Design and technologies / Year 5 and 6 / Design and Technologies Processes and Production Skills

Curriculum content descriptions

Negotiate criteria for success that include sustainability to evaluate design ideas, processes and solutions (ACTDEP027)

Elaborations
  • independently and collaboratively identifying criteria for success, processes and planning, for example using visual representations such as a flowchart
  • evaluating the suitability of materials, tools and equipment for specific purposes
  • reflecting on how well their designed solutions ensure safety and wellbeing of users and consumers and meet the needs of communities and different cultures
  • considering the criteria for success in relation to the benefits and costs of production processes, the environmental impact, future use and application, and social values and ethics of clients
  • evaluating products, services and environments from a range of technologies contexts with consideration of ethics and sustainability
General capabilities
  • Literacy Literacy
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
  • Personal and social capability Personal and social capability
  • Ethical understanding Ethical understanding
Cross-curriculum priorities
ScOT terms

Sustainable development,  Design,  Criteria for success

Interactive

Thermal comfort – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

This thermal comfort learning resource will guide students through an extended school based investigation. Students will develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate and reflect on their success and their learning.

Online

Design dilemma

This series of lessons aims to develop awareness of the needs of diverse commuters on our public transport system. Students investigate the challenges involved in getting on and off public transport for users with additional needs, for example commuters in wheelchairs. They work collaboratively in teams to investigate possible ...

Interactive

Design thinking across the curriculum

This cross-curriculum resource is designed to introduce Stage 2, 3 and 4 students to the design thinking process through a series of videos and interactive activities. This resource is also downloadable as a SCORM file: the downloaded version will only work if you upload it to a webserver, such as Moodle or Canvas.

Interactive

Waste and materials – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

This resource guides students through an extended school-based or local investigation focussed on waste and materials using the five-step sustainability action process. The resource supports the investigation of a real-world issue or problem. Students develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate ...

Interactive

Kitchen gardens – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

This resource guides students through an extended school-based or local investigation focussed on kitchen gardens using the five-step sustainability action process. The resource supports the investigation of a real-world issue or problem. Students develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate and ...

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Safety, sustainability and technology

In this resource, students learn about the uses of technology in agriculture, with a focus on safety and sustainability. This lesson is part of a sequence of lessons that can be used with this age-group of students. Topics include All about adaptations; From paddock to plate; Safety, sustainability and technology; The farming ...

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From the paddock to the plate

This resource is a cross curriculum unit, focused on Design and Technologies, Maths, and some other areas of the curriculum. Sustainability as a cross-curriculum priority is also emphasised. Topics include All about adaptations; From paddock to plate; Safety, sustainability and technology; The farming environment; Safe ...

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Periscope Design Challenge

In this activity, students design, build and test a periscope with features that allow for the adjustment of height and mirror angle to see beyond a trench and identify approaching threats. Students apply their understanding of the physical sciences and follow the design-thinking framework to investigate relevant aspects ...

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Electrifying Vehicles

In this activity, students explore vehicles powered by electricity. They explore the story of the Lucas Bedford electric van, make a battery-powered car in a hands-on design challenge, and then use the specifications of different electric vehicles to plan a road trip.

Downloadable

Construct a newspaper dome - teacher resource kit

This activity kit challenges students to design and construct a dome out of newspaper and masking tape. Activities are guided by the design thinking process, and scaffold students to explore stable structures, drafting a design and critiquing designs. The guide includes lesson ideas, project instructions and activity sheets.

Online

Augmented Reality Timelapse Artwork with Artivive

In this project, students build their own augmented reality (AR) artwork using free digital tools with Artivive. Students can augment an existing artwork or design their own. This new technology allows artists to create new dimensions of art by linking classical with digital art.

Downloadable

Construct a model house - teacher resource kit

This activity kit challenges students to design and construct a model house, including planning the size, layout and features. Activities are guided by the design thinking process, and scaffold students to undertake research on different building materials and their properties. The guide includes lesson ideas, project instructions ...

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Engineers are problem solvers

In this lesson, students find examples of engineering all around them and identify the importance of engineering in our daily lives. They explore the engineering design cycle through a simple hands-on challenge.

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Nets, shapes … and donuts!

In this lesson, students learn about industrial engineering and explore designing cardboard packaging nets that can be folded into innovative packages.

Online

Automated soil moisture sensor

The soil moisture sensor project integrates science understandings and computational thinking to solve a problem about sustainable watering practices. This lesson was devised by Trudy Ward, Clarendon Vale Primary School, Tasmania.

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I am an inventor lesson

In this lesson, students explore the life, work and times of Rube Goldberg. The lesson uses Rube Goldberg’s work to teach students about simple machines, how they function and their design principles. Working in groups, the students then design and create a Rube Goldberg machine that can complete a simple task. Students ...