First Grade Project Spotlight: Houses and Homes Unit

Submitted by  Madison Farrar, Katharine Fredricksen, Bree Rahman, Doran Muus, First Grade Team

This January, our first graders launched into an exciting Project-Based Learning unit called Houses and Homes. This engaging, hands-on unit was designed to help students explore how homes are built around the world, asking essential questions like: What is shelter? How are houses built? Who builds houses?

We kicked off the project by learning about the continents and oceans. Students explored what makes each continent unique, including landforms, climate, resources, cultures, and more. They learned why homes are built differently around the world depending on these factors. 

We then dove into learning about how homes are built. Students read about all the different jobs that have to be done to build a home, from the surveyor to the interior designer. To deepen their understanding, we invited several parents to share their expertise. We were lucky enough to welcome in architects, as well as families teaching about historic homes and homes around the world, and families sharing about their own home renovations. These real-world connections made the experience even more enriching and meaningful.

Students then teamed up to form construction companies to build model homes inspired by the six inhabitable continents. We chose a mix of modern and traditional homes from each continent, giving students a broader and richer understanding of global architecture. Students worked together to research continents on Epic!, an online reading program to come up with what they would end up sharing at the culminating assembly. They had to use the 4 C’s: Collaboration, Communication, Compromise, and Cooperation to plan how they would build their home. These words became the foundation of their success and fostered a positive, supportive classroom community.

Next came Building Week! Throughout the unit, students used recyclable materials, such as toilet paper rolls, cardboard boxes, fabric, cotton balls, and paint to build stunning models of homes from Greece, Chile, India, South Africa, the Australian Outback, and a 2-family home from North America. The results were colorful, realistic, and packed with personality! Parents and teachers helped with hot glue guns and cutting tools, while students worked diligently to bring their designs to life. Our classrooms were buzzing with energy all week long! The excitement was contagious.

One of the most meaningful additions to this project is a cross-curricular collaboration with our Kindergarten and Second-Grade teams. Our collaboration with the kindergarten uses their persona dolls. For the continent of North America, we introduced Aarav, a doll who uses a wheelchair. The team representing North America thoughtfully designed a home that included features to support Aarav’s needs, such as a wheelchair ramp and a wheelchair accessible swing, an incredible demonstration of empathy, inclusion, and creativity. In collaboration with Second-Grade, we introduced students to different types of communities to prepare them for their learning about rural, urban, and suburban communities. We discussed coastal, countryside, and city communities around the world. 

To celebrate their hard work, students presented their research during a special school assembly. They shared facts about the countries their homes represented, talking about climate, language, economy, population, and fun cultural facts. This was a wonderful opportunity to practice public speaking and showcase their learning to the fellow Lower School students and their families. Kindergarteners enjoyed seeing what was to come, and second-graders enjoyed remembering their Houses and Homes experience. 

The Houses and Homes unit is truly a collaborative effort. We are so grateful to the families who supported the students throughout this journey, especially during Building Week. The final projects are imaginative, thoughtful, and filled with pride.

Our first graders took on their roles with enthusiasm and heart. They lived by the 4 C’s and showed what amazing things can happen when we work together. Houses and Homes is not only an academic unit, but it’s also an experience that our students will carry with them for years to come!