Design Technology - Mini Greenhouse (Lower Key Stage 2)

Mini Greenhouse is a Design Technology unit of work aimed primarily at children aged 7-9.
Design Brief: Design and make a mini greenhouse to provide the right conditions for seeds to germinate and grow.
The package provides the medium-term plan, six lessons (each lesson has a MS Powerpoint presentation). Any additional resources are provided as PDFs or as Powerpoint Presentations. This unit of work fulfils the National Curriculum (England) Design Technology requirements for this age group in the following strands of learning:

• Structures
• Materials

In this project children learn about how greenhouses are used to grow plants and the conditions that are needed for healthy plant growth. Children learn about frame structures and the different techniques that can be used to make them stronger, stiffer, and more stable. They are introduced to using computer software to help in designing products and use this software to design a mini greenhouse to grow plant seedlings in. They further their understanding of frame structures by using their design to make a mini greenhouse using the Jinks method of constructing wooden frameworks. As part of the evaluation, they can plant, germinate and grow seedlings.

This knowledge, skills and understanding is delivered through the following six sessions:

1. IDEA Task 1: All About Greenhouses & IDEA Task 2: Investigating Frame Structures
2. IDEA Task 3: Understanding Structures & Focused Practical Task 1: Making a Wooden Frame
3. Focused Practical Task 2: Introducing Computer-Aided Design
4. Designing Greenhouses
5. Making a Mini Greenhouse
6. Evaluation Session