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Junior
Architects
of the Future
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Students used Tom
Snyder's Community Construction Kit to learn about
constructing buildings. They played with different facades,
rooflines, windows, doors and other features. They also
examined their structures for corners, edges, faces and
specific geometric shapes. Once their designs were complete,
they printed them and then put together their 3-D
structures.
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Using digital cameras,
students played a game of school I Spy. They took pictures
around the building. Each picture only included a "piece" of
the object. They examined their pictures for specific shapes
and tallied the shapes on a worksheet. Then they exchanged
pictures with another group who went to find the object.
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The second group went to
find the object and using digital cameras they captured the "whole" object. Then they tallied all the shapes in the
whole object.
 
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Next, students examined
structures that they studied through Social Studies units
(aquaducts, the Great Pyramids, Colosseum, Parthenon,
wigwam, longhouse, etc.) for geometric shapes. This Shapely
Landmarks activity integrated Social Studies and Math.
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After discussing what
would be needed for buildings in our future, students made a
plan (blueprint) looking from two different angles and then
went to art and began to construct their
structures.
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Once the structures were
finished, the groups got together to create a poster which
included their persuasive arguments for why their structure
should win the contest, blueprints, and a tally of geometric
shapes, faces, corners, etc. included in their structure.
Ima Pillar, the Executive Director of Junior Architects of
America visited to hear the presentations. Each group
disussed their structure and used their persuasive arguments
paper to support their stance.
Ima Pillar listened with rapt
attention and took copious notes. She also discussed the
pros and cons about conserving energy and resources when
planning for future buildings.
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Page created by Brooks Widmaier
September 2003
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JAA