Welcome
Information for Educators
Tiny Home classes are being used to teach practical building techniques to high school and college students that meet CTE Model Building Standards: Building and Construction Trades. Students are excited to build tiny homes because they’re cool and present the opportunity to learn a trade leading directly to employment.
But, what exactly is a tiny home?
It turns out tiny homes are a category of many different sorts of buildings and vehicles. Each of these different types has different building codes. Some are regulated by local municipal codes, others are regulated by industrial standards like the Recreational Vehicle industry standards, and lastly, others require national HUD standards.
How is a teacher supposed to know what to teach and how to teach it?
“Building, Occupying and Selling Tiny Homes Legally” was written as a textbook for 10th-12th grades, college and adult education. It explains all the types of tiny homes complete with over 200 pages of color photographs. Each chapter goes into detail explaining the different types of tiny homes, how to build them, where to find the laws, and practical tips, like how to pass building inspections. Every chapter is followed by research question to test the students’ ability to expand on the materials. A separate “Teacher’s Guide” has the answers to the questions and illuminates how the text aligns with the CTE standards. The book is available in both print and digital versions. The Teachers Guide is free and only available to teachers.
who's using it?
Currently the book is being used at University of California, Santa Cruz’s Tiny House Design Lab class which is part of the Sustainable Building and Architecture pathway. And it is a #1 New Release Best Seller on Amazon. The author, Jenifer Levini, is a housing and land-use lawyer who wants to help students build safely and to give them the tools to make the world safer and better.