SUMMARY

In our world, the winter season affects all living things negatively. For this reason, living things must have shelters in order to survive in the winter season. The aim of our project is to design water containers for our animals living on the streets and protection houses for animals. In addition, our students will design animal houses and water containers according to the STEM engineering design stages in our project. And as a result, we aim to provide animal love and empathy to our students, teachers and people around us. This sensitivity initiated in our schools will affect wider communities. Our age range of activities: 5-13 years old.

OBJECTIVES

1 – To give the students in our class love of nature
2 – To understand that nature and the animals in nature have a right to life
3 – To teach the effects of climate change on living spaces of living things
4 – To increase the awareness that some of the waste from our homes will be recycled
5 – Solving problems they encounter in daily life according to engineering design stages (STEM).

TIME: 2 WEEKS

PROBLEM STATUS:

Students are asked to design shelters according to the Engineering Design Steps (STEM) for stray animals that are cold in winter.

MATERIALS:

Pet bottle, cardboard box, plastic container, not used clothes, tape, scissors, adhesive.

INTER-DISCIPLINARY RELATIONS:

Science:
It offers suggestions for the solution of an environmental problem in its immediate vicinity or in our country. Discusses the benefits and harms of human-environment interaction through examples. (5TH GRADE)
Designs a project regarding the recycling of domestic solid and liquid wastes. It develops a project to deliver reusable items to those in need. (6TH GRADE)

Maths:
It creates different geometric shapes with the same perimeter. Solves problems related to calculating the perimeter of shapes.

Engineering:
Uses the engineering design cycle. Prepares tests and develops the product’s prototype.

Technology:
Uses the necessary technologies to design components. Uses the necessary measurement tools to develop the prototype. Through technology literacy, demonstrates the ability to access information, select, use and troubleshoot existing technologies, and develop ideas and theories by actively exploring real-world problems.

WORKING PROCESS:

1-DISCUSSING THE PROBLEM:
Yazgül likes to walk the streets in winter. As he started wandering on the street he saw a cat getting cold. This situation is very sad. Think about what should be done for stray animals. He shared this situation with his classmates. They met with their classmates to find a solution to this situation. Their task: to design water containers for our street animals and shelter houses for animals. In this project, our students will design animal houses according to the STEM engineering design steps.

2-SOLUTION PRODUCTION:
The survival of animals in the problematic winter months was given to the students. An online meeting was held to get the solution suggestions of the students. As a result of the meeting, they presented a few design examples that will solve the problem of shelter for street animals.

3-PLANNING – DRAWING:
Papers and pencils are distributed to student groups. Students are asked to draw the design of a model that will protect stray animals in winter.

4-PRODUCT CREATION:
Based on the design drawn, models for animal shelters and water containers are made with the materials available.

5-TEST PRODUCT – IMPROVE:
The prepared design is tested by placing it in front of the houses on the streets. It was decided to develop some of the animal shelters we built according to their characteristics (ventilation, wetting).

EVALUATION:

Our project plan and assessment will be implemented by each teacher in a virtual meeting in their classroom.

ANIMAL HOUSES AND WATER CONTAINERS DESIGN GROUP
EVALUATION FORM

Group No:
Event Name: Animal Shelters and Water Containers
Explanation: In the table below, tick the option that best describes your group.

RESULTS

As a result of the project, we designed water containers and cat-dog houses from recycled materials according to Engineering Design Steps. In addition, the other result of our project is that we have instilled in our students, thanks to the project we made on “solidarity and love for animals”, one of the values of “Values Education”. We placed the models we created for two weeks on the streets we were in. Thus, we created possible solutions to protect and help their animals. Thanks to the designs we made, we observed that we have created awareness about protecting and helping stray animals from the people participating in the project’s exhibition.

TEACHERS PARTICIPATING IN THE PROJECT:

1-Project Founder: Çiftçi- Fatma Hoca Ahmet Yesevi Primary School, Kadınhanı, Konya-Türkiye
2-Project Founder: Ergun KARACA- Reysaş Lojistik Secondary School, Çayırova, İstanbul-Türkiye
3-Birgül ÖZÇELİK- Latife Hanim Primary School, Antakya, Hatay -Türkiye
4-Sevilay Tanoğlu- Cengiz Topel Primary School, Karatay, Konya-Türkiye
5-Pınar PARS- Hoca Ahmet Yesevi Primary School, Kadınhanı, Konya-Türkiye
6-Gülhan Kutanis Meral- Cumhuriyet Primary School, Kelkit, Gümüşhane-Türkiye
7- Merve Hazır, Gölbaşı iskan Secondary School, Kırıkhan, Hatay ve Türkiye
8-Aynur Akhundova- Jeyirli kend umumi Secondary School, Gobustan, Azerbaycan
9- Mustafa Talha Soysal- Şehit Ömer Özavcı Secondary School, Dilovası, Kocaeli-Türkiye
10-Şehnaz Osmantsa- Görükle Hazinedaroğlu Özkan Primary School, Nilufer, Bursa, Türkiye

Project Blog: https://cevreizcileri2020etwinning.blogspot.com/?zx=ed26b1b68c9493a0

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Project Founder: Ergün KARACA
Project Name: Environmental Scouts
School Name: Reysaş Lojistik Secondary School-Kocaeli
I graduated from Gazi University, Faculty of Education, Department of Science. Scientix ambassador