Monday, February 28, 2011

First Grade Architecture

Architecture has been the theme for many of my lessons this quarter.  My first graders reviewed what an architect is.  We looked at Frank Lloyd Wright's "Falling Water,"  and as with most art works that we look at and discuss, the kids were blown away with this design.  During that lesson, the kids looked at the many parts that make up the exterior of a house and then designed their own.  We also discussed that architect considers the land where a building will be built and so the kids drew their landscapes as well.




This lesson was an extension of the Falling Waters lesson.  They designed a 3D model of a house using a paper bag. It was fun seeing the extra goodies they added that made the house their own.

***Here is another architecture related lesson from my TeachersPayTeachers shop. It is based on the paintings and painted buildings by pop artist, James Rizzi.  Though it says "art sub lesson," it is written so that anyone can teach it.


Here are other architecture related lessons that are completely ready to be taught.  All a student needs is paper, pencil and crayons.  A Treehouse for Me and Captivating Castles





20 comments:

Julie said...

How cute is this??? I will share this idea with my daughter to use as a summer camp activity!!! They are adorable!!!

Sweet Virginia Breeze said...

The paper bag houses are so cute! And some of the students are very talented.

Phyl said...

I make paper bag gingerbread houses w/my 3rd graders at holiday time. Same method!!

Last year we studied FL Wright, and a 2nd grade boy, looking at the pic of Falling Water, hypothesized seriously that "the kids who live there must be home-schooled". I assumed he guessed this because it was in the woods, and appeared to be away from roads, but that wasn't his reason. He explained that "there are no doors, so the people inside cannot leave!". Great observation, since FLW did indeed hide his doors so they weren't so obvious.

jackie said...

i'm enamored with any house art. you must get such a kick out of seeing all the different expressions of your lessons!

Anonymous said...

That's so awesome! What a great way to introduce architecture at such a young age. I love it!

Kristin Young said...

Such a cute way to make buildings! And much cleaner than wiping out old milk cartons. :p These will be great as my kinders make places where they live during our map unit next week. Thanks for sharing! Come follow me so we can learn together! :)

Little Miss Glamour Goes to Kindergarten

Flight Training said...

Such a CUTE idea!!! I am always looking for fun, new arts and crafts for my daughters :) They're definitely going to love this!

School System Occupational Therapist in Virginia said...

Way too wonderful! And much easier than trying to make buildings from cereal boxes turned inside out. K.

School System Occupational Therapist in Virginia said...

Way too wonderful! And much easier than trying to make buildings from cereal boxes turned inside out. K.

Anonymous said...

GREAT idea...I plan on using this!

elhadadepapel.com said...

I love them!!

Kristine said...

Those are so cute and creative!!

mick said...

very instructive and clever ! thank you for this post, french kids will appreciate to create a big city with paper bag !

Ms. Russo said...

These look adorable. I can see building a neighborhood/community by mounting these on black bulletin board paper to make roads between. Add some other community elements such as parks, stores, etc. Add a compass rose and start completing sentences such as ___'s house is _____ of the park. ______ is on ____ street.

ESL and EFL Elementary Teacher Resources said...

Hi!!!
I´ll place a link to your blog on my Town Unit for English Language Learners.
Please visit:
www.eflpreschoolteachers.blogspot.com

Anna said...

A great idea. Will try this with my year one class. Thank you for sharing.

mcobubba said...

You can also use the houses with the roof glued on one side and then for Valentines Day - you have a place for the cards to be delivered!

Pooja Jangra said...

All the designs are fascinating. I like everything.

Abby said...

I love this idea for my Summer Camp Construction Week! I'd like to know the size of the bags- did you use the large lunch brown bags or did you use the grocery store brown bags?

Thanks so much!

Snippety Gibbet said...

Hi, Abby.....Sorry to answer this a month late. Somehow I am just seeing your question. Oops. We used regular lunch bags. Not all lunch bags are equal, I must say. Some tore fairly easily. I am not sure how to judge the good ones from the bad ones though.