In the winter and spring of 2015 my students were examining the question “What is Essential” in language arts. After receiving inspiration from tiny homes the students took on the challenge of creating their own tiny home. Each of my three blocks built a 135 square foot home in our project rooms at Bettendorf Middle School. Through this experience students needed to discover what is truly essential to make these houses, homes. The students constructed all parts of the home, including a garden.
In order to make this possible, my students needed to research these spaces, apply to be a part of one of 6 teams (handymen, bedroom/living room crew, bathroom crew, décor crew, garden space crew, and kitchen crew) and turn in an application that was reviewed by other educators in the building. After crews were decided, they starting building prototypes and created a business proposal that was presented to the administrators in the building. The proposals needed to include their budget, their plans for building and or décor, and donations they plan to obtain.
In order to make this possible, my students needed to research these spaces, apply to be a part of one of 6 teams (handymen, bedroom/living room crew, bathroom crew, décor crew, garden space crew, and kitchen crew) and turn in an application that was reviewed by other educators in the building. After crews were decided, they starting building prototypes and created a business proposal that was presented to the administrators in the building. The proposals needed to include their budget, their plans for building and or décor, and donations they plan to obtain.
Once the proposals were approved by the administrators and myself we moved forward with obtaining donations. My students made the calls and received countless donations from the community. From here I started splitting my block in half, focusing the first half of the block on guided reading, blogging, or nonfiction reading and writing and the other half my students built. Each book in the unit revolved around the same theme, “What is Essential.” Students were able to make connections between the book, their writing, and the tiny home. They were able to leave this unit realizing that you don't need a lot to survive and sometimes the most important things aren't things at all, rather people and memories. In their blogs they would update their followers with their progress, reflect on the book, the building, and their learning. The students had followers from across the United States and as far as Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. The students concluded this unit by planning an exhibition night for the community and their families to visit. They wanted to serve food from their garden spaces and give tours. They also wrote an opinion paper, stating if they could live tiny or not. Through the building of the homes, they learned it is not about the size of the home, rather the people and memories inside it. One of my classes put on the outside of their home, “A little can go a long way,” and I believe that sums up the lessons learned.
"I have learned that the size of the house in which you live in, or how much you have does not define a person and what home means to them. What defines a person is how you express yourself and how you treat others. No matter how much you have or how big your home is, that will never change who you are, and what home really means to you." -Jenna R.
"What I've learned is as long as I have a roof over my head, food to eat, and my memories, I will be just fine!" -Ashleigh M.
"I think I could live tiny and it would be great because it teaches you to be humble and thankful for what you have. This project taught me that it is not so bad living tiny. It teaches me to only get things that I need and not things I want." -LaMarques W.
"I discovered what it means to feel at home and important life lessons. Such as, different people live different ways, and for some people the amount of money or things they have , does not make a true home... I also learned that it's okay to not follow in the same footsteps as everyone else, 'be original.'" -Rachel A.
"What I've learned is as long as I have a roof over my head, food to eat, and my memories, I will be just fine!" -Ashleigh M.
"I think I could live tiny and it would be great because it teaches you to be humble and thankful for what you have. This project taught me that it is not so bad living tiny. It teaches me to only get things that I need and not things I want." -LaMarques W.
"I discovered what it means to feel at home and important life lessons. Such as, different people live different ways, and for some people the amount of money or things they have , does not make a true home... I also learned that it's okay to not follow in the same footsteps as everyone else, 'be original.'" -Rachel A.