DiscoverE
Emergency Shelter
Save yourself! Groups create a sturdy emergency shelter out of bamboo. The shelter must be large enough to fit one person. Now the most important question: Which member of the group gets to use the shelter in an emergency?
Teach Engineering
Service-Based Engineering Design Project
Do some good for the community while learning about engineering. Groups complete a service-based engineering design project over the course of five weeks. The resource provides guidance on how to conduct the project and help pupils get...
Curated OER
TE Activity: Space Shelter
Learners simulate that they need to develop a new home on a different planet. They design a shelter that will ensure their survival after researching the characteristics of the other planet. They write an essay about their home design.
Teach Engineering
Incoming Asteroid! What's the Problem?
Oh, no! An asteroid is on a collision course with Earth!. Class members must rise to the challenge of designing a shelter that will protect people from the impact and permit them to live in this shelter for one year. In this first lesson...
Curated OER
Designing Future Houses
Students discuss the changes we face and what kind of future house designs students can imagine. They create a floor plan, make an architectural drawing, and write a short description about their future house.
Teach Engineering
How Big? Necessary Area and Volume for Shelter
Teams must determine the size of cavern needed to house the citizens of Alabraska to protect them from the asteroid impact. Using scaling properties, teams first determining the number of people that could sleep in a classroom and then...
Teach Engineering
Live Like an Animal
When your parents say that your room's a pig sty, tell them about biomimicry. The sixth installment of a nine-part Life Science unit has scholars research the shelters used by animals in the natural world, like turtle shells. Using the...
Teach Engineering
Ranking the Rocks for Desired Properties
Math rocks! Cavern design teams determine the rankings of rock types based upon desirability points. The points are connected to the properties of the rocks and their usefulness in building a cavern.
Teach Engineering
Rocks, Rocks, Rocks: Test, Identify Properties and Classify
Time is growing short. Teams work together to identify physical properties of rocks in order to determine the properties that would best suit their cavern shelter design.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Person to Person: Challenge Activities (Theme 4)
The world is a big place—discover it! A series of challenge activities designed to accompany Theme 4: Person to Person encourages learners to explore the world around them. Project-based activities promote research and writing skills in...
Curated OER
When Getting There is More Than Half the Battle
Students investigate the 'Design for the Other 90%' exhibition about low-cost solutions to give the "other 90% of the world's population" access to services and amenities many of us take for granted. In this technology design lesson,...
Curated OER
Doghouse Design
Elementary engineers design a dog house suitable for a large dog according to specific criteria. Learners create a design for a doghouse that allows their dog to grow, protects him from the elements, and keeps food and water dishes...
Curated OER
The Need For Shelter
Fifth graders build a shelter to protect themselves from rain. They perform durability and water proof testing on the shelters. They make observations of plants found in the Amazon rainforest.
Curated OER
Shapes and Shelters
Students are be able to analyze primary sources (photographs) for evidence of Ancient Egyptian culture and design meaningful objects. They are grouped in pairs and instructed to choose someone that they admire, either living or...
Curated OER
Homes of Yesterday and Today
Students explore homes as shelters while they built writing and technology skills. In this homes of yesterday and today lesson, students produce books using digital photography. Students develop vocabulary while researching how homes are...
Curated OER
Playground Structure Model
Students, working in groups, design and create a model of a playground shelter, based on specific criteria. Student designs must include research and analysis into weather conditions, safety factors and the cost of the finalized project.
Curated OER
Construct And Test Roofs for Different Climates
Students investigate what types of roofs are appropriate for various types of climates and environments. They discuss and observe different types of roofs and housing, listen to the book "Houses and Homes," select a region, and design...
Curated OER
Building Storm Shelters
Sixth graders explore area and perimeter. In this online interactive area and perimeter lesson, 6th graders investigate why the perimeter of rectangles can vary considerably even when the area is held constant. Students construct...
Curated OER
Build A Birdhouse
Students work together to design and build a birdhouse. They research a bird of their choice and build the birdhouse that means that bird's specifications. They discover the importance of designing.
Teach Engineering
Energy in Our Lives Carousel
Don't waste any more energy trying to find a great resource on energy. The third installment of a 25-part Energy Systems and Solutions unit focuses on energy use in pupils' lives. They consider how their daily routines consume energy and...
Curated OER
Daily and Seasonal Cycles
First graders identify the sun as a source of heat and light. They identify features of houses that help keep use sheltered and comfortable throughout daily and seasonal cycles. Students are told that summer is the best season to...
Curated OER
Improving the Building Envelope System
Students explain the different heat transfer mechanisms and how they influence the building envelope. They develop ways in which the building envelope can be improved and test hypotheses about building envelope designs.
Curated OER
Sun Friendly Homes
Students design and build a model solar energy home. In this technology lesson, students test the efficiency of their model houses by measuring temperature at regular intervals. They analyze data and share results with the class.
Curated OER
TE Activity: Built to Last?
Fifth graders test the shelters that were built in a prior activity. They determine the level of durability and water resistance of these shelters through a scientific investigation.