Selecting Shelter Materials

Curriculum Links

This lesson aligns with the NSW Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum – Technologies: Design and Technologies strand for Year 2. Specifically, it addresses:

• ACTDEK007: Explore needs or opportunities for designing, such as practical needs, creativity and sustainability
• ACTDEP009: Generate, develop and communicate design ideas and decisions using simple graphical representations and oral or written descriptions
• ACTDEK010: Use materials, components, tools, equipment and techniques to safely make designed solutions

Learning Objectives (WALT)

We Are Learning To:

• Identify different materials that can be used for building shelters
• Select appropriate materials based on their properties for building a shelter

Success Criteria

Students will be able to:

• Name at least three different materials used for building shelters (e.g., wood, fabric, cardboard, plastic)
• Explain one property of each material (e.g., soft, strong, waterproof)
• Describe why a particular material is suitable or unsuitable for building parts of a shelter

Resources

• Samples of materials: cardboard, fabric, plastic sheets, paper, sticks, straws, foil
• Picture cards showing different shelters (e.g., tents, huts, bird nests)
• Whiteboard and markers
• Worksheets for sorting materials

Lesson Duration: 60 minutes

---

Lesson Breakdown

1. Introduction (10 minutes)

• Begin with a brief discussion: “What is a shelter?” Show pictures of different types of shelters from nature and human-made.
• Link to students’ experiences (e.g., tents, cubby houses).
• Introduce the WALT. Write it on the board with the success criteria.
• Engage students with a quick 'show and tell' of materials, eliciting any material they already know.

2. Exploration Activity – Material Investigation (15 minutes)

• Divide the class into small groups (4-5 students) and give each group a variety of material samples.
• Ask groups to touch, feel, and sort materials into categories such as “soft,” “hard,” “waterproof,” or “strong.”
• Guide them to discuss with their group which materials might be good for building a shelter and why.
• Circulate to prompt thinking: “Which material would keep you dry if it rained?” or “Which material might break easily?”

3. Class Discussion and Chart Creation (10 minutes)

• Invite groups to share their ideas. Create a class chart titled “Materials and Their Properties” listing materials and key properties identified by students.
• Highlight how properties affect suitability for building shelters (e.g., waterproof materials for roofs, strong materials for frames).

4. Application Task – Selecting Materials for a Shelter (15 minutes)

• Introduce a simple design challenge: “Imagine we are going to build a small shelter for a teddy bear. Which materials would you choose and why?”
• Students sketch their shelter idea on worksheets, labelling the materials chosen for different parts (roof, walls, floor).
• Encourage verbal or written explanation of their choices referring to material properties.

5. Reflection and Success Criteria Review (5 minutes)

• Revisit the WALT and success criteria displayed in class.
• Ask students to self-assess their work:
• Can you name 3 materials?
• Can you explain one property of each?
• Can you say why you picked those materials?
• Share reflections aloud or with a partner.

---

Differentiation Strategies

For Diverse Learners:

• Provide tactile, hands-on material samples to aid sensory engagement.
• Use visual aids (pictures and charts) to support understanding of vocabulary and concepts.
• Offer sentence starters for explanations (e.g., “I chose ___ because it is ___.”).
• Pair students strategically so helpers can assist peers who may struggle with fine motor skills or verbal explanations.
• Allow oral responses instead of written work if necessary.

Extension for Advanced Learners:

• Challenge students to think about sustainability: “Can any of these materials be recycled or reused?”
• Encourage designing a shelter that can withstand specific weather conditions (wind, rain).
• Integrate a simple testing activity where groups test waterproofing by sprinkling water on material samples and observing results.
• Have students create a 3D model of their shelter using recycled materials brought from home.

---

Assessment

• Formative assessment through observation during group discussions and material sorting.
• Review students’ shelter sketches and oral/written explanations to assess understanding of material selection and properties.
• Use self-assessment against the success criteria for reflection on learning progress.

---

This lesson plan ensures an interactive, hands-on approach suitable for Year 2 students, specifically tailored to meet the NSW Curriculum requirements in Technologies with clear links to design and materials knowledge. The inclusion of differentiation and extensions supports all learners and encourages deeper inquiry through sustainability and testing concepts.