Design Technology - Desk Tidy (Lower Key Stage 2)

Design Brief: Design and make a Desk Tidy to store all those ‘easy to lose’ desk items.

Sequence of Learning for Teachers
In this unit of work children learn about shell structures and how different three-dimensional containers can be joined together to form a desk tidy. Children apply their knowledge of creating shell structures, computer-aided design, and recycling practices to create a desk tidy for themselves to use at home or at school. They learn how papier mâché techniques of adding layers can be used to stiffen and strengthen shell structures. Using a range of recycled materials, children create a desk tidy product and use a range of decorative techniques to create a quality product. Children learn how to use posters and how the functions of products can be used to market and advertise a product.

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

1. Investigate 1: What is a Desk Tidy? & Focus Task 1: Making Shell Structures
2. Investigate 2: What are shell structures? & Focus Task 2: Paper Mâché Structures
3. Focus Task 3: Introducing Computer-Aided Design
4. Design and Make: Designing Using Computer-Aided Design
5. Design and Make: Making the Desk Tidy
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.