Year Level

Year 2

Duration

45 minutes

Class Size

9 students

Unit Context

Unit Title: Denim Dreams: Upcycling Fashion Lesson Number: 9 of 10 Lesson Title: Creating Unique Fasteners

Learning Area

Technology

Curriculum Links

The lesson aligns with the New Zealand Curriculum in Technology (Level 2), focusing on designing and developing digital and physical outcomes. It supports students in developing technologic practice and knowledge and understanding strands.

Specific Achievement Objectives:

Technological Practice:

Planning for practice: Use simple design ideas and communicate these through drawings and spoken or written explanations (Technological Practice Level 2).
Outcome development: Begin to develop ideas and make outcomes through describing and demonstrating their use of materials and equipment (Technological Practice Level 2).

Technological Knowledge:

Understand how products work and the properties of materials used to make them (Technological Knowledge Level 2).

Nature of Technology:

Understand that technology development responds to needs and opportunities (Nature of Technology Level 2).

Key Competencies

Managing self: By planning and persisting through their making process.
Thinking: Through problem-solving and ideation during fastener design.
Relating to others: Sharing ideas and supporting peers during activities.
Using language, symbols, and texts: Communicating design ideas clearly, supported by dyslexia-friendly reading and writing strategies.
Participating and contributing: Engaging actively in group discussions and individual making activities.

WALT (We Are Learning To)

Design and create fasteners for a waistcoat as part of an upcycling fashion project.

Success Criteria

Complete at least one functional fastener mechanism for the waistcoat.
Use at least one different material or technique when creating fasteners (e.g., buttons, Velcro, toggles, clasps).
Explain their design choices when asked.
Reflect on the effectiveness and uniqueness of their fastener design.

Resources Needed

Old denim fabric waistcoat bases (prepared from previous lessons)
Variety of fastener materials: buttons, Velcro strips, snaps, zippers, toggles, hooks, elastic bands, ribbons
Needles and thread (or safe plastic sewing kits suitable for year 2)
Scissors, fabric glue, sticky tape
Design sheets with picture prompts and simple steps (with dyslexia-friendly fonts and spaced layout)
Examples of easy and inventive fasteners (visual aids or physical samples)
Safety scissors and other age-appropriate tools

Lesson Outline

1. Introduction and Activation (5 minutes)

Recap previous lessons briefly about upcycling and making waistcoats.
Introduce today's goal: designing and creating a unique fastener for the waistcoat.
Show examples of fasteners: buttons, Velcro, toggles, and some creative ideas (e.g., magnets, snaps).
Explain success criteria and WALT, using a visual poster and clear simple language.

2. Exploration and Design (10 minutes)

Students explore available materials to visually and tactilely examine different fasteners.
Teacher models simple fastener-making steps (e.g., sewing on a button, sticking Velcro).
Students sketch or mark their fastener ideas on the design sheets, with example prompts such as:
What fastener will you use?
How will it look?
What materials do you need?
How will it work?
Support English learners and dyslexic students by providing paired verbal discussion and offer reading support with dyslexia-friendly text sheets.

3. Making Fasteners (20 minutes)

Students create their chosen fastener and attach it to their waistcoat.
Provide differentiation:
Support for learners needing simpler options: Use Velcro strips or large buttons that can be glued or sewn with teacher assistance.
Extension for advanced learners: Encourage them to experiment with combining materials or inventing new types of fasteners (e.g., fabric toggles, magnetic closures).
Teacher circulates to scaffold, assist, and ensure safe tool use.

4. Sharing and Reflecting (8 minutes)

Students share their fasteners in pairs or small groups, explaining their design choice and how it works.
Teacher prompts reflection questions:
What is unique about your fastener?
Was it easy or hard to make?
What would you try differently next time?
Reinforce positive feedback and creativity.

5. Conclusion and Clean-up (2 minutes)

Recap what was learned with a quick verbal review and reinforce the success criteria.
Organise materials and tidy the workspace for the next lesson.

Differentiation Strategies

Use visual, tactile, and verbal means to explain tasks.
Support fine motor challenges by allowing alternatives to sewing, such as fabric glue or sticky tape.
Provide sentence starters and scaffolds for those needing language support to express their ideas.
Group work and peer support to encourage collaboration and confidence.

Extension Activities

Challenge students to create two or more different fasteners on their waistcoat.
Explore inventing a new kind of fastener using recycled items (e.g., buttons made from bottle caps).
Combine fasteners to create a decorative pattern or effect, linking back to design principles.

Assessment

Formative assessment through observation and questioning:

Teacher notes students’ engagement in design and making.
Check if students meet success criteria by inspecting the function and creativity of fasteners.
Listen for verbal reflections indicating understanding of design choices.

This assessment informs planning for the unit’s final lesson and overall technological practice development.

Safety Considerations

Use age-appropriate scissors and sewing kits.
Supervise all sewing or gluing activities closely.
Manage workspace to avoid crowding and ensure cleanliness.

This lesson plan is designed to meet the needs of year 2 students in New Zealand, supporting their early technological practice skills aligned with the New Zealand Curriculum, embedding key competencies, and offering differentiation and enrichment consistent with best practice for this age group in technology learning contexts.

If you would like a detailed follow-up for the final lesson 10 or support materials for this lesson, please ask.

Creating Unique Fasteners

Teaching Instructions