Summary

Before showing pupils the first activity ask them what makes a "house". Don't forget that terraced houses and bungalows are also houses. Explain that most people imagine a house as having four walls and a roof and show them the "detached" house in the activity. Tell them you are describing a part of the house and use language to do with position such as front, rear, square, rectangle, upright, flat, vertical, horizontal, etc.

Click on different parts of the house and discuss their purpose. Start taking the house apart. Once the house has been dismantled then try and put the pieces back together again asking the pupils to tell you where each piece should go and where the correct label is on the list. Drag the labels to the correct place.

The second activity shows a hinged joint for joining two pieces of sheet material at right angles. This diagram shows pupils how three components are joined together with glue. The teacher can move apart each of the pieces and join them up again to illustrate the correct position when fixing.

Suitable for year

Years 1-2

Using a non-interactive whiteboard

Pupils may work with a facilitator to see if they can dismantle and rebuild the house and hinge joint. Pupils may benefit from playing with a real doll's house and making a simple hinged paper joint with additional support.

Prior learning required

• It will help pupils if they have had experiences of playing with a doll's house or Wendy house.
• Pupils should have learnt to use glue and to cut paper with help using scissors.

Aims and objectives

Pupils should gain an understanding of the main parts of a house and how to construct walls, floors and roofs using a hinged joint.

Timings

Teachers should expect to spend around 15 minutes explaining the parts of a house and how a paper/card house can be built. Lots of questioning and discussion may result in the activities taking longer especially if real models and examples of making a hinged paper/card joint are incorporated.

Suggestions for group activities

Groups of pupils should look at different types of houses and then design and make their own.

The story of the three little pigs is a good introduction to this topic and illustrates the difference between different building methods. Explain the difference between bricks/sticks/straw and sheet materials.

When pupils have made their houses they should also have opportunities to finish their product by decorating inside and out and adding detail or extra components, eg stairs, chimney and shutters.

Suggestions for differentiation

• Some pupils will need help in cutting materials and in joining them together.
• Some pupils may prefer to use templates to cut out part of a house.
• More able pupils will be able to create more complex houses or different types of houses such as a row of terraced houses or tower blocks.

Further activities

Here are some further ideas from the web.

www.harris-educational.com/Probeware/experiments/TSA/#Overview of the Workshop
This website shows how older pupils were challenged to build structures out of cardboard sections.
There are video files here of how they tested th