Dr. Steve Builds a Home For Miss Lee

About the Book

An Australian Sustainable Green Building expert with a PhD in Architechture and an American 4th grade teacher combine their experience to create a non-fiction children’s project based math and science book. The book, Dr. Steve Builds a Home for Miss Lee, is based on the experiences of Dr. Steve Burroughs, Canberra, Australia. Dr. Burroughs worked in many countries in Southern and Western Africa with people who could not read or write, and yet he taught them how to make mud bricks and use sustainable earth materials to build homes. They dug the earth tested the soil, built formers to hold the bricks, clean and dried the bricks then tested them for strength. Additionally Dr. Steve developed training manuals for the illiterate, trainers and professionals. Dr. Steve used his PhD to help develop the building code for South Africa. Dr. Burroughs’s wrote a book for Miss Lee, a 4th grade teacher, who teaches in a project based STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) for Columbus City School, Columbus, Ohio. Following his directions and story line Miss Lee developed a project for children that simulate a real life problem. Dr. Steve Builds a Home for Miss Lee is a read-aloud to be read at home or in the classroom as well as resource manual for teachers. Miss Lee’s children also dug up the soil, and followed Dr. Steve’s instructions to make their own bricks. Along the way the children became pen pals with Dr. Steve, telling him what they had learned and how someday they too will help other people and share their knowledge. Each book will include a story, math, science and activities that cross the curriculum, vocabulary, a concept page, and actual photographs of school children doing the project. Many schools across the United States are becoming “project based”. More books and resources are needed in this area. By using experts like Dr. Burroughs and involving children in real life situations and problems authentic knowledge is achieved. Dr. Steve Burroughs Dixie Lee

About the Author

Dr Steve Burroughs, an Australian Sustainable Green Building and Remote Design Building Expert with a PhD in Architecture as well as an Adjunct Associate Professor from the Arts & Design faculty of the University of Canberra, and Ms Dixie Brown Lee, an American educator in an urban school, combined their experiences to create a series of children’s project based math and science books.