Design and Technology

Spaghetti Challenge!

 in Class Four / Class Three / Design and Technology by

Class Three and Four had an amazing morning completing ‘The Spaghetti Structure Challenge.’ The children were set the task of building a structure using spaghetti, blue-tack, masking tape and string. They worked in small groups and their team work skills were put to the test! The structures were designed to hold the weight of a book and were tested to destruction and prizes were awarded for the tallest, strongest and most creative models. The children were fantastic and produced some interesting structures. A big thank you to Christian and Victoria from Architects Plus (UK) for working with the children and judging their work.

Castle Creations!

 in Class Three / Design and Technology by

Class 3 have had a fantastic time creating their own castles. We started the topic by looking at different examples of castle and identifying their features. Our trip to Sizergh Castle was an amazing start to this. We experimented with making 3-D shapes from nets to see how we may use these in our own work. We then drew up some design criteria such as having battlements, a drawbridge and a personalised flag. We then made our creating using junk modelling and also making shapes from nets.  They were all amazing and very individual.

 

Windmills

 in Class Two / Design and Technology / History by

Class 2 have absolutely loved their last week of the Spring Term! It started with our school trip to Lytham St. Anne’s, for which the weather couldn’t have been kinder. We observed the outside and the indside of the windmill and the children produced some fantastic observational drawings of the building. The Victorian museum on the ground floor of the windmill was a great taster for some of our history learning that we will be undertaking in the Summer term. As well as learning about the purpose and history of the windmill, the volunteers from the Lytham Heritage Group, also showed us around the lifeboat museum. We enjoyed discounted ice cream from Andy the ice cream man and a lovely walk, before returning to school.

For the remainder of the week, we were designing and constructing our own windmills. The children showed fantastic patience and resilience when assembling the main parts, in order to make sure their models were stable and effective. It was another fantastic week of Design and Technology and Mrs Mason and I were were so impressed with the children’s achievements. Well done Class 2!

Fantastic Food- Class 3

 in Class Three / Design and Technology by

Class 3 have had an amazing time learning all about seasonal foods. We began by looking at the climatic zones of the world and where foods can grow. We then made Japanese fruit kebabs using strawberries, watermelon, lychees and bananas. We looked at seasonal foods in the United Kingdom and created seasonal food wheels. We then had great fun learning how to make apple crumble. It tasted delicious with custard! We found out about food miles and the environmental impact of this. Did you know on average a pineapple travels 5,000 miles to reach the UK! We then designed our own seasonal tarts. This was a little bit tricky, so we decided to use tinned and frozen foods as well. We followed recipes and made these, they tasted delicious.

Class 4 Bridges

 in Class Four / Design and Technology by

For our D&T project this term, Class 4 are building bridges. We’ve been exploring different ways to stiffen and reinforce cardboard. A simple flat “beam” of paper can’t support much weight on its own, but add a curved “arch” underneath and suddenly things are much stronger! We’ve also been exploring corrugation and lamination techniques to further reinforce the structures we have been building. Check out some of our prototypes below!

Making Cushions in Class 3

 in Class Three / Design and Technology / Whole School by

Class Three have had a wonderful time learning all about applique and cross stitch while making cushions for our D and T topic. The class showed resilience and great team work, helping each other when needed. We used running stitch, cross stitch and over sewing, along with applique for the decorations. I think you will agree they look fantastic!

Winter Woodwork by Reception

 in Class One / Design and Technology / Whole School by

Reception have enjoyed a festive introduction to their new woodwork bench. They investigated the use of different tools and equipment such as hand drills, clamps and sandpaper to create their own festive decorations. We are looking forward to more woodwork projects in the new year. Stay posted to see what we get up to!

 

Design And Technology Week

 in Class Four / Class One / Class Three / Class Two / Design and Technology / Whole School by

What an amazing and busy time we had last week! The whole school took part in different Design and Technology projects. Class 1 were developing their cutting skills and exploring a range of different junk modelling materials. Class 2 were learning about fruit and vegetables, using their senses to explore them and then creating their own smoothies. Class 3 explored how to use a simple pneumatic system to make box monsters. Class 4 were learning about different ways to join fabric including different stictches, before designing and making their own soft toys. Each class enjoyed learning new skills, acquiring new knowledge and had opportunities to design, make and evaluate their work.

Class 4’s Soft Toys

Class 3’s Monster Boxes

Class 2’s Smoothies

Class 1’s Junk Modelling

Wheels and Axles

 in Class Two / Design and Technology by

Class 2 have ended the year in style with a fantastic design and technology unit called ‘Wheels and Axles’. During this unit we have learnt about the parts that make a wheeled vehicle move and then experimented with ways to create axles, wheels and axle holders and how to attach them to a chassis. Finally, we designed and made our own moving vehicles. This project has been a great way for the children to develop their resilience and problem solving skills.

Scrawlers!

 in Class Four / Class Three / Design and Technology by

What can you make if you have a cup, some sellotape, felt-tip pens, a motor, a rubber, a battery and some crocodile clips? That’s exactly the question which was posed to class 4 last week! It wasn’t much to go on, but then they were given a prototype of a “Scrawler”

A Scrawler is an automatic drawing robot! A motor on top of the robot spins with an offset weight, causing it to vibrate. As it vibrates, the pens making up the “legs” of the robot wobble across the page and draw patterns as they go.

Class 4 wasted no time in taking the prototype to pieces to discover how it worked. With no further instructions, just some reverse-engineering, small teams got to work building a Scrawler of their very own!

Once we had perfected and tested our own versions, we took them apart for a further challenge. Was it possible to teach Class 3 how to make one of their own, without using our hands? That meant no pointing or touching, and no getting frustrated when somebody else was doing the wrong thing! With only 20 minutes to complete the project time was not on our side, but I think the gallery below proves our success!