Harrington Elementary School
Arts Empower Program
Spring 1997
Teacher: Mary Ann Nerelli, Grade 1
Architect: Shawn Evans
Students: DaShawn Hall, Vanessa Glynn, Calista Cleary
The students learned four basic shapes (cube, cone, pyramid, cylinder) and made
examples, turning a flat piece of paper into a three-dimensional shapes. They went on
a neighborhood walk/ treasure hunt, learning new vocabulary words as the team helped them
identify different parts of buildings. They cut out shapes of row houses, decorated them,
and put the houses together to form a neighborhood. The team showed the students slides
and pictures to teach them the difference between American and Japanese houses and
neighborhoods. The students were shown mural house designs from the African tribe of
Ndeble, which were done by the women of the tribe. Then they began to learn the different
types of African houses in different parts of the continent, and how climate, economics
and cultural traditions affect the design of the houses. The team talked about how these
homes were alike and different from the students' own homes. The students created a
replica of the African continent and added four different types of houses: mud houses,
stilt houses, huts, and skyscrapers, representing a wide range of African communities.
Map of Africa Enlargement: (66K)
