KS1-Mechanical systems
This list supports learning about mechanical systems with 5–7-year-olds, including levers, sliders, wheels and axles. It provides ideas for developing skills used in D&T through focussed practical tasks as well as ideas for projects. In the resources there are lots of opportunities for children to work on exploring mechanical systems looking at how they work and are how they are put together. This will help them when designing and making their own product, then evaluating them making any modifications they feel are needed to make them suitable for the purpose that they have been designed for. Ideas for D&T projects include a range of relevant contexts including home, school, industry and the wider environment.
Moving pictures
In this activity children learn about the type of movement generated using a slider and a lever. They cut and assemble simple mechanisms using card and scissors and investiagte how a slider and lever allow movement. This is a good activity to do before children design and make their own moving cards and pictures.
Which Parts of Your Picture Should Move?
Children design and make a moving picture that tells a nursery rhyme or a simple story, using paper, card, found pictures, found materials and paper fasteners. Children explore different mechanisms for movement within the picture, such as levers, slides and pop-ups. Ideas around each mechanism may be developed by making the mechanism simple using cardboard. Children also develop skills such as drawing, measuring, scoring, and cutting.
Roly Poly and Wheels
In Roly poly, a story is told of two children who design and make their own wheel-based toys. It can be used to get children thinking about designing and making their own rolling toys. The resource is presented as a self-printed booklet. This requires pages folding into the correct sequence and this can also be used as an activity with the children.
Rolling is taken further in Wheels, a booklet which challenges children to identify different types of wheels used in everyday situations.
How Will Your Roly Poly Move?
In this unit if work children design and make a simple push-along toy (a roly poly) using a mixture of materials such as paper and card. the design brief suggests that the toy should be designed to provide amusement in both its appearance and the ways it moves. Children should explore a range of toys from home or school, which meet this brief before designing their own toys for either a similar age group or for younger children. Many skills may be developed through this project as children explore mechanisms for movemnet within rolling toys.
Unit 1A: Moving Pictures and Science 1D: Light and Dark
From the Nuffield foundation, this report, developed from the QCA schemes of work, is an exemplification of a pilot in which design and technology QCA unit 1A (Moving Pictures) was linked with science units 1C (Sorting and using materials) and 1D (Light and dark).
Children were asked to make a collage on the theme of Christmas, and then to incorporate a simple moving part. The activity allows children to practise skill such as designing the collage, choosing materials, cutting and sticking.
The collage can be used to get children to think about light, dark and shadows as well as stimulate creative story telling.
Unit 2C Winding Up
From the Nuffield foundation this resource looks at winding mechanisms, their design and uses. Developed from the QCA scheme of work, this report describes an activity in which children designed and made card cylinder winders that could wind up and down.
The activity was set in the context of a nursery rhyme in which the winders would be used to make models of the characters move. Children first looked at attaching string to the characters and then developed the idea of a simple card tube winder. They then explored ways of making the winder easier to use.
Photographs in the resource show examples of the winders produced and their use by the children as they enacted the nursery rhyme.
Martian Explorers: What are Space Robots?
This is a whole project which looks at a martial rover, designed to explore the Red Planet. In less on 3 children learn about mechanisms, then explore and make 3 different mechanisms for their space robots. It is a nice way of showing mechanisms in a real world context.
Levers, Wheels and Axels
This STEM activity gives pupils the opportunity to explore engineering through the design and creation of their own moving part aircraft.
Pupils will work as part of a group to carefully design their own aircraft and think hard about how to create a moving propeller or a landing gear. They will explore moving models first and then develop develop safe tool handling skills to create their final product.
This resource is part of a series of STEAM activities produced by Rolls Royce and covers the design, make, evaluate and technical knowledge sections of the KS1 Design Technology Curriculum.
Cinderella
Cinderella needs a device that measures 20 seconds and has asked for help to design something to do this.
This resource provides an introductory video with a STEM Ambassador reading the story of Cinderella and a follow on activity for children to carry out.
The children act as engineers in order to help Cinderella with her problem. They work in teams to think about possible solutions and then design them. They then explain their design to each other, saying why they decided on them. They also test and evaluate their designs and modify them as required.
Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack needs help to get his egg down the tall beanstalk and has asked for assistance to design something to safely transport his egg.
This resource provides an introductory video with a STEM Ambassador reading the story of Jack and the Beanstalk and a follow-on activity for children to carry out.
In the activity children act as engineers in order to help Jack get his egg down the beanstalk. They design and make their solutions then test them from a set height. They then can improve their designs based on their testing. This activity supports learning in D&T and can also be used to support working scientifically.