Focus on the architecture of performing arts facilities to create a replica of a theater.

• 1.

  Different styles of architecture can be observed in a building's formal elements, and each time period is unique. If possible, take an historic building tour in your community. Sketch different architectural elements you see with Crayola® Colored Pencils. Search for information about architectural style or history. Famous buildings are easy to research, such as the U.S. Capitol, which was built in the neo-classical style, to emulate the architecture of Rome. How do modern buildings differ from neo-classical architecture?

• 2.

  If you were building a theatre, such as Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., what kind of architecture would you choose? Sketch your ideas in colored pencil. Include architectural elements that you like the best, including columns and facades, if you like the neo-classical style, or a more trim, angular construction if you prefer modern buildings.

• 3.

  On a plastic placemat or tray, sculpt Crayola Model Magic to portray your building in bas relief model (somewhat flat, with sculptural elements built on its surface) of your building. Bas relief was used to decorate the pediments (triangular areas under the roof peak) of ancient buildings such as the Parthenon. Dry.

• 4.

  Cover your work area with recycled newspaper. Color the bas relief model with Crayola Washable Paints and Paint Brushes.

• 5.

  Build a corrugated cardboard frame to display your sculpture. Cut two frames exactly alike with Crayola Scissors. Use Crayola School Glue to glue them together. Decorate one side of the frame with glue designs. Dry.

• 6.

  Decorate the other side with glue designs. Dry.

• 7.

  Paint both sides of your frame to compliment your architectural sculpture. Dry.

• 8.

  Use Model Magic to create feet for your frame. Form two slightly flattened balls, then press the frame into them. Dry.

• 9.

  Use toothpicks or bamboo skewers as pivots to fasten your sculpture into the frame. Push the toothpick partly into the sculpture at the bottom, center point, then apply a small dot of glue to the point of entry. Do the same to the top center point. Place your sculpture into the frame by pushing the toothpicks through the wet glue into the cardboard. Apply a dot of glue to the cardboard entry points. Dry flat.

• 10.

  Stand up your bas relief model. For additional support, glue the Model Magic® feet to a horizontal piece of cardboard.

Standards

• LA: Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
• LA: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade level topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
• LA: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
• LA: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.
• MATH: Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, surface area, and volume.
• MATH: Convert like measurement units within a given measurement system.
• SS: Describe ways in which language, stories, folktales, music, and artistic creations serve as expressions of culture and influence behavior of people living in a particular culture.
• SS: Use appropriate resources, data sources, and geographic tools to generate, manipulate, and interpret information.
• SS: Identify and use various sources for reconstructing the past, such as documents, letters, diaries, maps, textbooks, photos, and others.
• SS: Examine the interaction of human beings and their physical environment, the use of land, building of cities, and ecosystem changes in selected locales and regions.
• VA: Intentionally take advantage of the qualities and characteristics of art media, techniques, and processes to enhance communication of experiences and ideas.
• VA: Select and use the qualities of structures and functions of art to improve communication of ideas.

Adaptations

• Possible classroom resources include: 13 Buildings Children Should Know by Annette Roeder; St. Louis Architecture for Kids by Lee Ann Sandweiss; Old Buildings, New Designs by Charles Boszies; Architecture Shapes by Michael J. Crosbie & Steven Rosenthal; Architecture ANIMALS by Michael J. Crosbie & Steven Rosenthal
• Working in small groups, students investigate architectural elements and technology in historic and contemporary periods. Students select a single architectural style and study it in-depth. Students prepare an electronic presentation for classmates.
• As a theater director, you prepare for performances by advertising for an up-and-coming performance. Students design a performance for a play, including dates, times of performances, stars, etc. Display student posters in a public place in the school.
• Provide the class with several playbills from play performances. Encourage students to design an original playbill for a play.
• Invite a local architect to visit with the class to share his expertise about buildings and architecture. Students brainstorm questions for the guest and make a list of topics they would like more in-depth information. After the meeting, students post learning to a class blog.
• Students work in groups to research a specific period of history known for its architecture, such as Rome or Egypt. Students create a community of buildings based upon the group's research.