lesson idea opinions

I've been doing this architecture unit with my 4th graders and they are so into it. They got checkbooks and have been earning money in different ways to fund the decorating and construction of their homes. I have swatches of carpet, paint, tile, etc. that I am going to put out in centers to give them choices on purchasing for their homes and staying within a budget... I just typed this brainstorm out and am looking for feedback please :)

how does this sound as a game plan? I have a 2 hour block that I have with these kids...

Morning work: Using your blueprints as a guide, calculate area of your kitchen, living room and master bedroom. Record this information on your worksheet.

15 minute mini lesson to explain that this morning they'll get to spend their client's money on flooring and wall coverings for their new house. They will also get to furnish their home after they see how much money remains in their budget. Before consumers purchase items, they need to educate themselves about the different options that are out there. Before you go shopping for flooring, you are going to read an article on the pros and cons of wood vs carpet floor. Before you go shopping for wall coverings, you are going to read an article on the pros and cons of paint vs wallpaper. Only after you read these articles can you have the understanding and knowledge to make a smart consumer decision. Even though it is your clien'ts money, you do not want to spend it all on floors and walls. You still want to have money for the fun stuff - furniture and decoration. We'll be rotating our architectural firms this morning and you will have time at each station to read your articles to make an informed decision and then decide if you want to purchase the Economy flooring/wall coverings or the Executive. (I want to give them different price points -- and I typed up an explanaition of what the difference btwn economy and executive would be --- durability, etc..). Once you make a selection, you will fill it in on your Order Form and calculate how much it will cost based on the square footage that you calcualted this morning.

I have 6 groups of 2. I thought I'd start 3 groups out at wall coverings and 3 groups out at flooring. Give them 20 min to read and decide between carpet/wood or paint/wallpaper. Then they would have to 1) pick wallpaper or paint and 2) pick economical/executive and 3) calculate the cost of their purchase

Then they'd rotate for another 20 minutes at the next station. We'd come back together as a group and see how much money people spent and what influenced their decisions. The next week in class I'll let them have the Home Depot and IKEA catalogs and really go shopping for accessories -- cutting them out and making a design board like an interior designer does.

Any thoughts?

Message edited 5/23/2007 3:20:00 PM.

Re: lesson idea opinions

Love it. What about having them do a venn diagram for the comparing and contrasting part?

Re: lesson idea opinions

thanks. Like the Venn diagram idea... wondering if it might be too time consuming to do that and the reading and math in 20 min