Rodel Foundation of Arizona - The Wright Path
The David Wright House is proud to announce the first of a series of educational opportunities for learners of all ages to explore the masterpiece in our own backyard! A visit to the home Frank Lloyd Wright designed for his son immediately invites the observer to think about the geometric patterns and connections which are the foundation of all of Wright’s work.
In partnership with the Rodel Foundation of Arizona* we will present students in grades 2-8 with an opportunity to explore the house and grounds designed by the man Philip Johnson called “the greatest architect of the nineteenth-century.”
Throughout the experience, students will examine the basic design principles of Wright’s work as they look, touch, measure, compute, design, build and enjoy learning math disguised as fun!
Students will be grouped in age-appropriate sessions. While examining the organic architecture Wright is known for, early learners will focus on circles, squares and triangles; learning to identify and differentiate these shapes, compare their attributes and build two and three-dimensional models.
Older students will expand on these basics to explore the fundamentals of lines whether parallel, perpendicular or intersecting. They will learn about different kinds of angles and identify them in the various forms in and around the house.
Students of all ages love to design and build, and what better way to master the concepts of proportion, scale and square footage than to design your own Frank Lloyd Wright inspired rug, room or house!
All of the lessons incorporate and reinforce Arizona’s current math standards. For example, Arizona second graders are expected to “reason with shapes and their attributes” which includes recognizing and being able to draw shapes. Fourth graders need to be able to “draw and identify lines and angles and classify shapes by properties of their lines and angles.” By sixth grade Arizona students should be able to “represent three-dimensional figures using rectangles and triangles and find the surface area of these figures.” One might think Mr. Wright wrote these standards! The most important part is that all the problem solving will be done in a real-world setting with students learning by doing. This is an important feature of Arizona’s standards as well as Mr. Wright’s philosophy!
There is no cost to join the program and all participants will be provided with a tote bag and tools for exploring and learning!
Parking and directions will be delivered by email following signup to the program. There are 15 spots available per age group, per day.
*The Rodel Foundation of Arizona is well-known for its elementary math programs, MAC-Ro and Math 20/20 and is a respected source for math resources. The partnership with DWH will be directed by Rodel’s Chief Learning Officer, Dr. Kimberly Rimbey, a nationally board certified teacher of mathematics.