QXD 1/2/05 1:36 pm Page 87 C HAPTE R 6 D&T Activities for 7 – 11 Year Olds This chapter describes D&T activities for the 7 – 11 stage, also known as Key Stage 2 in several regions. Children develop in many ways in this stage: physically, emotion- ally, socially and in skills, such as reading and writing. At the same time, their knowledge resource grows considerably, partly through formal work in school and partly through informal experience in play and family life. It can be useful to think of this stage as comprising two sub-stages of children who are 7 – 9 years old and 9 – 11 years old.
Although useful for planning, you must remember that there will be a spread of ability in your class. For instance, some 8 and 9 year old children may benefit from more demanding work while some 10 year olds may still benefit from the kind of work done by younger children. Equally, there will be children in one year group who are only a month older than children in the year below, so slight a differ- ence that it cannot be ignored. At this level, teaching subject by subject is common.
This does not mean that what is taught in D&T (or other subjects) is detached from what goes on in other areas of the curriculum. Where work in one area provides a useful context for work in another, it makes sense to take the opportunity and inte- grate learning. As with younger children, activities should be planned, organized and purposeful. Support the children to overcome what are insurmountable problems for them and, of course, some children will need more help than others.
With these older children, you will find yourself increasingly talking about various aspects of Control and Structure. Control is about getting things to do what you want. It can involve mechanisms such as, fasteners, hinges, pivots, push-pull rods, levers, return mechanisms, cams, gears, and pneumatic and hydraulic devices. It also includes electrical control with switches of various kinds and with electronic compo- nents like programmable switches.
Structure has been described as why things do not fall down. It can involve working with particular shapes like, domes, tubes, cor- rugations and frames. It also includes shaping things to make them, for instance, lightweight, absorb shocks or behave like a spring. The examples Some examples of D&T-centred activities follow.
The time needed for each one depends on the nature of the suggested activities. They often need several sessions of about an hour each to complete. Suggestions for how you might break up blocks 87 9433 Chap06.QXD 1/2/05 1:36 pm Page 88 TEACHING DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY 3 – 11 of work are provided for guidance. You can digress, omit an activity or add others, according to the needs of the children.
The Contexts are suggestions for giving the activities meaning and purpose. The Knowledge resource blocks refer to what you may need to develop for the activities. This may come from your teaching of another subject, such as Science. A Focused activity is a fairly structured activity to develop a particular D&T skill.
When the children have the prerequisite skills or do not need to practise them, a focused activity may not be needed and the examples illustrate this. The focused activity is often too structured and closed to give a child sufficient opportunities for designing, problem-solving, being inventive and being creative. Designing and making activities are intended to do this. Suggestions for further learn- ing activities are provided in the Closing event.
Some learning opportunities are also listed. As in other stages, it is not a matter of giving the child an activity to do and letting them get on with it. It involves active teaching and involvement on your part if the children are to make the most of an activity. After these examples is a stock of teaching ideas.
These are taught in a similar way to those in the examples. At the beginning of this stage, you may have chil- dren who could still benefit from the activities listed for younger children. Use or adapt them to suit the needs of such children. Because this is a relatively long stage, the less demanding activities in each group are generally described earlier.
This does not mean, however, that topics suggested for 7 – 9 year olds are not rel- evant to the needs of older children. If older children have not done a topic before, you can still use it (perhaps in a more mature context) but expect more of the problem-solving. You may also judge that some of the younger children in this stage are able to attempt some of the more ‘difficult’ problems. A Planning Sheet to help you develop such ideas, including ideas you have yourself, is provided at the end of the Appendix.
The problem with my garage The task lends itself to a variety of solutions and is one where the children are likely to have enough know-how to attempt it without the need for a focused activity. It may be that the children devise something you know is feasible but beyond their present capabilities. If so, consider making it possible to pursue the idea. Both younger and older children in this stage could attempt this task although the solutions are likely to be different.
Allow a session of at least an hour to complete the task. Knowledge resource Have the children sit upright in their seats. Ask what they can see. What can they not see? Tell them it is like that in your car.
You cannot see the front bumper from the inside. This is a problem in your garage because sometimes you drive too far forward and touch the wall. Sooner or later, you will dent something.QXD 1/2/05 1:36 pm Page 89 6 – D&T Activities for 7 – 11 Year Olds Knowledge resource The shapes of cars and what you cannot Contexts see from a car seat. The problem you have when parking in your garage.
Designing & making activity Problem: please invent something so I will know when my car is the right place in my garage. Some learning opportunities The children can: • generate, develop and Closing events communicate ideas to solve Have the children a real practical problem and evaluate other solutions plan actions; to the problem. • make and evaluate the solution.1 Outline of an activity based on a ‘real-world’ practical problem. Designing and making activity Have the children design and make something that will let you know when your car is in the right place.
(Give the children a toy car or box to help them think and to test ideas.) Closing event Tell the children about other solutions (for example, a brick on the floor, a sponge hanging on a length of string from the roof which touches the windscreen when the car is in the right place, a switch on the floor that puts a light on when a car wheel goes over it). Have the children consider the strengths and weaknesses of these solutions. Mechanical energy transfer: a powered fan and buggy How to make a self-powered device is not something that is generally discovered by children unaided. This introduces some possibilities.
It suits older children in this stage and needs three or four sessions.QXD 1/2/05 1:36 pm Page 90 TEACHING DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY 3 – 11 Knowledge resource Contexts How a pull can make It’s too hot in here – something turn. we need a fan. Focused activity Designing & Make a hand powered, making activity a gravity powered and A powered buggy. an elastic band powered fan.
Some learning opportunities The children can: • learn how to turn a pull into rotation; Closing event • how to power a device by hand, using Walking with a waddle: gravity, and using an elastic band; cams and wheels. • apply the know-how (perhaps with some guidance) to designing and making a self-powered buggy.2 Outline of a sequence of activities to develop and apply device knowledge to do with making things turn. Knowledge resource To introduce some useful device knowledge, have two children hold a sweeping brush loosely, one at each end. Attach string to the middle of the handle with adhe- sive tape.
To the other end of the string, attach a toy car. Have the children turn the brush so that the string winds onto the handle and pulls the car along the floor towards them. Next, make the car ‘drive’ away. As it pulls on the string, it makes the brush rotate.
The children see that a pull can be made to turn something. Next, replace the car with a large elastic band. Wind up the string then stretch the elastic band and show that it pulls on the string and makes the brush turn. Focused activities On a warm day, fan yourself but complain that it is hard work.
You need a fan that works by itself. Can they make one? Have the children make a hand-powered fan (figure 6. After trying it out, ask the children if they can use a lump of clay to make it work (6. Next, attach an elastic band to the end of the string.
Put a length of dowel through it then wind up the string until the band is taut. When released, it should make the fan turn (6.QXD 1/2/05 1:36 pm Page 91 6 – D&T Activities for 7 – 11 Year Olds (a) (b) (c) rubber washer on a length of dowel elastic band tube clay piece of dowel Figure 6.3 Making a powered fan. Designing and making activity Have the children design and make an elastic band powered buggy. It could, for example, be made with a frame (see Land yacht), or from a box with two axles through it.
One solution is to attach one end of the elastic band to the frame or box and wrap the other end around an axle, winding the axle to stretch the band. Some guidance may be needed. Closing event Have the children convert the buggy into a waddling animal. For example, the waddle can be produced by replacing the wheels with cams or by drilling off-centre axle holes in the wheels.
Food for a purpose This is to illustrate a short sequence of activities on a topic suggested for older chil- dren. It reflects the children’s increased ability to learn at greater depth and in a more sustained way. Allow two generous sessions for the food activities and more if you include others. Check for food allergies and respect food preferences and prohi- bitions (see also Using food, in the section describing D&T activities in outline for the 7 – 11 stage).
Knowledge resource Food is often made in a way that does more than make it tasty and nutritious. For instance, biscuits are baked until they are dry. If they are kept dry, they will not go mouldy. In other words, biscuits can be kept for a long time.
In the days of sailing ships, biscuits were a part of most meals for sailors. These biscuits were not the 91 9433 Chap06.QXD 1/2/05 1:36 pm Page 92 TEACHING DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY 3 – 11 Knowledge resource Other needs than taste and Contexts appearance. Tales of exploration. Focused Designing & Designing & activity making activity making activity Biscuit making Make a better Storing biscuits weevils and all.
in better ways. Some learning opportunities Closing event The children can: Healthy eating, scurvy, • learn that taste, texture and dental hygiene. appearance are not all that matter when working with food; • develop know-how in making and shaping a dough for biscuits; • practise designing and making with food; • develop in knowledge and know-how relating to maintaining health.4 Outline of activities based on working with food. sweet ones we know today but were made only from flour and water and were very hard.