Students work in teams to design, test, and present a tiny home residential wiring plan that is safe, efficient, and aligned to simplified NEC guidelines and the needs of a specific resident profile. Over four weeks, they use scale drawings, code cards, prototypes, critique routines, and partner check-ins to break a complex electrical design challenge into manageable problems and refine solutions through evidence and feedback. The experience builds content expertise in residential wiring and energy systems while strengthening collaboration, communication, self-direction, and problem solving through a public exhibition with industry and community partners.

Students will design and revise a tiny home wiring layout by breaking the project into manageable problems, including room use, outlet and fixture placement, circuit pathways, safety hazards, and resident needs. They will use scale drawing, measurement, simplified NEC-based symbols, and code cards to create safe, efficient plans and explain how electrical energy is distributed to support daily living. Students will build and test cardboard or paper prototypes, use partner check-ins and weekly critiques to improve both technical decisions and teamwork, and document code-based choices, solved problems, and revisions in a project journal. They will communicate their learning through a final walk-through and public presentation that shows evidence of safety, efficiency, and responsiveness to the resident profile.

Students will create room-by-room cardboard or paper prototypes, shared layout maps, and project journal photo captions that document code-based choices, hazards spotted, problems solved, and planned revisions after each work session. Throughout the project, teams will also produce scale drawings with simplified NEC-based symbols, resident-profile notes, and weekly critique materials that show technical strengths, teamwork next steps, and design changes. By the end, each team will complete a finished tiny home wiring plan with code-aligned outlet, switch, and fixture placements, plus a poster set or presentation package for the final expo. Final products include the layout, journal evidence, and a short walkthrough script explaining one safe and efficient design choice, one improvement made through feedback, and how the plan meets residents’ daily needs.

Open with a Wire It Right Rally in which teams rotate through a quick hazard-spotting challenge using a tiny home floor plan, photos, and simplified code cards to identify unsafe outlet, switch, and fixture placements. Then move into a Code and Comfort Kickoff where students examine a resident profile, mark wiring needs on a shared layout, and justify choices based on safety, access, and daily living routines. Finish with a 10-minute Tiny Home Design Jam: teams build a fast cardboard room model, place paper symbols for devices and lighting, and test their first draft against code cards, ending by recording one design question they want to solve during the project.

Host a Wired for Living Expo where teams present their finished tiny home wiring plans, scale drawings, and room-by-room poster sets to families, school leaders, a licensed electrician, and community housing partners. At each station, students give a short walk-through script that explains one code-based design choice, one problem they solved through revision, and how their layout supports the resident profile’s daily needs. Include a Bright Ideas Gallery with project journals, photo captions, prototype sketches, and revision notes so visitors can see evidence of critique, persistence, collaboration, and growth over time. End with a brief feedback round where guests name one safe and efficient design strength they noticed and students respond with one improvement they made during the project.