Designing a Shade Structure

In this lesson, students will design and build a structure that can block the sun to create a shaded area and will test to see if the shady spot is cooler. As a class, students go outside on a sunny day and go under a tree or in the shadow of the school building to get in the shade. Students should feel that it is cooler in the shade than in the sun. Students look at pictures of structures designed to block the sun to make shade. Students design and build a small structure to provide shade and then test whether their structure helps keep a surface cooler than the same surface exposed to the sun.