Students research distinctive homes and habitats of the past and present using electronic and library resources. They then design innovative new homes and habitats for the future, synthesizing information discovered from research.

Students examine the three primary structural forms of architecture. They view photos, take a walking tour of their community, conduct strength tests of post, beam, and arch construction, and analyze the test results.

Students consider alternative designs for a tall building and choose one of their designs to build. As a final step, they design and construct a model of a skyscraper.

Students construct 3-dimensional structures from 2-dimensional paper. They design and compile their structures to resemble a neighborhood community.

Your class will use a set scale to convert diameters of planets to the model size, the diagram given to expand on the number of planets drawn as concentric circles, and examine the scale that would be needed to fit the larger...

Students design a "dream house" and plan to install flooring, tile and other products that are bought by a certain measurement. Problem solving be used in determining how much of each product to use and the total cost of each installed.

Learners evaluate the acceptable use of classroom space. The class participated in a brief lecture and discuss of floor plans and how they are used in architecture. Using graph paper, they create a scale drawing of the classroom...

Middle schoolers examine the reasons why people built homes and businesses with brick. They discover how brick technology has improved buildings over the years. They participate in an activity to complete the lesson.

Students examine Marco Polo's route from China to Sumatra. They investigate the geography and climate, the religions and architecture of modern Indonesia. They study the use of spices and why they were so important in medieval times.

Students investigate how to entice bumble bees to accept artificial domiciles. They conduct research about bee biology and nest architecture, plan and construct an artificial domicile to attract bumble bee queens, and monitor and record...

The Great Wall may be one of the most famous pieces of architecture of all time. Teach seventh graders the history behind its construction, the importance of dynasties, and all about ancient Chinese civilization through a series of 20...

Class members become tree huggers with this terrific study of biodiversity among trees! They do so by examining different characteristics of trees: shape, leaves, bark, fruit or seeds, etc. After examining five concepts, they use their...

Sixth graders present a PowerPoint presentation on Greek columns. They realize that Greek culture is centered around religion. Students create a model of one of the columns. Also they find examples of Greek architecture in major Greek...

Sixth graders study Gothic architecture on the Internet and create a mug with a gargoyle figure on it.

Each country or group of people has created special places of worship. Children read a story about religious buildings and architecture and then make clay models of the buildings they like the best. The lesson has been written to...

Study Cubism and Cubist art by examining a number of images with your students. They look at the relationship of Cubism to society architecture, and literature. Finally, they design a Cubist self-portrait using a variety of mediums after...

Students identify three-dimensional forms in various buildings and construct three-dimensional paper forms.

Students research which buildings are registered as national or state historical sites, and lobby the community by petition to have another local building placed on the national or state historic register.

Students explore New York City's bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games. They estimate budget allocations for such a proposal while practicing the calculation of percentages.

Pupils explore and analyze the detailed, yet complicated profiles that society placed on the lives of the prosperous as well as those with economic disadvantages in 19th century New York. In addition, by seeing the Merchant House with...

Students explore the factors that contributed to the decline of Timbuktu and the myths and misconceptions about the city. Students study the obstacles that made a journey to Timbuktu a difficult one as well as discover the first European...

Learners begin the instructional activity by identifying what a polygon is and hypothesizing how many struts (diagonals) it would take to make a polygon rigid. They watch a "Magic School Bus" episode then experiment with various shapes...

Students complete a collage depicting what they would like in their Dream House. They think about the home of their dreams and pretend that they can have anything and everything that they want in a house. Find pictures from magazines...

Students examine various methods of judging popular culture and compare them to the judging of the People's Design Award. In this popular culture and design instructional activity, students research different ways of voting in popular...