Weekly Activities

Summary:

Here is a unique celebration of children’s playtime explorations and the surprising ways childhood experiences find expression in the dreams and works of innovative architects.

Children’s fascination with objects in their environment begins at an early age. As they play, they move, haul, stack, balance, and combine items they encounter in numerous and imaginative ways. As they discover their abilities to build, children also become fascinated with actual buildings, a natural outgrowth of their curiosity about anything huge and complex around them.

Dreaming Up celebrates all this by pairing illustrations of children’s familiar play activities and informative, captivating concrete poems with photographs of real buildings that take the form and structure of children’s constructions to the level of architectural treasures. Locations of the buildings highlighted—some famous and some less well-known—include Egypt, Japan, the United States, Spain, Columbia, China, Malaysia, and Canada. Brief introductions focusing on the childhoods of the renowned architects from around the world who designed the buildings conclude the book.

Come be inspired to play—dream—build—discover!

Discussion Questions:

• What materials do the children in the book like to use to build? What materials do the featured architects use to build their structures?

• What shapes do you see in each structure the children make and in the photographs of structures?

• Select one of the poems and focus on the description words. What adjectives are used to describe the structure?

• Compare one of the structures the children build to the photograph of a real structure. What do the creations have in common? What makes them different?

• Describe one of the structures in the photographs. What shapes do you see? What is the structure made of? How big might it be? What do you think is its purpose? Where do you think it is located?

• Study the illustrations and photographs. Which materials are more effective for making curved structures? Which materials are more effective for making tall structures? Why? What are the strengths and limits of the materials used?

• Why does the author, Christy Hale, choose to begin the book with the quotation, “If they can dream it, they can build it,” by Madhu Thangavelu? Who might the “they” refer to? How does this quote relate to the central idea of the book?

• Why does a photograph of a real structure accompany each illustration of children playing?

• The author chooses to shape each poem like the structure the children are building. How does this choice affect the tone and mood of the book?

• Study the photographs of the notable structures. What factors do architects need to consider when designing a new structure? (cost of materials, availability of materials, size, purpose, etc.) How might these factors influence the shape of the structure?

• When creating a structure for play, what factors does the child builder/architect have to think about? (purpose of structure, availability of materials, etc.) How might these factors influence the shape of the structure?

• What do children and architects have in common? Why would the author connect children playing with famous structures on the same spread in the book? What impact can play have on adult careers?

• Why do you think the author chooses the title Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building? What does this choice demonstrate about the author’s perspective? Whose creations is this book celebrating? Why do you think the author wants to celebrate the act of building?

• The author, Christy Hale, is an art educator as well as an author and an illustrator. How might her career as an art educator have influenced her to write a book about creating and celebrating structures?

• How do the children and featured architects demonstrate creativity?

• How do the materials impact the structures children can create? For example, how does a material such as toothpicks influence the shape of the structure the children build?

• How does the purpose of a structure impact the structure the children create? For example, how does the purpose of a reading fort influence the shape and materials the children use?

• Several of the poems in the book use rhyming. What effect does rhyming have on the tone and mood of the book? How does rhyming reinforce that this book is celebrating building?

Writing

Choose one of the writing prompts below:

1. Imagine you are one of the architects written about in the book and you are asked to design a new school. Write a letter, from the point of view of the architect, describing the materials you will need and what the building will look like. As you think about the design and materials needed, consider the types of spaces children in the school will need to learn, read, eat, study; what you will need to make the building safe and sturdy; and what will make it an attractive place in which to learn.

2. How would you define the word artist? Who do you think is an artist in your life and why? Do you think architects who design buildings are artists? Can a building be art? Argue why or why not.

3. Imagine you have a meeting with the mayor of Mississauga, Bonnie Crombie. What would you say to persuade Mayor Crombie to support play in school? What makes play meaningful and educational? Do you think children should have time to play in school or only outside of the school day? Why?

4. Which parts of the book did you connect to the most? Which parts of the book did you connect to the least? Why? What memory can you share of a time you built something or saw a structure that inspired you?

Use whatever materials you have and build your own city!

This week's website is TinkerCAD.

Tinkercad is an online collection of software tools from Autodesk that enable complete beginners to create 3D models.

This CAD software is based on constructive solid geometry (CSG), which allows users to create complex models by combining simpler objects together. As a result, this 3D modeling software is user-friendly and currently enjoyed by many. Additionally, it is free!

In-School students can ask Ms. Hall to print small projects from the school 3D printer in the LLC.