Diane Gordon

Information for teachers

 

This resource is a unit overview which has been created for use in Foundation to year 2 classrooms. This unit plan is designed to give students an understanding of how technologies use forces to generate movement in products which will provide students with an appreciation of how technology and design contributes to all facets of their lives. Additionally, students will develop skills in generating, developing and recording their design ideas through graphic representation and modelling. Australia’s future will depend on innovative and design driven solutions for complex challenges and schools are in the unique position to foster enterprising and design minded individuals who can develop and use technologies, develop design and digital solutions to serve current and future needs and contribute to global sustainable practices.

 

The 5e’s model of learning is applied throughout this unit with a series of lessons that engage students initially with visual resources and allow students to explore movement in products using online activities and physical manipulation. Engagement is purposely gained through the use of visual resources as many students learn visually and this learning style suits many early years students. The concept will be further explained with classroom discussion followed by task where students design a graphic representation of a products and subsequently build a model. Students will elaborate on their knowledge during the design process and evaluate their learning when preparing a review of their products functions. 

 

Each lesson is expected to be 50 to 60 minutes long. The final lessons are structured to give students scope to work at their own pace in producing their designs and models.

 

 

 

Content descriptors

 

Design and technologies knowledge and understanding

Explore how technologies use forces to create movement in products (ACTDEK002)

Modified Elaboration

Playing and experimenting with products to identify forces that create movement and combining materials and design processes to create a product to suit an identified need.

 

 

Design and technologies processes and production skills

Generate, develop and record design ideas through describing, drawing and modelling (ACTDEP006)

Modified Elaboration

Communicating design ideas through drawing, labelling and modelling and recording judgements about their own design idea. Describing how their own design idea meets a need

 

 

 

Curriculum Key Ideas

 

Design thinking

During the learning episodes outlined in this unit overview students use strategies to identify design needs, they then visualise and generate creative and innovative ideas to meet the identified need. Students consider the use of forces to design and make a model of a product. They realise and then generate a designed solution and then evaluate their product using a set of criteria.

 

 

 

General Capabilities

 

Literacy

Students use literacy skills to design, label and explain their designs.

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Information and communication technology (ICT) capabilities

Students are exposed to both video and online activities while engaging in and exploring the concept of forces that create movement in product. Students are required to navigate through online learning activities in both groups as a class.

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Critical and Creative thinking

Students use critical and creative thinking when designing a product to meet an identified need. Students are required to find a solution to a need and then design and make a model of their product which requires both critical and creative thinking.

 

 

Cross-curriculum priorities

 

Sustainability

Students use recycled materials to make their final model of their products. Students are made aware through classroom discussion why using recycled materials is important.

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Differentiation

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The unit overview has provision for differentiation for the diverse needs of students. This can be found within the Unit overivew document.