Other
Designing Shelters
Kindergarten
Energy
In Classrooms
Students engineer a shelter to protect Penny the dog from getting too warm in the sunlight.
unit Overview
Students use the Engineering Design Process to design a shady shelter roof. They explore the warming effects of the Sun, light and shadow, and animal needs.
- 9 lessons
- 20–70 minutes per lesson
Standards Alignment
We’ve developed each EiE unit with careful attention to educational standards in both science and technology/engineering.
unit Resources
Digital Resources (FREE)
YES provides these materials free of charge! Use the link below to download resources from our Google Drive.
Download ResourcesPurchase Materials
Educator Guide Pack -
$69
- Full-color print educator guide, plus multiple sets of heavy-duty reusable color-print resources (ex. vocabulary cards, materials glossaries, station signs, and student instructions) for the class.
Materials Kit -
$469
- Hands-on materials to support 24 learners.
Unit Map
Students learn that many of the items they use every day— like pencils, shoes, and tables—are technologies designed to solve problems. (25 min.)
Students learn that engineers are people who figure out how to make technologies, and that to do so, engineers use an engineering design process. (20 min.)
Students read the first chapter of Protecting Penny. They meet Penny the dog and notice the problem that she is too warm to play. Students brainstorm ways to keep Penny cool. (45 min.)
Students explore various materials and brainstorm how they can be used to build a shelter that protects from sunlight. (40 min.)
Students practice their craftsmanship skills as they explore how changing the size and shape of a roof impacts its ability to make shade. (40 min.)
Students test and evaluate various materials to determine which ones work well to make shade. (45 min.)
Students use what they’ve found out about ways to change the size and shape of a shelter roof and about which materials work well to make shade to imagine some ideas and record a plan. (40 min.)
Students use their plans to create, test, and improve their own shelter for Penny the dog. (55–70 min.)
Students gain inspiration by participating in a gallery walk of their peers’ designs. They then apply their engineering knowledge to a new context to consider ways they could protect something different from getting too warm. (35 min.)
How-to Videos
How To Prepare the Shelter Base
How To Test the Shelter with a Flashlight
Classroom Videos
Prep Lesson 1
