Students will design their own dream house by writing a story and creating a floor plan using geometric shapes. They will write their own version of "If I Built a House" describing their design. Students will then draw the floor plan, calculate the area and perimeter using shapes, and present their work. The lesson teaches geometric concepts and writing skills while allowing creativity.

2. 1
Kid Architects
Attention 3rd
graders, you have been given the
job of Architect. You first project is to build
your own dream house!
Alexa Moran
November 10, 2015
By

3. 2
FOR 3RD GRADE: STANDARDS
Children’s Literature Connection: If I Built a House by Chris Van Dusen
PDE Standard Aligned System Standards
Standard 2.3.3.F- Estimate and verify measurements of length, area, weight, and capacity.
Standard 2.3.5.C: Calculate perimeter and area, and the sums and differences of
measurements.
Standard 1.4.3.A: Write poems and stories
Standard 1.5.3.D: Write, developing an awareness of style, using a variety of sentence
structures, adjectives, precise nouns, and action verbs.
Standard 1.5.3.C: Organize writing in a logical order. Include a recognizable beginning,
middle, and end
Common Core
CC.2.3.3.A.1: Identify, compare, and classify shapes and their attributes.
CC.2.4.2.A.1: Measure and estimate lengths in standard units using appropriate
tools.
OBJECTIVES
The students will be able to:
Design and new version of the book, If I Built a Book by Chris Van Dusen, and design
their own home using given geometric shapes and using researched styles of homes.

4. 3
TEACHER SUMMARY
We have read the book, If I Built a House by Chris van Duren and examined the different
aspects of homes. We have discussed how architects build homes and the various shapes
that can be used to build them. After viewing the website http://robpaulus.com, and
various Pinterest posts, students have gotten ideas and seen various styles of homes as
well as how architects initially design them. As a class, we will discuss various styles og
homes and how different styles of homes may depend on where people live. In this
activity, students will have the opportunity to right their own version of the house they
would build. Students will then create their own homes using geometric shapes. They
will then find the area and perimeter of their homes.

5. 4
INTRODUCTION
Hello architect engineers! Your first job as architect is to design and write your own
version of how to build your dream house, just like what you read in If I Built a House.
What makes your dream house different? What shapes would you use to design it?
Would it be big and open, or small and cozy? Where would it be? In the city or the
woods? As we talk about different homes as a class, and how architects first design their
homes, jot down your ideas for your dream house. Then, create an outline of how you
will structure your story; don’t forget about the beginning, middle, end, title, and
descriptive details! Make sure to use full sentences and have a detailed illustration for
your ideas. Then, once you’ve written your own version of If I Built a House, it’s time to
draw the plan for your house, just like an architect. Use graph paper, pencils, and various
shapes to measure out and design one floor of your home. The it’s time to find out just
how big your house is by finding the perimeter and area. I’ll help you along the way, and
don’t forget to ask your friends and other classmates for ideas and help.

6. 5
LESSON FOCUS
Using what we have learned in math, you should be able to design your own home using
various geometric shapes. Using your author skills, you will write a story on how you
would build your dream home, and then as an architect, design a floor plan for it!
Remember to use your notes from our class discussions about different types of homes.
Use the website below to help you remember which shape is which, and their
characteristics:
https://quizlet.com/5111303/geometry-vocabularydefinitions-3rd-grade-flash-cards/
Square
A quadrilateral with four equal
sides and four right angles.
Opposite sides are parallel.
Rectangle
A quadrilateral with four sides and
four right angels. Opposite sides
are parallel.
Circle
A polygon made with a
continuous line which is always
the same distance from the center.
Quadrilateral
A polygon with four sides and
four angles.

7. 6
Parallelogram
A quadrilateral (four sides and four angles)
where opposite sides are parallel.
Trapezoid
A quadrilateral (four sides and four angles)
with one pair of parallel sides.
Rhombus
A parallelogram with four equal sides and
equal opposite angles.
Equilateral triangle
A triangle that has three equal sides.

8. 7
MATERIALS
Book- If I Built a House, By Chris Van Dusen
Computer- use the links to help understand the basics of various homes, an architects job,
and geometric shapes.
Lined paper and pencil (write out the plan of the story)
Graph paper (to draw the design of the house)
Crayons (to illustrate the story, and color code geometric shapes on house design)

9. 8
GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES
Guidelines
1. You must use your peers for help and ideas.
2. You must design a structure and story line in the animation program that
will successful let the kitten get her bowl of milk in the sky!
3. Present findings to teacher and class through the presentation of the
animation.
Procedure
1. Discussing with peers around you, use your notes and ideas from our class
discussion on homes and how they are built.
2. Write out your story layout on a piece of paper.
3. Write the story and draw illustrations
4. Use your peers to help edit it to make sure it’s good to go!
5. Using graph paper and list of shapes, create your dream house.
6. Present to the class.

10. 9
RUBRICS
CATEGORY 4 3 2 1
Mathematical
Reasoning
Uses complex
and refined
mathematical
reasoning.
Uses effective
mathematical
reasoning
Some
evidence of
mathematic
al
reasoning.
Little
evidence
of
mathemati
cal
reasoning.
Use of
Manipulatives
Student always
listens and
follows
directions and
only uses
manipulatives as
instructed.
Student
typically
listens and
follows
directions and
uses
manipulatives
as instructed
most of the
time.
Student
sometimes
listens and
follows
directions
and uses
manipulativ
es
appropriatel
y when
reminded.
Student
rarely
listens and
often
"plays"
with the
manipulat
ives
instead of
using
them as
instructed.
Neatness and
Organization
The work is
presented in a
neat, clear,
organized
fashion that is
easy to read.
The work is
presented in a
neat and
organized
fashion that is
usually easy to
read.
The work is
presented in
an
organized
fashion but
may be hard
to read at
times.
The work
appears
sloppy
and
unorganiz
ed. It is
hard to
know
what
informatio
n goes
together.

11. 10
Completion All problems are
completed.
All but one of
the problems
are completed.
All but two
of the
problems
are
completed.
Several of
the
problems
are not
completed
.
Mathematical
Terminology
and Notation
Correct
terminology and
notation are
always used,
making it easy to
understand what
was done.
Correct
terminology
and notation
are usually
used, making
it fairly easy to
understand
what was
done.
Correct
terminology
and
notation are
used, but it
is
sometimes
not easy to
understand
what was
done.
There is
little use,
or a lot of
inappropri
ate use, of
terminolo
gy and
notation.

12. 11
CATEGORY 4 3 2 1
Title Title is creative,
sparks interest
and is related to
the story and
topic.
Title is related
to the story and
topic.
Title is present,
but does not
appear to be
related to the
story and topic.
No title.
Introduction First paragraph
has a "grabber"
or catchy
beginning.
First paragraph
has a weak
"grabber".
A catchy
beginning was
attempted but
was confusing
rather than
catchy.
No attempt was
made to catch
the reader's
attention in the
first paragraph.
Organization The story is very
well organized.
One idea or
scene follows
another in a
logical sequence
with clear
transitions.
The story is
pretty well
organized. One
idea or scene
may seem out of
place. Clear
transitions are
used.
The story is a
little hard to
follow. The
transitions are
sometimes not
clear.
Ideas and scenes
seem to be
randomly
arranged.
Requirements All of the
written
requirements (#
of pages, # of
graphics, type of
graphics, etc.)
were met.
Almost all
(about 90%) the
written
requirements
were met.
Most (about
75%) of the
written
requirements
were met, but
several were not.
Many
requirements
were not met.
Illustrations Original
illustrations are
detailed,
attractive,
creative and
relate to the text
on the page.
Original
illustrations are
somewhat
detailed,
attractive, and
relate to the text
on the page.
Original
illustrations
relate to the text
on the page.
Illustrations are
not present OR
they are not
original.
Focus on
Assigned
The entire story
is related to the
Most of the
story is related
Some of the
story is related
No attempt has
been made to

13. 12
Objectives: Students will be able to…
 List the steps and give reason for researching information (Knowledge)
 Understand the type of mathematics involved in geometry and give
reasoning. (Comprehension)
 As a whole group, discuss factors in which architects design their homes,
and apply that discuss in their individual design and reasoning.
(Application)
 Interpret own geometric solution and the differences/similarities in the
groups results. (Analysis)
 Use their own results and design to write an organized and clear story.
(Synthesis)
 Read other members stories and designs and identify the correctness and
connection between the two and justify. (Evaluation)
Topic assigned topic
and allows the
reader to
understand
much more
about the topic.
to the assigned
topic. The story
wanders off at
one point, but
the reader can
still learn
something about
the topic.
to the assigned
topic, but a
reader does not
learn much
about the topic.
relate the story
to the assigned
topic.

14. 13
REFERENCES
RubiStar, http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?ts=1434727431, 19 July 2015.
Van Dusen, C. (2012) If I Built a House. New York, NY. Dial Books Publishers.

15. 14