Design an Eco-friendly Christmas Cracker

Let your students get hands on this Christmas, researching, designing and making their own working, eco-friendly, Christmas cracker.
This design/art unit introduces design criteria and the process of product development in a fun, seasonal activity.

This is not a colouring activity! This activity allows students to design and build a more eco-friendly, working, Christmas cracker. They will need to engage many skills including, measuring, analysis, construction techniques and annotation.

The resource includes:

1. PowerPoint presentation introducing the task. Looking at Design criteria and the steps students need to complete within the design process. It is a guide and starter for class discussion, specifically related to the activity.
2. PDF of PowerPoint slides which can be used as a handout or card set to remind students of the process the activity follows, handy if groups working at different speeds.
3. PDF of teachers notes relating to the PowerPoint slides. These notes are also on the PPT itself.
4. PDF of design worksheets. 3 worksheets, one each for recording, research, design and assessment.
5. PDF of teachers notes relating to the possible arrangement of lessons and objectives. It also contains a materials list and helpful hints and tips on research and cracker construction to aid design troubleshooting in class.

I used this activity with a mixed class of Yr3 and 4 students who loved it! They engaged fully with the design process and the chance to make a ‘real’ product.