Fifth-graders at McKinley School got to step away from the usual reading, writing and arithmetic for a special lesson from an artist creating a massive mural in Connecticut.

Ellen Griesedieck is creating a mural saluting American work that, when finished, will be 120 feet wide, 10 feet deep and 5 stories tall. The mural is so large that an old mill in Winsted has to be renovated just to hold it.

Griesedieck says that the mural is a unique art education opportunity.