Year 5 Design & Technology

Tease their taste-buds by getting your class to think about what different types of biscuits there are, when they are eaten and which their very favourites are. Challenge them to find out which biscuits are most and least popular and analyse the resu... Read More

The lesson they've been waiting for! Use the slides to get your class thinking about how they could use their senses to explore biscuits, then let the taste test begin! Read More

The teaching input for this lesson gives your children the chance to really think creatively about their biscuit designs, before your class are challenged to create their own biscuits designs for a particular purpose. Read More

Ovens at the ready for this lesson when children bake the biscuits they have designed and planned. But before baking why not use the slides to discuss how to work safely and hygienically with food. Please note that, due to the practical nature of ... Read More

After eating their finished biscuits, children will have the time to reflect on the designing and making process and think about what they have learnt over the course of the module. Read More

This first mouth-watering lesson gives your class the chance to discover a range of breads from different countries and cultures before tasting a variety of breads to compare and evaluate. Read More

This lesson takes a look at the food pyramid and shows your class how bread can form part of a healthy diet. They will then have the opportunity to undertake a survey to find out how much bread people eat. Read More

Use the step-by-step guide on the slides in this lesson to demonstrate to your class how bread is made and what ingredients are used, before letting them loose with the flour to experiment with different ways of altering a basic bread recipe. Read More

Using what they have found out about how to make bread so far, this lesson allows your class to design their own bread based on a basic recipe mixture. Read More

Turn your classroom into a thriving bakery in this lesson as your class bake the breads they have designed. Please note that, due to the practical nature of this lesson, worksheets are not necessary and, therefore – not included. Children may ... Read More

The final lesson in this series gives your class the opportunity to reflect on the designing and making process as they evaluate (and eat if they haven't yet!) their finished breads. Read More

The first lesson in this series allows your class to investigate different toys with cam mechanisms and looks at how cam mechanisms work by changing rotary movement into linear movement. Read More

This lesson gives your class the chance to explore how cams of different shapes and sizes affect the linear movement of the follower using a simple framework. They can even design their own cam shapes to test. Read More

When your class come to design their own moving toy, they will need to create a structure that is strong enough the support the different components. This lesson allows your class in investigate ways of creating structures and some of the different t... Read More

Now that your class have investigated cam mechanisms and different structures, they can get on with the fun task of designing their own moving toy with a cam mechanism using the knowledge they have gathered. Read More

The lesson they have been waiting for! Children now have the chance to bring their designs to life as they create their own moving toy with a cam mechanism based on their own designs. Please note that, due to the practical nature of this lesson, work... Read More

This final lesson allows your class to reflect on the process of designing and making their own moving toy and evaluate the quality of their finished product, identifying areas of strength and areas that could be improved on. Read More

Introduce children to a range of technical vocabulary to describe the features of bridges. Challenge them to consider, then test, how beams and pillars (or piers) are used to span gaps and distribute weight. Beam Bridges is a ready to teach lesson p... Read More

Take a closer look at truss bridges and how they are constructed. This KS2 DT lesson includes slides and printable PDF resources with information about different types of truss bridges and how tension and compression forces act on them. There are pra... Read More

Take a look at arch bridge design and construction with this lesson for Year 5/6. It includes slides, worksheets and practical activities where children will learn about arch bridges, and try building arches themselves. During this lesson, children ... Read More

Take a look at the design of a number of famous and beautiful suspension bridges, then challenge children to build one themselves using everyday materials! How do suspension bridges work? This Year 5/6 DT lesson is all about suspension bridge design... Read More

Can your Year 5/6 class design and make a bridge out of paper or other materials? In the first part of this two-part lesson, children are challenged to develop a list of design criteria according to a design brief. They are then to design and build a... Read More

Test model bridges which children have previously designed and made in this, the second part of a double lesson. The included slides and resources help explain to your children how to devise ways of testing their model bridges according to a list of ... Read More

Dive into the world of African music and instruments by listening and appraising some African music with your class. Enjoy the rich and diverse music and use this to identify some common African instruments. Investigate these instruments closer by an... Read More

Look more closely at the kalimba and the sounds that it makes. Investigate the lengths of the keys and how this changes the sound which is produced. Can your class replicate this using a variety of materials. Encourage your children to analyse and ch... Read More

Listen to and analyse the structure of a kalimba with your class to identify the areas they feel need to be strengthened and reinforced and the areas which will need to be secured effectively in order to make a successful kalimba. Challenge the child... Read More

Immerse your class in the sounds of the African percussion instruments, djembe drums and shekeres. Investigate the sounds each type of instrument makes and begin to design or create the main part of the instrument focusing on strengthening the struct... Read More

Create an African percussion instrument with your class using their designs from a previous lesson. Encourage the children to strengthen and reinforce different parts of their instruments using different materials, techniques and tools. After creatin... Read More

Give the children the opportunity to use and evaluate their products in a practical way by creating an African-music-inspired composition. Have your class perform in groups with their chosen instruments and use this to guide rich evaluations of their... Read More

In this first lesson, children develop their understanding of what a national dish is. They explore some national savoury dishes of England, looking at the origin of each one and beginning to think about how healthy it is. In their independent activi... Read More

Children explore some of the popular national sweet dishes of England. They focus on how healthy each one is, and learn about the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) values for sugar. They look at seasonal fruits as a natural source of sugar for ingred... Read More

In this lesson, children find out how oats, a staple crop in Scotland, are grown, harvested and processed. They then explore some of the national dishes of this country which include oatmeal as an ingredient. In their independent activities, children... Read More

Children learn about the importance of sheep farming in Wales, and how this has led to lamb becoming a popular ingredient in a lot of Welsh food. They explore a range of popular dishes from the country. In their independent activities, children choos... Read More

Children explore how and why the cuisines of other countries have influenced British dishes over the years, with a focus on Anglo-Indian food. In their independent activities, they research how other countries around the world have influenced British... Read More

In this final lesson, children first learn about the shelf life of different products, and find out the difference between ‘best before’ and ‘use by’ labels. They then look at the steps that need to be taken in order to plan and shop for a s... Read More

This first lesson focuses on nutrition fact labels on food packaging. Children will learn all about fats, carbohydrates and proteins and how they provide our bodies with energy, measured in calories. They will have the opportunity to analyse nutritio... Read More

In this second lesson, children will explore different burger patties including the different cooking methods for them. The children will enjoy preparing, cooking and tasting three different burger patties, working in groups to prepare turkey, beef a... Read More

Learn all about matching flavours in sauces and burger patties by making and tasting three different sauces. Challenge children to think about flavour combinations by matching sauces with burger recipes according to their tastes. Read More

This lesson focuses on the different types of bread that burger buns are made of, considering the importance of the shape and size of buns as well as how they can be flavoured with herbs and spices. Read More

In this lesson, children have the opportunity apply their previous learning about burgers by designing their own burger. Children can be as creative as they like with flavours and ingredients to make their ultimate burger. Read More

In this final lesson, children can make and evaluate the burger recipes they planned in the previous lesson - there are opportunities for them to make and rate each other's creations, too! Read More

In this first lesson, children will learn all about the process of cotton cloth manufacture, going on to explore the ways in which products are constructed and made using textiles. Read More

Find out about the design process for products made using textiles, then go on to explore ways in which different hand-sewing and machine-sewing stitches are used to join and decorate products. Read More

Teach your children all about how pattern pieces are used by fashion designers and garment manufacturers. Children will learn how to transfer designs to cloth. Go on to measure, draw and mark up pattern pieces which can be used in the proceeding less... Read More

Learn about how designs for products made using textiles are transferred to cloth with the detailed and engaging slides included with this lesson. Children may then go on to use pattern pieces created in the previous lesson to mark up and cut out clo... Read More

In this lesson, children will learn how to hand-sew to join or decorate products using a range of different hand-stitches, all clearly explained and illustrated in the detailed slides included. They will go on to practise these stitches by joining cl... Read More

This final lesson in the series explains how products made using textiles are finished by hemming edges and adding functional or decorative details. Your children will go on to complete and evaluate their drawstring bag designs which they have worked... Read More

Take a look at some everyday products containing electronic components and consider how they might work. The included slides with this lesson explain how many electronic products are monitored and controlled by computer systems embedded in them, and ... Read More

Find out what it is that computer hardware and software engineers do, then consider a problem they might encounter when helping design products: how are pedestrian crossings programmed and controlled by computer systems? Children may then either des... Read More

Take a closer look at embedded computer systems which monitor and control the products around us. The included slides also explain how pioneering computer scientists began to make computers and programming languages that were easier for people to use... Read More

In this lesson, children will learn more about how and why inexpensive microcontrollers are used to control electronics in everyday products. After that, they’ll either go on to wire up simple electronic components for a room system, such as a doo... Read More

Why do we make prototype models? The included slides challenge children to consider this, then go on to explain why models are helpful both for developing and explaining ideas. After that, there’s a choice of activities where children may either m... Read More

Having learned all about how electronic products are programmed and controlled, then gone on to design and develop their own computer-controlled product ideas, it’s time to reflect and evaluate! The included slides with this lesson pose a number o... Read More

In this first lesson, children learn more about the history of the product that they will be making. As a class, they begin to analyse a range of cushions based on their functional and aesthetic features. In their independent activities, children eit... Read More

How can we join two pieces of fabric together? In this lesson, children investigate the different sewing stitches that can be used. They learn about the right and wrong sides of fabric, and how to secure their first and last stitches with a knot. In ... Read More

What does ‘aesthetically pleasing’ mean? As a class, children discuss the different ways in which cushions can be made visually appealing. In their independent activities, children explore how the use of adornments and the skills of embroidery an... Read More

How can we create a fastening for our cushion cover? In this lesson, children explore the different fastenings that they could use in their design, and discuss them in terms of secureness, durability and aesthetics. They practise creating a fastening... Read More

In this lesson, children combine their knowledge of joining techniques, decorative sewing skills and fastenings to design their own cushion cover. They are encouraged to think through the different steps of the making process, and plan ahead for any ... Read More

In this final lesson, children make their cushion cover. They are encouraged to regularly check their design, and make changes to it if necessary. Once their cushion cover is completed, children evaluate their finished product by answering a range of... Read More

Begin the topic by exploring the invention of paper and the moveable-type printing press. Challenge your class to reflect on how these inventions may have changed people’s lives once they had been discovered and challenge the children to take an in... Read More

Continue discovering China’s four greatest inventions by investigating the invention of gunpowder and the compass. Encourage your class to think about how these may have affected the everyday lives of people and on a larger scale, the ways countrie... Read More

Take a closer look into the machines that were built in ancient China. Challenge your children to look at the simple designs, investigating how water wheels, gears and cranks were used to create simple machines for different purposes. Explore the way... Read More

Discover how the ancient Chinese used kites for many different purposes and made them from different materials. Discuss the properties of these materials before testing different materials using prototypes. Challenge your class to decide which materi... Read More

Challenge your class to use their knowledge and understanding of materials and their properties to design a kite. Explore the different parts of a kite and how each part helps a kite fly before letting your class make informed choices about the mater... Read More

Make and evaluate your class’s designed kites taking careful consideration of the method the children choose to follow and how their finished product will meet the design criteria generated in previous lessons. Encourage the children to problem sol... Read More

Jump into the festive spirit by finding out why we make gingerbread houses at Christmas time. Investigate and research existing gingerbread and edible houses to inspire the children’s imaginations. The children use what they have seen to generate t... Read More

Let the children take the next step in the design process: making pattern templates. Challenge the children to follow their design ideas to create templates or floor plans using a computer. How accurate can they make their template? What tools could ... Read More

No design is perfect the first time around. Teach your class the importance of planning ahead and amending plans to improve them. If they’re baking gingerbread, the children will have the chance to prototype their house using the templates they mad... Read More

A test of accuracy, patience and resilience for your class as they begin to bake and build their edible houses. Gingerbread builders need to be accurate in their measurements of ingredients, whilst biscuit builders need to use gentle hands to keep th... Read More

Give your children the opportunity to learn the skill of piping icing. They can then use this to decorate their edible houses with sweets and details. As well as a piping bag, the children have the choice to use different tools to apply the icing to ... Read More

In this final lesson the children are given the opportunity to give and receive constructive feedback from their peers. They look at how feedback and reviews are used by existing producers and companies to improve their products and apply this idea t... Read More