Lesson Plan: 1. Investigate classical architecture in local area

  Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester

Greek and Roman architecture is very common in town centres. Most children will have seen columns and pediments on important buildings such as libraries, museums, art galleries, banks, town halls, and other public buildings.

1. Discuss this with the children and ask if they can remember any such buildings.

2. Take the class on a tour of the local area where you know there to be one or more classically-inspired buildings. The children can observe the type of column, whether they are fluted, other classical features which may be present, and what type of building it is. If you can get into Manchester a walk down Mosley street from Piccadilly to St. Peter's Square will lead past a great deal of classical architecture. Children could also draw the building or a feature such as a column.

Another option is to tell the children (perhaps over a weekend) to look out for any Greek-style buildings on their travels, and to note down what features they see, what type of columns the building has, and what sort of building it is.

3. Back in the classroom, discuss what features were seen. Are certain column types more common? What sorts of buildings have a classical design? Why? Public buildings and places of learning and art often have a classical design, because the ancient Greeks are credited with having laid the foundations of Western civilization. For example, the Greeks invented democracy, and government buildings recall this fact in their classical design. Greeks were also the first scientists and philosophers, and so libraries and so universities are often built in the classical style. Similarly the Greeks were renowned sculptors and artists, so museums (such as the Manchester City Art Gallery) often display classical features. The Greeks invented theatre, and many theatres are also classically designed.

4. Children can also discuss their own reactions to classical architecture. Do they like it? Why? How does it compare to other styles, such as medieval churches and castles, Tudor houses, Victorian, or modern buildings? Would it be expensive to build in the Greek style? You can discuss the materials used by the various styles, e.g. marble, brick, wood, glass and steel, and the pros and cons of each.

Lesson Plan: 2. Graph the results of the investigation

Curriculum Link: Numeracy

1. Collate all the findings of the class's (or the individual children's) investigations in to the classical architecture in the local area. Write on the board the number of columns of each type seen, number of pediments etc., and the number of types of buildings seen with classical features (I suggest grouping types as follows: government/council buildings; churches; museums & art galleries; libraries; theatres & cinemas; banks; educational buildings; homes; shops; other)

2. Children then make bar charts of any of these findings. For example they could draw a chart of the three types of columns (perhaps broken down also by whether the columns are fluted or not). The results can be used to spark a discussion - why are certain column types more popular?