Worksheet 4: Home Sweet Home
Directions: Use “Homes for Sale,” the essay, and class discussions to answer questions 1-7.
1. Approximately how many people owned homes in 1950? Approximately how many in 2000?
2. If a family living in 1950 with a median income saves 20% of their annual income each year, how many years will it take them to save for the full purchase price of a home? How many years would it take an average family living in 2000 to do the same?
3. If the construction of a 2,000 square-foot wood-framed home built in the year 2000 required approximately 12,000 board feet of lumber, approximately how many board feet of lumber would have been needed to build an average size wood-framed home in 1950?
4. Do you think total lumber usage for the average home was greater in 1950 or 2000? Explain your answer by using information from “Homes for Sale.”
5. By looking at the square footage, number of bedrooms, and number of bathrooms on “Homes For Sale,” would you assume that more people lived in the average home in 1950 or 2000? Explain. Does your answer support or contradict the conclusions drawn in the essay about the average number of people occupying homes during these two years? Make sure to use evidence to support and explain your answer.
6. List and explain at least three ways that the average home built in 2000 would have a greater impact on the environment than the average home constructed in 1950.
7. Use “Home Sweet Home,” the essay, and your class discussion about American homes to complete a “For Sale” advertisement for a hypothetical home constructed in 1950 and a house built in 2000. Your advertisements must include the following: square footage; number of bedrooms and bathrooms; price; garage; amount of lumber used for house (board feet); and an illustration of a home from each period (hand-drawn, downloaded from a computer, or taken from a magazine). Make sure to use facts, but be creative in your descriptions. Use the back of this page or a separate piece of paper to complete your advertisements.
