SCALE MODEL BUILDING Student Day Resource Packet - Pre & Post Visit Activities - Vocabulary & Resource Lists - Curriculum Connections

Oct 29, 2026

Upload by Rowan

Student Day Resource Packet for Scale Model Building provides structured pre-visit, during-visit, and post-visit activities. It guides students to measure distance and area, practice scale using drawing sheets, and understand plan (top-view) and elevation (side-view) representations for communicating 3D spaces. During the visit, students design a 300-square-foot apartment, draw scaled floorplans on graph paper, and construct walls with door and window openings. Afterward, extension tasks cover scale furniture, real-world math applications like area and flooring cost estimates, and a continued ratio-and-measurement activity. Includes vocabulary lists, drawing-to-scale instructions, and curated architectural resource references.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryTechnology

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Before Your Visit

During Your Visit

After Your Visit

Scale Furniture

Real World Math

Continued Measurement and Ratio Activity

Scale Model Building Vocabulary List

Additional Resources

Scale Practice Sheet

Drawing to Scale

SCALE MODEL BUILDING Student Day Resource Packet Pre & Post Visit Activities ▪ Vocabulary & Resource Lists ▪ Curriculum Connections | Before Your Visit :
Prepare your students for their visit with these introductory pre-visit activities. | | | --- | --- | | 1 | Ensure that students understand how to measure distance and area by documenting the dimensions of your classroom and calculating the area. Students will be asked to share this information at the Scale Model Building workshop. | | 2 | Introduce the concept of scale by having students measure and draw themselves at two different scales using the Scale Practice sheet provided on Page 4. During the workshop, we will be using a ½” = 1’ scale. | | 3 | Designers use plan (top-view) and elevation (side-view) drawings to describe three-dimensional spaces and objects. Students will create their own plan and elevation drawings during the workshop. To help them understand how these 2-D drawings work together, have students create a simple model of a room using the template provided on Page 5. Copy this template onto cardstock, if available. Assemble the template by cutting it out and folding along the dotted lines to create a three-dimensional diagram with the plan on the bottom, elevations on the sides, and a ceiling at the top. | | During Your Visit : | | --- | | The program begins by introducing students to scale drawings as tools for communicating design ideas, from popular products to complex, architectural spaces. Students will learn how to read an architectural floorplan, using a drawing of the space they are in to become familiar with the architectural symbols for doors, windows, walls, etc. Students will also be introduced to elevation (side-view) drawings and how they are used in architecture.
Students will then design their own 300 square foot apartment. As a class, we will estimate and measure possible configurations for this area, noting dimensions needed to create this square footage. Using a ½” scale ruler and graph paper, students will draw their own floorplans to scale. Students will then measure and construct walls with doors and window openings to complete their scale model. | | After Your Visit :
Continue the learning by facilitating these suggested extension activities. | | | --- | --- | | 1 | Scale Furniture: Using the ½” scale templates provided on Page 6, students can add furniture to their models. Print this template on cardstock and direct students to finish numbering the scale feet on the ½” scale ruler. Assemble the templates by cutting the solid lines and folding along the dotted lines. Encourage your students to construct their own designs for other furniture and decorative items by drawing these items to scale using the ½” scale ruler. | | 2 | Real World Math: Use the Plan Practice activity sheet on Page 7 to help students build their architectural literacy. This worksheet demonstrates how scaled drawings can be used for real world applications such as measuring a room, calculating area, and estimating the cost of flooring. Answer sheet on Page 8 .
As an extension, students can use this activity as an example to create and solve their own word problems based on the drawing and model they created at the Center for Architecture. | | After Your Visit (continued) | | --- | | 3 Made toMeasureaMeasctivityusrehe:eStut odnePnatsgeca9nTchoinstainuctievitthyeair esksxploratstudenion of ratiots to meas,uprreoapondrtcioanlc, aulndatestchaeleraby ctiosoimnhpeletrenintgithe Mn the haudemtaon body, which were documented by Leonardo da Vinci over 500 years ago. | Student Model from the Scale Model Building Workshop | Scale Model Building Vocabulary List | | | --- | --- | | Area | The measurement of a surface describing the amount of space within a defined boundary, measured in square units. The area of a rectangular form is measured by multiplying its length by its width. | | Elevation | A side-view drawing showing a building or object as

FAQs

What should students do before the visit to prepare for scale model building?

Students review how to measure distance and area by documenting classroom dimensions, and practice scale by measuring and drawing themselves at two different scales. They also learn how plan and elevation drawings describe 3D spaces and may assemble a room template to connect 2D drawings to a 3D diagram.

What happens during the visit in the program?

Students are introduced to scale drawings as design communication tools, including how to read architectural symbols on floorplans. They then design a 300 square foot apartment, estimate and measure configurations, draw scaled floorplans using a 1/2” scale and graph paper, and construct walls with doors and window openings to complete the model.

How do the post-visit extension activities build on the skills learned during the workshop?

Students add scale furniture using templates and practice scale-based numbering with a 1/2” ruler. They also use a plan practice sheet for real-world math applications such as measuring rooms, calculating area, and estimating flooring costs, and can create and solve their own word problems from their drawing and model.

Oct 29, 2026

Upload by Rowan