Activities

Across three connected activities, you will investigate, design and develop a calm space for Year 6 students. Each activity builds evidence and skills needed for the next stage of the project.

Activity 1 - Sensory Detectives 

You will complete a site and sensory audit, gather anonymous student voice, test possible materials and use your evidence to develop a design brief. 

You will investigate how light, sound, colour, texture, privacy and layout can affect people’s experience of a space. You will also learn how the properties of materials, accessibility, safety and sustainability influence design decisions.

Resources

Checkpoint

Submit your site audit, user-needs profile, materials investigation and design brief for teacher feedback.

Use the feedback to revise your criteria before beginning Activity 2.

Before moving forward

Did you:

[  ] Investigate the physical and sensory features of the area.

[  ] Gathered and summarised anonymous student voice.

[  ] Used at least two reliable sources.

[  ] Tested and compared possible materials.

[  ] The design criteria are connected to evidence.

[  ] Identified the project constraints.

Activity 2 - Design

You will safely construct a physical or digital prototype, conduct scenario-based tests, gather authentic feedback, improve your solution and present a design pitch. 

You will learn how prototypes help designers communicate and test ideas. You will investigate how materials, tools and production techniques affect a model and how testing against design criteria can identify purposeful improvements.

Resources

Instructions

  1. Review the evidence and criteria developed during Activity 1.
  2. Complete the rapid-design challenge by sketching several different solutions. Focus on generating possibilities rather than creating a perfect drawing.
  3. Share your individual ideas and combine the strongest features into at least three distinct team concepts.
  4.  Annotate each concept to explain its layout, materials, sensory features, accessibility and environmental considerations.
  5. Select a user-perspective card and explain how each design would respond to that student’s needs.
  6. Collect a surprise-constraint card, such as reducing the budget, improving accessibility or using mostly reclaimed materials. Adapt one concept in response.
  7. Upload your three concepts to the class Padlet.
  8. Participate in a gallery walk and provide another team with:
    • I like… one effective feature
    • I wonder… one question or concern
    • What if… one possible improvement.
  9. Use a decision matrix to compare the concepts against your design criteria.
  10. Select and justify your preferred solution.
  11. Create an annotated scale floor plan and production plan showing measurements, materials, tools, safety requirements, roles and construction steps.

Checkpoint

Present your selected concept, decision matrix and floor plan during a short teacher-team conference.

Your teacher will question how research, student voice and feedback informed your decisions. Revise your plan before beginning production.

Before moving forward

Did you:

[  ] Produce at least three genuinely different concepts.

[  ] Annotations explain how the ideas function.

[  ] Responded to a user perspective and unexpected constraint.

[  ] Gave and received specific peer feedback.

[  ] Used agreed criteria to compare the concepts.

[  ] The final floor plan includes measurements and labels.

[  ] The production plan identifies materials, safety and responsibilities.

Activity 3 - Create

You will safely construct a physical or digital prototype, conduct scenario-based tests, gather authentic feedback, improve your solution and present a design pitch. 

You will learn how prototypes help designers communicate and test ideas. You will investigate how materials, tools and production techniques affect a model and how testing against design criteria can identify purposeful improvements.

Resources

Instructions

  1. Review your approved floor plan and allocate production responsibilities.
  2. Select materials that represent the proposed features of the real calm space.
  3. Construct a physical scale model or teacher-approved digital model. Follow all safety instructions when using tools.
  4. Use labels or a key to identify important features and proposed materials.
  5. Move your prototype through the Prototype Stress Test:
    • accessibility test
    • safety and movement test
    • sensory-needs test
    • privacy and supervision test
    • sustainability test
    • function and practicality test.
  6. Record whether the prototype meets, partly meets or does not yet meet each criterion. Support every judgement with evidence.
  7. Exchange prototypes with another team and collect peer feedback using “I like, I wonder, What if.”
  8. Present the prototype to an authentic audience member, such as a teacher, student leader or wellbeing representative.
  9. Select and complete at least two purposeful improvements.
  10. Photograph or screenshot the prototype before and after the changes. Annotate what changed, why it changed and what evidence informed the decision.
  11. Prepare a three-to-five-minute design pitch explaining why the school should consider your proposal.
  12. Complete your individual design justification and reflection.

Summative assessment

Your final assessment evidence will include:

Team evidence

  • physical or digital prototype
  • annotated final floor plan
  • prototype-testing results
  • evidence of improvements
  • three-to-five-minute design pitch.

Individual evidence

  • completed design portfolio
  • 250–300-word design justification
  • reflection on learning and individual contribution.

Final submission check

Did you:

[  ] Prototype clearly represents our floor plan.

[  ] Selected suitable and sustainable materials.

[  ] Followed safe production practices.

[  ] Tested the prototype against every criterion.

[  ] Used feedback to make at least two improvements

[  ] Documented our progression with evidence.

[  ] Every team member contributes to the pitch.

[  ] Each student submits their individual evidence.