Students will investigate weather hazards and how wind and water affect land and shelters, then design a portable, lightweight, durable shelter prototype for people experiencing homelessness. They will explore: How can we design a shelter that helps people stay safe and dry during thunderstorms, and what can we build that is easy to carry, strong in bad weather, and comfortable? Teams will define criteria and constraints, compare solutions, test materials and models against simulated wind and rain, and use evidence and feedback to improve their designs. Students will share a clear claim about their solution’s merits while practicing shared decision-making, empathetic communication, problem-solving, and reflection.
Learning goals
Students will investigate: How can we design a portable, lightweight, and durable shelter that helps people stay safe and dry during thunderstorms? They will also consider: What kind of shelter can we build that is easy to carry, strong enough for bad weather, and comfortable for people who need it? Students will use weather science and comparisons of wind- and water-control solutions to define criteria and constraints, then collaboratively build and safely test small shelter models. They will analyze evidence, revise from feedback, and communicate a claim about how well their design reduces weather-related impacts while recognizing that a model shelter is not a substitute for approved lightning-safe shelter.
Standards
[Next Generation Science Standards] 3-ESS3-1 - Make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces the impacts of a weather-related hazard.
[Next Generation Science Standards] 2-ESS2-1 - Compare multiple solutions designed to slow or prevent wind or water from changing the shape of the land.
[Next Generation Science Standards] ESS.2.D - Weather and Climate
[Next Generation Science Standards] 3-5.AF.1.5 - Define a simple design problem that can be solved through the development of an object, tool, process, or system and includes several criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
Collaboration - Students co-design projects with peers, exercise shared-decision making, strengthen relational agency, resolve conflict, and assume leadership roles.
Critical Thinking & Problem Solving - Students consider a variety of innovative approaches to address and understand complex questions that are authentic and important to their communities.
Effective Communication - Students practice listening to understand, communicating with empathy, and share their learning through exhibiting, presenting and reflecting on their work.
Content Expertise - Students develop key competencies, skills, and dispositions with ample opportunities to apply knowledge and engage in work that matters to them.
Self Directed Learning - Students use teacher and peer feedback and self-reflection to monitor and direct their own learning while building self knowledge both in and out of the classroom.
Products
Students will create a user-needs chart, weather-hazard map, and labeled shelter plan with criteria for portability, weight, durability, dryness, comfort, materials, time, and cost. Teams will build and improve a scale prototype after safely testing it with simulated wind and rain and comparing ways to reduce water and wind impacts. Their final products will include the prototype, test-data display, and an evidence-based claim explaining the design’s strengths, limits, and recommended improvements. Teams will present their response to: “How can we design a portable, lightweight, and durable shelter that helps people stay safe and dry during thunderstorms?” and “What kind of shelter can we build that is easy to carry, strong enough for bad weather, and comfortable for people who need it?”
Launch
Begin with a teacher-operated wind-and-rain simulation that tests several small model shelters over trays of sand, allowing students to observe water leaks, wind damage, and soil movement. Teams rotate roles to record observations, compare solutions, and identify design criteria such as portability, low weight, durability, comfort, cost, and material limits. Introduce an age-appropriate story or message from a local shelter organization to center the needs and dignity of people experiencing homelessness. Ask, “How can we design a portable, lightweight, and durable shelter that helps people stay safe and dry during thunderstorms?” and “What kind of shelter can we build that is easy to carry, strong enough for bad weather, and comfortable for people who need it?”
Exhibition
Host a “Weather-Ready Shelter Expo” where teams display portable shelter prototypes and demonstrate them with teacher-supervised fan wind and spray-bottle rain tests. Students explain how their designs stay lightweight, durable, dry, comfortable, and easy to carry, then make evidence-based claims about how well each solution reduces weather hazards. Invite families, school staff, and local housing-support professionals to test portability, view design revisions, and offer feedback. Teams compare solutions, recognize shared contributions, and reflect on how feedback shaped their final designs.
