Unit Plan 12 (Grade K Science): Building Shade Structures
Kindergarten engineering unit where students design and test shade structures, compare warming in sun and shade, collect data, and improve designs using evidence.
Focus: Design and build a shade structure that reduces the warming effect of sunlight on an area by testing materials and shapes and improving a design based on results.
Grade Level: K
Subject Area: Science (Physical Science • Engineering Design)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Students explore how sunlight can warm surfaces and how shade can help keep areas cooler. Using simple temperature tools and careful observations, they compare objects in sun and shade and notice patterns (some materials get warmer faster than others). Then students become engineers: they define a design problem, sketch a shade structure, build it with classroom materials, and run a fair test to see how well it reduces warming. The week ends with a mini Shade Structure Showcase where students explain what worked, what changed, and why.
Essential Questions
- How does sunlight warm Earth’s surface, and what happens in shade?
- What makes a shade structure work well to reduce warming?
- How can we test a design and use results to improve it?
- How do materials and shape change how much heat reaches an area?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Make observations to describe how sunlight warms surfaces and how shade changes warming.
- Define a design problem: create a structure that reduces the warming effect of sunlight on a small area.
- Sketch a simple plan showing the shape and materials of a shade structure.
- Build and test a shade structure and record simple data (warm/cool, hotter/colder, or thermometer readings).
- Improve a design using test results and explain what changed and why.
Standards Alignment — Kindergarten (NGSS-Aligned)
- K-PS3-2 — Use tools and materials to design and build a structure that will reduce the warming effect of sunlight on an area.
- Example: Build a shade structure that keeps a “playground spot” cooler than a spot in direct sun.
- K-2-ETS1-2 — Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.
- Example: Sketch a roof shape (flat, tent, angled) and explain how it blocks sunlight.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can tell what sunlight does to surfaces and what shade does.
- I can explain our problem: we want to keep an area cooler in sunlight.
- I can make a plan (sketch) and build a shade structure.
- I can test my structure and show what happened with evidence.
- I can improve my design and explain why my change helped.