38 MARCH 2018 SchoolArts
M I D D L E S C H O O L
BUILDING
OF THEIR OWN
CASTLES
Rachel Wintemberg
C
astles were the engineering
marvels of medieval Europe.
They were also beautiful
works of architecture. The
magnificent ruins we see today were
originally designed to keep their
inhabitants safe from attack, to estab-
lish power, colonize territory, and
spread culture. Designing and build-
ing imaginary castles proved to be an
ideal way to bring STEAM into my
middle-school classroom.
Castles of Their Own
After watching a PBS video about
David Macaulay's book Castle on You-
Tube, my students gathered into groups
t
o design their own 3D fortresses using
large pieces of tag board taped to card-
board bases. I showed them how to cut
