Key Stage 1 design and technology · Evaluate

KS1 design and technology: exploring existing products

Designers rarely start from nothing. They look closely at things that already exist and ask what works and what doesn’t. In Years 1 and 2, children are taught to explore and evaluate a range of existing products, such as toys, tools, packaging and clothes, and to judge them against design criteria. It gives them ideas for their own designs and teaches them to give reasons for an opinion.

Exploring existing products, explained

In class, exploring a product usually means handling it, taking it apart if that is safe, and asking questions. What is it for? Who uses it? What is it made from? How does it work? What is the best thing about it, and what would you change? Teachers often use everyday objects that children already know, such as a lunch box, a pair of scissors, a torch, a wind-up toy or a pop-up book. Seeing familiar things as designed objects is a big step for a young child.

Evaluating means judging how well something does its job, and the curriculum asks children to do this against design criteria. If the criteria for a lunch box are that it is easy to open, keeps food safe and fits in a bag, then children can test a real lunch box against each one. This is different from simply saying “I like it”. The aim is to move from opinions to reasons: “It is easy to open because the clip is big enough for my thumb.”

Exploration also feeds children’s own work. Looking at five different bags, for example, shows them that straps, zips, flaps and pockets are all ways of solving a problem, and that each one has good and bad points. Children can borrow an idea and change it, which is how real designers work. Teachers also use exploration to introduce vocabulary like “purpose”, “user” and “material”.

Schools choose which products to explore, and the choice often matches the unit, so a topic on moving pictures may look at pop-up books and a topic on food may look at sandwiches or fruit snacks. Food units may involve tasting and smelling, and teachers check for allergies first. Comparing two or three products is more useful than looking at one, because it gives children something to weigh up.

Words your child will hear

Product: Something that has been made to do a job, such as a toy, a bag or a snack.
Explore: To look closely at, handle and ask questions about something.
Evaluate: To say how well something works and give reasons.
Purpose: What the product is for.
User: The person who uses the product.
Feature: A part or detail of a product, such as a handle, a lid or a zip.
Compare: To look at how two things are the same and different.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 1 says:

When designing and making, pupils should be taught to explore and evaluate a range of existing products
When designing and making, pupils should be taught to evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria

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

Try it: comparing two water bottles

A child looks at two water bottles: a plastic one with a flip-up spout and an insulated metal one with a screw lid. Which is better for a six-year-old to take to school?

Say what the product is for and who uses it. A water bottle holds a drink so that a child can sip from it at school. The user is a child who is six or seven years old.
Look closely and list the features. The plastic bottle has a flip-up spout and a soft body, and the metal bottle has a screw lid and a hard body.

Test against simple criteria. Can I open it with one hand? Does it stay shut if I tip it upside down? Is it light enough to carry? Does it keep my drink cold until lunch?

                     plastic   metal
opens with one hand    yes       no
stays shut if tipped   yes       yes
light to carry         yes       no
keeps drink cold       no        yes

Give an opinion with a reason. “I like the plastic bottle because I can open it with one hand and it is light in my bag.”
Say what you would change. “I would make the metal bottle lighter and the lid easier to turn.”

There is no single right answer. The plastic bottle suits the criteria of being easy to open and light, while the metal bottle is better at keeping a drink cold. A good response uses the criteria, gives a reason and suggests an improvement.

Common mistakes and how to help

Saying only “I like it” or “it’s good” without a reason

Young children give an opinion naturally, but giving a reason is a harder skill that needs practice.

What helps: Follow up with “Why?” or “What makes it good?” Give them a sentence starter: “It is good because…”

Thinking an expensive or well-known product must be the best

Children see adverts and know brands from friends, so a popular item feels like the best one.

What helps: Return to the job the product has to do. A cheap, simple spoon may be better for a toddler than a fancy one.

Judging a product only by how it looks

Appearance is the quickest thing to judge, and bright colours and decorations stand out for young children.

What helps: Ask them to use it first. Can they open the lid? Does the toy work? Looks matter, but they are one part of a good design.

Copying an existing product exactly instead of learning from it

After looking closely at a product they like, children often make the same thing again, without thinking about whether it suits their own user.

What helps: Ask “Which idea will you borrow, and what will you change for your user?” Using a good idea and adapting it is exactly what real designers do.

How to help at home

Product detective. Pick an everyday object, such as a spoon, a torch or a wooden clothes peg, and ask what it is for, who uses it, what it is made of and how it works. Keep the questions short and let your child do most of the talking.
Compare two. Choose two similar things, such as two cups or two bags, and ask which is better for a particular person. Encourage your child to give a reason, and then to say what they would change.
Spot the clever feature. On a walk or at the shops, look for a feature that solves a problem, like a zip, a handle on a basket or a lid that clicks shut. Ask how it helps the person using it.
Test the features. Try opening and closing several lunch boxes, or carrying several bags with the same light load inside. Ask which was easiest and why.

Leads on to

Key Stage 2: Analysing existing products
Key Stage 2: Design criteria and evaluating work
Key Stage 2: Inventors and designers who shaped the world