To Teach Building Skills (NAPSA)—Most adults don’t know what it takes to design and build a home. But with the help of a new computer-based educational program, middle school students are learning how. The CD-ROM game teaches students how to work within a budget and on a deadline to design and build a house. They use math, science, social studies, and language arts skills to design the house, a process that involves real-life problems, the use of timeand money-managementskills, and decision-making challenges. When the house is completed, the students review credit applications andsell their “virtual dream house” to a qualified buyer. The educational program, called Building Homes of Our Own, is from the National Associ- ation of Home Builders (NAHB) and is part of the association’s educational outreach initiative. The CD-ROM game and a teacher’s guide will be available free to educators for the start of the 2002-2003 school year. “This program has enormous potential to reach young people, who are the home buyers of tomorrow, and teach them whatit takes to build a house. We hopeit will even encourage some youngsters to consider a career in the home building industry,” said Gary Garezynski, president of NAHB and a builder/developer from Woodbridge, Va. Students now can learn the ins and outs of building a house with an innovative computer game. The gameis being developed by Media Options, a consulting firm that has been creating educational products for 20 years. Building Homes of Our Own has received partial funding from the NAHB National Housing Endowment, Freddie Mac, and the Fannie Mae Foundation. It has the support of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, which recommendsit as a learning tool. More than 1,500 schools have already requested the program. Parents should urge teachers to visit the Web site, www.Homes OfOurOwn.org to discover more about this new learning tool and to register to receive the free CDROM game and complementary teacher’s guide.
