Culturally Responsive Coat of Arms Project: Fully Customizable

This is one of my favorite activities we do to start our year! I display their work all year long, and, to me, it’s the first step in making “my classroom” into “our classroom.”  Although I use it as a “getting to know you” assignment, it can be used at any time. 

Coats of Arms are most heavily associated with Europe, the first region we examine. However, I’ve incorporated resources that showcase symbols from around the world to make this more culturally responsive. It also is a better fit for our class as a whole (since we study world history and not just Europe).

As all components of this resource were created using Google Apps, so everything is entirely customizable to meet your needs. This resource included:

1. A presentation that explains what a Coats of Arms is, the goal and purpose of the assignment, examples of past student work, sentence starters, and resources showcasing the meaning of European heraldic symbols and images and symbols used across many cultures across the globe.

2. A handout containing a brief overview, a grade scale/requirement breakdown, and a place for students to create their rough draft.

3. A structured paragraph outline for students who benefit from significant support in writing a paragraph.