THE PERFECT HOME

Curriculum Links

Technology: Knowledge and Understanding, Capability, Society

Social Sciences: Place and Environment

English: Speaking, Listening, Writing, Presenting

Links to: Art, Science, Mathematics. Best suited to Levels 21-5

Tuning Into Homes

Ask students what they consider is the most important room in their house? What reasons can they give? Have them speculate on what each family member would consider the most important room of a house. What reasons can they give?

In buzz groups have students …list all the rooms that they would consider would be essential for a 4-5 person family. They should be able to justify their answers.
what additional rooms would they add to this house by choice? Why?

What’s In A Room?

Following group discussion, have students list the purposes of each room, eg

• bathroom for washing and toileting
  
• bedroom for sleeping
  
• kitchen for cooking

Now encourage them to think beyond this, eg

• the kitchen could be the meeting place for the family in the morning where arrangements for the day are made or messages left
• the sun porch could be where the parents escape from loud music played by the teenagers
• a bedroom could be where they go for some ‘time out’
  

Thinking Things Through

The task is to now focus on each room in greater detail. Challenge the students to list the requirements that should be taken into consideration when designing a room. Give some
concrete examples to get them started, eg

• a bathroom will be wet and needs materials that will not absorb water and will stop mildew occurring
• a room for teenagers could be noisy and may need some soundproofing and could be sited at the end of the house away from where adult guests would be
• a modern home office would need many carefully situated power points to make it easy to connect computer and electronic equipment such as a fax or copier.

Divide the class into groups and either give them a one room focus or they can work through the requirements of each room in turn. Have groups present their results in table or list form. It is not expected that the list will be definitive but will be used as a basis for comparison later.?

Asking the Experts

Invite an architect or builder to visit the classroom. Have students share their requirement lists. What requirements did they not take into consideration? eg a hot water cupboard …

Find out if there are any special building materials that provide solutions to some of the problems identified,eg

Gib Noiseline to help provide sound barriers between rooms, special lights for a kitchen, sewing or reading room …

Let’s Design the Perfect House

Introduce the idea of aesthetics - best described as the look and feel of a house- both on the outside and inside.

Go for several walks around the local neighbourhood and have students take photographs and make sketches of houses they really
like. What is it that really appeals to them?

Talk about: colour schemes, is the house situated to take advantage of the morning or evening sun? Is the section planted in trees and shrubs? Are these appropriate or will a certain tree become a ‘menace’ in a few years?

Depending on the age level of your class, have them complete some of the following activities as individuals or groups.
draw sketch plans (to scale if possible) of the inside and outside of the perfect house

• using magazines, construct a collage of the perfect house
• list all the possible materials that they would need to build this house
• paint pictures of the inside and outside of the house
• use paint charts to choose the colours inside and out
• make models of houses and rooms
• write a description of your house for a magazine article.