We can learn much about a people group by studying the type housing they used. What determines the style of housing? (Location, available resources, weather, culture, etc.) What can you deduce from their housing? How did housing affect their social customs, trade, travel, safety, etc.? Compare and contrast housing from different geographic locations and/or different time periods. What type of housing would you prefer and why? Build a model of several of the houses listed below.
Here are examples of housing with a few notes to get you started on your research.
Igloos – sleeping platforms and tables are made of snow. Heat & light are provided by burning embers and frozen blubber for the whale oil lamps. Skins of seals and caribou provide warmth. Igloos were temporary shelters during the winter seal hunts. Perfect for nomads traveling over arctic house. Perfect ecological structure – made from water (snow and ice.) Other information found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igloo
Roman Houses – often had small shrines dedicated to household gods. Stone, marble and concrete were used to build the homes. Rooms are built around the perimeter and they open to a central courtyard or patio. Surrounded by columned arcades, the open rooms and courtyards were filled with paintings and ornaments. Living quarters tended to be less ornamental and smaller. Villas were made more to impress than for comfort. Modest houses belonging to the lower classes (peasant farmers and craftsmen) would have been constructed of sun-dried or kiln-fired mud bricks. Stone and dirt floors and beams packed of earth and branches.
Zulu Huts – furnishings limited to grass sleeping mats with carved wooden head rests – warm with a fire place but smoky. Woven saplings covered with grass thatch arranged in a circle around a pen for cattle.
Viking House – Sturdy farmhouses – stone, wood or turf - to withstand heavy coastal weather. Like longhouses, these were simply halls. Everything was accomplished in one big room: sleeping, eating and cooking.
Other interesting housing option to research:
Lake Dwellings
European Stone Houses
Celtic Halls
Greek City House
Norman Manor House
London Town house
Palaces
Peasant Cottage -mid 16th century
Long House – late 16th century appeared in NYC. Iroquis
19th Century Frontier Log Cabin
Traditional Japanese houses
Houseboats
Spend more time with Maggie Hogan on her blog:
www.homeschoolblogger.com/maggiehogan
Check out her great homeschool resources (including the award winning geography curriculums she *co-authored) at her business site:
www.BrightIdeasPress.com
info@BrightIdeasPress.com
Read more about The Ultimate Geography & Timeline Guide here - http://brightideaspress.com/UGTG.htm
And Hands-On Geography here:
http://brightideaspress.com/HOG.htm
Biography
Maggie and Bob Hogan live in a formerly Amish farmhouse in Dover, DE where they began homeschooling their two (now grown) sons in 1991. She is a regular contributor for homeschooling internet sites as well as print magazines like The Old Schoolhouse. She’s a nationally known speaker and co-author of The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide, Gifted Children at Home, Hands-on Geography and other resource books. Involved in local, state, and national homeschooling issues, they both serve on boards of home education organizations in Delaware. They’re also owners of Bright Ideas Press, a home school company dedicated to bringing the best practical, fun, and affordable materials to the homeschool market.
