STEM Lesson Unit: Animals

Title: Homeless Pets

Estimated Time: 2-3 Days

Standards:
S1L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the basic needs of plants and
animals.
b. Ask questions to compare and contrast the basic needs of plants (air, water, light, and nutrients)
and animals (air, water, food, and shelter).
c. Design a solution to ensure that a plant or animal has all of its needs met.

Science and Engineering Practices Crosscutting Concepts

 Planning and Carrying Out Investigations  Structure and function

 Construction Explanations and Designing
Solutions
 Asking Questions and Defining Problems Vocabulary
 Developing and Using Models
 Shelter
 Using mathematics and computational
 Habitat
thinking

Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings: Safety Considerations:

• Animals needs four things to survive. Students should not attempt to cut thick
cardboard or plastic. Teacher assistance it
Essential Questions: required.
 How can I create a shelter for my pet?

Materials:  Modeling Clay

 Recycled Materials  Construction Paper
 Boxes  Foam Board
 Cardboard Tubes  STEM LESSON Recording Sheet

Project Overview:
The teacher displays a collection of homeless pets. After reading the book When My Dragon Moves
In, the students will create a shelter for their selected pet using 3D and 2D shapes.

Instruction:
Ask (Day 1: 45 mins)
Display the homeless pets explaining that they need a shelter. Ask students to come select a pet.
Research pet in PebbleGo Animals to determine its needs and shelter for survival.
Imagine (Day 1: 15 mins)
Introduce the constraints of the design plan: design a shelter for their pet model. Define the
criteria for success. Ask each student to work independently to come up with a design solution.
Students should draw/label their designs for their animal shelter.

Criteria:
Your design must be a shelter for your pet.
You need to include at least three 2-dimensional shapes and at least three 3-dimensional shapes in
your design.
Constraints:
You only have 1 hour days to complete your shelter!
You may only use the provided materials
Your pet must be able to move in and out of the shelter.
You must work together as a group to finish the project!

Plan (Day 2: 30 mins)

This challenge can be done independently or as a team. Student teams collaborate to come up
with final design plan. Students draw final design plan and make a list of needed supplies. Students
will get their supplies, and then begin creating their shape shelter.

Create/Test (Day 2: 60 mins)

Student teams build their design according to their design plan. Students must complete the
checklist verifying their group included the shape requirement. Students test their design to verify
their pet can move in and out.

Closing/Culminating Activity: Evaluate/ Improve (Day 3: 30 mins)

Students evaluate their design for success. Students share their design with the class. Did it meet
the established criteria? Did their final design match their planned design? How would students
improve their design?
STEM LESSON REFLECTION UNIT: ANIMALS

This STEM challenge was very engaging and meaningful for the students. They enjoyed creating a shelter
for their pet and playing their design verifying the pet could move in and out. An abundance of recyclable
materials were provided so students were given plenty of three dimensional shapes. They were limited on clay,
and some groups requested more which was not available. They were required to brainstorm new solutions
which frustrated some groups. Students were provided a checklist to verify their group met all the
requirements. Several groups lacked a sphere and two dimensional shapes since they were required to create
those. Improvements were necessary to meet all the requirements. Some groups focused too much on the
aesthetics of their design and additional pieces like beds, toys, etc. Refocusing on the criteria was necessary.

Overall, students successfully met the standard on animal needs. The shelter was created and each
groups listed their pet’s additional needs. Some groups created and designed their pet’s additional needs like:
water, food, etc.

If I were to teach this lesson again I would provide more time and require each group stop to verify
they met the requirements on the checklist. Some students needed more teacher direction with collaborating
and participating with their group, so specific jobs may be needed in the future. Requesting parent volunteers
to assist with cutting cardboard and plastic would have been helpful, too. I would implement this STEM
challenge again, because it was meaningful and engaging for my students.