Projects based on Baltimore City and the surrounding community will help build on the background and prior knowledge that the BCPS students have of their community. Community-centered projects can also help build community and city pride. Studying places that “hit close to home” should help increase student engagement and motivation to learn about the different subjects covered in their classes.

Baltimore City, Maryland has a rich, colorful, artistic culture and many, different, diverse neighborhoods.

Whether documenting the architecture, skyline, people or urban landscapes, cities have been the focus of many artists throughout art history. Cities have been depicted using many different styles and types of media.

‘Café Terrace at Night’ 1888

‘Going Downtown’ 2010

‘The Dove’ 1964

‘The Block II” 1972

‘Our Town’ 1995

‘Garden Party’ 2003

‘ Bolton Hill’ 2010

Information Unavailable, private collection

Students will create cityscapes and sky lines on canvases or paper provided. They will create symbols that represent the different parts of the city they are studying to show the culture, landmarks and geography of the different neighborhoods using collage, colored paper, paint, glue, and crayons. Students are encouraged to bring in their own photographs, limited to four.

Glue Crayons Paint Tape Colored paper Scissors Magazine images/cut outs Canvas or 8 by 11 paper Wall-sized sheets of paper Map of Baltimore Images of Baltimore for inspiration!

This unit on the urban landscape of the Baltimore City community will focus on the eclectic neighborhoods such as Charles Village, Federal Hill, Fells Point, Caton, Druid Hill, etc. Other areas of interest that could be included are the universities (Johns Hopkins, Morgan State), landmarks and transportation systems such as Lexington Market, City Hall, the ballparks, art museums, light rail system and Inner Harbor. This particular lesson focuses on the Inner Harbor as it is a geometric, colorful landmark that could feature the Aquarium and boats in the harbor.

The end product will be the classes own brightly colored (wall sized) map of Baltimore City, Maryland telling stories about the different neighborhoods, landmarks and geography of the culturally diverse city. Students think about the uniqueness and special attributes of their own community and city as well as get a better understanding of the geography and culture of Baltimore.

Thinking about this image above and the paintings/artists/techniques you just saw, what traits or characteristics would you want to incorporate into your cityscape of the Baltimore Harbor?