Lesson Plan: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School of Architecture NEH Landmark Workshop August 2013 Kathleen M. Holmes/Orchard Park Middle School/Orchard Park, New York Introduction Architecture creates ritual. It determines how we live These lessons are designed to be exercises by themselves and/or incorporated into a crossdisciplinary unit with social studies. Lesson #1 This lesson is designed for students to explore the concepts of character, voice, and storytelling as they apply to a house. Subsequent lessons will build on these concepts by having students research and explore existing houses in their community with the intent of recognizing the rich history around them and to give voice to the house and/or its residents. Directions: Read There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury and discuss the uniqueness of the setting, main character, and voice with relevance to the house. Points to be discussed: Setting: California, August 4, 2026 [The setting is fast becoming more and more dated (obsolete) but is still great fodder for discussion of how the future was foreseen by Bradbury. This will tie-in later with Lesson #2 and especially with the legacy letter piece in that lesson.] Characters: The House [The computerized house serves as the main character in the story, so this would be a good point on which to get students thinking about: What if a house could talk? What stories would it tell? This will relate directly to the houses students will research in Lesson #2.] The Dog [ Like with the house students can start thinking about What if the dog could talk? What stories would he tell? This also will relate to Lesson #2] Voice: Students should spend some time considering the voice Bradbury used to develop this story and begin to think about what voice they would like to develop when they research the house they will choose in Lesson #2 Additional Suggestion for Lesson #2: Explore architectural vocabulary It would be helpful for students to have a basic working knowledge of architectural terms in order to employ them in writing the final assignment in this lesson. Some terms that might be introduced:
fascia muntins bracket s organic architecture bay window mullins ribboned windows glass art soffits hip roof terra cotta eaves cantilevered A-frame ornamentation double hung columns gable horizontality casement symmetry/balance towers pilasters shingle ionic wood frame poured concrete porch doric block concrete terrace patio Corinthian Lesson #2 This lesson is designed for students to research and discover the architecture and history of their own community. The lesson can be taught as a stand-alone or it can be done in conjunction with a social studies teacher (NOTE: A social studies lesson which could be done at the same time is attached at the end of this lesson.) Directions: Step 1 Have students go to http://www.visitbuffaloniagara.com/buffalo-architecture/ At this site students should click on Great Designers in the left-hand menu. They will read a general overview of Buffalo and the five key designers responsible for much of what the city is today. After they have read the overview, they need to read the live links for each of the following: - Joseph Ellicott - Frederick Law Olmsted - H.H. Richardson - Louis Sullivan - Edward B. Green Sr. A worksheet with guide questions is provided to accompany this assignment.
Great Designers City of Buffalo Name Worksheet Directions: Read about the Great Designers of Buffalo and answer the following questions. 1. Who surveyed and laid out the street plan for the City of Buffalo? 2. Who commissioned the survey? Why? 3. What architect along with his partner, William S. Wicks, designed over 100 buildings in Buffalo? 4. What was his style of design? 5. Where did H.H. Richardson study and identify TWO buildings that he designed. 6. What landscape architect designed the system of parks in Buffalo and what about it made it the first in the nation?
7. Name and describe TWO of the parks. 8. Who is considered father of the skyscraper? 9. What building did he design in Buffalo? 10. Who commissioned the building and what did he want it to be?
Step 2 Students will go to the following website and select a building found in Buffalo that they wish to research. http://buffaloah.com/a/bamname.html