PENDLETON — Students lined up at the step of a tiny house, waiting to get inside, anticipating what the home might look like.
Their teachers wanted them to see a tiny home first-hand to get a better understanding of how the compact, livable structure are designed.
Tiny homes are small dwellings constructed similarly to common homes but on a much smaller scale, often on a trailer for portability. There are a number of television shows that have featured tiny homes and the people who embrace them, often for philosophical and economic reasons.
East Elementary School sixth-grade teachers Jodi Brown and Angie Brinson had an idea to reach out to a locally-owned business, one that builds tiny homes, to help students get a better grasp of a classroom geometry assignment.
Students in sixth grade were tasked with creating designs for their own tiny homes using skills developed studying area and perimeter.
The students had just finished a study on surface area and how to make solid shapes.
The project gave students the opportunity to use what they know about area and perimeter, as well as how to build 3-D shapes.
Students learned a stove is a cube and a refrigerator is a rectangular prism, Brown said.
The educators thought it would be fun for the students to see all the math and creativity behind building a tiny house and apply the knowledge to their own project.
“… And of course, doing something hands-on is always beneficial,” Brown said.
To kick off the unit, the teachers had builders bring in the tiny home for student inspection.
Brian and Jessica DeShong from Unplugged Houses (previously featured in the Times-Post for Burrow Tiny Homes) agreed to be part of the East Elementary School project.
The two stopped by with a tiny home for a question-and-answer session with the students and provided a tour.
Many students said they found the size of the tiny home enthralling and exploring the structure an adventure they won’t soon forget.
“I could see how I wanted to arrange the furniture I am building for my tiny home,” sixth-grader Cholet Kalkhoff said.
Prior to the tour, the students learned about many elements of design that had to come together to build a tiny home.
In addition to the problem solving, they learned about the lower costs of building and living in a tiny home.
After that, students were able to tour the model.
“Walking through the tiny house let me see all the tiny storage places, and then I can see where I can put extra stuff,” sixth-grader Alana Manges said.
Brian DeShong, owner and builder, finished the house last summer and has been showing it at home shows around the state.
The students saw the many facets of a tiny home and how they come together.
“Seeing it in person helped me visualize what my tiny house will look like instead of just seeing a picture on paper,” sixth-grader Luci Lamper said.
After the tour, the students started working on their projects and spent the week figuring out how to design their own tiny homes.
They built 3-D tiny house models with appliances and landscaping.
Touring the tiny house really brought the project to life for the students before they began working on their designs, educators said.
