Design Thinking Start

Lesson Overview

Unit: Creative Design Adventures (Lesson 2 of 10)
Duration: 60 minutes
Year Levels: Foundation, Year 1 & 2
Class Size: 30 students
Subject: Other (Design & Technologies focus)

---

WALT (We Are Learning To)

• Understand the design process by exploring and identifying different designed products around us.
• Recognise how everyday items are created and designed to meet various needs.

---

Australian Curriculum Links

Foundation Year

Technologies - Design and Technologies

• Generate, communicate and evaluate design ideas, use materials, equipment and steps to safely make a solution for a purpose
• Content Description: AC9TDEFP01
• Elaborations: Identifying purposes for design, exploring ideas by drawing and modelling, evaluating design solutions using personal preferences

Year 1 & 2

Technologies - Design and Technologies

• Identify how familiar products, services, and environments are designed and produced by people to meet personal or local community needs and sustainability

• Content Description: AC9TDE2K01

• Elaborations: Explore how people design and produce products to meet needs sustainably, consider adaptations and improvements

• Generate and communicate design ideas through describing, drawing or modelling, including using digital tools

• Content Description: AC9TDE2P01

• Elaborations: Comparing product features, communicating ideas using drawings and digital methods

• Evaluate the success of design ideas and solutions based on personal preferences and including sustainability

• Content Description: AC9TDE2P03

• Elaborations: Reflect and record judgments about design ideas, consider environmental impacts

---

Success Criteria

• I can describe what design is and why people design things.
• I can identify different designed products in my classroom or school environment.
• I can explain or show how an item might have been made.
• I can use a digital tool to record my observations or ideas.

---

Resources Needed

• Digital devices (tablets or laptops) with a simple drawing or note-taking app (e.g., drawing app or camera function)
• Printable scavenger hunt checklist with pictures of common classroom/school objects (design products)
• Whiteboard and markers
• Printed or digital "Design Thinking" posters or simple flowcharts (optional)
• Optional: Audio recording app for speech-to-text or verbal explanations (supports dyslexic learners)

---

Lesson Breakdown

1. Introduction & Engage (10 minutes)

• Gather students on the carpet.
• Begin by asking: "What is design?" "Can you think of something someone designed?"
• Show simple examples of designed items in the classroom (e.g., chair, pencil, lunchbox).
• Introduce the design process very simply: Think, Make, Improve. Use visuals or a child-friendly poster to illustrate.
• WALT and Success Criteria shared with students.

2. Scavenger Hunt Activity - Design Detectives (20 minutes)

• Explain that students are going on a "design scavenger hunt" around the classroom or school to find different products.
• Provide each child or pair with a checklist with pictures and words of designed products found in the environment (e.g., door handle, water bottle, chair, clock).
• Students use tablets to:
  • Take photos of items, OR
  • Draw quick sketches, OR
  • Use an audio app to record what they find and why they think it was designed (to support writing difficulties).
• Encourage teamwork and sharing discoveries with peers.

3. Class Discussion & Sharing (15 minutes)

• Return to the classroom for a circle discussion.
• Invite volunteers to share their favourite found item, showing their photo/sketch/audio.
• Discuss how the item might have been made or designed. Prompt questions: "Why do you think it was designed?" "What materials might have been used?" "Who uses this item?"
• Teacher models linking these ideas back to the design process steps.

4. Digital Documentation (10 minutes)

• Using simple digital tools (drawing or presentation apps), students create one slide or page documenting their favourite item.
• Include: a photo/sketch, a sentence (typed or audio recorded) about the item and how it was made or why it is useful.

5. Conclusion & Reflection (5 minutes)

• Gather again, ask students to reflect verbally on:
  • What did you learn about design?
  • Can you see design everywhere?
• Summarise key ideas about design thinking and highlight how everyone is a “designer” when we think about making things better.

---

Differentiation Strategies

• For Diverse Learners / EAL / ELD: Use pictures and simple language on checklist; allow verbal recording or drawing instead of writing; pair students with buddies.
• For Students with Dyslexia: Use audio recording apps for reflection and explanations; give verbal instructions and prompts; provide printed clear fonts and visuals.
• For Advanced Learners: Challenge them to think about why certain materials are chosen or how the design could be improved; encourage them to create a simple redesign sketch using digital tools after class discussion.

---

Extension Activities

• Create a class digital "Design Gallery" compiling all favourite design photos and ideas with captions.
• Challenge students to find a design problem in the playground or classroom for future lessons and think about how to improve it.

---

This lesson plan ensures an engaging, hands-on introduction to design thinking aligned with the Australian Curriculum for Foundation, Year 1 and 2 students. It integrates digital technologies to support communication and documentation, caters to diverse learner needs, and encourages creative thinking from the outset of the unit "Creative Design Adventures" .