Toy Design Exploration

Year Level

Prep to Year 1 Class Size: 7 students Lesson Duration: 70 minutes

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WALT (We Are Learning To)

• Explore and identify different sustainable and recycled materials.
• Use scientific inquiry through touch, sight, and description to understand material properties.
• Begin planning and designing a toy using recycled materials, incorporating the design process.
• Communicate design ideas through drawings or simple modelling.

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Australian Curriculum Alignment

Design and Technologies – Foundation to Year 1

• AC9TDEFP01: Generate, communicate, and evaluate design ideas, and use materials, equipment and steps to safely make a solution for a purpose.
• AC9TDE2P01: Generate and communicate design ideas through describing, drawing or modelling.
• AC9TDE2P02: Use materials, components, tools, equipment and techniques to safely make designed solutions.
• AC9TDE2P03: Evaluate the success of design ideas and solutions based on personal preferences and including sustainability.

This lesson builds on prior introduction to the design process and focuses on engaging young students with materials exploration and initial design planning using sustainable and recycled materials.

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Success Criteria

• Students can identify at least three different sustainable or recycled materials by touch and sight.
• Students describe the materials and explain why they might be good for making toys.
• Students create a simple drawing or model expressing an idea for a sustainable toy.
• Students show understanding of safe handling of materials and tools.
• Students reflect on how their design is sustainable.

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Lesson Outline

Recommended Videos

1. Take a class in Toy Design
2. A Brief But Spectacular take on designing toys for kids
3. Toy Design at Purdue: Learning To Be Kids AND Engineers

1. Introduction and Review (10 minutes)

• Recap last lesson’s design process with a simple story or visual chart: Ask students what they remember about designing a toy.
• Briefly explain today’s goal: “Today we will explore materials and start planning our own toy made from things we can recycle and reuse.”
• WALT reminders.

2. Materials Exploration and Sensory Investigation (20 minutes)

• Provide a collection of sustainable/recycled materials such as cardboard scraps, fabric pieces, bottle caps, paper rolls, natural fibres, and egg cartons.
• Handling Time: Allow each student to touch, look at, and describe the texture, colour, and shape of the materials in their own words.
• Guided Questions:
• What can you tell me about this material?
• Do you think it is hard or soft?
• Can it be squashed or bent?
• Could we use this to make part of a toy? Why?
• Introduce vocabulary such as "recycled," "sustainable," "soft," "hard," and "light."
• Use picture cards or dyslexia-friendly labels with material names and symbols for non-readers.

3. Group Discussion – Material Suitability (10 minutes)

• Together, group materials by categories: soft/hard, heavy/light, bendy/stiff.
• Discuss which materials might be best for different parts of a toy (e.g., wheels, body, decoration).
• Emphasise sustainability: Why reuse materials? How do we help the Earth by recycling?

4. Guided Design Planning (20 minutes)

• Provide individual design worksheets with simple boxes for drawing and lines for labelling parts or describing materials.
• Ask students to think about:
• What toy do you want to make?
• Which recycled materials would you use?
• How will your toy look?
• Use one-on-one scaffolding: For students who need extra support, offer drawing stamps or stencils and suggest ideas gently.
• For advanced learners: Challenge them to design a toy with moving parts or multiple materials combined.
• Encourage use of digital drawing apps or voice recorders for students with limited writing skills or dyslexia.

5. Sharing and Reflecting (5 minutes)

• Invite each student to share their design idea briefly with the group or with the teacher.
• Prompt reflection on sustainability and personal preference:
• What do you like about your toy?
• How did you use recycled materials?
• Do you think your toy is good for the environment?

6. Summary and Safety Reminders (5 minutes)

• Recap key points about materials and design.
• Reminder on safe handling of materials and tools for the next lesson when toys will be made.
• Outline next steps: We will use these plans to create toys next lesson!

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Differentiation Strategies

• For students needing intervention:
• Use tactile materials and verbal prompts to aid description and understanding.
• Provide one-on-one support during planning.
• Offer dyslexia-friendly worksheets with clear fonts and pictorial instructions.
• For advanced learners:
• Encourage complexity by adding features like movable parts or a simple function (e.g., wheels that roll).
• Use digital tools for designing or simple modelling software suitable for young children.
• For all learners:
• Incorporate multi-sensory learning: visual aids, manipulatives, and oral language.
• Promote peer collaboration and discussion.

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Resources Needed

• Assorted sustainable/recycled materials (cardboard, fabric scraps, paper, bottle caps, egg cartons)
• Material picture cards with simple definitions
• Design planning sheets (large, clear fonts, with pictures and space for drawing)
• Drawing tools: crayons, pencils, markers
• Digital tablets or apps for drawing and voice recording (optional)
• Safety equipment: child-safe scissors, glue sticks

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Assessment

Informal formative assessment through observation during material exploration, design planning, and group sharing–monitoring student ability to:

• Identify and describe materials
• Make connections to sustainability
• Communicate design ideas clearly
• Use safe handling of materials

Use a simple checklist noting student engagement with materials, ability to describe and choose materials, and participation in planning and reflection.

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This lesson plan offers a hands-on, inquiry-based approach aligned with the Australian Curriculum for early years Design and Technologies learning, integrating sustainability, creativity, and foundational design skills with strong support for diverse learners and extension opportunities for advanced students. It also connects directly to prior lessons on the design process preparing students for a creative project making sustainable toys in subsequent lessons.