS

3/17/2014

Thanks to our ABC/25 grant and supplemental funding from Edbacker.com we have a reusable collaborative lego wall. Last year's rotational symmetry challenge was so engaging and fun that we wrote it up for School Arts Magazine. See it here.
This year's challenge will be both fun and informative. Students will be recreating the faces of four important figures from our history while learning more about the important role African Americans have played in shaping the arts, civics, sports, and politics for everyone in the United States. We hope to use this PBSkids interactive game to match faces to events. See how you do at this game.
Unfortunately, it requires Flash and doesn't work on mobile devices.

Download the black history lego mural lessons

PhotoBrick Portraits from Tricia Fuglestad on Vimeo.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Faith Ringgold

Harriet Tubman

Jackie Robinson

I used an app called PhotoBricks to create a custom LEGO mosaic that matches the size, number of plates, and color schemes we have available in the art room. Then, I uploaded the images I made to Blockposters.com so I can print them out as guides (see example).

Additional resources:
BrainPop: Underground Railroad (requires password)
BrainPop: Martin Luther King Jr. (free)
BrainPop: Jackie Robinson (requires password)
Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold (video by ArtGirlJan)
BrainPop: Fredrick Douglass (requires password)
BrainPop: Black History Spotlight (many choices-need password)
PBS video about LEGO ART (free-5:45 minutes)

Print out of PhotoBrick image enlarged from Blockposters.com (one brick=one brick)

Download the MLKjr Lego Mural Lesson

Click to download a 13 page lesson and print out to help you create the MLKjr Lego mural

See us at work here:

https://twitter.com/fuglefun/status/445593948959301632

https://twitter.com/fuglefun/status/445623701674143744

https://twitter.com/fuglefun/status/445582972822253568

The first three were finished during day 2.

5th graders working on our #LEGO mural in #artsed class @drydenschool https://t.co/91uy3oaxbx
— Tricia Fuglestad (@fuglefun) March 17, 2014

Working on our #LEGO mural in #artsed Class @drydenschool https://t.co/n3sXB1YA8J
— Tricia Fuglestad (@fuglefun) March 17, 2014

5th grade LEGO Mural collaboration https://t.co/RCoPTAdATX
— Tricia Fuglestad (@fuglefun) March 17, 2014

Working on our @drydenschool collaborative #lego murals in 5th grade https://t.co/EcQPfkW34M
— Tricia Fuglestad (@fuglefun) March 19, 2014

Update May 12th: Added Oprah!

2 Comments

Steve Blais

4/5/2014 04:23:03 am

Absolutely amazing.. So much potential with Legos

tricia fuglestad

4/5/2014 04:30:22 am

Yes! It's an easy way to sneak in some math while students problem-solve and collaborate to make art:)

About Me

Tricia Fuglestad, NBCT,
is the K-5 art teacher at Dryden Elementary School in Arlington Heights, IL. with a masters in K-12 technology integration. Tricia has been recognized for her innovative teaching in 2010 with the PBS Teachers Innovation Award, won Illinois Art Teacher of the Year in 2011, awarded Teacher of Distinction in 2012 by the Golden Apple Foundation, received Western Region Elementary Art Teacher of the Year 2013, selected to become a Jacobs Educator 2014-15, was presented with the NAEA Art Technology Outstanding Community Service Award in 2016, honored with the ISTE Teacher Educator Network Tech in Action award, 2018, and won an Art Education Leadership Award via Artsonia in 2019. Learn more here.