“SKYSCRAPERS” is one of the themes for the month of June and September 3 is “SKYSCRAPER DAY”!   Below are the links we’ll be following as we learn about skyscrapers.  This study will cover the subjects of science, math, language arts, history, geography, literature, and art.  Most of the resources will apply to all ages.

Skyscraper Day Information http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/September/skyscraperday.htm

Fun Facts About Skyscrapers http://www.factmonster.com/spot/skyscraperfacts.html  (there’s related links on the right side of the article)

How Skyscrapers Work Articles with Diagrams http://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/structural/skyscraper2.htm

Time-lapse Construction Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdpf-MQM9vY

Virtual Field Trip – 360 degree Panoramic View from the Empire State Building http://www.nylocations.com/360-panorama/empire-state-building/

Skyscraper Emergency Engineering Lab Interactives  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/skyscraper/challenge/index.html

Videos, Lesson Plans and Printable Resources, and More http://skyscraper.org/home_flash.htm

Video Algebra Lesson  http://threeacts.mrmeyer.com/dominoskyscraper/

Window Cleaning Skyscraper Math (multiplication) Interactive Game http://www.multiplication.com/games/play/math-wash

Another math lessons will be skyscraper word problems game.  I’ll make up and write some math problems on cards. The kids will be making some too.   For example, “If the elevator travels 30 seconds between each floor and does not stop until it reaches the 37th floor.  How many minutes will it take to reach the 37th floor from the ground floor?”  We’ll each be able to come up with construction time and cost problems too.  Once there’s a stack of question cards, we’ll take turns drawing and answering.  With each correct answer, the player gets a Lego block.  The player with the highest Lego Tower will be the winner.

Skyscraper Building Activity Challenge http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Skyscraper-Challenge-A-Team-Building-Activity-279407

To add a Bible study to our lessons, I entered “skyscrapers” into the search feature at Bible.org.  I was pleasantly surprised to see more than the Tower of Babel to choose from!  https://bible.org/gsearch?search=skyscrapers

The Runaway Skyscraper , written by  Murray Leinster, is a  science fiction novelette , originally published in Argosy magazine (a general-interest fiction magazine) in 1919,  now it’s a free read from Project Gutenberg  http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17355/17355-h/17355-h.htm

The Two Skyscrapers Who Decided to Have a Child is one of the short stories of the Rootabaga Stories written in 1922 by  Carl Sandburg and is a free read here  http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/carl-sandburg/rootabaga-stories-the-two-skyscrapers-who-decided-to-have-a-child/2206/

Skyscrapers are tall. “Tall” isn’t a greatest choice of adjectives for describing a skyscraper.  Here’s the link to synonyms and words related to “tall” for a grammar, writing, and vocabulary lesson. http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/tall

A Word Mining Game  will be another language arts connection.  After we have as many words made as possible from the letters in “SKYSCRAPER”, we’ll categorize them into the relative parts of speech they belong to, noun, verb, adjective, etc.  Then we’ll try to put those words together for silly sentences.

How to Draw a Cityscape http://www.dragoart.com/tuts/link/4534/1/1/how-to-draw-a-city.htm

Print, Cut, and Fold Skyscraper Models –

• Chrysler Building  http://www.papertoys.com/chrysler-building.htm
• Empire State Building  http://www.papertoys.com/empire-building.htm
• World Trade Center http://www.papertoys.com/world-trade-center.htm

I’ve been on my local library’s web site and reserved a few skyscraper books  to pick up this week and while we’re out, we’ll take a close look at our city’s 2 tallest buildings – 19 stories and 10 stories.

betty jo