Human Shelter

In this unit, students are introduced to living things on Earth. They begin by exploring the differences between living and nonliving things and then investigate what plants and animals need to survive in their habitats. Now students take their understanding of animal habitats to then apply their understanding of the topic to consider how human shelter varies depending on where we live.

This page is a high-level extract from lesson eight, in which students investigate different human shelters (homes) and the building materials people use from their natural environment to create those shelters.

Science Background for Teachers:

The teacher background serves the purpose of providing teachers with an in-depth scientific explanation of the phenomena that students will explore in the unit. In this unit, students explore living things on Earth. At this point in the unit, students move on from studying plants and animals to consider humans and how we construct shelters (homes) for ourselves using natural resources that surround us. As students study this topic, they consider how humans affect the environment as they build shelters.

Because the different parts of an ecosystem are so closely connected, a change to one part will have ripple effects throughout the entire ecosystem. Any event that changes conditions in an ecosystem is called a disturbance. Disturbances can be small or large, and they can be natural or caused by humans. Disturbances are a natural part of any ecosystem. After a disturbance, there is often devastation. Sometimes many living things die, while others have to move because their home or food source was destroyed. But healthy ecosystems are resilient and are often able to adapt to the new situation. Sometimes the same kinds of organisms will reappear, and the ecosystem will resemble the way it was before the disturbance. Other times, the environment changes enough that new species move in. These changes can take place quickly, or they can take many years.

Supports Grade K

Science Lesson: Exploring Human Shelter

In this lesson, students investigate the relationship between the materials used to build human shelters (homes) and the environments in which they are found. Students observe and compare different images of human shelters to understand the connection between the natural environment and the resources that people use in their homes.

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Science Big Ideas

  • Because humans are animals, we also need shelter, as well as food, water, and air.
  • Humans build shelters or homes using different materials depending on the natural resources available in the area where they live.

Sample Unit CTA-2
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Science Essential Questions

  • What kinds of shelters do people live in?
  • Why are shelters important to people?
  • What are houses and apartment buildings often made of?
  • How do people change their environment when they build shelter?
  • What are some of the ways that houses are different around the world?
  • Why do people who live near forests often build houses out of wood?

Common Science Misconceptions

Misconception: Anything that moves is alive, while all nonliving things have died.  

Fact: Not all moving things are living. Living things all have certain characteristics in common, including the ability to grow, exchange gasses with the environment, reproduce, excrete waste, and respond to stimuli, and all living things need energy to carry out these functions. Nonliving things do not meet all of the characteristics of life.

Misconception: Plants are not alive because we cannot see them move.

Fact: Plants are alive because they meet all of the requirements for life. For example, there is movement within plants; we just cannot see it.

Science Vocabulary

Animal : a living thing that needs to eat other living things for energy and breathes in oxygen

Habitat : a place where life grows; provides plants and animals with clean water, air, food, and shelter

Shelter : a structure that protects animals from other animals and weather

Lexile(R) Certified Non-Fiction Science Reading (Excerpt)

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Hands-on Science Activity

In this mini-lesson, students observe photos of human shelters made from different materials found in the corresponding environments. Students compare the photos to observe how humans can use different natural resources from the environment to build shelter. As the teacher facilitates a Socratic dialogue, students discuss their observations of the shelters and the natural materials used to create those shelters. This conversation continues in the next lesson when students analyze how human activity impacts the environment. Students also develop solutions for ways to reduce this impact.

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Science Assessments

KnowAtom incorporates formative and summative assessments designed to make students thinking visible for deeper student-centered learning.

  • Vocabulary Check
  • Lab Checkpoints
  • Concept Check Assessment 
  • Concept Map Assessment 
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Science Standards

See How KnowAtom Aligns to NGSS Science Standards

Discover hands-on screens-off core science curriculum for student centered K-8 classrooms. KnowAtom supports classrooms with all hands-on materials, curriculum, and professional development to support mastery of the standards.

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Standards citation: NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.

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