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.

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.

A Microsoft Word template (and an example) of a specific risk assessment. I have included an excel tracking grid of all needed specific risk assessments (for my school, you will need to edit for your own situation), which I used to allocate the writing of them amongst my team.

A KS3 project for either year 8 or year 9, with all presentations, booklet and scheme of learning mapped to PoS. Main focus of students: 1 - Investigate nets through practical examples (laser files given) 2 - Design and then develop a draft net in thin card. 3 - Reflect on itterations, and then draw up a 2D design version, which can be laser cut. Editable powerpoints and booklet enclosed.

COSHH Cupboard Sign

Powerpoint for use during options process - fully editable, and included within is the freely available DATA video on “What is Design & Technology?” Presentation focuses on skills and jobs.

A series of 5 worksheets walking you through various drawing techniques. Cross Hatching & Tonal Range One Point Perspective Rendering a Toaster Rendering Shapes Two Point Perspective

A KS3 project for either year 8 or year 9, with all presentations, booklet and scheme of learning mapped to PoS. In this unit, students will be looking to evolve their existing electronics knowledge from year 8 (PCBs, transistors, capacitors etc.) into microprocessors, their associated systems (specifically the BBC Microbit), and their control. Students will progress beyond controlling prebuilt projects into the creation of their own mechanical systems capable of being controlled under a ‘smart home’ agenda. The development of these ideas will be contextually driven. This module should equip students with the necessary tools to fully engage with the rest of their KS3 Design & Technology curriculum. This unit will be covered during year 9. It is designed to boost consideration of structures and mechanical elements within design. The module will be taken during a carousel of other modules in year 9, all of which approach design and technology from core areas of the program of study, collectively building GCSE readiness. The module is stand alone in nature, but builds upon the skills gained throughout KS3. It is helpful if the student’s have been:  Exposed to the idea of thinking ‘outside the box’  Experience with block and script programming.  Had experience of designing to a brief and specification.  Worked with a variety of materials, mechanisms and structures, being aware of the limitations of certain types.  Prior learning in CAD and card modelling.