Little Lab Coats

Build and Run the First Shelter Test

Engineering — Disaster-Resistant Design | Unit 1, Lesson 4 of 6

📚 Grade: 4th Grade⏱️ Duration: 45–60 minutes🛠️ Subject: Engineering — Disaster-Resistant Design

🛠️💨🌧️

First tests are for learning, not for perfection.

📋 NGSS Standard:
3-5-ETS1-1 / 3-5-ETS1-2 / 3-5-ETS1-3 — Define a design problem with criteria and constraints, generate and compare solutions, and plan fair tests with variables controlled and failure points considered.

🎯 Learning Objective

Students will build a first prototype and carry out a fair wind-and-rain test while recording evidence.

💡 The Big Idea

Testing reveals strengths, weaknesses, and failure points that planning alone cannot show.

🔬 Engineering Thinking

Science Snapshot

Testing reveals which parts of the design are actually doing the protective work.

What is happening?

The first storm-shelter test shows how the design behaves under simulated conditions. Engineers expect the first version to reveal weak spots because testing is meant to uncover evidence, not just confirm hopes.

Why it works that way

A shelter may lean, leak, collapse, or protect one part well while failing in another. Wind resistance and water resistance are related but not identical challenges, so students should observe both carefully.

Look for this in the lesson

Students should record what happened in enough detail to guide the next design decision. Useful test notes mention where the failure happened and what likely caused it.

Ask while you read: During the storm test, what specific failure or success gives the best redesign clue?

Materials

Printed lesson pages and worksheet
Planned materials
Fan or hand-made wind source optional
Spray bottle or dripping cup optional
Paper figure or small toy

Let's Get Started

Step 1 — Build version 1
Students assemble the first shelter using their plan.

Step 2 — Set fair-test rules
Keep the same paper figure, fan distance, and water amount for all trials.

Step 3 — Run the first trial
Observe whether the shelter stays upright and blocks wind and rain.

Step 4 — Record evidence
Write what worked, what failed, and where the weakest point was.

Step 5 — Prepare for redesign
Choose one or two changes to try next.

Discussion Questions

Why should the test stay fair?Fair tests help engineers compare versions honestly.

What is a failure point?The weakest part that did not work well.

Why is version 1 useful even if it fails?Failure gives evidence for redesign.

What kind of observations matter most?Specific evidence about movement, leaks, collapse, or stability.

Extensions

Extension: Repeat the same test after one small change and compare results.

Parent/Teacher Notes

Teaching note: Treat failure as information, not as the end of the process.

Misconception to catch: Students may want to change many things at once; remind them that smaller controlled changes create clearer evidence.

Student Worksheet

Name: ________________________ Date: ________________________

1️⃣ Test observations

What happened?	Evidence	Possible failure point

2️⃣ What should change next?

✂️ PARENT ANSWER KEY — Detach before giving worksheet to students

Sample ideas

Useful evidence may include roof bending, water reaching the figure, the whole structure sliding, or one wall collapsing in wind.

✅ What Success Looks Like

Student records specific observations from a fair test.
Student identifies at least one failure point.
Student proposes a change connected to the evidence.