Cooler Than Lemonade (2025-2026 Show Me Reader Nominee): Home

Kdg, 1st, 2nd, 3rd

MO School Library Instructional Standards

K-2

Reading Engagement: Connect::  Recognize connections through reading.

• Identify a connection between myself and what I am reading.

3rd

Reading Engagement: Connect: Build connections through reading. 

•  Share a connection between myself and what I’m reading.

Innovation: Design: Practice a design process. 

• Use a process to solve problems, with support.
• Generate ideas, with support.
• Predict an outcome and test it, with support.
• Create a product based on my ideas.

K-2: 1 - 30 minute class period

3rd: 1 45-60 minute class period

This lesson was created by Marlana Howerton from Ezard Elementary School.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

After reading Cooler Than Lemonade by Harshita Jerath, students will get creative and design their own lemonade stand! They’ll decide what to sell, come up with a fun name, and can either create a logo or try a STEM experiment, depending on their ability level. 

• Book: Cooler Than Lemonade by Harshita Jerath
• Book Trailer: Cooler Than Lemonade
• Design a Lemonade Stand Printables (Link below)
• Optional: Lemon Bookmark Printables (Link below) 
• 3rd Grade STEM Activity: 
  • 20 popsicle sticks
  • 2 pieces of 8 1/2" x 11" paper
  • painter’s tape
  • 4 pipe cleaners
  • 1 coffee filter
  • 4 markers

K-2nd

• Students will be able to identify a connection between themselves and what they are reading. 

3rd

• Students will be able to share a connection between themselves and what they are reading. 
• Students will be able to use a process to solve problems, with support. 
• Students will be able to predict an outcome and test it, with support. 
• Students will be able to create a product based on their ideas. 

I Can Statements

K-2nd

• I can identify a connection between myself and what I am reading. 

3rd

• I can share a connection between myself and what I am reading. 
• I can use a process to solve problems, with support. 
• I can predict an outcome and test it, with support. 
• I can create a product based on my ideas. 

Before Reading:

• Introduce the book Cooler Than Lemonade by Harshita Jerath and ask students to predict what the story might be about based on the cover. If time allows, you could also watch the Cooler Than Lemonade book trailer at TeachingBooks.net. 
• Discuss lemonade stands. Ask students if they have ever had a lemonade stand or if they have visited one. Ask what they might sell at their own lemonade stand. What would they sell besides lemonade? 
• 3rd: Encourage students to think about a time they tried to solve a problem or be creative like an entrepreneur. (Making connections)

During Reading

Read Cooler Than Lemonade aloud, pausing to ask guiding questions:

• What problem does the main character, Eva, face?
• How does she come up with a solution?
• What would you do in her situation?
• Think-Pair-Share – Have students briefly turn and talk to a partner about how they might handle a similar situation or what they would do differently.

After Reading:

K-2nd Grade Activity:

Pages 1-3 of the templates are differentiated to best fit different academic levels. 

Design a Lemonade Stand – Using the Design a Lemonade Stand Printables, students will:

• Decide on a name for their lemonade stand.
• Make a list of what they will sell or create a logo. 
• Design their stand using the template. 

Closing discussion: What connections did you make to Cooler Than Lemonade? 

3rd Grade Design a Lemonade Stand STEM Activity:

Before the activity, Introduce the challenge: Explain that students will design and build a lemonade stand that can hold one cup of water using specific materials.

• Discuss how the main character, Eva, in Cooler Than Lemonade solved a problem creatively. Relate this to engineering and problem-solving.
• Show students the materials they will use (popsicle sticks, paper, tape, pipe cleaners, coffee filter, markers). Discuss how these materials might be used in construction.

Group Brainstorming & Planning

• Divide students into small groups. Have students discuss their ideas with their group before building.
• If students would like to draw an initial design on scrap paper, allow them do to it on the back of their paper. (Canva template pg. 4)

Building & Testing

• Groups will use the provided materials to build their lemonade stand. Encourage problem-solving and teamwork.
• After a set amount of time, have a cup of water available to place on the lemonade stand. (This would be easiest to set the students lemonade stands on a cookie sheet or cake pan to hold any water that might spill. 
• Test the design by setting a cup of water onto the stand to see if it holds.

Reflection & Redesign

• Groups will discuss whether their stand held the cup of water and why/why not.
• Allow students to problem solve if the lemonade stand didn’t hold the cup of water and what could they change?
• Students can draw an updated version of the changes they would need to incorporate into their lemonade stand design to make it hold a cup of water. 

Discussion: 

• What did we learn about the design process from building our lemonade stands? (Talk about engineering, problem-solving, and perseverance.)
• Discuss how engineers test and improve their designs, just like the students did with their lemonade stands. Explain that many times something has to be changed over and over again before ever getting it right. 
• What did students notice about the lemonade stands that other groups built that did withstand the cup of water?  

• Teacher observation (Walk around the room to make sure students are on track with their assignment. For the third graders, listen to how the groups are interacting to be sure they are all participating and understanding the design process for their STEM project.) 
• Listen to Think-Pair-Share responses to make sure students answered appropriately and were making connections. 
• Evaluate the Design a Lemonade Stand printables. 

The Design a Lemonade Stand printables are differentiated by difficulty, with four versions available. The final version, a STEM activity, is best suited for third grade.