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Frank Lloyd Wright's Buffalo
 
Subject Areas:
English Language Arts, Math, Visual Arts, Social Studies
Grades:
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Description:
More than a biography of America’s greatest architect, FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S BUFFALO is a story of
  • family,
  • friendship,
  • and the meaning of home
in American life.

The program explores how a friendship spanning decades affected the structural aesthetic of a major American city and made a significant impact on architectural history. Buffalo, New York has the unique privilege of having more Frank Lloyd Wright structures than any other city in America outside of Chicago.

This collection of architecture is due to one man: Buffalo businessman Darwin D. Martin. The centerpiece of Wright’s work in Buffalo is one of Wright's earliest designs, the Darwin Martin House. Built in 1904, it precedes such masterpieces as the Robie House and Fallingwater and is considered by many as the finest example of his prairie house design. The current restoration of the Martin estate is the springboard into FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S BUFFALO.
Contained within the walls of the estate is the extraordinary story of the thirty year friendship that developed between Wright and Martin—a friendship that has been largely overlooked by Wright historians. Through the prism of this friendship, the film explores the importance of Buffalo during Wright’s early career, the architectural significance of the Martin estate, and the development of Wright’s first large-scale commercial commission, the Larkin Building.

Over the course of thirty years, Martin became Wright’s closest friend and confidant. He looked to Martin for support both financially and emotionally. Insightful letters between the two men dramatically tell of the architect’s motivations, his human frailties and foibles. More than a story of architecture, FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S BUFFALO is a revealing and surprising look into the world of the greatest architect that America has ever produced.



Taping Rights:
One Year from Each Broadcast
Length:
1 hour
TV Parental Guidelines:
TV-G
Distributor/Ordering Information:
Viewers can call 1-800 – 593-4420. The price for the DVD is $24.90 (including shipping & handling).
LEARNING RESOURCES
Curriculum Enrichment Ideas:
From the Frank Lloyd Wright's Buffalo Educator's Guide:

Elementary Lesson Plans Intermediate Lesson Plans Commencement Lesson Plans
Family Activities:
Student Activities:
  • Where Is Your Home?
    Ask students to describe the areas in which they live. Ask students to describe other neighborhoods that they have visited. What are the similarities and differences?


  • Achieving Your Dreams
    How does someone achieve their dreams? This lesson is about motivating students to achieve. They will write about one of their dreams and commit to a dream for the year (hopefully for longer).


  • Family Interviews
    Students should interview their family members and write articles based on the interviews. Students should select the focus of their articles before the interviews. For example, students may want to concentrate on cultural heritage or family relationships.


  • Document Your Ancestry
    We all have ancestors. Students should uncover their families’ pasts in order to create family trees or timelines. Students should add images to their trees or timelines to personalize them.


  • We Are Family
    Ask students to describe their families. Allow students to discuss the make-up of their families and their roles within their families. Ask students to think of ways they can communicate about their families (e.g., through photographs, oral histories, biographies, etc.).


Related Resources:
Local Resources:
NYS CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
Related Performance Indicators:
 
ARTS1.E.VA1A
 Students experiment and create art works, in a variety of mediums (drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, video, and computer graphics), based on a range of individual and collective experiences (a).
 
ARTS1.E.VA1B
 Students develop their own ideas and images through the exploration and creation of art works based on themes, symbols, and events (b).
 
ARTS1.E.VA1C
 Students understand and use the elements and principles of art (line, color, texture, shape) in order to communicate their ideas (c).
 
ARTS2.E.VA2A
 Students understand the characteristics of various mediums (two-dimensional, three-dimensional, electronic images) in order to select those that are appropriate for their purposes and intent (a).
 
ARTS3.E.VA3B
 Students explain the visual and other sensory qualities (surfaces, colors, textures, shape, sizes, volumes) found in a wide variety of art works (b).
 
ARTS3.E.VA3C
 Students explain the themes that are found in works of visual art and how the art works are related to other forms of art (dance, music, theatre, etc.) (c).
 
ARTS3.E.VA3D
 Students explain how ideas, themes, or concepts in the visual arts are expressed in other disciplines (e.g., mathematics, science, literature, social studies, etc.) (d).
 
ELA1.E.LR1A
 Students gather and interpret information from children's reference books, magazines, textbooks, electronic bulletin boards, audio and media presentations, oral interviews, and from such forms as charts, graphs, maps and diagrams.
 
ELA1.E.LR1B
 Students select information appropriate to the purpose of their investigation and relate ideas from one text to another.
 
ELA1.E.SW2A
 Students present information clearly in a variety of oral and written forms such as summaries, paraphrases, brief reports, stories, posters, and charts.
 
ELA1.E.SW2C
 Students use a few traditional structures for conveying information such as chronological order, cause and effect, and similarity and difference.
 
ELA1.E.SW2D
 Students use details, examples, anecdotes, or personal experiences to explain or clarify information.
 
ELA3.E.SW2A
 Students express opinions (in such forms as oral and written reviews, letters to the editor, essays, or persuasive speeches) about events, books, issues, and experiences, supporting their opinions with some evidence.
 
ELA4.E.LS1B
 Students take turns speaking and responding to others' ideas in conversations on familiar topics.
 
ELA4.E.RW2A
 Students exchange friendly notes, cards, letters with friends, relatives, and pen pals to keep in touch and to communicate special occasions.
 
ELA4.E.RW2C
 Students read and discuss published letters, diaries, and journals to learn the conventions of social writing.
 
MST1.E.ED1A
 Students engage in the following steps in a design process: describe objects, imaginary or real, that might be modeled or made differently and suggest ways in which the objects can be changed, fixed, or improved.
 
MST1.E.ED1B
 Students engage in the following steps in a design process: investigate prior solutions and ideas from books, magazines, family, friends, neighbors, and community members.
 
MST1.E.ED1C
 Students engage in the following steps in a design process: generate ideas for possible solutions, individually and through group activity; apply age-appropriate mathematics and science skills; evaluate the ideas and determine the best solution; and explain reasons for the choices.
 
MST1.E.ED1D
 Students engage in the following steps in a design process: plan and build, under supervision, a model of the solution using familiar materials, processes, and hand tools.
 
MST1.E.MA2A
 Students use simple logical reasoning to develop conclusions, recognizing that patterns and relationships present in the environment assist them in reaching these conclusions.
 
MST3.E.MM4A
 Students use concrete materials to model spatial relationships.
 
MST3.E.PF7C
 Students use a variety of manipulative materials to explore patterns.
 
MST3.E.PF7F
 Students discover patterns in nature, art, music, and literature.
 
MST4.E.LE3A
 Students describe how the structures of plants and animals complement the environment of the plant or animal.
 
MST4.E.LE6A
 Students describe how plants and animals, including humans, depend upon each other and the nonliving environment.
 
MST4.E.LE7A
 Students identify ways in which humans have changed their environments and the effects of those changes.
 
MST4.E.PS1A
 Students describe patterns of daily, monthly, and seasonal changes in their environment.
 
MST4.E.PS2A
 Students describe the relationships among air, water, and land on Earth.
 
SS1.E.1A
 Students know the roots of American culture, its development from many different traditions, and the ways many people from a variety of groups and backgrounds played a role in creating it.
 
SS1.E.1C
 Students explain those values, practices, and traditions that unite all Americans.
 
SS1.E.2B
 Students recognize how traditions and practices were passed from one generation to the next.
 
SS1.E.2C
 Students distinguish between near and distant past and interpret simple timelines.
 
SS1.E.3B
 Students classify information by type of activity; social, political, economic, technological, scientific, cultural, or religious.
 
SS1.E.4C
 Students view historic events through the eyes of those who were there, as shown in their art, writings, music, and artifacts.
 
SS2.E.2A
 Students distinguish between past, present, and future time periods.
 
SS2.E.3C
 Students understand how the terms social, political, economic, and cultural can be used to describe human activities or practices.
 
SS3.E.1E
 Students investigate how people depend on and modify the physical environment.
 
SS3.E.2A
 Students ask geographic questions about where places are located; why they are located where they are, what is important about their locations, and how their locations are related to the location of other people and places.
 
SS4.E.1B
 Students explain how people's wants exceed their limited resources and that this condition defines scarcity.
 
SS4.E.1C
 Students know that scarcity requires individuals to make choices and that those choices involve costs.
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