FOURTH GRADE . . . Architecture

Fourth graders just completed a unit on architecture. Last year, we created animal cubes out of cardboard and learned how each side of the 3D cube gave us a very different view of our animals. This year we took that lesson a step further and made architectural designs that went beyond just a simple cube. Since our designs are 3D, we learned just how important each side of the building is to the whole design.

We began with a presentation of buildings from all over the world, looking at both traditional and very modern looking designs. Inspired by the unique shapes of some of these architectural photographs, we used graph paper to lay out a design for a building we might find in any neighborhood. For example, some of us chose to make a house, others created a museum, a theater, a store, or a church.

Once every side of the building was designed as a shape and details were considered, such as windows, doors and signs, the designs were transferred to a large sheet of card stock. Students colored in the details of their buildings before they were cut out, folded and glued to a base.

Here are some examples of our architectural designs!

Artwork by Emma S.

Artwork by Matthew

Artwork by Maya

Artwork by Morgan

Artwork by Taylor

Artwork by Tucker