Design Technology - Celebration Cards (Key Stage 1)

This unit of work forms part of the PrimaryDT scheme of work that features over 60 units of work designed to deliver outstanding outcomes for primary school children in design technology.
This unit of work has been revised and updated for 2026 and is based on delivering six sessions of design technology that are guided by high quality presentation slides accompanied by all the resources that are needed to deliver the lessons, including a knowledge organiser.

Comprehensive medium-term planning that includes
• Unit overview and sequence of learning
• Prior learning needed and links to other curriculum areas
• Learning statements (from our curriculum pathway document)
• List of resources and background information to support teaching and learning
• Key vocabulary for the unit of work
• Teaching activities (investigative and focus tasks)
• Teaching activities (designing and making)
• Advice for challenge and support strategies
• Assessment indicators that children are keeping up with the curriculum

Accompanying this revised unit is further information about the scheme of work and the progression chart and vocabulary list used when creating the scheme of work.

Design Brief: Design and make a Celebration Card that uses a simple mechanism.

Sequence of Learning for Teachers
In this unit of work children design and make a celebration card with a movable part. Children are introduced to a range of mechanical systems such as sliders, levers, and pop-ups and how they can be used to create movement in celebration cards. Children apply this knowledge of different mechanisms when designing and making a celebration card for a particular purpose such as a family celebration or a religious festival.

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

1. Investigate Task 1 – Investigating Celebration Cards & Focus Task 1 – Tortoise Trek (Movement using a slider mechanism)
2. Focus Task 2 – Puppet Show (Movement using a slider mechanism)
3. Focus Task 3 – Rocket Race (Rotational Movement)
4. Investigate Task 2 – Movement Around the School & Focus Task 4 – Pop Up Village (Pop Up Mechanism)
5. Design & make a Celebration Card
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.