Project Grade 3 Art & Music
Ashgrove Storm Drain Mural: A Grade 3 Public Art Project
A four-session grade 3 art project where teams design a storm drain mural with a pollution-prevention message for a fictional town, working within a fixed paint budget.
Objectives
- Students will design a storm drain mural mock-up that communicates a pollution-prevention message.
- Students will calculate a paint and materials budget using multiplication and addition within a fixed token limit.
- Students will explain how their design addresses the public problem of storm drain pollution.
Vocabulary
- Storm drain
- A storm drain is the grate at the edge of a street that swallows rainwater and sends it through pipes to the nearest creek or river. That water is usually not treated, so only rain belongs down the drain.
Teacher overview
In Ashgrove (a fictional town used for this project), the storm drains along Main Street lead straight to Ashgrove Creek without passing through any treatment plant, so anything washed or dumped into a storm drain flows directly into the water where people fish and play. Many real cities and towns invite students and community artists to paint or stencil reminder messages near storm drains so that neighbors know where the water actually goes. Over four sessions, student teams design a mural mock-up for a spot near a Main Street storm drain, working within a fixed paint budget, and present their design to the town's public works department.
Project Brief
Driving question: How can we design a storm drain mural that tells neighbors "Drains to Creek"? It must fit a 3-foot by 2-foot sidewalk space. It must also stay within a 15-token paint budget.
Scenario: Ashgrove Public Works is a made-up town department. It has asked student teams to design a mural. The mural goes on the sidewalk next to a storm drain on Main Street. It reminds neighbors where the drain water goes. Anything poured into the drain flows straight into Ashgrove Creek.
Constraints:
- Budget: 15 art tokens total. The tokens are made up for this project. Each paint color costs 3 tokens. Each paintbrush costs 1 token. Stencil material costs 2 tokens.
- Size: the finished design must fit within a 3-foot by 2-foot sidewalk space.
- Message: the design must include the words "Drains to Creek" and no more than 8 extra words.
- Format: teams will not paint on real pavement. Instead, each team makes a poster-board mock-up. It is drawn to show the 3-by-2-foot space.
Final deliverable: A poster-board mock-up of the mural design. A budget sheet listing every item bought and its token cost. A short written explanation for Ashgrove Public Works. It covers the design and its message.
Milestones
Session 1 — Learn and sketch: Teams talk about why the "Drains to Creek" message matters. They look at real storm drain art programs. Each team sketches two rough ideas. Each team also lists the exact words its design will use. Output: two thumbnail sketches and a list of message words.
Session 2 — Choose a design and set the budget: Teams pick their stronger sketch. They choose paint colors, brushes, and stencil materials. Teams add up the total token cost. They check that it is 15 tokens or fewer. Output: a completed budget sheet and a refined sketch.
Session 3 — Build the mock-up: Teams build their full poster-board mock-up. It is sized to show the 3-by-2-foot sidewalk space. Teams use their chosen colors and message. Output: a completed poster-board mock-up.
Final session (Session 4) — Present to Public Works: Teams show the class their mock-up, budget sheet, and short written explanation. One student plays Ashgrove Public Works. Teams explain how the design meets the size, budget, and message rules. Output: final presentation and written explanation.
From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.
Rubric
| Criterion | Emerging | Developing | Proficient | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design quality | Design is incomplete or difficult to read from a short distance | Design includes the required message but colors or layout make it hard to notice | Design is clear, readable, and fits the 3-by-2-foot space | Design is clear, readable, and uses color or layout choices the team can explain a reason for |
| Message & civic purpose | Design does not include "Drains to Creek" or misses the point of the project | Design includes "Drains to Creek" but the explanation does not connect it to storm drain pollution | Design includes "Drains to Creek" plus 8 or fewer additional words, and the explanation connects it to storm drain pollution | Design and explanation clearly connect the message to storm drain pollution and anticipate a question a neighbor might ask |
| Budget constraint | Total cost exceeds 15 tokens with no correction | Total cost is close to 15 tokens but not shown with an itemized list | Total cost is 15 tokens or fewer, shown with an itemized list of every item purchased | Total cost is 15 tokens or fewer, itemized, with an explanation of a tradeoff the team made to stay within budget |
| Presentation | Presentation is incomplete or difficult to follow | Presentation covers the design but not the reasoning behind it | Presentation clearly explains how the design meets the size, budget, and message constraints | Presentation clearly explains all three constraints and anticipates a likely question from Public Works |
Differentiation
Support (below grade level)
Provide a completed example budget sheet (2 colors, 2 brushes, 1 stencil) with its total already calculated, so teams can check their own math against a model. Offer a short bank of extra-word choices (such as "Only Rain," "Keep It Clean," or "Protect Our Creek") for teams that need help staying within the 8-word limit.
Extension (above grade level)
Ask teams to design a second, smaller version of their mural sized for a storm drain marker (a small metal disk instead of a sidewalk stencil), and to explain what design choices they would need to change to fit the smaller space while keeping the same message.
ELL supports
Provide the required message ("Drains to Creek") and a small set of extra words as picture-and-word cards teams can arrange and rearrange before committing to a final design. Allow the final written explanation to include labeled sketches alongside shorter sentences rather than full paragraphs.
Extensions
Invite someone from the town or city's public works or stormwater department to look at photos of the finished mock-ups and share, in simple terms, what really happens to water that enters a storm drain in your own community.