Curated OER
Behind Closed Doors
Students explore different types of doors from an artistic point of view. In this creative thinking lesson, students look at different types of architectural doors and doorways and analyze them. They create a project of a door as a...
Curated OER
Fun-Factory - NOT!
Students design a solution to a problem based on the Industrial Revolution. For this design lesson plan, students come up with architectural designs and present them to teachers in a simulated factory.
Curated OER
Lesson New Museum: Exploring the Building
Explore the possibilities of buildings, public spaces, and architectural design. Learners examine the work of SANAA architects Sejima & Nishizawa through background information, images, and guided class discussion. This lesson...
Curated OER
Dream Building: Frank Lloyd Wright 1867 – 1959
As a part of an architecture unit, 10th graders research and draw a building's exterior. They view images of buildings Frank Lloyd Wright has designed, attend lecture, conduct research on architectural design, and then draw an exterior...
Curated OER
20th Century Architecture
Discover the functional works of art found in everyday life. Modern architecture is the focus of this highly visual presentation. Works from architectural masters such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Frank Gehry, and Le Corbusier are featured. A...
Curated OER
City Streets: A Fold-up of a Street Lined with Buildings
After walking in a nearby neighborhood, have your class create this amazing city street pop-up. They study the facades of the buildings they see, focusing on geometric line, shape, and architecture. They then draw, cut, and create a city...
Curated OER
Homes of the World: Ceramic Lesson
Kids consider the various dwellings humans inhabit all over the world. They choose a home from anywhere in the world. Then they research the type of materials, designs, and structures need to build that type of home. The project ends...
Curated OER
Artists, Architects, and Architecture
The study of art and architecture are the focus of this series of lessons. The images of Robert Harris are used in the lessons as examples for youngsters to looks at. A study of architecture in different time periods ensues, then...
Curated OER
Math: The Cathedral Project
Second graders take a field trip to a nearby church or other historical building and examine it from a mathematical perspective. In groups, they calculate the seating capacity, describe the window patterns, differentiate types of...
Curated OER
Building Big and Strong
Middle and high schoolers explore the concepts of architectural rigidity. They analyze a variety of polygons, and explain why some shapes add more strength to structures than others. The PBS video, "Building Big," is utilized in this plan.
Curated OER
Distortion Unleashed
Here is a series of four lessons which examine the relationship between 3-D structures and the places in which they exist. The images of Robert Harris are used, and learners engage in a research project to look deeper into a structure of...
Curated OER
Suspended 1,353 Feet Up
With a series of pictures you are transported to Chicago's Skywalk. Read about this magnificent tourist attraction and answer the reading comprehension questions provided. Extend this activity by having your class write about other...
Curated OER
Architecture and Life Style of the Middle Class in the 1800's
Fifth graders are briefed by representatives of the Arlington Historical Society on the history of the area. After visiting the area themselves, they make a chart or take photographs to show what they have learned.
Curated OER
Architectural Letters
Have your class construct their own architectural letter. This art project focuses on architecture, or the art of building. You can connect this activity to a biography activity. Your class can decorate their initial to reflect their...
Curated OER
Be a Building Detective!
Students participate in an in-depth study of a historic building in their community. They conduct a visual survey of the building, complete a worksheet, take a rubbing of the building, and research the history of the building.
Curated OER
"Construction Work" Art Activity
Students explore architectural styles and define architectural terms. They construct a building using various architectural elements, and display their buildings, identifying each of the architectural components they used.
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Towers and Turrets
A lesson on architecture will help young artists consider perspective. Your class will use water colors to paint towers and turrets. You can connect this art lesson to famous buildings like the Taj Majal in India, Saint Basil's Cathedral...
Curated OER
Every Building Tells a Story
Examine images from past that depict buildings and towns from their own communities, and compare images with photographs taken at present locations, interview local architect and compare role of 19th Century architect to 21st Century...
Texas Education Agency (TEA)
Build a Paper Structure
Who knew that paper is an amazing building material? Scholars learn about the properties of planar materials, such as paper, as well as their structural capabilities in the sixth instructional activity a series of 11 on architecture....
Pingry School
Houses in Pompeii
If you're teaching a unit on Roman architecture, this simple handout could be useful for generating your own questions, but may not be used as-is. It is intended to accompany a specific reading that is not referenced or included. Terms...
Curated OER
Treasure Hunters
High schoolers design an on campus treasure hunt to find various architectural vocabulary words which they then create definitions for on the blog page on the Environmental Design website.
Curated OER
Workshop: Health Challenge
High schoolers conduct Internet research in order to better understand the concepts of sustainable health design. In this design and architecture lesson, students gather data and creat a materials kit that responds to the challenges of...
Curated OER
Places of Performance
Students explore and analyze the architecture of performing arts facilities to create a replica of a theater. They identify the interior and exterior characteristics of these types of facilities and create a replica of a real or imagined...
Curated OER
Moscow's Magnificent Domes
Students, after researching Russian architecture in Moscow, find pictures of onion-shaped domes on buildings such as St. Basil's Cathedral. They discover how Byzantine architecture reflects the orthodox faith and then create a replica of...