Teach students how the Romans borrowed the best architectural features from their neighbors, like the Greeks, and improved upon them. Arches and columns often went together, with the columns connected by arches. The widespread influence of the Roman Empire helped these architectural features to be adopted throughout Europe, and eventually in the New World.
Show the students photos and drawings of famous buildings featuring arches and columns, like the Colosseum. This famous Roman structure has the three major forms of columns in its structure: doric on the first level, ionic on the second level and Corinthian on the third level. Point out the differences between the three styles to the students. Give each student a paper with a plain column printed on it. Encourage students to design their own columns, then cut them out. Staple the columns in a row on the classroom bulletin board supporting paper arches to create a one-of-a-kind Roman-inspired building.
Show third graders some pictures of famous Roman buildings with arches and columns, such as the Pantheon. Provide supplies for students to make replicas of an existing Roman building or design one of their own that feature arches and columns. Supplies can include paper, cardboard, modeling clay, tape, dowels and craft foam. Let students work separately or together on their models. Include some time for sharing at the end of the project.
Discuss how ancient Roman architectural styles influenced buildings around the world. Allow the third graders to research other buildings around the world that also feature arches and columns in the classical Roman style. Students can prepare a simple computer graphics presentation on the building they choose, some of the architectural influences and identify the type of columns prominently featured. Provide the children a list of banks, government buildings and university buildings around the world to get started, including many prominent buildings in Washington, DC, Washington Square Arch in New York, Champs-Elysees in France, Tower of London in England, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Israel.