Each day after lunch one of our students turns on all of the lamps, the overhead lights go off and I read a chapter or two of our latest Read-aloud. Currently we are listening to Blue Balliett's The Wright 3. This fictional mystery holds a connection to one of our ALP innovators, Frank Lloyd Wright. The story takes place in Hyde Park, Illinois on the campus of the University of Chicago and features the Robie House, one of FLW's architectural masterpieces.
Supersleuths Petra and Calder, along with Calder's friend Tommy, and their sixth-grade class are attempting to save the house, built in 1910 from demolition. Their efforts present some strange circumstances: voices float out from within, shadows shift behind the art-glass windows, even the roof moves. Through the ebb and flow of the three kids' friendship we learn about their hobbies, interests and collections. For instance, Calder carries a set of "pentominoes", Tommy collects fish and Petra hopes to one day be a writer. It will be interesting to see how each of their personalities contributes to saving the house.
http://interactive.wttw.com/tenbuildings/robie-house
In the book, one of the main characters, Calder, plays with a set of pentominoes. In class, each student had a chance to create their own set. Additionally, we have 6 sets of plastic pentominoes and one wooden set that is 3-dimensional. The pentominoes ("pent" meaning 5 + "dominoes" meaning a shared edge) are made up of 12 pieces (each named after a letter that it resembles). Each piece is made of 5 squares that share at least one edge. The area of a single pentomino is always 5 squares, however, the perimeter can be different depending on the piece. The total set is equal in area to 60 squares and can be assembled to form a rectangle that is 10 by 6, however, it is QUITE challenging to create.
As we continue reading The Wright 3 we also learn about The Fibonacci Sequence which are a specific pattern of numbers which also frequently appear in both art and nature. The pattern begins with zero and then to it the next ordinal number is added. Next, that sum is combined with the last number and the sequence continues. 0 + 1=1; 1 + 1=2; 1+ 2=3; 2 + 3=5; and so on…
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55 and so on….
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_number
Living in Arizona we are very fortunate to have many examples of Frank Lloyd Wright's work in our proverbial backyard. In Scottsdale nearly everyone is familiar with the blue and green "spire" that illuminates the corners of Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd. and Scottsdale Rd. A bit further east and one can visit the winter studio/residence/school at Taliesen West. Other examples include The Biltmore Hotel property and The David and Gladys Wright home.
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Education National Louis University Master of Arts Teaching Archives
March 2017
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