5th Graders Design Floor Plan for Mather House Classroom

Fifth graders engaged in real-world, hands-on learning this spring when they were charged with creating a classroom floor plan for the Mather House, Hawken`s University Circle extension campus. The project, initiated by math enrichment instructor Molly Kling, included elements of both math and language arts, deepening the students` understanding of measurement, scale, spatial relations, as well as their ability to articulate their ideas and thought processes in writing. Students began by exploring blueprints of the house and then brainstormed essential classroom elements as well as those non-essential but possible "cool extras." They practiced making estimates and taking measurements of classroom furniture, learned about scale, and used an architect`s ruler to create scale models of the furniture, which they then used to lay out their floor plan designs. After drafting a written explanation of the reasoning behind their design and conferencing with Hawken parent Mr. Lowenstein, a professional architect, students prepared a formal cover letter in which they articulate their decision making process that led to the final product.