Year 5 – 6 | Urban Design

Protecting My Skin full resource download  |  Concept 5: Taking positive action to reduce risk: Promoting and actioning effective sun protection strategies download

Background

The focus of this lesson is on the importance and role of shade in protecting our skin from UV radiation and understand the
materials that provide the best protection. Students explore different types of shade. They examine the materials they are
made from and classify them according to how well they block light. Students apply this knowledge to design and build a
model shade structure.

Key messages

• Seeking shade is important to protecting our skin from UV
• Shade moves throughout the day and this can impact on planning outdoor activities and utilising sun protection
• Well designed and quality shade ensures that people are protected from direct and indirect UV radiation
• There are many types of shade for a range of purposes – built shade, permanent, demountable, natural shade canopies,
  fabric shade sails and portable shade structures
• Ultraviolet effectiveness (UVE) rating indicates how effective a shade fabric is at providing shade for sun protection.
  The rating is based on the percentage of UV radiation that is blocked by the shade fabric
• Different fabrics have different UV radiation absorbing properties such as darker colours usually block more UV
  radiation than lighter colours and less UV radiation passes through tightly woven fabrics.

Resources

• SunSmart: The Shade Handbook
• SunSmart: The benefits of quality shade
• Device or research texts
• Range of different materials e.g. glass, timber, steel/metal sheeting, woven PVC shade fabric, canvas or other tightly
  woven cloths and fibre glass sheeting
• Torch or UV torch

Instructions

1. Key questions and class discussion about the importance of shade in sun protection.
2. Research different shade structures and their materials. Refer to the shade handbook.
3. Classify objects according to how well they block light. Display a series of objects to the class and test them using the
   torch. Discuss the properties that block and absorb light.
4. Plan and design a shade space. Students design a structure (or model) that can block the sun to create a shaded area.
5. Design, build and test the structure to keep out the light and warmth of the sun.
6. Individual performance assessment: Students conduct a test to see if the shady spot is cooler

Key questions

• Why is it important to protect our skin from the sun?
• How does shade play a role in sun protection? Why is it important?
• What are the different types of shade? What are they made from?
• Which materials blocked the light?
• Which material will you be using to create your shade structure?
• What makes a good shade structure?