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Grade 6 · Science · 35 minutes

Unit 3 · Patterns and Design · Lesson 2 of 2

Which Shade Shelter Meets the Brief?

Compare competing designs with a clear decision rule and acknowledge tradeoffs.

Mr. S Teaches · Original starter mini-lesson · MS6-SCI-06

Learning objective

Use three criteria and one constraint to justify a shelter recommendation from supplied test data.

Before you begin

  • Compare costs and temperature differences.

Gather your materials

  • Paper or notebook
  • Pencil and the passage, model directions or data printed in this lesson

Language to know

criterion
A feature used to judge success.
constraint
A limit a design must stay within.
tradeoff
An improvement that comes with a disadvantage elsewhere.

Understand the concept

Design brief: A school needs a model shelter costing at most 12 tokens. It should cover at least 4 square units, remain upright in a fan test, and keep a sensor cooler in a lamp test. Fictional results under the same tests: A costs 10, covers 5, stays upright and warms 6°C; B costs 14, covers 6, stays upright and warms 3°C; C costs 11, covers 4, falls and warms 4°C. These are model tests, not real outdoor safety ratings.

Teach it step by step

  1. Read the brief and distinguish the budget constraint from success criteria.
  2. Create one row per design and one column per criterion, marking evidence from the brief.
  3. Eliminate any design that fails a required limit before comparing the remaining benefits.
  4. Write a recommendation that names a tradeoff and a next test rather than calling a design best in every setting.

Make the thinking visible

Worked example or model response

B has the lowest warming but exceeds the 12-token budget. C meets the cost and area requirements but falls. A is the only design meeting all stated minimum requirements; its 6°C warming shows a cooling limitation worth improving.

Guided practice

Together explain why choosing B solely because of its temperature result ignores a constraint. Circle the exact numbers supporting that explanation.

Independent practice

Propose one change to A that could reduce warming without exceeding the budget. State what you would retest. Then explain how a new budget of 15 tokens could change the decision.

Quick assessment

Can the lowest-cost or coolest design automatically be called the best? Explain using one requirement.

Answer key & assessment criteria

Answers and teaching guidance

  1. Guided: B costs 14, more than the permitted 12; better cooling does not erase the constraint.
  2. Independent: Accept a plausible material, shape or airflow revision with an explicit cost check and repeated stability/temperature tests. With 15 tokens, B would pass the budget and could become preferred if all other requirements remain satisfied.
  3. Quick check: No. A design must satisfy the agreed criteria and constraints together.

Look for: Look for a claim that answers this lesson’s question, accurate use of the supplied evidence and an explanation of a limit or alternative. Ask the learner to point to the detail supporting each inference.

Make it work for your learner

More support

Provide a color-coded meets/does-not-meet table; discuss one requirement at a time.

Extension challenge

Create a weighted scoring rule for designs that meet all minimums and explain how different priorities change rankings.

Selected contributions · Official sources

Standards connections

Selected NGSS band contribution; not complete performance expectation coverage.

Contributes to NGSS performance expectation

MS-ETS1-2

NGSS · Grades 6–8 band

Compare designs systematically against agreed criteria and constraints.

Read the official performance expectation ↗

The activity evaluates supplied model-test results against explicit criteria and constraints. Learners do not construct or empirically test shelters here, and further design cycles are needed.

Source and mapping checked 2026-11-04. This mini-lesson contributes selected skills; it does not claim full attainment.

Supporting Common Core literacy connection

RST.6-8.7

Common Core · Grades 6–8

Connect scientific prose with a diagram, model or table.

Read the official standard ↗

The provided scientific passage/model is explicitly analyzed in the activity. This selected literacy practice does not establish subject-content alignment or complete coverage of the standard.

Source and mapping checked 2026-11-04. This mini-lesson contributes selected skills; it does not claim full attainment.