What is the purpose of a front door? Brainstorm with your students or children. Ideas may include safety, a means of welcoming others, or a reflection of the homeowner’s style. We often decorate for holidays around our front doors.

My former school made this video of our front doors when we moved to online instruction during Covid. Go here to watch full screen.

The more I introduced engineer or design activities in my classroom, the more I realized how much my students both enjoyed the challenge and benefitted from the skills required to complete them. These tasks were especially meaningful when there was a real-world component. For background knowledge on engineering, go here.

I’ve always been drawn to the beauty of front doors and while I was in Europe, I took photos of some of my favorites.

Engineering Task: Design a front door on graph paper or construct a prototype of a front door. Depending upon the age of your engineers, increase the complexity of the assignment. Incorporate measurement skills as appropriate. Is there a standard measurement for the height and width of a door?

There are so many design choices to make before you construct a door. Walk through a neighborhood or outdoor shopping area and take photos or sketch design choices that capture your engineer’s interest.

Some Questions to Consider:

What materials would you choose to construct your door – wood, stone, metal….

Will there be glass in your door?  Consider the placement, color, and shape of the glass. If your student is constructing a model door, use plastic to represent the glass.

Will you have a double or single front door? How will you design the doorknob?

Will there be any kind of trim around the door?

Some other door related activities:

Everyone loves a little mystery. Introduce a unit, a story, or as I did, objects that begin with the letter D behind doors. Teachers could also reveal class awards or incentives behind doors.

Melissa and Doug Wooden Puzzles:

I found that many of my students had not memorized their home addresses in second grade. Spend some time during this mini-unit to teach your students to memorize their addresses and how to write an address on an envelope.