Key Stage 1 design and technology · Design

KS1 design and technology: drawing, templates and mock-ups

Before children make a product in design and technology, they work out their ideas and show them to other people. In Years 1 and 2 they are taught to generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas by talking, drawing, using templates and building mock-ups and, where it suits the task, by using computers or tablets. The aim is to test an idea cheaply before spending time and materials on the real thing.

Drawings, templates and mock-ups, explained

Talking comes first. Teachers often ask children to describe an idea to a partner or to the class: “What are you going to make, and how will it work?” Explaining out loud helps a child notice gaps, such as realising that the door on a model house has no way to open. Younger children may need a few prompts, so a good question is “And then what happens?”

Drawings at this age are not expected to be technical. A sketch with a few labels (“handle”, “strap”, “opens here”) is exactly what teachers want to see. Children are encouraged to draw more than one idea, then choose one and say why. Labels can be words, arrows or simply an adult scribing what the child says. Neat colouring in matters far less than showing the parts and how they fit together.

A template is a shape, often cut from card, that children can draw around so that pieces come out the same size. A puppet, for example, might need two matching body shapes, one for the front and one for the back. A mock-up is a quick, rough model made from cheap material such as paper, scrap card or modelling clay. Making a mock-up lets a child see whether the idea works in three dimensions, so they can change it before using the real materials.

The curriculum also says that children may use information and communication technology where appropriate. In practice, that might be taking a photo of a model to annotate, drawing on a tablet or typing a label. Schools decide how much to use it, and it is an option rather than a requirement. All of this belongs to the iterative process, in which pupils plan, make, test and improve rather than going in a straight line.

Words your child will hear

Idea: A plan in your head for something new that you could make.
Sketch: A quick drawing that shows an idea without being neat or finished.
Label: A word or short phrase written next to a drawing to name a part.
Template: A shape to draw around so that pieces are the same size.
Mock-up: A quick, cheap model made to test an idea before the real thing.
Model: A smaller or simpler version of something, made to show how it looks or works.
Develop: To change an idea and make it better.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 1 says:

When designing and making, pupils should be taught to generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through talking, drawing, templates, mock-ups and, where appropriate, information and communication technology
Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: planning a paper-bag puppet

A child wants to make a puppet of a bird for a story. How do they develop and share the idea?

Talk it through with a partner: “It’s a blue bird with a big beak that opens and closes.” The partner asks “How will the beak move?” and the child realises it needs a fold or a hinge.
Sketch two ideas quickly, such as a bird with a flat beak and one with a beak that opens. Add labels with arrows.
```
[beak] <- opens and shuts
[wing] <- stuck on the side
[eye]  <- 2 circles
```
Choose one idea and give a reason: “I chose the beak that opens because it can talk.”
Make a template for the wing by drawing a wing shape on thin card and cutting it out. Draw round it twice so both wings match.
Build a mock-up from scrap paper and a paper bag. Try the beak. If it flops, change the design, perhaps by adding a stiffer piece of card.

The child has communicated the idea in four ways (talking, drawing, a template and a mock-up) and used the mock-up to improve it. That process of trying, checking and changing is what teachers are looking for, rather than a perfect finished puppet.

Common mistakes and how to help

Thinking a drawing has to be neat and beautiful

In art lessons and at home, children are often praised for neat drawings, so some worry about getting a design drawing “wrong” and start again.

What helps: Say that a design drawing is a thinking tool. Quick, scruffy sketches with labels are fine, and several rough ideas are better than one perfect one.

Drawing only the front view, so parts are missing

Children tend to draw what they see most often. A drawing of a house may show the front but not how the roof sits or how the door opens.

What helps: Ask “What would we see from the side?” or “What is inside?” A cheap mock-up is the best way to find the missing parts.

Believing a mock-up is a waste of time because it will be thrown away

Children want to start on the “real” model straight away, and making something twice feels like extra work.

What helps: Explain that a mock-up is the quick version that finds problems. Designers use paper models for the same reason, because paper is cheap to change.

Cutting round a template with no overlap, so the pieces do not fit

A template is a flat shape, and a child may not think about where one piece must join another.

What helps: Hold the cut pieces together before sticking, and look at where they meet. Adding a small tab to stick down often solves it.

How to help at home

Ask for the idea first. When your child announces they are going to make something, ask them to tell you how before they begin. Two or three “how will it…?” questions are enough.
Draw two ideas, not one. Encourage quick sketches of two different ways to solve the same problem, then ask which they prefer and why. Add labels yourself if writing is slow.
Make a mock-up from scrap. Use cereal boxes, newspaper, toilet roll tubes and masking tape to build a first version of a den, a car or a robot. Change it freely. Your child can use child-safe scissors on paper and thin card, and you can cut anything thicker.
Trace a template. Cut a simple shape from card, such as a leaf, a star or a boat, and let your child draw round it several times. Talk about why the pieces match.
Photograph and talk. If a camera or tablet is handy, take a photo of a model from two sides and talk about what you can see. Keep it short and let your child lead.

Leads on to

Key Stage 2: Research and design criteria
Key Stage 2: Sketches and exploded diagrams
Key Stage 2: Prototypes, patterns and CAD