Building Sod Houses

Building Sod Houses

Topic:

Social Studies

Grade Level:

Fourth

Instructional Objectives:

The student will construct a sod house using manipulatives.
The student will work well in a group during construction.

Concepts Addressed:

Modeling
Cooperative group skills

Materials Required:

popsicle sticks (20 per student)
cotton balls (approximately 50 per student)
flour (1 bag per 10 students)
water (3 cups per 1 bag of flour)
spray paint (brown)
clay (a handful for each student)
cardboard (one square foot for each student)
buckets or cups for mixture

Engagement:

How long do you think it would take to build a sod house? How long did it take settlers of the Midwest to build their sod houses? (months) Discuss the process of building a sod house from what was learned in the text and researching on the Internet. Explain to the students that they are going to be building sod houses in class for the next couple days. What do you think we could use to represent the sod? (cotton balls) The roof? (popsicle sticks) the door? (popsicle sticks) How many rooms will we have to build? (one, a sod house is a one room house) Will our sod houses be two stories? (no only one)

Procedure:

Day One: Building the Frame
Each student should receive a handful of popsicle sticks and clay to build a frame. Either model how the frame should be put together, or have a model available to the students for reference. The frame of the sod house should be a cube when completed:

Day Two: Adding Sod Bricks
Mix 1 bag of flour with 3 cups water and mush together till doughy. Each group of five students should receive a bucket or container of this mixture. Each student should be given approximately 50 cotton balls. The cotton balls are to be dipped into this mixture until completely covered. Students should be instructed to build one entire row of sod bricks before attempting to build the next row on top. The students should build halfway up the sod house on the first day and then allow to dry overnight.

Day Three: Adding Sod Bricks and a Roof
Students should be given the same materials as the previous day and continue building the walls of their sod houses. They should leave a space for the door on one of the sides. After all walls have been completed, students should build a roof out of popsicle sticks and glue it to the top. Sod houses should be left to dry overnight.

Day Four: Painting the Sod Houses
Teachers should use the brown spray paint and paint the sod houses a deep brown.

Key Discussion Questions:

How long do you think it would take to build a sod house?
How long did it take settlers of the Midwest to build their sod houses?
What do you think we could use to represent the sod? The roof? The door?
How many rooms will we have to build?
Will our sod houses be two stories?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in a sod house?

Closure:

How long did it take us to build our sod houses? (a few days) Is this shorter or longer than the amount of time it took a settler of the Midwest? Review the advantages and disadvantages of living in a sod house and have the students describe why they would or would not want to live in one.

Assessment:

Each sod house will be assessed by a rubric during the Sod House presentations. (Lesson 5). The criteria used to assess the Sod Houses are based on a 3 point scale with three components: Appearance of soddy is neat, The structure is sturdy, complete, and has all parts, (four walls, door, roof), and the student worked well during construction.

Rubric
Learning Support Rubric

Extension Activities:

Have students leave the roof off the top of the sod house and build furniture out of popsicle sticks and other materials that would replicate the type of furniture that would be in a sod house. They could also cover the inside walls with cloth, just as the settlers did.
Students can work in groups to create skits on building sod houses, daily life in a sod house, or the journey to the Midwest.

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