Year 1 have been gaining an understanding of what is meant by the term ‘structures’ by looking for them in their environment. We began our lesson by looking at some bridges and other structures from around the world.
What is a structure?
A structure is a combination of materials and/or parts to create a 3D shape.
After discussing the definition of the word structure we moved on to looking closely at cylinders. The children were given the task of creating cylinders using paper and tape.
My cylinder won’t stand up on its own!
You need to try using some tape to make it more stable.
Try putting the tape along the join.
It is still wobbly. How can I get it to be freestanding?
Try putting on some more tape and make sure it is stuck down properly.
You could try rolling the paper up tightly.
Thank you
Some of the children worked on constructing some freestanding structures using different building materials.
Below is the vocabulary the children will be learning during the current DT topic. Please revise these words (and their definitions) at home.
| design | a plan or drawing showing what something will look like before it is made |
| design criteria | the things a product must have to be successful |
| design brief | a description of what a new product should do |
| base | the bottom part of an object; the part on which something rests |
| evaluate | to decide, after careful consideration, how good or bad something is |
| structure | a combination of materials and/or parts to create a 3d shape |
| stable | something that is unlikely to fall down or collapse |
| freestanding | something that stands up by itself |
| plan | to think about and decide how you’re going to do something |