Art: Designing a Tiny House for a Client

Here is an introduction to lessons at CGK Afterschool.

CGK's eight-week-long project works will be based on the main “Driving Question”.

Here are the Driving Questions for this "Art" lesson.

"How can we design our tiny house that meets the needs of our clients?"

We followed this question with fun lessons each week that drew the student's interest.

Here are the comments of Mr. Dan, the teacher who was in charge of the lessons.

Week 1

Firstly, students were show Mr Dan`s example of a completed tiny house made from paper. Students got to look at and discuss the choices Mr Dan had made relating to the inside, outside, and location he desired for his tiny house.

Mr Dan also explained some of the mistakes he has made and introduced the importance of planning and space management that students will need to consider when they come to make a tiny house of their own.

Students were then introduced to the tiny house movement through a power point presentation and a small video segment showing various types of tiny houses. Students looked at the various pictures and had a general discussion about each one asking questions, thinking of things they would like to know more about, saying what they see, and giving their opinions. The student’s thoughts were brainstormed on to a large chart during this discussion.

After the discussion and brainstorming was concluded students then had to create a drawing and write down key information of their dream tiny house. They could choose to focus on the inside, outside, location, or all three aspects if they wanted to. At this point students are just being introduced to the idea of tiny houses and space management so the houses they create could have amusing and impractical features. The task was designed to get them interested in the topic and spark some initial thinking surrounding the topic.

At the end of the 8 week project we will compare their initial ideas to what they have managed to create over the 8 week period.

Week 2

For week two students reviewed their work form last week and discussed anything relating to it that they wanted to add or clarify. We then looked at the relationship between house prices and wages over the course of the last 50 years and how this has impacted on people’s ability to afford a home for themselves. We looked at some graphs from the UK and America showing this correlation and used the example of Mr Dan`s grandparents who bought a house for little money and then 30 years later sold it for a lot and the implications this has had on the housing market. Students then discussed the meanings of various pros and cons cards relating to the tiny house movement and we clarified meaning. Students then had to race against the clock to put these cards onto the whiteboard in the pro or con category using magnets. We reviewed the result as a class and the students through working together had managed to not make a single mistake! Next the time limit was drastically reduced and the students had to work really quickly to repeat the task and again made zero errors! Now that students were confident in the terminology we used the cards to create a giant class poster working as a team. Initially there were some disagreements between students on the direction to take the poster but through encouragement to compromise, listen to each other’s opinions, and make majority decisions the students were able to work together to produce a really good pros and cons poster.

At the end of the day students were informed of `the client’s requirements` to think about going forward. This is a list of things that the students must include in their houses.

Week 3

For week three we made a Christmas craft during the learning centers as Mr Dan was working at the preschool Christmas week. Students made a reindeer using a balloon that we could then race on some strings across the classroom as the air expelled.

For project time students reviewed `the clients requirements` and learned about the terms `area, perimeter, and draft`. Students made a draft floor plan for their tiny house listing the area and perimeter of the items they are planning to include in their house. When finished students began working on the final design of their floor plan and thinking about the design of the exterior.

Week 4

During learning centers students got the chance to talk via zoom to one of Mr Bobby`s friends in America who is currently building their own tiny house. They had prepared questions to ask and had a good discussion about the process of building a tiny house and the reasons for the decision to build one. The video of the conversation they had is available to view. Students managed to ask a lot of interesting questions and did CGK proud with their attention and manners.

During project time students continued making their tiny house and started to create 3D furniture.

Week 5

Because the students were on vacation for a week due to the end of the year we reviewed what we had learned from the conversation with Mr Bobby`s friends and refreshed our memories of what we had learned so far and what we had left to do. After this student`s continued making their tiny houses with many students finishing and many students making progress with their 3D furniture. Students were encouraged to add sustainable elements to their house and many of them decided to include solar panels and rain collecting water tanks to their final design. Students that had finished started working on creating the environment that everyone could place their tiny houses in.

Week 6

Students who had not finished their tiny house kept working on their individual project while those that had finished continued to make a large environment out of card, felt, tape, glue, coloured paper etc. Those students that were still working on their tiny house had the opportunity to share their ideas with those making the environment so everyone had a chance to contribute. Students had decided to create mountains, desserts, a river and a lake and were thinking as a group about what they could add the following week.

Week 7

This week those who had not finished their tiny houses finished and joined the other students working together on creating the environment. Because a lot of the large design elements of the environment had been completed there was more chance to focus on smaller ideas and add details such as trees, plants, animals, and a farm that they could get creative making with a variety of materials. The students worked really well as a team and agreed everything with majority decisions.

Week 8

Students had a little time to finish up things they wanted to work on before reviewing what we had studied over 8 weeks and preparing for the presentation where they pulled everything together they had been working on. Students got the chance to place their tiny house on the environment they created as a class and explain their reasons for their choice.