1C DT Free-standing structures

Lesson: Design and technology

Class: 1C - Mrs Carey Year: 2023 - 2024

In DT this term, we are going to be looking at free-standing structures. We are going to be evaluating, planning and making our own chair for Baby Bear from Goldilocks and the Three Bears story.

Lesson 1 - we studied a variety of chairs and talked about what the name of the chair structures are; Stool, chair, high chair, directors chair, bar stool, the materials they were made from and why, their purpose and who would use them and why. We then looked at how they had been made stable;

Chair legs to give stability. The base (bottom) of the structure is usually wider than the top to help it be more stable and they aren’t normally too heavy at the top to stop them toppling over.

Lesson 2 - We explored how we could create our own free-standing structure using a variety of resources such as Lego, Kinex, paper and card, paper straws and cardboard tubes. We had to work out how we could make our structure strong and stable. We learned all about how a wide base and a butress can help support a free-standing structure, especially when it is a taller structure.

Lesson 3 - We had to make a table out of paper. We needed to use different folds and bases to enable it be free-standing, strong enough to hold a pair of scissors and stiff enough not to bend under the weight of the scissors.