Lesson Plan #:AELP-INT0065

Start A City

An Educator's Reference Desk Lesson Plan

Date: 1994

Grade(s): Kindergarten, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Subject(s):

Objective:

Students will be able to describe how the environment affected the pioneer lifestyle, particularly the design of dwellings.

Materials:

Glue, scissors, plywood or cardboard base, various building materials.

Activity:

Divide the class into four or five groups and equip each with a base (it could be masonite, plywood, or cardboard), glue, and scissors. Announce the assignment:

Each group is to build a pioneer or Native American community for a specific area of the United States, such as the Northeast, desert Southwest, prairie, South, Midwest, or Pacific Northwest. Each group should research the area it is assigned to determine the construction materials which would have been available to people in that part of the country during the time period selected. Students can then collect similar materials from the school grounds, their homes, or other sources. Once the materials are collected, they can build their community from these materials and the base, glue, and scissors you provided. The community might include homes, smokehouses, outhouses, barns, and perhaps a church or store.

When all the communities are completed, put them on display and lead a class discussion, comparing materials, sources, and environmental impacts.

Reprinted with permission, American Forest Council, Copyright 1987, Project Learning Tree Supplementary Guide K-6.
This lesson plan was downloaded from Big Sky Telegraph.
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