DT – focused practical tasks and design ideas – refugee shelters

Last term, Year 6 started to explore existing shelters.  They used the Kagan structure, Round Table,  to discuss the different features of shelters such as bus stops, phone boxes (“What are they?”), bird houses, tents and umbrellas.

Next, they sketched two examples and annotated key design features, materials and suitability for purpose.

Following this, they then began thinking about their design criteria.  They learned about two of the biggest zones for refugees to find safe haven – Jordan and Poland.  They discussed the needs of refugees in these two environments used this to choose what they wanted their design to have.

As the task will be to create a prototype for a new shelter design, the next stage was to explore how to make sturdy, free-standing structures using just paper and card.  They tested out different folds, and learned about using flaps to strengthen and stabilise.  This helped them to start drafting out first design ideas.

Next time, it will be time to construct!