July 25, 2001

Junior High students build dream homes

'Construction Fair' part of Summer School for Success program

By Lisa Perkins
Herald staff writer
       Students who participated in the Summer School for Success program studied math, social studies- all the usual subjects- but in a very unusual way. As part of the "Construction Fair" curriculum offered at Traverse City East and West Junior High, the students worked with teammates to design and build a model "ultimate home."
      The sixth through eighth-grade students began their three week class project by brainstorming about what they would like to have in their "ultimate home." Everything from an indoor skate board park to a room within a room started out on the list of priorities. But reality set in when the students had to figure square footage and investigate building products and their costs during a field trip to Home Depot.
      A tour of Traverse City also allowed the students to get a look at different types of architecture and decide on a style for their project.
      Teachers Jamie Sandy and Matt Medler helped the students stay on task and follow their blue print design as they built the miniature "ultimate home." Transforming an idea to an actual model required converting measurements to scale and even using the Pythagorean theorem to figure the angles of a bay window.
      "We tried to design our house the most simple way, because we knew we would have to make a model of it," said seventh-grader, Chris Carey whose team used an aluminum roasting pan for the roof of their medieval style home with polished stone foundation. "We knew building it was going to be hard."
      Eighth-grader David Brown concurred adding, "the building was the hardest part but it was also my favorite."
      Students learned about more than just building homes, they learned about building teams.
      "The team work was excellent, it's part of the purpose of the program, in a normal classroom setting that doesn't happen very often" Sandy said.
      Sandy and Medler, both teachers at West Junior High during the regular school year, agreed that this pilot program was a success and felt the "hands-on" approach kept the kids involved and interested.
      "I think this class was a good reality check for the kids," said teacher's assistant Kim Hicks. "I know that they will never go into a house and think of things the same way again."