Non-Fiction Monday: If You Lived Here: Houses of the World

If You  Lived Here: Houses of the World

Picture Book Month

Day 5 theme: Around the World
Non-Fiction Monday

Fifteen different architectural home structures from around the world are beautifully featured. The homes range from those carved into the sides of mountain caves to houses on stilts. A brief explanation is given describing the type of home, who would have lived in it and when, materials used, which country, and some fascinating facts. A vague map is included on the last  page with pin points indicating the regions where the homes are located. A more detailed map would have been a more helpful choice.

If You LIved Here was one of those books I purchased to help round out my non-fiction curriculum support collection plus kids really like to find out how different people live around the world. The first image of a "dogtrot" house brought up a memory I had of watching the Disney movie "Old Yeller" which if you have not seen, you will now need to add to your must see list. The family lived in a "dogtrot" house. I always thought their house was really cool because I had never seen one like it before. Now I am glad to better understand why early settlers built dogtrot homes. 

Compare and Contrast Activity
Students choose a dwelling from the book and draw a representation of their own home.
Students describe the differences between the two dwellings and observe how they are the similar. 
Students design a home to suit a particular environment such as a rain forest and explain which materials could be used to build it and why they chose their particular design. 


Take a peek at some of the pages of If You Lived Here

Visit author website:  Giles Laroche