A 7 lesson module of work suitable for both ICT and D&T. Primarily Year 7 and 8 (but could go a year further in either direction with minor changes). Resource comes with full scheme of learning (with week by week lesson plans within), weekly PowerPoints, with youtube clips to stimulate. Suggested software to accompany is ‘Monkey Jam’ - freeware, but equally will work well on the many free apps on phones and tablets. Work booklet is a PowerPoint, which I usually host on Microsoft Teams, with every child having their own. The project is mostly paperless, apart from the peer review sheets for evaluative purposes. Loved by children, and great to insert the finished clips into assemblies etc fr subject promotion.

Worksheet (double sided A4) walks you through an investigation into the scientific principles of helicopters. It keeps it simple, but is a good first example of iterative design and performance improvement. Also needed: a small dowel or sharpened square stick (could even be a pencil); pencil sharpener; a small strip of plastic - vacuum forming plastic is perfect (HIPS), or even a sliced up milk bottle, and a hole punch. I have used this for transition day activity (year 6/7) for years and lasts around 40-60 minutes. Could be stretched to an hour. Could be used in KS3 too.

A series of 5 sheets which can be printed in A4 or A3. The rendering sheets will take around a period, and the perspective sheets a double period. Each are self guided being suitable for a non specialist.

A series of 4 x A4 sheets which guide children through the design of a future product by category with some inspirational images. Each takes around a period. Great for non specialist cover.

Double sided A4 which works in conjunction with ANY of the Richard Hammond Engineering Connections video (they are all on YouTube and last around 45 minutes). This handout encourages note making (mind map style) during the video, then guides students through first some concept designs and then a final design whereby they must apply the engineering principles covered in the film. Great for a longer cover lesson with a non specialist.

Double sided A4 sheet which guides students through the design of a LEGO style minifigure, they then design a sustainable carton based packagaing net to sell them through. Fill a double lesson with a non specialist. Best with Year 7 and 8.

Double sided A4 self directed cover lesson. Children design a new mobile phone and associated operating system, then design a quick start guide instruction leaflet for new users. The focus is on UCD, and instructional graphics.

A4 guide sheet (blank A3 also needed), which guides children through a mindmap, specification ahead of designing their own seating (and then drawing up in orthographic) Great cover for any KS3 class.

Can be printed double sided on A4, and will fill around 1.5 hours to 2 hours. Children go through a cut down design cycle in designing a hand / head torch. Hand out guides them through consideration such as buttons etc.

Imagine that you have had a power cut at home and in your local area. Imagine that the power cut has lasted a number of days and you don’t know when the electricity is going to be reconnected. Imagine that cells (batteries) had not yet been invented. What would life be like? Work sheet can be printed double sided on A4, and will fill around an hour and a half to two hours.

Theory session on paper & board including printing, die cutting and registration marks. I usually do this over two weeks.

Theory powerpoint on production aids, including templates, jigs and formers. Lesson completes with quick check questions and a applied maths task.

Signage for around school for COVID 19 coverage.

A full set of NEA guidance booklets for A-level D&T. The booklets talk the students through a ‘standard’ NEA powerpoint / portfolio. Each has a page by page description, along with doodles of what a page should look like (but doesn’t breach the exam board guidance). Has been used successfully for 2 years now, with high grade results. Students have been highly complimentary as to the guide’s usefulness and clarity. This is not 200 pages of written content, it’s written for 17/18 year olds, so get’s to the point without waffling or being too vague. NB: I teach section A&B (as known by AQA in the specification) as ‘Section A’ as I find it easier to do the brief/spec in the first chunk. Therefore the guidance appears as only 4 sections, but does cover all 5.

A KS3 project (year 8 or 9). A project written for an environment without powerpoints and interactive boards. It hangs on the initial two lessons researching into pop up mechanisms and then pop out mechanisms. Students practically manufacture a range of them, but also record and analyse the mechanisms in a work booklet. The remaining weeks focus on concept designs, then developments and a final working card. Included are all the resources (templates & handouts) along with lots of exemplars from previous students.

A KS3 project designed to be an induction year 7 project for all students. A ‘Baseline Test’ if you wish through practical means. Includes all presentations, booklet and scheme of learning mapped to PoS. Main focus of students: 1 - Introduction (and infographics) 2 - Sketching with crating 3 - Sketching with primitives 4 - Isometric Drawings 5 - Rendering in pastel with templates 6 - Moodboards and designer influences 7 - Pulling it all together. 8 - Foam Modelling 9 - More Foam Modelling 10 - 2 Point Perspective & Evaluations Editable powerpoints, and booklet enclosed (including differentiated version). Video on pastel rendering included. Drawing examples (not essential) are made in ‘artrage’.

A silly one off lesson which takes around an hour. Works well for induction sessions. Lesson starts off with a deadpan question about if students saw the news? What follows are some slides to support a highly spurious tale about rockets being fired from the Isle of White into deep space, supported by some faked newspaper articles about aliens. It all comes down to a meeting is needed, and it will be in the O2 arena (The Millenium Dome as it’s visible from space), but what will they sit on? How do you design a chair for a creature you’ve never met? The lesson is designed to encourage interaction within groups of students who don’t know each other, and also raises some questions about user centered design. Pairs / Groups then present their ideas (with good evidence about where the tail goes). It lasts about an hour, brings a smile to the face, and engages students. Included is a powerpoint (and a pdf version too). There is no lesson plan, it somewhat ‘runs itself’ from the powerpoint.

A KS3 project for either year 7 or year 8, with all presentations, booklet (including differentiated version) and scheme of learning mapped to PoS. Main focus of students: 1 - Investigate structure theory (tension / compression) through practical means and associated theory (CAD files included). 2 - Investigate material properties (wood, metal, composites). 3 - Design and then develop a small building for a school site (a stand alone study space). Initially individually, and then develop CAD models and card models as a small group. 3 - Present concept to rest of group, including ‘observation cards’ for presentations. Editable powerpoints and booklet enclosed.

A lesson which could be used as part of an induction process for KS4 or KS5. Lesson focusses around refelctions on a user profile, followed by the design of a water bottle for the user (handouts include space for itterations). This resource was designed to be used alongside ‘user profile boxes’ which is where you make up 4 boxes, with each box containing 10-15 posessions of a key person e.g. Retired lady - china mug, saga magazine, item of clothing etc. Young boy - plastic dinosaur, lego magazine, etc. Initial ‘investigation’ and user profile would be carried out in groups (one group per box). Students complete profile sheet. NB: you will never answer all questions from the items in a box, so assumptions are needed reflecting on evidence to hand. Students then individually design their bottles, but then present them back to the sub groups afterwards, and a ‘professional argument’ to cross check the design suitability is structured in.