Title of Lesson: Intro to Architecture - Favorite Spaces

Teacher: Zoe Nelson

School: PVO

Grade Level[s]: 4/5

Date to be Taught: 3/8/16

Big Idea that drives Lesson/Unit:

We spend our lives surrounded by buildings and spaces, so why should they not be beautiful? Architecture
shapes the way we see, what we see, and how we see it. Exploring architecture of the past can inform our
designs of the future. We will consider how different aspects of design can influence the functions of a
building and the way people move throughout it. We define our favorite spaces to be in by the way they
make us feel, and we will look at how to recreate our favorite spaces and elevate them with design.

Key concepts about Big Idea:

● How do spaces influence our daily lives?
● What defines a great building that will withstand time?
● How does the public play into the way a building is designed and viewed?

Fine Arts Goals Met by the Objectives:

● VA:Cn10.1.5a Apply formal and conceptual vocabularies of art and design to view surroundings in new ways through art-making.
● VA:Cr2.3.5a Identify, describe, and visually document places and/or objects of personal significance.

3-4 Essential Questions:

● How does design change over time?
● What are different functions of buildings?
● How does setting affect design/build of a structure?

Vocabulary Acquisition:
● Architecture: ​The style of design and method of construction of buildings and other physical structures.
● Architect: ​a person who designs buildings and in many cases also supervises their construction.
● Functio​n: ​work or operate in a proper or particular way

Key Artistic Concepts:

● Function paired with design
● Rendering real spaces

Artmaking Materials Needed:

● Pencil
● Paper
● Colored pencil

Contemporary/Historical/Multicultural exemplars:
● Architecture through time presentation (parthenon, colosseum, Hagia Sophia, Taj Mahal, Chrysler Building, St. Louis
Arch, White House, Pyramids, Versailles, Falling Water, etc.)
● Manet’s Red Room
● Various images showing drawings of spaces (found on Google Images)
Procedures:
● DISCUSSION: (10 minutes)
○ Ask students “what is architecture?”
○ Discuss definition of architecture and what an architect does
○Go over the presentation and many buildings to give them idea of architecture throughout time
○ Ask students differences they see from the older and newer buildings
● DEMONSTRATIONS: (5 minutes)
○ Show teacher made exemplars - my favorite space drawing
○ Show Historical/Multicultural exemplars
■ Manet’s Red Room
■ Google images “architecture drawing”

● DESIGN/WORK SESSION: ( 20 minutes)

○ Draw your favorite space/building in pencil
○ You can include figures if you want, but focus mostly on the space
○ Incorporate as many details as possible
○ Move on to marker if you get a chance
○ Come up with what you will explain to the class as to why you drew the space you did
● CLEAN UP: (3 minutes)
○ Return the pencils to the cup
○ Put erasers back in the bin
○ Return markers to the case with the right colors
○ Put your drawings in a pile
● CLOSURE: (8 minutes)
○ Go around and share your drawing with your peers
○ It is important to understand what defines our favorite spaces
○ What was the defining aspect of the space you chose? Is it the function, the way you move through it, or the overall
beauty in its design?
○ Next week we will be designing houses, so start to observe the houses you see on a daily basis and their common
characteristics