Design Technology - Table Lamps (Lower Key Stage 2)

Design Brief: Design and make a table lamp to add more light to your bedroom.

Sequence of Learning for Teachers
In this unit of work children design and make a table lamp product. This provides an opportunity to apply their knowledge and understanding of different structures and simple electrical circuits to create a product. Children learn about different lights in the home and that a product such as a table lamp is made up of three components – a stand, a shade and the electrical circuit. Children design and make a wooden frame, create a shade using papier mâché and then add a simple circuit with a switch to complete the product. They evaluate their product against the design brief and design specifications and use this information to create an online selling page for their product.

This knowledge, skills and understanding is delivered through the following six sessions:

1. Investigate 1: Let there be light!
2. Focus Task 1: Table Lamp Designer
3. Design and Make Activity: Shade Maker
4. Design and Make Activity: Frame Maker
5. Design and Make Session: Putting it Together
6. Evaluation Session

Some activities / sessions can be re-arranged or delivered in different ways in the learning sequence to allow for whole-class teaching and/or small adult-led sessions to take place at the same time.