Lesson Overview:
Through Internet research, language arts activities, and visual arts activities, students learn about Frank Lloyd Wright—his work and his legacy.
Length of Lesson:
Ten 45-minute class periods
Instructional Objectives:
Students will:
- read a biography of Frank Lloyd Wright.
- complete study questions on the biography.
- locate important Frank Lloyd Wright sites on a United States map.
- create a class collage showing the many contributions of Frank Lloyd Wright to American architecture and culture.
- prepare questions for a Frank Lloyd Wright interview.
- assume the person of Frank Lloyd Wright and respond to interview questions.
- choose their favorite Frank Lloyd Wright works to include on a tour.
- plan a tour of these sites.
Supplies:
- Computer with Internet access
- Children's wooden blocks
- Pictures of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings
- Art supplies for collage, brochure and map activities
Instructional Plan:
Note: Before starting this lesson reserve five days in the computer lab. The computer lab will be needed for days 1, 2, 5, 6,and 8 of this lesson.
Day 1
As the class begins, display pictures of Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous buildings, decorative objects, and furniture. Pictures are available online or in materials that can be obtained by writing to these sites and requesting brochures. See Sources for addresses. A good source of pictures is the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Web site.
Display a collection of children's wooden blocks in these shapes: square, triangle, rectangle and circle (tube). These are the shapes of the Froebel blocks with which Frank Lloyd Wright played as a child and the shapes he frequently incorporated into his designs. Have the students experiment with the blocks for a time. Tell the class that toys such as these were part of the education of a very famous American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. Ask if any of the students has ever heard of him or perhaps has even visited one of his buildings. Show pictures of some of his most famous buildings. Include such places as Fallingwater, the Guggenheim Museum, the Robie House, the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, the Unity Temple, the demolished Imperial Hotel, the S.C. Johnson and Son Wax Company Administration Center, the Marin County, CA Civic Center, and a Usonian house. Note the great variety of buildings that he designed: houses, churches, skyscrapers, resorts, museums, office buildings, gas stations, bridges, as well as furniture and decorative objects. Also tell students that Ayn Rand's novel, The Fountainhead (1943) is thought to be based on the life of this architect. Go to the computer lab for the rest of the class.
Pass out the Biography Questions worksheet. Good biographies are available on line. The teacher can select one site appropriate for the class, or students themselves can browse the online resources and select a site which appeals to them. Have students locate and read a biography. Then have them complete the biography questions. If time is short, students may print the biography and complete the Biography Questions worksheet for homework.
Day 2
This class is spent in the computer lab. Collect the biography handout homework questions and review them with the class. Focus on Frank Lloyd Wright's areas of accomplishment: practicing architect, architectural theoretician and academic, artist (draftsman), interior designer and furniture designer. A succinct list of his accomplishments is available at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Web site.
Next, take an online/virtual tour of a Frank Lloyd Wright building. A tour of the Unity Temple is available at the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust Web site. Pass out the Map Questions worksheet along with maps of the United States. Review the directions for the map handout to be sure that students understand what they are to do. Work on the project in class, helping students search for graphics, pictures, or illustrations of Frank Lloyd Wright's works. Tell them that they must finish the search by the end of the period. At the end of the class, collect all the work.
Day 3
Return the students' Map Questions worksheets. Provide the necessary art materials for the students to complete the map assignment. Collect all work at the end of the period.
Day 4
Put the words "Prairie" and "Usonian" on the board. Refer to them during the period. Talk about important Frank Lloyd Wright influences in home design. Show the pictures used on Day 1. Discuss how Frank Lloyd Wright tied his designs to geography, the sites, the materials, and the patterns of nature. Ask students if they can list materials that Frank Lloyd Wright would have considered appropriate for his houses. Materials can include stone, brick, concrete, and wood. Remind students that Frank Lloyd Wright was from the Midwest. Ask them to think about how this might have influenced his designs. Mention that early in his career his designs were " 'Prairie Houses' (extended low buildings with shallow sloping roofs, clean sky lines, suppressed chimneys, overhands and terraces, using unadorned natural materials), so called because the design is considered to complement the land around Chicago." List these characteristics on the board under the word
Prairie. Tell students that elements of Frank Lloyd Wright's design can be found in a large proportion of homes today. See if students can recognize any of these design elements in the architecture of their community. Note that many homes now reflect such elements as carports, living rooms, and open floor plans.
Next, discuss the Usonian ideas of Frank Lloyd Wright. During the 1950's, he developed the Usonian Automatic system so that American families could have adequate space at a moderate cost. This space was to give them a sense of independence, and the fullest notion of themselves. He expected the owners to participate in the construction of their own homes. The Usonian system included specially designed cast concrete blocks, including perforated blocks for glass and coffered ceiling blocks. List these characteristics on the board under the word Usonian. You may wish to refer to the Ecohome Foundation Web site.
With the class, discuss the following quotation pertinent to Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian ideas. It can be placed on the board, a transparency, or on copies made and distributed to the class. "Here, then, within moderate means for the free man of our democracy, with some intelligence and by his own energy, comes a natural house designed in accordance with the principles of organic architecture. A house which may be put to work in our society and give us an architecture for 'housing' which is becoming to a free society because, though standardized fully, it yet establishes the democratic ideal of variety—the sovereignty of the individual." (Frank Lloyd Wright in Frank Lloyd Wright: In the Realm of Ideas. The Usonian Automatic House Exhibit Brochure. Scottsdale Arts Center Association and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, 1985) If this quotation is inappropriate for the class, there are several other quotations that can be used at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Web site.
Instead of discussing one quotation, you might consider giving different quotations to groups of students. They could discuss these and give brief reports to the class. Also, a quotation may become a writing activity such as a letter to the architect in which the student expresses his opinion of Frank Lloyd Wright's ideas.
Day 5
This class is spent in the computer lab. Begin by reviewing the many areas of Frank Lloyd Wright's accomplishments. Distribute the Collage Directions and Self-Assessment Rubric. Have students count off by five to form five groups. Assign one of the five research topics on the handout to each group. Review the directions for the activity to be sure the students understand what they are to do. Begin work on the project by helping students search for the graphics and information they need for the collage. As the research nears completion, have some group members begin to place their work on the class collage. Be sure to have all necessary art materials available for the collage.
Day 6
This class is spent in the computer lab. Pass out the Interview Questions worksheet. Make sure that students understand what an interview is and how one is conducted. Review the steps they must follow to complete the handout activity. Have students complete only activities 1 and 2. Collect the handouts at the end of the class.
Day 7
Return the Interview Questions worksheets. Review directions for activities 4 and 5 and have students complete the interview activity. Collect all student work at the end of the class.
Day 8
This class is spent in the computer lab. Distribute the Tour Brochure and Self-Assessment Rubric. Review it with the students, making sure they understand what they are to do. Help students as they choose their favorite Wright sites, and search for graphics for their brochures. Tell them that the graphics selection must be completed by the end of the period. Collect all student work.
Day 9
Return the Tour Brochure handout. Provide art supplies for students to make their brochures. The entire class will be spent on making the brochure. It may be helpful to have brochures available from other historical sites or tours for students to use as a reference. If students do not finish the brochure in class, they must for so for homework.
Day 10
Return the Tour Brochure and Self-Assessment Rubric. Have students complete page 2 containing the Self-Assessment before presenting their brochures to the class. Collect all Brochures and Assessment sheets for final teacher assessments.
Assessment:
Assess the students on the following criteria::
- Biography questions and answers
- Map work
- Collage of Frank Lloyd Wright work
- Frank Lloyd Wright interview questions and answers
- Presentation of student-created tour brochure of Frank Lloyd Wright homes and buildings
Extensions:
As an extension to the interview activity, students could videotape their interviews taking the roles of Frank Lloyd Wright and a well-known TV reporter/anchor. If the school has a closed circuit TV system, these tapes could be shown to appropriate classes at the school or used as part of the school's daily TV programming.
Sources:
Print:
- Davis, Frances A. Frank Lloyd Wright. Maverick Architect. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Co., 1996.
- Grancey, Jonathan. The Story of Architecture. London, New York, Sydney, Delhi, Paris, Munich, Johannesburg: Dorling Kindersley, 2000.
- Klein, Marilyn W. and David P. Fogle. Illustrated by Wolcott B. Etienne. Clues to American Architecture. Montgomery, Alabama: Starrhill Press, 1986.
- Sanderson, Arlene, Editor. Wright Sites. A Guide to Frank Lloyd Wright Public Places. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2001.
- Pfeiffer, Bruce Brooks. Frank Lloyd Wright. Cologne: Beneditt Taschen Verlag, 1998.
Web:
Authors:
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Phyllis Gron, ESL Teacher
Fairfax County Public Schools
Alexandria, VA
