Informational Resources:

Author and Illustrator Information:

Chris Van Dusen Biography:

http://www.chrisvandusen.com/bio

Q & A with Chris Van Dusen:

http://www.chrisvandusen.com/q-and-a

Five Questions plus One with Chris Van Dusen (6:34):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGQOP5YCLaE

Activities & Resources:

Activities:

Chris Van Dusen also wrote and illustrated If I Built a House and If I Built a Car. See if your library has these books, and compare them to If I Built a School.

Look at the endpapers of the book to see Jack’s sketches and plans for his school. Make your sketch to design your school.

Architecture:

Architecture facts for kids:

https://kids.kiddle.co/Architecture

Experiment with different materials in the Building Big labs: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/lab/index.html

Time lapse video of school construction (1:09):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXtJvD31F4I

Technology involved in the school:

Jack had hover desks in his school. Learn more about how a hovercraft works:

https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-does-a-hovercraft-work

Holograms:

https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-are-holograms-made

Pneumatic Tubes: Transportation of the Past...and Future?(3:39):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMXxOlOPPxE

Genetically Modified Animals:

Use the Hybridizer to create a genetically modified creature:

http://digitalcultures.pl/hybridizer/

Real-life Robots (4:07):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wHJjLMnikU

MakerSpace Activities:

Use scrap paper, plastic containers, and other recycled materials to build a model of your design of a school.

Use Google SketchUp to create a 3D model of your design of a school.

Use a presentation app like Google Slides or Buncee to take pictures of places in your school. Write or record your voice to explain how you could improve or change that part of your school.

Make a pop-up book like the books in Jack’s school library. Watch this video for instructions (5:15):

https://www.schooltube.com/media/1_5qkqg2m1

Jack says that at his school,

“using a stylus, you write in the air.

No blackboard. No whiteboard. No, nothing is there.

Your words just appear and they magically glow.

(Don’t ask how this works ‘cause I don’t really know.)

Explain or create a model to show how you would make this work.

Discussion Questions:

What is one thing you would change about your school? Why?

Look at the illustration on the title page. What is Jack thinking? What do you notice about the illustration?

Notice Miss Jane’s expression in the illustration on the first page. What do you imagine she is thinking and feeling?

How would you feel about having puppies at school? What about big animals like elephants and camels?

There is a robot working at the front desk of the school. Do you think a robot could work in the front office of your school? Why or why not?

A simile uses “like” or “as” to compare two things. The author writes that the classrooms are “like colorful flowers” and the roofs are “like giant petals.” Why do think the author chose to use those similes?

The author uses alliteration (words in a phrase or sentence that start with the same letter) throughout the book. Find one instance of alliteration. Why do you think the author chose to use alliteration? How does it affect the poem? Does it make a difference if you read it silently or out loud?

Jack describes a stylus that makes “your words just appear and they magically glow. (Don’t ask how this works ‘cause I don’t really know.)” Do you think this stylus is a possible invention? How do you think it would work?

Do you think hover desks are practical? Explain.

Which activity from the gym would you choose? Why?

In the science lab, we see genetically modified creatures, like a fish body with a swan’s head, and a snake with bird wings. What hybrid animal would you create? What would you call it?

Look at the illustration of Mars. How is the illustrator’s version of Mars different from Earth? How are they the same?

What does Jack mean when he says, “On a scale, 1 to 10, it’s more like 15?”

Jack names the school after himself- “Jack’s School.” For whom would you name a school? Why?

What do you think Miss Jane is thinking in feeling in the last illustration? How has she changed?

Why do you think the author chose to write this book as a rhyming poem?

Do you think changing the school building or adding gadgets would really improve your school experience? Why or why not?

Would you want to go to Jack’s school? Why or why not?

If you could choose one of Jack’s ideas for his school, which would you choose? Why?

Book Talk Teasers:

Read the Reader’s Theater for If I Built a School.

Watch the book trailer on the Texas Bluebonnet Award YouTube channel.

Read Alikes:

Architecture:

Beaty, Andrea. Iggy Peck, Architect. Ever since he was a baby, Iggy Peck has built towers, bridges, and buildings, which comes in handy when his second grade class is stranded on an island during a picnic. (NoveList Plus)

Guarnaccia, Steven. The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale. In this retelling of the classic tale, the three little pigs build homes inspired by the signature houses of famed architects Frank Gehry, Phillip Johnson, and Frank Lloyd Wright, and fill the interiors with furnishings by renowned designers, piquing the interest of a certain evil wolf. (NoveList Plus)

Hale, Christy. Building Up: A Celebration of Building. A collection of concrete poetry, illustrations, and photographs that shows how young children's constructions, created as they play, are reflected in notable works of architecture from around the world. Includes biographies of the architects, quotations, and sources. (NoveList Plus)

Rosenstock, Barb. Prairie Boy: Frank Lloyd Wright Turns the Heartland Into a Home. Frank Lloyd Wright, a young boy from the prairie, becomes America's first world-famous architect in this inspirational nonfiction picture book introducing organic architecture -- a style he created based on the relationship between buildings and the natural world -- which transformed the American home. (NoveList Plus)

Maker Mindset:

Spires, Ashley. The Most Magnificent Thing. A little girl has a wonderful idea. With the help of her canine assistant, she is going to make the most magnificent thing! She knows just how it will look. She knows just how it will work. But making the most magnificent thing turns out to be harder than she thinks.(NoveList Plus)

Yamada, Kobi. What Do You Do with an Idea? A boy has an idea which makes him uncomfortable at first but he discovers it is magical and that, no matter what other people say, he should give it his attention. (NoveList Plus)

Yolen, Jane. What to Do with a Box. Jane Yolen poetically reminds young readers that a simple box can be a child's most imaginative plaything as artist Chris Sheban illustrates its myriad and magical uses. (NoveList Plus)

Schools:

Rex, Adam. School’s First Day of School. It's the first day of school at Frederick Douglass Elementary and everyone's just a little bit nervous, especially the school itself. (NoveList Plus)

Rumford, James. Rain School. The children arrive on the first day of school and build a mud structure to be their classroom for the next nine months until the rainy season comes and washes it all away. (NoveList Plus)