Unit Plan 26 (Grade K Science): Engineering for Weather Safety
Kindergarten engineering unit where students use weather forecasts to plan for severe weather, design safety tools, test solutions, and protect the environment.
Focus: Use weather forecasts to ask questions, plan for severe weather, and design simple tools that improve safety while considering how people can reduce their impact on the environment.
Grade Level: K
Subject Area: Science (Earth & Space Science • Engineering Design)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 30–45 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Students become weather helpers and engineers this week. They begin by studying kid-friendly forecasts (icons, temperatures, and simple “watch/warning” language) and practicing how to ask good questions like “What should we wear?” and “How can we stay safe?” Then, students explore how people sometimes change the environment (like making puddles worse or leaving trash after storms) and practice choosing solutions that reduce harm. The week’s challenge is to design and test a simple safety tool—such as a rain shield, wind blocker, cooling shade, or flood stopper—and then share a short “Safety Plan” using clear pictures and simple sentences.
Essential Questions
- How do weather forecasts help us prepare for severe weather?
- What questions can we ask to stay safe before and during bad weather?
- How can we design a tool that protects people in weather like rain, wind, or heat?
- How can people reduce their impact on the land, water, air, and living things while staying safe?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Use a simple forecast (icons, temperature, and words) to describe expected weather and ask at least one related question (K-ESS3-2).
- Identify a weather-related safety problem (rain, wind, heat, or flooding) and explain why it could be dangerous or uncomfortable (K-ESS3-2).
- Sketch and build a simple design that protects people from weather using classroom materials (K-2-ETS1-2).
- Test two designs (or two versions of one design) and compare how well each works using simple observations or a rating (K-2-ETS1-3).
- Communicate one solution that helps people stay safe and reduces harm to the local environment (K-ESS3-3).
Standards Alignment — Grade K (NGSS-Aligned)
- K-ESS3-2 — Ask questions to obtain information about the purpose of weather forecasting to prepare for, and respond to, severe weather.
- K-ESS3-3 — Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment.
- 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.
- K-2-ETS1-3 — Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare strengths and weaknesses of how each performs.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can look at a forecast and tell what the weather might be like.
- I can ask a weather question to help me stay safe (like what to wear or where to go).
- I can draw and build a tool that helps in rain, wind, heat, or flooding.
- I can test my tool and say what worked best.
- I can share a solution that helps people and is kinder to the environment.