Ricky’s Shelter
Teachers’ notes
What’s it all about
Ricky has been invited to join a Fuchs Foundation expedition to the Antarctic with his teacher
Lisa Wood. Ricky is the first puppet to go to Antarctica and Lisa is the first primary teacher to
be chosen. This upd8 activity is part of a project relating to this adventure.
Ricky the puppet is going to Antarctica and he needs a suitable tent to protect him from the
elements. The aim of this activity is for children to choose and test materials. They will form
teams and be assigned an environment e.g. the Antarctic, by their teacher. They will
investigate materials and make reasoned choices, depending on the properties, to build a
shelter.
This activity is extended to look at suitable materials to make shelters for different
environments. The children will make a class presentation to describe what choices they
made and why.
To find out more about FUCHS Foundation and expedition visit
http://www.fuchsfoundation.org/
To find out more about the project, and get more involved, visit
http://antarcticapuppet.primaryblogger.co.uk. Children can communicate their ideas to Ricky
via this blog.
To find out more about the Puppets Project, visit
http://www.puppetsproject.com
Where it fits
This activity is particularly useful for APP (Assessing Pupils’ Progress in primary science) AF
(Assessment Focus) AF1 – AF5 and in particular AF2 L3-6.
AF1 - Thinking scientifically
For example

Identify the strengths and weaknesses of particular models
AF2 – Understanding the applications and implications of science
For example


Link applications to specific charatceristics or properties
How different decisions on the uses of technological developments may be made in
different economic, social or cultural contexts and how these affect societies
AF3 – Communicating and collaborating in science

Identify simple advantages of working together on investigations
AF4 – Using investigative approaches
For example


Select appropriate equipment
Make accurate observations
AF5 – Working with evidence
For example


Identify scientific evidence
Evaluate the effectiveness of and suggest improvements to working methods
Science:
QCA Unit 3C: Characteristics of materials

that materials are suitable for making a particular object because of their
properties and that some properties are more important than others when
deciding what to use
Scientific enquiry

turning ideas into a form that can be investigated and making predictions

deciding whether the evidence is sufficient to support the prediction

to devise criteria to evaluate their approaches, products and outcomes

to develop practical skills that will help them to carry out investigations and to
make functional products from their design ideas

to use design and technology contexts to develop scientific understanding and
apply their scientific knowledge to inform their designing and making

to make and explain choices

to test choices and use that knowledge to suggest improvements.
Literacy (speaking and literacy)


putting together a case for a choice and presenting it to the class
write a descriptive passage
Numeracy


make accurate measurements
record data collected graphically
What children will learn:

about conditions in the Antarctic
Children will demonstrate this by completing the task on page 1 successfully.

that different habitats support different animals
Children will demonstrate this by completing the task on page 2 successfully.
 that different environments produce different conditions therefore the desired
properties in a material will vary
Children will demonstrate this by completing the task on page 3 successfully.

that there are different materials for different tasks and that this depends uopn
the properties of the material used.
Children will demonstrate this by completing the task on page 4 successfully.
What you need to do
Introducing the activity

Display Page 1 through a projector or as an OHT. Introduce the children to Ricky
the puppet who is travelling to different countries around the world.
-
Discuss the type of environment that Ricky is visiting:
Where do the children think he is
How do they know?
Can they remember how cold they felt during the winter when there was
a lot of snowfall??
How should Ricky dress when he goes outside?
Discuss the difficulty of transporting materials and equipment to the Antarctic –
locate it on a map and discuss how materials would be transported.
Leading the main activity

Display Page 2 through a data projector or on an OHT. Print off copies for the
children. Group the children to discuss the information presented. Each group to
consider the conditions for each environment shown. For example, precipitation
i.e. rain, hail, snow etc. In Antarctica it it snows but doesn’t rain, in temperate
areas e.g. europe it can snow and rain, in tropical areas it rains a great deal.
Each group to consider which s materials they are most likely to find in each
environment from the selection given – can they think of any others that might be
useful for shelter building?

Display Page 3 through a data projector or as an OHT. Provide children with
copies as appropriate. Children to work in groups to discuss the materials they
would like to use for their shelter. Children to test materials for:
-

waterproofing
insulation
strength
durability etc.
Display Page 4 through a data projector or as an OHT. Discuss the task with the
children.
Children to make their shelter and present their work to the rest of the class.
Other groups to consider how effective the shelter would be in a different
environment.
For more able children
1.
2.
Children to consider and research shelters used in disaster areas – what are the
advantages and disadvantages of those shelters? What do they think could be done
to improve them?
Children to research developments in building homes to make them more earthquake
or hurricane proof. Design an advertisement to encourage someone living in a
danger zone to spend the money on such a building.
For less able children
1.
Children to be provided with a list of materials to use in a specific environment – they
can then decide which ones they wish to use and what they will use them for.
2.
Some children may be given a list of the properties they need to consider, eg.
waterproofing, and can match these to a selection of materials they are given.
Page 5 is an example of how children can present their work. Other alternatives may be
more appropriate.
Extension Ideas . . . Cross Curricular Links
Advertising Campaign (Literacy/Art)
Design a poster/TV/on-line advert for the shelter. Use persuasive writing to make a
good case.
Story Writing (Literacy)
Write an adventure story about an explorer who finds a new land – describe what it is
like, think about all the senses, how he got there, and what he found.
Recognising environments (Geography)
Children are asked to locate Antarctica and locations for the other environments on a
globe or in an atlas. Children to consider what might it be like to live in this place?
Children to describe what the environments are like [in terms of landscape, weather,
resources available]. Children will recognise how one environment compares with
another.
Making a shelter (Design & Technology)
Children to design and make a shelter for given conditions.
Assessment for Learning: Smart Grid
Thumbs Up
We were
great at the
task
because…
We could plan a fair
test to investigate
the properties of
materials
We understand and
can explain that
different
environments will
require different
materials because
of their properties
Next time we will…
We can explain our
choices
Thumbs
Sideways
We were
good at the
task
because…
Thumbs
Down
We were OK
at the task
because…
We could plan a
test to investigate
the properties of
some materials.
We know that
different materials
have different
properties and that
they make the
materials useful for
different things
We could follow a
plan for a fair test
and were able to
find some
properties of
materials that we
chose
We know that some
environments need
different kinds of
shelter than others
Smart Grids were devised by the Centre for Science Education
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Science at your fingertips
What materials are the Antarctic explorers' tents made from?
“Modern tents are often constructed out of a range of advanced waterproof fabrics. Some tents
are made of nylon with a PU coating. Others claim to be made of a rip-stop nylon with DWR
water repellent. Modern coatings can make tents so waterproof that they can withstand a
hydrostatic head of 1000mm or more. Put simply, this means you could place a column of water
greater than 1m high on top of the fabric and it wouldn't leak.
Frames on modern tents are regularly made of strong lightweight high tech materials such as
carbon fibre, glass fibre, kevlar or aluminium.”
http://www.open2.net/roughscience3/waterproof_tent.html
How well do igloos work at keeping the occupants warm?
The igloo has stood the test of time as a living establishment. Some experts say that a wellconstructed igloo, coupled with a very small oil lamp and plain old body heat, can warm an igloo
up to 40 degrees above the outside temperature. Hypothetically, if it is -40°C outside, the igloo
has the potential to warm up to 0°C. It accomplishes this amazing feat thanks to several
features:
 The walls block the wind, which is often so bitter that it can make freezing temperatures
feel many degrees colder.
 Snow and ice work as insulators to trap body heat inside the igloo. Thus, the occupants
of an igloo double as a furnace of sorts.
 Insulation capabilities actually increase a few days after construction. Body heat and
sun exposure cause the inside of the igloo to melt ever so slightly. When the igloo is
unoccupied during hunting expeditions, the melted snow freezes over, turning into ice.
Several days of gradual thawing and refreezing turns the entire structure to solid ice,
making it not only superstrong, but also warmer than ever.
From: http://people.howstuffworks.com/igloo.htm
What are the coldest temperatures recorded on Earth?
During the Antarctic winter of 1983 (July) temperatures plunged to a record-breaking −89.2°C at
the Russian Vostok research station — more than 30°C lower than the average winter
temperature.
http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/press/press_releases/press_release.php?id=1112
Web links
Wrap Up Warm project
http://www.britishscienceassociation.org/web/ccaf/crest/FreeProjectIdeas/MoreProjectIdeas/Life
attheEdge/ColdoutThere/_Wrap+up+Warm+project.htm
Information on polar clothing
Cool Antarctica
http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/science/clothing_in_antarctica.htm
Information about clothing suitable for Antarctica
Open University
http://www.open2.net/roughscience3/waterproof_tent.html
How to build a waterproof tent
Fuchs Foundation
http://www.fuchsfoundation.org/
Information about Lisa and her expedition. Useful videos.
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Puppets Project
www.puppetsproject.com
Details of the puppets project
Antarctic survey
www.antarctica.ac.uk
Information about Antarctica
Ricky’s blog
http://antarcticapuppet.primaryblogger.co.uk
Interactive blog
The National Strategies
http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/node/20683
Website for Assessing Pupils’ Progress (APP)
Google
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=bear+grylls&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-gb:IESearchBox&rlz=1I7DSGI&prmd=iv&source=univ&tbs=vid:1&tbo=u&ei=8PUxTKL3K5WTjAfXxaS
WBg&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=15&ved=0CGYQqwQwDg
A selection of Bear Grylls videos
Bear Gryll Store
http://www.beargryllsstore.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Info_14051_Our-Technology_1_11052
Brief descriptions of some of the properties of the outdoor clothing brands by Bear
Grylls
Kids Britannica
http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/article-203320/rainforest
Information about the rainforest environment
Internet Geography
http://www.geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk/topics/rainforest.html
Information about the rainforest environment
Vimeo
http://www.vimeo.com/11709480
A useful YouTube production that discusses the design process for a Nokia product:
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Brenda Keogh and Stuart Naylor (Millgate House Education Ltd), Lisa
Wood (Kaizen School, Newham, London) and Des Dunne (Borough of Newham, London) for
their help in developing these activities.
Primary upd8 is a joint initiative from ASE and the Centre for Science
Education, Sheffield Hallam University.
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