Perspective, architecture and civics

I used the PBS Teacher's Resource as the spine of my middle school art perspective lesson: Math and the President: the Blue Room.

By looking at the unusual shape of the Blue Room in the White House, I am able to compare styles across cultures and history while bringing attention to the special role art has in creating cultural identity and the practical application of aesthetic as expressed through mathematical expressions.

I also like to look at the golden ratio, phi, in architecture and show real examples in the class room such as doorways and windows as traditional expressions of the ratio 1.618.

Then, we draw our cities, neighborhoods, rooms using the artistic principles of horizon line, vanishing point

Art Terms
Perspective (1point, 2 point)
Symmetry
Golden ratio
Horizon line
Vanishing point

Tools
pencil, eraser and ruler

Media experience and development can vary.