Thousands of students have participated in Architects in Schools over the years. It is just as vital and relevant today as it was when Marjorie Wintermute and Jody Proppe first initiated the program three decades ago. Click below for a PDF of A Special Structure for a Special Client, one of more than 25 lesson plans available from ARCHITECTURE AS A BASIC CURRICULUM BUILDER, and for Teacher or Architect applications to participate in the program during the 2010-11 school year.
- Download “A Special Structure for a Special Client” lesson plan here
- Download 2011-12 School application here
- Download 2011-12 Architect application here
Architects in Schools pairs practicing architects with classroom teachers to create and implement customized curricula for third through fifth grade students over a six-week residency.
Each spring for more than 30 years, approximately 60 architects have teamed with teachers in schools from Banks to Gresham and from Hood River to Bend, Salem and Eugene opening the eyes and minds of more than students now totaling 2200 annually. AFO provides a training workshop, and a treasure of a guide, ARCHITECTURE AS A BASIC CURRICULUM BUILDER, which includes:
- A simple drawing technique that quickly improves students’ abilities and their confidence
- A pictorial survey of architectural periods and styles that coincide with studies of Native Americans, Pioneers, Victorians, and three distinct periods in the early to mid-20th century
- Lessons for measuring and designing floor plans
- Structured activities around questions, like: What makes structures stand up?; What will cities look like 25 years from now?; and What is Green Building?
- One of the students favorite lessons, A Special Structure for a Special Client, which asks students to program and design homes for clients such as an anteater who likes to have friends in for ice cream cones, an intelligent crocodile who reads a lot of books and invents things, and a strong gorilla who likes to keep in shape.
Each of the activities in this guide details:
- Existing curriculum in the classroom that can be taught with the activity
- The time required and any prior lessons required
- Materials needed
- Learning objectives
- Roles for both the architect and the teacher and suggested dialogue for presenting the activity Worksheets
- A recently updated checklist of opportunities for connecting the activity to Content Standards for State Certificate of Initial Mastery requirements
