Design and Plan

Context

This is Lesson 15 within a 20-lesson unit titled "Past, Present and Future," aimed at Year 1 students studying Social Sciences in New South Wales. The lesson focuses on fostering students’ ability to brainstorm and plan solutions using sketches, aligning with the NSW Curriculum standards on humanities and social sciences and early design and technologies learning outcomes.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this 60-minute lesson, students will be able to:

Generate ideas collaboratively to design solutions to simple problems relating to their local environment or past experiences.
Use sketches and drawings to plan and communicate their designed solutions.
Discuss their solutions, identifying aspects that represent their ideas about the past and present.
Begin to understand the purpose of design planning as part of problem-solving in everyday life and social contexts.

Curriculum Links:

Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS):
Recognise continuity and change in family or local environments and explore ways of caring for places (related to past and present).
Develop questions and sort information to share narratives about familiar people and places.
Design and Technologies (Foundation to Year 2):
Create, communicate and choose design ideas; use sketches as part of communicating designed solutions.
Follow steps to safely produce designed solutions.

Lesson Duration: 60 minutes

Class Size: 2 students

Materials Needed

Large paper or individual drawing sheets
Coloured pencils, crayons or markers
Whiteboard or chart paper for brainstorming
Sticky notes or small cards for writing ideas
Examples of simple designs or sketches (optional)
Picture prompts related to local environment or familiar past objects/places

Lesson Structure

1. Introduction and Recap (10 minutes)

Begin by revisiting previous lessons about past and present differences (e.g., how homes or schools were different in the past).
Ask: “What kinds of problems might people have wanted to solve in the past or still today?”
Record student ideas on the board or chart paper.
Introduce today’s focus: Brainstorming and planning a solution by sketching.

2. Brainstorming Session (10 minutes)

Prompt students to think of a small problem related to their local environment or experiences at home or school. Examples: keeping their room tidy, helping plants grow, or making a play area safer.
Use sticky notes/cards for students to write or draw their ideas individually and then share.
Discuss and group similar ideas to select one problem to design a solution for collaboratively.

3. Planning the Solution with Sketches (20 minutes)

Provide drawing materials for students.
Guide students to create simple sketches to represent their ideas for a solution. Encourage labelling parts of the drawings with descriptive words.
Scaffold by asking: What will your solution do? How will it work? What materials might you need?
For the pair, encourage sharing and building on each other’s designs.
Teacher circulates, asks prompting questions, and helps articulate ideas.

4. Sharing and Discussing Designs (10 minutes)

Invite students to explain their sketches and the problem their design solves.
Prompt discussion about how their design connects to ideas about the past or present (e.g., improving on something from the past or solving a current issue).
Acknowledge creativity and plan next steps (e.g., making the solution, further refining ideas).

5. Reflection and Conclusion (10 minutes)

Ask students to reflect orally: What was easy or hard about planning your design?
Recap why planning and sketching is important in solving problems in social and everyday contexts.
Preview next lesson focus: Using the plan to create or trial the solution.

Assessment and Feedback

Formative: Teacher observation of student participation in brainstorming and ability to communicate design ideas through sketches.
Oral Feedback: Provide positive and specific feedback on idea generation, clarity of sketches, and collaboration.
Student Self-Reflection: Simple oral reflection on what they enjoyed or learned about planning.

Differentiation

For students needing support, use drawing templates or guided sentence starters for labelling sketches.
For extension, encourage students to think about how their design might change in the future or improve for different needs.

Teaching Tips

Since the class has only two students, personalise prompts to their interests and experiences for higher engagement.
Use explicit teaching strategies to model sketching and verbalising design ideas.
Encourage making connections to students’ lives and local community to make learning meaningful.

This lesson plan integrates the NSW Curriculum requirements for Year 1 HASS and Technologies by focusing on inquiry, design thinking, and communication through sketches, helping young students build early problem-solving and planning skills with a strong connection to their understanding of past, present, and local contexts. The small group setting allows for tailored, interactive learning that builds confidence and creativity.

Teaching Instructions