In Denise Maples intro to art classes, students have not been working on a “traditional” art piece. Instead, students worked together in groups to create mouse houses for their spaces and places unit. The assignment was to design a mouse and make a house out of scraps. 

“I thought [the mouse house project] would be perfect for our unit because you had to make a place for a particular type of mouse and then decide what space you were going to place it at around the school,” Maples said.

Students used different materials that Maples had around her room to design their mouse house. Most students used cardboard and different types of scraps  to create the project. 

“My favorite one that a group did was Donna the Malk Mouse and had it dressed in her lab gear and designed the house like her classroom,” Maples said.

In most art classes, projects that students work on is mostly individual and is more focused on one medium and general idea. The mouses houses let students be more creative since the possibilities were endless on the type of house to make.

“I liked this project because I used things I normally would not use in art class and I got to create different things like the mouse which I normally would not do,” freshman McKenna O’ Connor said.

Maples found that having group projects has helped students be able to work together and find something for everyone in the group that they are good at. Maples tries to make her projects fun and approachable so everyone can have a say and contribute.

“In group projects, I make sure I throw out different jobs for others to do so maybe you’re not the best drawer so instead you come up with the idea,” Maples said. “I think they had fun making the houses and I didn’t know if it would be too silly and it actually went pretty well.”