Area & Budgeting Fun

Teaches students about budgets, area, and money while they design their own house.

Specific Objectives

• To get the students to design a house, working within a strict budget.
• To get the students to draw their impressions of the house.
• To focus the students on aspects of logical and mathematical intelligence
• To focus the students on aspects of visual and spatial intelligence.

Introduction

Step 1

Hand out the House Plan Design Sheet (see below). Ask the students to work out what they want the basic shape of their house to be. Tell them that their house can be up to 200 square meters. Ask the students to work out the proportions of their house (perimeter and lengths of outside walls).

Step 2

Ask the students to brainstorm what kind/style of house they are going to design. Ask the students to look at their lists and think about what is realistic.

Step 3

Ask the students to make a rough copy of their plan. Ask the students to work out the areas of each room. Ask the students to add up the areas of all of the rooms to see if the house is under 200 square meters. Ask the students to change the size of the rooms if their house is too big. Ask one of the students to draw their impressions of the house as the other person is designing it.

Conclusion

Ask the students to make a good copy of their plan. Ask the students to draw their impression of the house.

House Plan Design Sheet Information

You may work in pairs on this activity. Design a basic floor-plan for your house, and draw a picture of what it will look like. The house that you design must meet the budget that you have been given. You will need a pencil, a rubber/eraser, and a ruler.

You are designing a new house to move into. You already own a level 800m2 block of land (20m x 40m). You have a budget of $115 000 to build the house and other extras with. At the moment its costs $440 to build 1m2 of a house. The largest house you are allowed to build is 200m2. If you choose to design a smaller house, you will have more money left over for other things such as pools, and patios (see list below). If you want to add something not listed here you may ask Mr. Gall if you may add it, and how much it costs. Note: You are only allowed to build a low-set house.

• Above ground pool (6m x 3.5m x 1.2m): $3 000
• In ground pool (surface area 32m2): $10 000
• Patios: $110 to build 1m2
• 1.8m timber fencing: $40 per meter
• Turf (grass): $5 000 for the whole yard (regardless of area)

There are a few rules for designing your house though. It is easier to work out the area of a room if it is a square or rectangular shape. You should also keep the sizes of the rooms in your house realistic.

Here is a guide to the measurements and area (size) of rooms in a house:

Type of Room	Measurements	Area
Single Garage:	3m x 5.5m	16.5m2
Bedrooms:	3m x 3m to 4m x 5m	9m to 20m2
Lounge rooms:	3m x 5m to 5m x 6m	15m2 to 30m2
Bathrooms / Ensuites:	3m x 2m to 3m x 3m	6m2 to 9m2

House Designing Checklist

1. Effort
2. Attitude
3. How well you work with your partner (co-operation)
4. Being on budget
5. How realistic your house is
6. Is your design to scale (1cm on design = 1m in real life)?
7. Is the picture you have drawn a realistic representation of your design?
8. Is your work presented neatly?