Postsecrets
An 11th Grade Joint Project in Reading & Graphic Design
Postsecret is an ongoing community mail project created by Frank Warren in 2005. People mail their secrets anonymously on a homemade postcard. They decorate a postsecret with writing, images, words, colors, and symbols to express a secret that they have never told anyone. The secret must be truthful and never told to anyone before. Many of the secrets are about trauma, sexuality, gender, family, dysfunction, and shame. Sometimes the confessions are sad, funny, ridiculous, strange, or embarrassing. Warren believes that the postcards are inspirational for those who read and healing for those who write them. He also says that when a person identifies and relates with a secret, it gives them hope and makes them feel less alone.
For the OIHS Postsecret Project, students wrote anonymous secrets and were given each others’ to create a postcard and write a background story. In Reading class, students have been working on inferences - going beyond the author’s words to understand what is not said in the text. They use schema + textual evidence to create stories around their classmates’ Postsecrets. In Graphic Design class, students have been working on how to communicate visually, using graphic design elements such as type, line, shape, image, and color. Students have been using graphic design platforms such as Canva, Sketchpad, and Illustrator to create original graphic designs.
