Home Makers

Created by Kaitlyn Davis

Duration: 3 Days
Grade: 5th
Frameworks: CN.10.5.1, P.6.5.1, CR.3.5.1, CR.2.5.2, CR.2.5.1,

Unit Rationale:
Moving and transitioning into a new home or place

Objectives:
Students will discuss the ideas of what makes a home, a home.
Students will interpret artwork of professional artist, Do-Ho Suh.
Students will create a model home, and cover it with tissue paper, simulating the process
of Do-Ho Suh

Materials: foam blocks (I used floral foam), floral wire (18g) 18 inches long, plastic-coated wire
(twisteez brand) 30 inches cut into 5 inch segments, tissue paper, washable glue (watered down
a bit), the template provided, pencils, wet towels, tempera paints and brushes

Vocabulary:
Armature: a structure used to support another structure that sits on top of it.

Day 1:

Introduction: What is a home?

Is every home exactly the same? How are homes different?
Some people have more than one home or some people
have changed homes.
Who remembers moving into a new home?

Students will be introduced to a South Korean artist named Do-Ho

Suh who is widely known for his fabric replicas of buildings,
specifically his homes.

I will explain to students that Do-Ho Suh came to the United States
to study art, but found that although he loved his new home, he
was still missing his old one. To help himself, he went back to
Seoul, South Korea, and made a pencil rubbing of a room in his old
home and then made an exact replica of it. Then he made a pencil
rubbing of his home in Rhode Island. Inside the fabric Rhode Island
apartment building, he hung the fabric replica of his home in Korea.

What could the artist be trying to tell people by making this

artwork?
 What could he mean by Home within a home?
What about the color? Why did he choose the colors blue
and green?
How do those colors make you feel?

Assignment Students will be making a sculpture of a home using foam, wire

and paper. Although they will not be able to make exact replicas as
Do-Ho Suh did, they do have their choice of colors just like the
artist.

Requirements:
Sketches of the outside of their homes
Four walls of wire armature
What is an armature? An armature is a strong
structure that sits under another material to support
it. For example: Can paper stand up on its own? No,
so we need to find something strong to support the
paper: like wire! Wire is stronger than paper, so we
make the form with wire, so we have something to
attach the paper to!
Paper covering or layered on most of the structure

Activity: I will start by demonstrating how to paint glue onto the floral foam
block. This material can be really messy, so adding watered down
glue to the surface will help to keep it together.

First
Then I need a volunteer to pass out templates. They should put
their names on it.
I will show students how to use their templates to bend the floral
wire into the generic shape of a house. This should be stacked wire
on top of paper and set aside.

1. Put name on bottom of template

2. Bend two pieces of floral wire
This should take 5-7 minutes

Second
One student can pass out paint brushes, one student can pass out
cardstock, one student to pass out pencils. I will pass out watery
glue, one or two containers per table.

1. Put name on bottom of paper

2. Put glue on the top and turn it onto the paper
3. Then paint glue onto all the other sides, a little glue goes a long
way!
4. Put wire forms next to the floral blocks.
 5. Put the paper in a designated drying spot, like the back of the
room
This should take 5 minutes.

Clean up
5 minutes
Each table gets a wet wash-rag about mid-activity, so they may
clean up messes as they go and wipe their hands. At clean up, the
students can share the towel or one student may clean the entire
table.

Day 2:

Introduction: I will remind students of what we did last class. And I will overview
what are goals for this class will be:
Put wire armature into our foam (who can tell me why we
are using an armature?)
Add extra wire to the roof or to the walls
Add tissue paper with watery glue

Activity: I will demonstrate how to place the wire into the foam and how to
wrap one piece of plasti-wire to make the roof peak.

One table can go get their blocks and wire

Another table can go get colored plasti-wire: 4 small pieces per

student, more if your supplies are heavier.

First
1. Put floral wire into foam
2. Wrap plasti-wire around for structure

This should take 5 minutes.

Second
Next step students will begin using pieces of tissue paper to add
more color to their houses. I will show them how to apply glue mix
to paper.

One student can pass out paint brushes, one student can pass out
tissue paper (should be pre-cut pieces, small enough to work with,
in baggies or in small tubs that are easy to pass out quickly), I will
pass out the glue mixture to the tables.

1. Wrap colored tissue paper across the wire structure

As much time as possible should be devoted to this: 15 minutes at

 least

Clean Up
One table at a time will get up to put their houses back in the
designated drying area to finish drying.

Each table gets a wet wash-rag about mid-activity, so they may

clean up messes as they go and wipe their hands. At clean up, the
students can share the towel or one student may clean the entire
table.

Day 3

Introduction Remind students of what we had been doing the last two class
days. Today they will be finishing their project. By now the tissue
paper should have dried, and now they will get some tempera or
acrylic paints to decorate the house and the block its on.

Activity One student volunteer will pass out brushes, and another will pass
out paint trays (how over you organize your classroom may depend
on how this works, I have pallets of paint ready to use, and each
section of students shares). I will had out cups of water.

Students, one table at a time can get up and pick up with project
from the designated area.

They will have most of class to paint, but some time to also fill out a
self-assessment rubric.

Clean-Up Students again have a wet rag at their table. They may put their
houses in the designated drying area.

Then they may fill out their rubric.

Name: Grade:
Teacher:

Objective 1-Poor 2-Needs 3- Average 4-Proficien 5-Advance

improvemen t d
t

Attitude:
Everyday I come
in with a positive
attitude ready to
work hard and
make good art!

Listening:
In class in sit still
and look and
listen to the
teacher while
he/she is talking
and giving
directions

Directions:
In class I
following the
directions as
stated by the
teacher

Objective:
In class I did my
best to complete
the objective for
this project. I am
satisfied with the
result of my work.