You’ve probably seen them. The blog posts that tell you how you can buy a $10,000 tiny house on Amazon. It looks like a fun dream. You scroll past the glossy photo of the adorable cabin, click the link, and start imagining the possibilities. What those blog posts leave out is everything that actually makes the tiny house work—permits, water, electricity, foundations, zoning regulations, and whether it’s even legal to put one in your backyard. That part isn’t included. Doesn’t this sound a lot like some teaching solutions? “Just do project-based learning,” “differentiate your instruction,” or “let students lead.” The idea sounds good, and it probably is good, but the details are missing. The part where the idea becomes reality is left as an exercise for the reader. It feels frustrating, especially when you’re already balancing everything else.
Search Tiny House on Amazon
First, did you know you can buy a tiny house on Amazon? It is fun to look up. You’re like, WOW! I have so many ideas for putting this in my backyard! But then you realize… what you see is NOT what you get.
The pictures show a well lit, multiple story, furnished, house with a porch. None of that is included. Notice in the image to the right that when I hover over the tiny house thumbnail, it shows a bunch of CONCEPTS of what you can turn the house into if you had more time and money. The product you clicked on showed a big layout, but that really was 3 containers pushed together… at of course 3 times the listed price.
The description on these tiny houses also do not mention exactly how you would pull this off. Do you need a crane? What are the zoning laws? What is the cost of a cement slab? Plumbing? Electricity?
Teaching Ideas Can Feel the Same Way
We hear teaching strategies that sound just as simple. Try project-based learning. Let students direct their own learning. Flip your classroom. Use AI. The ideas have value. They often work well. But like the tiny house, they usually come without the steps that make them actually usable.
Teachers hear these ideas and wonder how to make them fit with pacing guides, classroom management, grading requirements, and tech limitations. They want to try, but the strategy doesn’t come with a how-to. That’s the problem. The structure exists, but the foundation doesn’t.
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I've Done This Too
I’ll admit I have done this too. Brainstorming ideas and not providing the details. OR, I’ve spent DAYS and hours putting together a really cool lesson that is not reasonable or feasible to do on an every day basis.
Stop Chasing the Tiny House Dream
In teaching, it is easy to get caught up in big ideas that sound amazing but come without the steps to make them work. Some strategies need more time, more resources, or more support than we realistically have. We end up comparing ourselves to an ideal that does not reflect the everyday classroom.
Instead of trying to create the rainbow unicorn version of a lesson, focus on what you can actually do. A small change can make a big difference. You do not need to redesign everything. You just need to make it sparkle a little more.
Try One New Element in a Lesson You Already Like
Pick one lesson that already works well. Find a moment where students usually listen passively and insert a new element. You might ask them to type their response into a shared Google Doc, vote in a poll, or add a note to Padlet. Keep the rest of the lesson exactly the same. Try the small change and watch how it shifts engagement.
Add a Student Choice, Even a Simple One
Do the odd’s or the even’s. Take any task and give students two ways to complete it. It doesn’t have to be a great choice, start by just committing to always having a choice. Perhaps offer a written paragraph or a short video. You can also let them choose which topic to explore or which resource to use. Provide the structure but give them a voice in how they learn or demonstrate understanding.
Build in Time for Reflection or Student Feedback
At the end of the lesson, ask one meaningful question. Use a Google Form, private comment, or a simple index card. Ask “What helped you learn today?” or “What was still confusing?” Make this quick and consistent. Review responses to adjust tomorrow’s instruction.
Use AI to Support Your Planning, Not Replace Your Thinking
Use AI tools to help generate examples, rewrite instructions, or offer extension questions. Ask it to create discussion prompts or a rubric draft. Review everything it gives you with your professional judgment. You are still the teacher. Let AI save you time, not replace your decisions. I like using Diffit as the activities tend to be more student centered rather than just offering a worksheet.
Use a Shared Document to Collect Thinking
Instead of separate answers, use a single class doc or spreadsheet where students enter their responses. This helps students learn from each other and lets you quickly scan for patterns. Use it to start a class discussion or find common misconceptions.
Try using my TemplateTab Add-on for Google Sheets™ to facilitate all students in the same spreadsheet. Or try FigJam collaboratively.
Change the Order, Not the Content
Start with curiosity before you explain a concept. Show a puzzling photo, ask a provocative question, or present an unfinished scenario. Let students explore first, then provide the explanation or vocabulary. Changing the order can make familiar material feel fresh and more meaningful.
Turn One Task into a Conversation
Take a worksheet or individual assignment and ask students to talk through it with a partner first. Let them compare ideas before writing. This supports thinking, improves responses, and builds collaboration. You can walk around and listen for student understanding before you collect any work.
Shaving Cream
A fun activity I like to do at least quarterly is to give students a lemon sized ball of shaving cream to smear on their desks.
“Everyone raise the hand you write with.” – This is the ONLY hand you’re allowed to have shaving cream on.
I walk around the room, put some shaving cream on each desk and encourage the students to turn it into a smooth writing surface. I then write a question on the board or verbalize a question and students write it into the shaving cream on their desk. I quickly look around “yes, yes, yes, not quite, yes” and then they can erase it once I acknowledge it. Or after I acknowledge a few and move to the next one. Be sure to leave time at the end for cleanup! I have them rub the shaving cream into the desk. I also do not reup their shaving cream if the class period is almost over. Refills are the size of a gumball, not of a lemon. Once the desks are mostly shaving cream free from the friction of rubbing, I stand at the door with a bottle of dollar store soap and put a small pump in their hand and send them off to the bathroom (I teach high school.) I bring a roll of paper towels and some spray to clean off the soap residue.
Now my desks are clean and the room smells better.
Keep It Practical, Keep It Possible
Teaching does not need to look like a perfect Instagram lesson or a viral classroom video. Most days, we just need a small shift that brings a little more energy, a little more student voice, or a little more thinking. You do not need to chase the biggest, most magical idea. Instead, look for small ways to make what you already do more interactive, more reflective, and more student-centered.
You know your students. You know your time limits. Start with one idea from this list and try it in a way that fits your context. That is how you build something that works.
You do not need the full renovation. Just a few updates can make the learning space feel new again.
