Pocahontas

Homes, Houses, and Affordability

HLP Attributes & Skills

Grade: 8

Class: Independent Living

DLI Standard: Innovative Designer

Learning EXPERIenCE

Students participated in a Real World, Real Money learning experience with 4H. Through this experience, students were assigned careers, salaries, and family situations. They were then charged with paying bills and budgeting their money. From there they began researching and learning about different types of houses. They then chose a style of house to focus on. They continued to research the history and features of this style of house. Using an online house hunting site, such as Zillow, students chose a city they would like to live in and hunted for their dream house in this style and looked at and recorded all of the specs. They then hunted in that city for an average house in this style. Based on their income from the Real World, Real Money activity they had to determine if living in the chosen house in the chosen city was feasible. Students then created a 3D model of their house style. They could do this in any chosen medium- 3D modeling, Minecraft, or physical construction with varied materials.

What the students like about this experience:

"Learning to become life ready is important for teens, so that by the time we get out of college we will be ready for everything that comes with being an adult."

"Becoming #LifeReady is important to me as a student because it prepares me for the future and educates me in the present. Not only does it allow me to think ahead of time, but also gives me an idea for all the challenges and experiences I might face in the future."

"I developed skills like money management and budgeting. I also learned things like how to take care of a house, and different costs to do so. "

"I like how the activities prepare me for the real world and work with hands on and practical activities."

"It helped me plan my future and think about how I need to responsibly spend my money that I will make in my future career."

"I learned how to speak in public to my classmates and others."

"I think using actual house finding apps helped because that is what reality is like."

What the teacher likes about this experience:

"This is my favorite project of the year. Students developed their quality character as they progressed through their journey and learned that adulting is hard. They become effective communicators when presenting and representing their projects and sharing their future self and goals. They collaborated on ways to save money and how to invest with work-based learning opportunities. They had to critically make decisions that sometimes went against their wants when purchasing homes and were so creative in their home designs and final home decisions. I am proud of the journey that they went through and know that this was a very rewarding experience for everyone involved."

Additional Pictures/Media/ARTIFACTS

Saunders M. learning about budgeting for home ownership

James S. learning about the realities of student loan debt

Ali E. and Erin B. shopping for a home within their budget

Aaron L., Adam A., Ariel R.E., Korolos B., Saunders M., Jack M.P., Frank G., Youssef H.

20230126_093334.mp4

Before students could build a 3D model of a home, they had to first research different styles of housing. Once they selected a preferred style, they had to research the history of this style, and then shop for homes in this style within a budget. Students presented their research to the class.

Ariel R.E. presenting his research on his chosen house style- Spanish Ecclectic Style, chosen in honor of his El Salvadorian heritage