If you teach a course, lesson or unit about furniture, interior design, housing or sustainablity, you don’t want to forget about the growing trend of fast furniture. In this Fast Furniture: A Talking Points Lesson & Activities, students explore the topic before competing a variety of creative activities to show they undestand the concept. Continue reading to learn more…

Set

• Introduce the lesson by having students complete The Picture Analysis. Students must look at the picture and share what they see, what they think and what they might wonder.
• Have students share their observations and acknowledge, but don’t reveal the topic yet.
• Share that the furniture they see in the picture are an example of products that are part of a trend called “fast furniture” which they will soon learn more about.

Materials

• iPads or Laptops
• Projector & Screen
• Canva (optional)
• Post-It-Notes (affiliate link)

Activities

• Assign students the Fast Furniture Web-Exploration. Basically, students use reliable web-resources to answer the prompts.
• After students complete the web-exploration, take time to discuss their answers. Students can add additional notes to their papers that may be helpful later as students complete follow-up activities.
• If you would like to show an optional video that reaffirms the web-research findings and summarizes alot of info before students complete the follow-up activities, you can show this YouTube video, titled “Is Fast Furniture Fast?“.
• Now comes the follow-up activities. There are four different activites that utilize the information found in the web-exploration and the video. Students would create a Google Slide Portfolio to showcase all of the assignments. There are also samples (around other topics) shown so student know how to set them up. Each activitiy requires students to be creative, think critically and evenually communicate with their classmates. Personally, I would assign all four activities, but if you are in a time crunch or have limited access to technology, then adjust accordingly and let students choose one or more to complete from the list. Your call! (Note: Canva can be used to make these posters if you have access to it, and then students can download their posters and put them into the Google Slide portfolio.
• The first activity utilizes facts and statistics around fast furniture in a “Did You Know?” poster activity, the second has students creating a “Wanted Poster” for fast furniture, the third is a “Choose This, Not This” activity comparing fast furniture to quality furniture (you can decide the furniture pieces you want them to compare: chair, dresser, table, sofa, etc.), and finally, a “Flash Slide” activity where students decide if fast furniture is sustainable or not and support their answer.
• After students submit their portfolios, they will share them with the class. Students can answer questions and/or you can have the audience rank their favorites. You could also have them complete the following 3-2-1 exit prompts on a post-it-note and turn it in as they leave the room at the end of the period. Prompts include:
  • 3 things you would look for before buying furniture
  • 2 alternatives to fast furniture
  • 1 sentence advice you would give someone furnishing their first apartment
• Optional: You could even print some of the projects and turn them into a bulletin board or wall display showcasing what they’ve learned.

Attachments

• Picture Analysis (PDF)
• Fast Furniture Web-Exploration (PDF)
• Fast Furniture Follow-Up Activities (PDF)