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Architecture: The Badge of Identity for Our Society
Joan R. Benton
Colleton Elementary School, Walterboro, South Carolina, Bells Elementary School, Ruffin, South Carolina
Subject: Community Studies
Grade: 3-8 (Gifted)
"Our study of architecture has been fun....the most interesting
part was going around and taking pictures of our architectural
structures." (Student)
Purpose and Description of Project
The purpose of Joan Benton's project was to give her and 43 of
her students a "hands-on" opportunity to learn about
the history of their county. Thinking that the county's homes
and public buildings would reflect the county's history, growth
patterns, and diversity, Benton assigned her students to prepare
a "camera's-eye" view of the local architecture and
then analyze their findings from an historical perspective.
Activities
Knowing her students would need "crash courses" in architecture,
photography, and public speaking to describe, record, and share
their findings effectively, Benton planned an ambitious program.
After a discussion of the overall project, the class decided that
field trips would enable them to visit parts of the county they
might not have seen before, and that each student would photograph
one house and one public building for a project slide show. A
professional photographer talked to the class about
photography in general,
and an amateur photographer showed them his award-winning
photos and his collection of old cameras, while offering tips
on photographing buildings. Students drew names of historic buildings
to research; each then prepared an oral and a written report on
his or her subject. The class also visited with a 96-year-old
local historian who shared her knowledge of the early days of
the county.
Then the photography and interviewing began. In addition to shooting
photos for a class slide presentation, students interviewed owners
and/or managers of 91 homes and public buildings. From the interview
sheets Benton prepared a narrative script to accompany the sequenced
slides; each student served as narrator for her or his portion
on the slide show. Unfortunately, the school year ended before
the presentation could be completed, but Benton saw this as a
challenge to be met when she would teach many of the same students
the following fall. Her hope is to present the audiovisual show
to the county seat as its bicentennial birthday gift.
The 43 students produced three bound booklets in conjunction with
the project-"Famous Architects," "Famous Structures,"
and "Architecture from A to Z," the latter being a dictionary
of architectural concepts they had studied -in which they made
use of their photos and research findings.
Materials, Resources, and Expenses
Numerous people beyond those mentioned about supported Benton's
activities. The coordinator of the county's gifted program arranged
the loan of a
35 mm camera
and audiovisual equipment. Many fellow
teachers, parents, local historians, and city and county officials
suggested and arranged field trips. The teacher of a local heritage
class was even able to confirm that although what a third-grade
student learned about his public structure contradicted published
information, the student was correct.
Students did much of their research on vocabulary words, famous
architects and structures, and local historic buildings in a resource
room which Benton furnished with almost 40 reference books from
the local libraries, dictionaries and encyclopedias and local
and world maps. Audiovisual equipment provided by the school system
included an opaque projector, two 35 mm cameras for taking slides,
two other cameras to record project activities, slide and photo print
film,
a slide sorter and projector/view, two tape recorders
and two tape cassettes to record the slide show narration. The
slides and some of the photos were commercially developed.
Outcomes and Adaptability
Pre- and post-test scores indicated that the students had succeeded
in acquiring the necessary architectural background in terms of
people, places, and terms; their overall scores increased by 79%.
The slides and photos that they produced showed the students had
passed the "crash" photography course. The public-speaking
goal would have to be addressed the following fall. Benton had
hoped to open up a new area of learning and stimulate continued
learning: 23 of the 43 students expressed a desire to continue
some aspect of the project on their own. In the end, both teacher
and students felt more knowledgeable of their county.
Benton suggests that the slides could serve as the nucleus for
other county-related studies-e.g., a survey of specific types
of buildings. She sees the project as readily adaptable to different
settings, teaching arrangements, and grades. Benton was able to
work with her students once a week in groups of 7 to 14, but does
not see the size of a regular class or the timeframe of a class
period as presenting difficulties if parent volunteers are able
to help and fellow teachers are flexible in releasing students
from their classes for project activities.