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A three-page worksheet that introduces the design-make-evaluate process — the heart of every D&T project from Year 1 to GCSE. Page 1 asks the child to write “design criteria” (the rules their product must follow) for a real brief: a lunchbox for a friend. Page 2 is a sketch space for their design with arrows and labels. Page 3 evaluates a finished product against the criteria — what worked, what would they change?

This worksheet is deliberately a planning tool, not the project itself. The activity book in this pack provides the actual mini-projects (structures, mechanisms, textiles, food). Use this worksheet alongside any of them.

An interactive structures puzzle. The child picks a base shape, middle section and top section for a tower, then runs a “wind test” to see if it stays standing. Five levels of increasing difficulty teach the core KS1 D&T technical knowledge: structures can be made stronger, stiffer and more stable by choosing wider bases, lower centres of gravity, and triangular supports.

Wrong choices show WHY they failed (e.g. “the narrow base couldn’t support the wider top — top-heavy”). Hits NC requirement “build structures, exploring how they can be made stronger, stiffer and more stable” without needing physical materials.

A ten-question quiz spanning the breadth of the KS1 D&T programme of study — the design-make-evaluate process, structural stability, mechanisms, where food comes from, and the basic vocabulary of evaluation.

Best taken after the e-learning lesson. The structures and mechanisms questions test understanding through real-world examples (towers, scissors, seesaws) rather than abstract rules.

The hands-on heart of this pack. Five mini-projects, one per NC strand, all designed to be done at home or in class with everyday materials — no specialist equipment required.

Project 1: The tallest paper tower (structures). Project 2: Make a wagging-tail dog (mechanisms: lever). Project 3: Felt bookmark (textiles). Project 4: Rainbow fruit salad (cooking/nutrition — NO-COOK, no heat). Project 5: Design your dream toy (design challenge — bringing it all together). Each project follows the design-make-evaluate process. Adult guidance recommended.

A planning companion for the KS1 D&T unit. Maps every resource to specific NC strands (design, make, evaluate, technical knowledge, cooking & nutrition), gives food-safety guidance for the cooking project, and lays out a 6-lesson scheme using the pack’s resources.

Particularly useful is the section on the most-missed bit of KS1 D&T: actually teaching children to write design criteria, not just follow them. This is the Y2 expectation that elevates D&T from craft to design.