SAMPLE LESSON PLAN: MODEL HOMES
Topic: Studying homes from around the world
Objective: To teach children about different housing styles around the world
Subjects: Geography, Social Studies, Art, Architecture, Design, Geometry
Activity:
Have children create a bird’s-eye blueprint design of their own home to the best of their ability. Then have them build a model home from another part of the world. Begin with having your child explore homes from around the world. This list is a jumping-off point, but feel free to come up with your own ideas!
HOMES TO STUDY:
Turf Houses in Iceland
Hanoks in Korea
Adobe Homes in Mexico
Chalets in Switzerland
Thatched Cottages in England
Siheyuan Homes in China
Yurts in Mongolia
Cave Homes in Tunisia
Stilt Homes in Cambodia
Rondavels in Botswana
Spanish Colonials in Cuba
SUPPLIES:
Let children guide the project by making their own selections for the supplies. Allow them to choose from some of the following items:
Modeling clay
Popsicle sticks
Cardboard toilet paper rolls
Found sticks
Cardboard
Empty milk cartons
School glue
Paint and paintbrushes
Scissors
Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
Paper (grid, construction, or plain copy paper)
Ruler
Suggested Reading List:
Home by Carson Ellis
Everything You Need for a Treehouse by Carter Higgins
Brick by Joshua David Stein
House Held Up by Trees by Ted
Kooser
Come Over to My House by Theo LeSieg
If You Lived Here by Giles Laroche
Nine More Ideas to Incorporate Into Your Citizen of the World Curriculum
Travel the world through books. Travel the path of the globe, reading books in order of each country, talking about navigation and each country on each “stop.”
Host a mini film festival for friends, showing foreign films for kids, complete with snacks and drinks from different countries.
Make different ice creams from around the world.
Study global weather patterns, different types of weather terms, and the location of various events, like monsoons, tsunamis, earthquakes, and so on.
Have children build structures, monuments, and landmarks from around the world out of LEGOs or other materials.
Create a revolving learning center
Reach out to a school in another country to find a class to work with for a pen pal exchange.
Study what a school day looks like for children around the world.
Pick one architect from another country to study and have children do a full lesson on them.
Let me know how the lesson goes! I’d love to see the homes you create. - Erin