Teaching Tools
The materials in the Built Heritage collection provide valuable information about the history of architecture in North Carolina. In order to help classroom teachers and their students explore the architecture of North Carolina through drawings and photographs, the Special Collections Research Center has partnered with LEARN NC in developing K-12 lesson plans.
If you are an educator and you have used these lesson plans, we would appreciate your feedback. Please contact us and tell us what you think.
Everyday geometry: Hidden figures and polygons
In this lesson, students will use photographs or drafting plans to apply their knowledge of mathematical figures and polygons. These photographs and drafting plans are a collection of the Built Heritage Project at the Special Collections Research Center at North Carolina State University Libraries. The primary sources will help students assess many ways math can be used in everyday life, while examining historical documents related to dwellings from our past.
Living the Pioneer Life
In this lesson, students will use photographs of Appalachian log dwellings to understand how advances in technology, the desire to own land, and political incentives have resulted in economic and social changes over time for the people of North Carolina. The students will examine text and historical documents to assess the time period in which log cabin structures were built, the reasons for constructing them, and the lives of the people who built these houses.
One Man's Home
In this lesson students will examine house plans from the Built Heritage Collection at the North Carolina State University. They will use their knowledge of history, observation skills, and inference to draw conclusions about how the functionality of homes has changed over time to meet the needs of the homeowners.
Home is where the hearth is: Using photographs to discuss traditional family roles
In this lesson students will examine pictures of hearths (fireplaces), which used to be the cornerstone of the home and family life. These images, from the Built Heritage Collection at North Carolina State University, will help students use observation skills and inference to draw conclusions about the culture of family life at various points throughout the history of North Carolina and the United States.
The little house out back: The architecture of an outhouse
In this lesson students will practice forming opinions and supporting them with facts by examining pictures of a North Carolina outhouse and an architectural plan of an outhouse. They will use their knowledge of history to draw conclusions about the conveniences available to people of different socio-economic groups in North Carolina.
Creating museum exhibits to understand slavery
In this lesson students will analyze primary source documents from the Built Heritage collection at the North Carolina State University. They will use their textbooks, knowledge of history, observation skills, and inference to draw conclusions about slavery in North Carolina.
Interpreting lives through tombstone analysis
In this lesson students will take on the role of archaeologists by examining pictures of gravestones from the Built Heritage collection at the North Carolina State University. They will use their knowledge of history, observation skills, and inference to draw conclusions about the lives and deaths of past North Carolina residents.
Analyzing historical maps of North Carolina
In this lesson students will analyze historical maps and will use their knowledge of history, observation skills, and inference to draw conclusions about the events that affected the geographic development of North Carolina over time.
Lighting the maritime path: The geography of North Carolina's lighthouses
In this lesson students will examine images of North Carolina lighthouses from the Built Heritage Collection at North Carolina State University and explore various websites to determine the relative location of eight North Carolina lighthouses and develop an understanding of maritime activities and coastal living.
