Sustainable Esky Design

Overview

Students are introduced to the “Sustainable Esky Design Unit” goals and begin exploring how design criteria can include sustainability. They use an eco-design lens to consider recycled materials and how evaluation will guide design choices across the next lessons.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• develop initial ideas for a sustainable esky (cooler box) suited to a target user
• identify sustainability factors that should be included in design criteria
• practise evaluating and justifying design ideas using agreed criteria
• begin to document decisions and reasons in a design journal

Success criteria

I can:

• list at least 3 design criteria for an esky that include sustainability (e.g. re-use/recycle, reduced emissions, durability, end-of-life)
• explain how my design idea meets the criteria (or where it does not yet)
• compare two recycled-material options and justify which is more suitable using evidence from properties/constraints
• record my thinking clearly in a design journal so it can be used to improve my design later

Curriculum links

• AC9TDE10P04: develop design criteria independently including sustainability to evaluate design ideas, processes and solutions
• AC9TDE10P01: analyse needs/opportunities, develop a design brief, and investigate/select materials, systems and components to create designed solutions
• AC9TDE10K06 (supporting): make judgements about how material characteristics and properties combine to create designed solutions
• AC9TDE10P02 (supporting): generate ideas, test/iterate and communicate using appropriate records and digital tools (as available)

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook (real-world context). Teacher shows images of eskies (and a short “waste problem” prompt) and asks: “What makes an esky sustainable at the end of its life?” Students quick-write one idea in their journals.

2. 5–12 min · Unit overview and task framing. Teacher explains the 10-lesson sequence: research, design briefs, concept generation, prototyping, testing, iteration and communication, emphasising that today sets the sustainability criteria. Students listen and note 2 questions they want answered in the unit.

3. 12–22 min · Quick investigation: recycled-material candidates. Teacher presents 3–4 recycled material “packs” or displays (e.g. recycled plastic, cardboard composites, aluminium cans, plant-based or recycled insulation samples, fabric/straps made from upcycled textiles) and gives a simple properties table to guide observation (rigidity, thermal resistance clues, moisture resistance, ease of joining, expected lifespan). Students, in small groups, rotate through stations and record observations and constraints using sentence starters: “This material could work because… / A risk is…”

4. 22–35 min · Develop the design brief (needs + constraints). Teacher introduces a sample user scenario: “A student sports team needs a durable, easy-to-clean esky for weekend events; it must be cheaper than replacement and reduce landfill waste.” Teacher leads students to identify user needs, context factors (transport, weather, handling) and project constraints (time, tools, budget, access to recycled materials). Students co-construct a brief checklist and choose one “target user” angle for their own design (e.g. families, community events, young athletes).

5. 35–50 min · Create sustainability-inclusive design criteria. Teacher models how criteria become measurable/evaluable (function + sustainability + testability), then provides a template with categories: insulation performance (where relevant), durability, cleanliness, cost, repairability, recycled content, reduced waste, and end-of-life options. Students independently draft 5–7 criteria using “The esky will…” statements, then underline at least 2 sustainability criteria. Teacher circulates to prompt students to make criteria specific enough for later testing.

6. 50–57 min · Peer critique: does the idea meet the criteria? Teacher gives a structured peer feedback routine: “I think your criteria are strong because… / One question I have is… / One way to improve sustainability evaluation is…” Students swap journals with a partner and do one critique using the criteria they wrote.

7. 57–60 min · Exit ticket (formative check). Students answer: “Name one sustainability criterion you will use and explain how you will later check if it is met.”

Resources

• Design journal pages or printed templates (brief checklist, criteria template, station recording sheet)
• Example recycled-material samples or sealed “material cards” (labels with typical properties and constraints)
• Station observation tools: ruler/measuring tape, simple thermometer/IR cues if available, scissors/cutters for teacher demo only
• Posters or slide with design brief scenario and criteria categories
• Marker pens, sticky notes, highlighters
• Digital option: shared document or LMS folder for criteria and journal photos (no hyperlink needed)
• Teacher feedback checklist for peer critique

Assessment

• Formative checks during stations: teacher notes on whether students identify properties and constraints tied to suitability
• Criteria quality check: teacher reviews journals for sustainability being included and criteria being evaluable (“how will we know?”)
• Exit ticket: identifies students’ ability to articulate one sustainability criterion and a plan for checking it later

Differentiation

• Support:
• Provide sentence starters for criteria (“The esky will be easy to clean by…”, “A sustainability goal is…”)
• Offer a bank of candidate criteria statements and ask students to select and refine 2–3
• Use small-group roles (materials recorder, criteria writer, spokesperson) to maintain engagement
• Extension:
• Challenge students to add a “trade-off statement” (e.g. “If we increase durability, cost may rise; I will prioritise…”) and justify it
• Ask students to propose one specific test they could run in later lessons to evaluate each criterion
• EAL/SEN:
• Shorten templates into checkboxes + short lines for justification
• Allow oral responses to be transcribed by teacher or peer for the exit ticket
• Pre-teach key terms: sustainability, criteria, durability, insulation (as “keeping cool longer”), re-use, recycle, end-of-life