Curated OER
Rest for Wildfire Firefighters
Young scholars are challenged to construct a shelter that allows each firefighter to take a break from their work. They research wildfire safety and the structures used by wildlife firefighters. Students must construct a shelter that is...
Curated OER
Shelter
Fourth graders listen as the teacher reads out loud "A House Is A House for Me". Each day for five days the students choose one activity out of two or three to complete. Conclusion arrives when all the students describe and write about...
Curated OER
Winer Survival
Students study how animals need water, food, shelter, and space to survive. They also study what animals need to survive in the winter. They play the part of animals and winter "threats" in a game of tag to reinforce concepts.
Curated OER
How Does Climate Affect Our Shelter Needs?
Fourth graders investigate how weather influences shelter choices. They explore the concept of insulation and discuss some traditional Native American shelters. They discuss the shelters used by the Okanogan people during the various...
Curated OER
Dirty Pictures
Students investigate how food, clothing and shelter come from soil after they examine soil from their own backyards. They map soils on the color wheel before making glue and soil pictures and tie-dying T-shirts in red soil.
Curated OER
Exploring Habitats
Students analyze the difference between the human habitat and the different habitats of animals in the six lessons of this unit. The students' imaginations and literature are used to explore important aspects of the living environments...
Curated OER
How Does Climate Affect Your Environment?
Pupils access the Global Sun Temperature Project website and research the relationship between the location and climate of a participating school to its building structure. They consider how climate affects the type of structures humans...
BioEd Online
Bio Ed Online: Resources and the Environment: Humans Design Their Homes
After hearing and discussing the story of The Three Little Pigs, students work in groups to construct houses using craft sticks. They then decide how well their house would serve as a living space and in what climatic conditions it would...
Other
Domestic Violence
This is a website devoted to information about domestic violence. You can read about what it is, who the abusers are, who the victims are, and much more.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: How Big?
Students teams determine the size of the caverns necessary to house the population of the state of Alabraska from the impending asteroid impact. They measure their classroom to determine area and volume, determine how many people the...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Testing the Caverns
Students build model caverns and bury them in a tray of sand. They test the models by dropping balls onto them to simulate an asteroid hitting the Earth. By molding papier-mache or clay around balloons (to form domes), or around small...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Energy Efficient Housing
We all know that it takes energy to provide us with the basics of shelter: heating, cooling, lighting, electricity, sanitation and cooking. To create energy-efficient housing that is practical for people to use every day requires...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Passive Solar Design
Young scholars are introduced to passive solar design for buildings--an approach that uses the sun's energy and the surrounding climate to provide natural heating and cooling. They learn about some of the disadvantage of conventional...
Unite for Literacy
Unite for Literacy: Family: A House for Me
Read about the different types of houses that people live in. Includes audio narration in 23 additional languages with text in English.
Other
Equipped to Survive: Survival for Kids
This site provides very important lifesaving survival information to use if you are out on an adventure or just get lost. Includes a Kid's Wilderness Survival Primer, Kid's Don't-Leave-Home-Without-It Equipment section, and a Stay Alive...
Education Place
Houghton Mifflin: Eduplace: Mousekin's Lost Woodland
This interactive site has "Mousekin's Lost Woodland" environment game. Play this storytelling game with your friends and learn about different habitats.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Space Shelter
The invasion has taken place and we need to find a new home. To ensure your survival beyond earth's occupation you must design a shelter that can be built on another planet. Students will research the characteristics of a planet of their...
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Habitat Network: Habitat Feature: Bare Earth for Native Pollinators
Find out why keeping a part of your yard as bare ground is important for providing nesting habitat for native bees.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Habitat Network: Installing Cover Boards for Reptiles
Learn how to provide a cover board for reptiles who generally prefer drier conditions.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Habitat Network: Installing Cover Boards for Amphibians
Find out how to make a cover board for Amphibians' dual life-cycle of aquatic and terrestrial stages.
University of Arizona
University of Arizona Press: Adobe and Rammed Earth Buildings
Complete description of the book, "Adobe and Rammed Earth Buildings." A great resource to assist in the study of shelter. Read an excerpt of the book, and a summary as well.
PBS
Pbs Kids: Design Squad Challenge: Speedy Shelter (Pdf)
This is a hands-on challenge to invent a sturdy emergency shelter that's easy to build. Provides a full list of materials with ideas on how to build, test, and redesign it if necessary. Activity focuses on the engineering design process...
Other
Buggy and Buddy: Stem Challenge for Kids: Build a Shelter From the Sun
In this lesson, kids build a shelter from the sun and test it using a UV-sensitive bead animal they create. If the shaded animal changes colors, then your shelter did not work.
Other
Gapminder: Dollar Street
In this collection of 30,000 photos from 46 countries, students will be assess "how people really live" around the world. Students can compare bathrooms, toys, and more. Students will explore different cultures, economics, geography,...