4th Grade Peace Wall Includes Non-Violent Media

Over April vacation, teacher Kathy Jenkins watched the news about the Virginia Tech shooting and knew that her 4th grade students would be talking about it when they returned to school.  She came up with the concept of a "Wall of Peace" where students could creatively express their reactions to the shooting and develop plans for non-violence. 

One component of the Wall of Peace was a series of lists of non-violent media:

• Non-violent video games
• Non-violent movies
• Non-violent songs

What did the kids think of the project? 

Our learning from the Peace Wall will guide us through a non-violent life, and we can all teach peace. The bottom line is that we are helping people understand peace, help live a life without violence, and show that even kids can represent peace.

Kathy Jenkins has taken an important step in media literacy by encouraging her students to think about the violence they see and hear in popular culture.

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