Example Unit Plan Project: Kindergarteners as Clothing Designers

Daisy Flomberg, an undergraduate student in our project, designed a two-week unit focused on the “theme” of clothing, which integrated a kindergarten math and science standard along with literacy, language, music, and art. She noticed that her students were interested in clothes, such as what they are made out of, what people wear in different parts of the world (social studies), and how they are made. She saw an opportunity to meet multiple standards by exploring clothing over time, as something of a “theme.” The anchor Tennessee science standard was K.PS1.01: Plan and construct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials including wood, plastic, metal, cloth, and paper by their observable properties (color, texture, hardness, and flexibility) and whether or not they are natural or human-made. She also noticed a link to the engineering standard of K.ETS.2. 1: Use appropriate tools (magnifying glass, rain gauge, basic balance scale) to make observations and answer testable scientific questions. Finally, the math standard she chose related to an early K math measurement standard: K.MD.A.1 Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight. Describe several measurable attributes of a single object.

Over 2 weeks, children read about clothing, explored different types of materials used in clothing, and then design and create their own item. They follow the 5E Framework throughout their study of clothing. Students increase their knowledge about clothing and materials by reading, discussing, singing, and interacting with samples of different materials (Literacy, Language, Music). Students also record their observations in their science journals as they worked with the samples (Science, Art).  At this point, the teacher assesses students’ knowledge of the materials through a comparison test.  The teacher provides direct instruction on how to measure accurately, and students then practice these new skills on different materials by cutting and measuring different lengths (Math). Students began designing their item of clothing and creating it from the materials they had studied (Math, Engineering.) This project ends with the students presenting their design to their classmates, which allows teachers to evaluate their learning. This project integrates math and science as well as engineering, literacy, language, art, and music.