Building Community: The Roots of Adobe
Creando Comunidad: Las Raíces del Adobe

Mathematics

1. Experiment with different shaped adobe bricks, (wedge or rectangular-shaped, wide or narrow, baked or unbaked) and the kinds of structures that can be built with this universal building unit.

Students and teacher mud plastering a horno. Alumnos y profesor enbarrando un horno.

2. Calculate the number of adobes of a certain size and volume that you would need for a particular size wall, room, home, etc. 3. Measure the size of the classroom or playground. Calculate the number of bricks required to build these particular structures. 4. Plan a house, figure out the area for each room, figure out the height and width of the walls, the size and placement of windows and doors, etc. 5. Explore different alternative heating systems for a house, their total cost for installation and maintenance as well as the amount of energy and cost of energy units that they use.

Science

1. Research the advantages and disadvantages of using unfired adobe as a building material.

2. Study the feasibility of building homes and other structures out of various materials.

3. Create different mud or mortar mixtures by varying degrees of the amount of each material employed.

4. Take a field trip to a particular place in your area where you can collect soil samples. Attempt to make an adobe or several using the earth collected.

Language Arts

1. Describe the sequence of making an adobe brick and then an entire house, using Spanish and English vocabulary. Read The Three Little Javelinas.

2. Match pictures illustrating architectural features with vocabulary.

3. Study some of the architectural styles around your neighborhood. Draw them, photograph them and create three dimensional models of them using mixed media and recyclables.

4. Go on a search to locate other architectural elements such as murals, public sculpture and public gardens that add to buildings in your neighborhood.

5. Write a story about living in an adobe house 100 years ago, describing the sights, smells, sounds, temperature, etc. through the different seasons.

Physical Education

1. Help design and build an horno.

2. Build a model size adobe home or community using miniature bricks.

Community Connections

1. Visit historical buildings in your town. Compare their architecture to historic building styles of New Mexico. Look at the materials used, the size of rooms, special features, etc.

2. Assist with or visit community building projects which help restore buildings or homes. Participate in constructing a play area for the community or school.