Lessn 9 Building Buildings and Cmmunity: Gilded Age Replicas 1 Subject Area: Building/Architecture Grade/Grup: 5 th /6 th Lessn Overview: This lessn explres buildings f all kinds and their imprtance in creating a sense f cmmunity. Students take a Newprt tur, identifying the functins f the buildings within it. Specific attentin is given t the materials used and hw they impact the buildings appearance and durability. Students then apply what they have learned by creating a cmmunity f buildings made frm recycled materials. Time Frame: Five 45-minute perids Objectives: Students will: build a structure with small materials. identify the different functins f buildings in a cmmunity. tur the cmmunity t identify the functins f buildings. create a building fr a cmmunity using recycled materials. design a building in a cmmunity. discuss cnnectins between the cmmunity designed and the Gilded Age f Newprt NCSS Standards: 1 d. explain why individuals and grups respnd differently t their physical and scial envirnments and/r changes t them n the basis f shared assumptins, values, and beliefs. 3 g. describe hw peple create places that reflect cultural values and ideals as they build neighbrhds, parks, shpping centers, and the like 3 k. prpse, cmpare, and evaluate alternative uses f land and resurces in cmmunities, regins, natins and the wrld 4 b. describe persnal cnnectins t place as assciated with cmmunity, natin, and wrld 5 a. demnstrate an understanding f cncepts such as rle, status, and scial class in describing the interactins and scial grups 10 j. examine strategies designed t strengthen the cmmn gd, which cnsiders a range f ptins fr citizen actin
Materials: Fr weeks befre this lessn, discuss recycling and have students bring in as many materials they can use as pssible. Create a pster f pssible recyclable materials t cllect frm hme and t see hw many they culd lcate withut having t buy them. In a previus lessn students will write a letter hme fr this. Wden blcks, flexi-stix, architectural blcks, Lincln Lgs, and/r LEGOs Camera and film (ptinal) Tubes and small bxes such as she, cereal, and gift bxes; clean juice cartns (cllected by students) Scissrs Yarn Markers Crayns Clred cnstructin paper Masking tape Glue Glue guns The Little Huse by Virginia Lee Burtn Alexander, Wh s Nt (D Yu Hear Me? I Mean It!) Ging t Mve by Judith Virst Blank paper and lined paper Clipbards 2 Surces: Websites: http://artsedge.kennedy-center.rg/cntent/2362/ Fr cmmunity building survey: http://artsedge.kennedy-center.rg/cntent/2362/2362_cmmunitybuild_survey.pdf Fr the assessment rubric: http://artsedge.kennedy-center.rg/cntent/2362/2362_cmmunitybuild_rubric.pdf Fr student vcabulary page: http://artsedge.kennedy-center.rg/cntent/2362/2362_cmmunitybuild_vcab.pdf Print Resurces: Burtn, Virginia Lee. The Little Huse. Bstn: Hughtn Mifflin, 1942, 1969. Gibbns, Gail. Hw a Huse is Built. New Yrk: Schlastic, 1990. Grimshaw, Carline and Hussain, Iqbal. Buildings. Chicag: Wrld Bk, 1995, 1997. Haslam, Andrew. Building. Ocala, FL:Actin Publishing, 1994. Hberman, Mary Ann. A Huse is a Huse fr Me. New Yrk: Schlastic, 1978.
3 Taus-Blstad, Stacy. Frm Clay t Bricks. Minneaplis: Learner Publicatins Cmpany, 2003. Virst, Judith. Alexander, Wh s Nt (D Yu Hear Me? I Mean It!) Ging t Mve. New Yrk: Schlastic, 1995. Newprt Then and Nw bk f phtgraphs available frm Salve ReginaUniversity Mtivatinal Activity: Try an idea frm CUBE, called archihats. This idea is brrwed frm CUBE (Center fr the Built Envirnment). http://www.cubekc.rg/ Raid the wastebasket fr recycle materials and build yur dream huse! Initiate yur lessn wearing an archihat. Lessn Develpment: Divide students int grups f fur. Give each grup small building materials such as wden blcks, flexi-sticks, architectural blcks, Lincln Lgs, r LEGOs. Tell students that they must wrk cperatively t build a structure. Give students five minutes t plan and then five minutes t build. When the grups have finished, have the class tur the structures. Ask students t cnsider the fllwing questins as they bserve the structures: D any f the structures have rfs? Are any f the structures tall? Which structures lk sturdy? Why? D any f the structures lk fragile r unsteady? Why? Is there any structure that really stands ut because f the design? Des it seem like the builders built the structure with sme functin r purpse in mind? If s, what was it? If desired, phtgraph the structures and recrd the builders, materials used, and functin (if any) f the structure. After all are phtgraphed, put away the small building materials.
4 Read The Little Huse by Virginia Lee Burtn, the stry f a cuntry huse that remains largely unchanged ver time despite rapid develpment. Mre and mre buildings are built arund the little huse, until ultimately, the huse is abandned between tw skyscrapers and falls int disrepair. When the riginal wners great-granddaughter sees the plight f the little huse, she mves it back ut t the cuntry and restres it. As yu read the stry alud, have students lk at the illustratins and listen fr infrmatin abut buildings and cmmunities. Discuss the stry. Ask students, What buildings are in the stry? What is the functin r purpse f each building? Recrd students respnses n the bard in categries. Answers may include: a huse, barn, radside stand, gasline statin, apartments, drugstre, schl, garage, stre, train statin, and/r skyscraper. Ask students t cnsider ther buildings and their functins; give them 30 secnds t recrd their ideas. Invite vlunteers t add t the list f buildings n the bard. Ask students t cnsider the fllwing: What materials were used t build the Little Huse? (Brick, glass, shingles, and wd.) Is the Little Huse durable? Hw des she hld up under the weather elements and the changes arund her? The structure still stands, but the paint is peeled and the windws are brken.) D yu think the Little Huse s design is apprpriate fr the climate? Why r why nt? (It snwed where the Little Huse was lcated. She had a hip rf a rf that cnsists f fur slping planes that meet at the peak, allwing snw and rain t fall ff. Als, she was made f brick, which made her sturdy.) What ther materials can be used t cnstruct a building? (Cement, cncrete, steel, siding, mud, canvas material, and paper) Hw durable are these materials? As the stry f the Little Huse unflds, des her appearance change? Des she blend in with the ther buildings in her cmmunity? (By the end f the stry, her appearance is pr. She des nt fit in with the ther parts f the cmmunity.) Isn t it interesting they call the huse she/her? Des the functin f the Little Huse remain the same thrughut the stry? (She is still a huse.) Tell students that they are ging t explre the buildings in their wn cmmunity. Shw pictures f Newprt frm Then and Nw bk. Lk at a Newprt map talk abut hw the cmmunity f Newprt existed frm a variety f perspectives, and where the different neighbrhds r cmmunities existed during the Gilded Age. Wh lived in thse different neighbrhds? Bellevue area, wharf area, Tur Street area?
Distribute a Cmmunity Buildings Survey wrkbk t each student. Read the directins with students and review the example f the schl building prvided. This survey is available at this website: http://artsedge.kennedycenter.rg/cntent/2362/2362_cmmunitybuild_survey.pdf 5 If pssible, take students n a walking tur f a Newprt neighbrhd. IN THIS UNIT THIS LESSON CAN HAPPEN AFTER THE FIELD TRIP LESSON. Give each student a clipbard, a Cmmunity Buildings Survey and a pencil. Instruct students t lk fr five buildings, each f which must have a different functin. Buildings might include huses, ffices, stres, dghuses, tree huses, backyard sheds, etc. Allw students time t sketch each building and recrd the FUNCTION, MATERIALS, DURABILITY, and APPEARANCE fr each building. (Alternatively, yu may wish t have students phtgraph favrite r unusual buildings.) Have the students think back in time ver the Gilded Age t discuss the functin, materials, durability, and appearance f the structures visited. Have students return the cmpleted wrkbks t the classrm and discuss findings. Allw students t cmpare and cntrast bservatins abut the functin, materials, appearance, and durability f the buildings in the cmmunity. ONE OPTION Read alud the bk, Alexander, Wh s Nt (D Yu Hear Me? I Mean It!) Ging t Mve. In the bk, Alexander des nt want t mve because he hates the thught f leaving his favrite places in the cmmunity: his huse, his neighbrs huses, the drycleaner s, and the market. He cnsiders living in ne f these places, r perhaps cnstructing a tree huse, r putting up a tent. What Alexander needs is a feeling that his new cmmunity will be as welcming as the ld ne. Tell the class that their discussin f the stry will be t describe hw t create a current Newprt cmmunity that will make Alexander cmfrtable and welcme. (Then it will be built!) OPTION TWO Share the bk n Newprt Huses. Share a picture f a visual survey f Victrian Hmes. Have students identify and sketch 5 ideas t replicate the Marble Huse r Breakers after a visit there. Shw the features they hpe t incrprate int their buildings. Start Building. Distribute a variety f small bxes and tubes, alng with art supplies such as clred cnstructin paper, yarn, glue, and scissrs. Students can use any f these materials t create a building. The building must have a specific functin, and the materials selected shuld be durable. (It is kay if mre than ne persn is making the same kind f building; this happens in real cmmunities as well.) Tell students that they have until the end f the class perid t cmplete the building. Students shuld als describe the materials they used, and the reasns fr selecting them. While the class is building, place yarn r masking tape lines n the flr. As the buildings are cmpleted, have students place them arund the yarn r tape paths. After building and clean up is finished, have each student sit behind the building he/she made. Allw each student t describe the functin f the building and justify its reasn fr being in the cmmunity.
Lessn Clsure: 6 Frm Optin 1: What des ur class think is imprtant in the cmmunity we built fr Alexander? D we have thse ptins in ur wn cmmunities? Hw wuld Alexander have felt living in the Marble Huse r The Breakers with his family? Wuld this type f cmmunity be desirable fr ther families r children, ther than Alexander, why? Did this srt f cmmunity exist in Newprt in the late 1800 s early 1900 s? Why r Why nt? During the Gilded Age wh wuld have benefited frm such a cmmunity as we have built fr Alexander? Frm Optin 2: Hw des ur new cmmunity lk the same r different f the Gilded Age cmmunity frm 1880 t 1914? What elements did we incrprate int ur cmmunity? What are the elements f Beaux Arts? What are the elements f Neclassicism? What elements were essential t make yur structures stand? Assessment: Use the accmpanying Assessment Rubric t assess student understanding. The rubric can be fund at the fllwing website: http://artsedge.kennedycenter.rg/cntent/2362/2362_cmmunitybuild_rubric.pdf Fllw-Up Activities/Extensins: As a hmewrk assignment, have students design a building that (a) Alexander wuld find in his new cmmunity (a huse, a business, an ffice, a schl, a market, etc.) Students shuld then write a brief descriptin f the building, its functin, and the materials that wuld be used t cnstruct it. Place the drawings and descriptins n display with the buildings created fr the new cmmunity. Invite ther classes, parents, r administratrs t tur the new and planned cmmunity buildings. (b) Build an archihat. http://www.cubekc.rg/ (c) Talking Buildings: Buildings tell us abut the materials that were available lcally fr cnstructin and the technlgy and craftsmanship f the builders. They als reflect the ecnmic status, plitics, practical needs, aesthetics, taste and fashin f the time in which they were built. Chse tw cntrasting buildings r tw similar nes and create a cnversatin between them. Have the buildings discuss wh built them, why, when, the materials used in their cnstructin, their verall appearance, events in the twn's histry they have witnessed, peple wh have lived r wrked in them, and their future. If students prefer, they may develp a cmic strip r write a sng, pem, r a stry. Remind them t let the building be the narratr r the main character. If available, use a walking tur brchure r lcate ther reference materials in the lcal library, histrical sciety, r preservatin rganizatin. Cntact yur state histric preservatin ffice (g t Resurces by State) fr infrmatin n buildings n the Natinal Register f Histric Places in yur cmmunity and cunty. T learn mre abut a building, interview a past r current resident r wner. This extensin idea is brrwed frm: The Heritage Educatin Netwrk at the fllwing website:
7 http://architecture.abut.cm/gi/dynamic/ffsite.htm?site=http%3a%2f%2fwww.mtsu. edu%2f%7ethen%2farchitecture%2fpage35.html (a wnderful website!) T Cntact / Cmment t the Heritage Educatin Netwrk, see the address, belw. Center fr Histric Preservatin 1421 East Main Street Murfreesbr, TN 37130 615-898-2949 www.mtsu.edu/~then chankins@mtsu.edu Authr f Original Lessn: Mary Beth Bauernschub, Teacher Kingsfrd Elementary Schl Mitchellville, MD