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LESSON OVERVIEW
Design a Shelter Engineering Design Challenge | 1st Grade STEM Discoveries
Students will learn about common characteristics of shelters and how different seasons have different shelter material needs. Students will read A Stroll Through the Seasons to recognize that problems can have multiple solutions. Students will then design, build and test their own all-season shelter!
Through hands-on creativity, students will learn to create and build their own all-weather shelter! Students will discover how weather works in real-world applications, building STEM knowledge through hands-on design, promoting creative problem-solving with everyday materials!
This unit is part of our new 1st Grade STEM Discoveries series - get ready to discover, explore, and innovate!
What They’ll Learn:
That a shelter has different characteristics such as wall/s, roof, and entrance
How different shelters and different materials are used during different seasons
What different materials are needed for different types of seasonal weather
Recognize shapes of shelters that will support a roof and walls
Recognize size of shelter to size of model to protect
MORE!
STEM Discoveries Storyline (Adaptable for Grades 1 - 2): Terra (a robot) arrives in the present because her futuristic world is missing some important things - creativity, curiosity, and the spirit of exploration! Her sensors picked up signs of innovation coming from your classroom. Terra’s mission: Learn from the students and discover STEM knowledge and inventions to bring back to the future!
A Mission to Design an All-Weather Shelter: In this unit, students will learn about common characteristics of shelters and how different seasons have different shelter material needs. Students will read A Stroll Through the Seasons (watch on YouTube or the physical book) to recognize that problems can have multiple solutions. Students will then design, build and test their own all-season shelter!
Engineering Learning Goals in this unit include:
Real-World Connections: Understand that engineers design shelters and identify how different shelters and different materials are used during different seasons.
Making: Use common materials to build a model of a shelter and learn to successfully make a shelter to protect against seasonal weather.
Habits of Mind: Recognize that problems have multiple solutions and that you must first define the problem before you can start on the solution.
Science: Identify the weather in a season and build understanding of types of materials that protect well from different seasonal weather.
Technology: Understand that a shelter has different characteristics such as wall/s, roof, and entrance; Recognize that a shelter has different parts that work together; Learn that different materials are needed for different types of seasonal weather.
Math: Recognize shapes of shelters that will support a roof and walls, as well as the Recognize size of shelter to size of their model to protect and how to measure dimensions of finished shelter.
Included in this product:
Aligned to: NGSS, TEKS, ITSE and ITEE Standards
Complete Teacher Guide following the engineering design process
Materials list and activity suggestions
Editable teaching slides
Student handouts for each phase of the design process, including science background, STEM career connection, and more!
Two versions of student badges for completing the mission: pre-colored or a black and white option for students to color themselves to celebrate!
Option for printing badges using Avery Presta 94506 Round Labels
Recommended Supplies:
Required:
cardboard
tape
construction paper
foil
plastic bags (to cut up)
egg cartons
styrofoam bowls or cups
cotton balls or pom poms
straws
scissors
Additional Options:
2021 Science TEKS Standards Alignment (Texas)
Practices: 1.1(A-F),1.2(D), 1.5(A)
Content: 1.9(A)
