Basic Design Principles

Year Level

Year 2

Duration

60 minutes

Class size

25 students

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Unit Overview

This lesson is Lesson 2 of 5 in the unit "Designing and Building Shelters". Students continue to learn about shelter design by exploring basic design principles such as stability, functionality, and aesthetics.

This lesson aligns with the NSW K-6 Technology and Design syllabus, particularly under the strand of Design and Technologies Processes and Production Skills for Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 learners. The focus is on generating design ideas, understanding design principles, and presenting simple representations.

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Curriculum Links (NSW Curriculum)

Content Descriptions

• ACTDEP018: Generate and communicate design ideas and decisions using drawings and labelled diagrams.
• ACTDEP019: Plan the sequence of production steps when making designed solutions.
• ACTDEK013: Explore the characteristics and properties of materials and components that are used to create designed solutions.
• ACTDEK012: Investigate and use simple tools and equipment to make designed solutions.

Achievement Standard Reference

By the end of Year 2, students show understanding of how designed solutions meet personal and community needs through the exploration of materials and simple design ideas communicated through drawings and annotations.

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Lesson Objectives

WALT (We Are Learning To)

• Explore basic design principles of stability, functionality, and aesthetics.
• Understand how these principles apply to shelter design.
• Create a simple, labelled sketch of a shelter incorporating these principles.

Success Criteria

Students will be able to:

• Identify and explain the design principles of stability, functionality, and aesthetics.
• Use simple drawing tools or templates to sketch a shelter design.
• Label their sketch to show how stability, functionality, and aesthetics are incorporated.

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Resources Required

• A3 white drawing paper or printed templates
• Pencils, coloured pencils or crayons
• Rulers and erasers
• Examples of simple shelter images or drawings highlighting stability, functionality, and aesthetics
• A whiteboard or chart paper with key definitions and principles
• Sticky notes or cards labeled with the terms: Stability, Functionality, Aesthetics

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Lesson Outline

1. Introduction (10 minutes)

• Engage and recall:

• Briefly revisit Lesson 1 concepts about shelters and what they are used for.

• Pose open questions: What makes a shelter good or strong? How can it be useful for people? How can a shelter also look nice?

• Introduce key concepts:

• Write the three design principles on the board: Stability, Functionality, Aesthetics.

• Define each using simple language:

• Stability — How strong and steady the shelter is.

• Functionality — How well the shelter works for people’s needs.

• Aesthetics — How nice or attractive the shelter looks.

• Use images or real-life examples (toy models, photos) to highlight these principles.

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2. Guided Group Activity (15 minutes)

• Interactive sorting task:

• Give students sticky notes or cards with different shelter features (e.g., sloped roof, wide base, door, bright colours).

• In small groups, ask them to sort these features under the appropriate design principle.

• Discuss as a class why a feature fits under a particular principle.

• Teacher models thinking aloud, for example:

• "The wide base helps the shelter stay upright, so it’s about stability."

• "A door lets people go in and out easily, so it’s about functionality."

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3. Main Activity — Design Sketching (25 minutes)

• Task:

• Students will create a simple sketch of a shelter design.

• They should incorporate at least one feature for each design principle:

• Stability (e.g., strong walls, wide base)

• Functionality (e.g., door, window, size for people)

• Aesthetics (e.g., colour, shape)

• Differentiation:

• Provide drawing templates for students who struggle with freehand drawing, allowing them to add and label features.

• Visual prompts and vocabulary support cards will be available.

• Support for fine motor skills as needed.

• Extension for advanced students:

• Encourage creating multiple design sketches incorporating different combinations of features.

• Challenge them to explain how their choices improve the design according to the principles.

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4. Sharing and Reflection (8 minutes)

• Invite some students to share their sketches.

• Ask probing questions:

• How does your shelter stay stable?

• What makes your shelter useful?

• How did you make your shelter look nice?

• Summarise learning by reinforcing the design principles and how they help create a better shelter.

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5. Plenary / Consolidation (2 minutes)

• Quick oral quiz or thumbs up/down on understanding stability, functionality, and aesthetics.
• Preview next lesson: Building simple models of shelters incorporating these ideas.

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Assessment

• Formative:

• Observation during group sorting task and discussions.

• Evaluation of design sketches for inclusion and labelling of the three design principles.

• Listening to students’ explanations for how their sketch meets the principles.

• Use a simple checklist with points for:

• Stability feature included and labelled

• Functionality feature included and labelled

• Aesthetic feature included and labelled

• Ability to explain their choices (for extension)

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Differentiation Strategies

• Provide scaffolded templates and visual prompts.
• Allow verbal explanations for students who have difficulty writing.
• Small group or one-on-one support for students with special needs.
• Use peer support during group activities.
• Extension activities for students who are confident to explore multiple design ideas and deeper reasoning.

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Teacher Reflection Prompts

• Were students able to understand and discuss the three design principles in simple terms?
• Did the templates and scaffolds support less confident drawers effectively?
• How engaged were students in the interactive sorting of shelter features?
• What extensions or modifications could be made for next lessons to further challenge or support students?

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This lesson plan is designed to captivate young learners by connecting hands-on, visual, and verbal activities to core design concepts aligned to the NSW Technology K-6 curriculum, specifically fostering foundational skills in design thinking and technologies for Year 2 students. The balance of guided discovery, creative expression, and peer interaction ensures a stimulating and supportive classroom environment.