Teacher Design Brief Notes

TITLE OF THE PROJECT & YEAR LEVEL

• Year 4
• Replace the Year One pencil caddies

CURRICULUM LINKS

• Design and Technology

• Science

INTRODUCTION

• Year One pencil caddies disappeared and students need to design and build a new one for their Year One
buddy.

BRIEF

• Prior to receiving the brief, students will have investigated the properties and uses of different materials and
the ways that materials’ properties effect what happens to them in landfill.
• To help the teachers, students will need to use recycled materials to build new pencil caddies for their Year
One buddies.
• Students will research and brainstorm all they know about pencil caddies. For example:
o Research different types of pencil caddy designs they can find online and within the school.
o Brainstorm the requirements that all pencil caddies have.
o Brainstorm the types of materials that could be used to create a pencil caddy.
o Research the economic and environmental problems that are caused by the production of plastic
pencil caddies.
• Students need to create a list of questions to ask the Year One teachers before they begin designing their
caddies.
• Students will need to talk to Year One teachers to find out any extra requirements (this has been arranged
with the Year One teachers already).
• Students need to design and then create their pencil caddies before evaluating and presenting them to the
Year Ones.

GENERATING DESIGNS

• After finding out what the Year One caddies need, students will make 3 designs for a student pencil caddy
and evaluate them with the help of a peer to choose the best design for them to build.
• Students need to make sure that their designs use materials that are appropriate for their purpose and save
materials from going to landfill.
• Each design will require a materials list
• Justify three ways that the environment has been considered when making the designs.

PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS

• Constraints
o Must be made of recycled materials. For example:
▪ Bottle caps
▪ Tin cans
▪ Pencils
▪ Magazines and newspapers
▪ Pringles containers
o Big enough to fit the student’s pencils in
o Light enough that students will be able to move them
o Stable enough that they can sit on students’ desks without tipping
o Safe for Year Ones to use
 o Must have student name on it
• Materials
o Recycled materials (as listed above)
o Glue→ Glue sticks, hot glue gun, PVA and mod podge glue

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

1. Investigate pencil caddies- their uses, possible designs, environmental and economic costs etc.
2. Create a list of questions to ask the Year One teachers.
3. Ask the Year One teachers questions to clarify requirements for the caddy.
4. Create three pencil caddy designs and make a list of materials for each of them.
5. Present designs to a peer and offer each other feedback.
6. Choose your favourite design and make any improvements to it.
7. Collect required materials.
8. Build pencil caddy.
9. Evaluate the design (ensure it meets all of the requirements) and add any improvements.
10. Present the caddy to Year One buddies. The presentation should include how the caddy was made and how
it was made to be environmentally friendly.

EVALUATION

• The pencil caddy must fit all of the Year One crayons and texta in it without breaking.
• Needs to be safe to use. For example, no sharp edges or choking hazards.
• Aesthetically pleasing
• Students (Year One) name is on it
• Meets the additional requirements that the Year One teachers added.

PRESENTATION

• Students will present their caddies to their Year One buddy. They will need to tell their buddies how they
made the caddy and why they decided to do it how they did. How it relates to the 12th sustainability goal and
protects the environment.

TIME

• Students will have approximately 6 lessons to design and create their pencil caddies. See the Lesson
Sequence Document under the “Lesson Sequence” tab for more information.