Design Technology - Rainforest Monsters (Lower Key Stage 2)

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 rainforest monster toy that uses a pneumatic system to create movement.

Sequence of Learning for Teachers
In this unit children extend their knowledge and understanding of mechanical systems by learning about pneumatic systems. They apply this knowledge to create a rainforest monster toy with a pneumatic moving mouth. They begin by learning about how air creates movement in a pneumatic system. Using this knowledge, they create a simple pneumatic toy based on the story of the Wide Mouth Frog. They further extend their knowledge of pneumatic systems using connected syringes to understand how pneumatic systems can change the direction and amount of movement in a system. They apply this knowledge to design and make a toy based on a rainforest animal. The toy uses a pneumatic system to control the opening and closing of its mouth. They decorate their model to resemble a rainforest monster. In evaluating their product, they create a display stand that includes a cross-sectional diagram to explain how their product was made and how it works.

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

1. Investigate 1: Loads of Air and Focus Task 1: The Wide Mouth Frog
2. Focus Task 2 – Making the Wide Mouth Frog
3. Investigate 2: Pneumatic Systems and Design & Make: Designing the Monster
4. Design & Make: Making the Product
5. Design & Make: Decorating the Product
6. Evaluating the Product

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.