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Building shade from the sun

PROCEDURAL
Science›Energy|Ages 5—6|ID: mt_2agkUcdah9

Use tools and materials to design and build a structure that will reduce the warming effect of sunlight on an area, such as a shade or shelter

Mastery Evidence

  • Design a structure intended to reduce the warming effect of sunlight on an area
  • Build the structure using available materials and test whether it reduces temperature
  • Compare the temperature in the shaded area vs an unshaded area as evidence of effectiveness

Assessment Prompt

“Can [child] design and build a simple shade — like an umbrella or canopy — and test whether it keeps an area cooler in the sun?”

Curriculum Standards1 alignment

K-PS3-2Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) K-5codes only
Standard code — full text not included in this dataset.

Prerequisites2

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  • Modelling with Sketches soft

    Modelling/sketching skills support designing a shade structure

    • Asking scientific questions hard

      Must ask questions about problems before modelling design solutions

      • Asking Questions soft

        Formulating scientific questions builds on the general skill of asking relevant questions to extend understanding, developed in English speaking and listening

        • Question Words hard

          Generating effective questions requires knowledge of question words (who, what, where, when, why, how)

        • Listening and responding hard

          Listening and responding needed before asking questions

        • Exploring Ideas Through Talk soft

          Related speaking skill supports this topic

          • Feeling of not understanding soft

            Using talk to explore ideas and speculate requires noticing what you don't yet understand — the comprehension-monitoring habit in a spoken register

            • Asking for Help hard

              Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck

      • Observation vs Interpretation soft

        Asking good scientific questions requires noticing the distinction between observation and interpretation — a question like 'why did this happen?' only makes sense once you've separated what you saw from what you inferred

        • Feeling of not understanding soft

          Noticing the observation/interpretation distinction requires monitoring your own thinking — the universal comprehension-monitoring habit applied to scientific reasoning

          • Asking for Help hard

            Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck

      • Feeling of not understanding soft

        Asking scientific questions is the science-domain expression of the universal comprehension-monitoring habit: noticing what you don't yet understand

        • Asking for Help hard

          Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck

      • Persisting When It's Hard soft

        Scientific enquiry requires persistence through uncertainty — the universal persistence habit underpins willingness to keep investigating

  • Sunlight warms things up hard

    Must observe sunlight warming before designing a structure to reduce it

    • Seasonal changes soft

      Seasonal observation supports understanding sunlight warming effects

Unlocks0

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