Should Your Creature Be Fierce or Friendly?

One of the units from the Nuffield Primary Solutions in Design and Technology. Students work in groups to design and make a statue of a creature to welcome visitors to the classroom during the day.

This task asks students to work in groups to design and make a statue of a creature that will welcome visitors to the classroom during the day or act as a guardian after school and deter intruders.

It should be large enough to create an immediate impression, stable so that it does not fall over, stiff so that it keeps its shape, strong so that it does not break easily, durable so that it lasts a long time, made from readily available and inexpensive materials, and impressive through quality of construction and finish.

This resource can be downloaded either in full colour or in grey-scale so that the most appropriate version can be selected for print.

HEALTH and SAFETY
Any use of a resource that includes a practical activity must include a risk assessment. Please note that collections may contain ARCHIVE resources, which were developed at a much earlier date. Since that time there have been significant changes in the rules and guidance affecting laboratory practical work. Further information is provided in our Health and Safety guidance.

URL: http://stem.org.uk/rxtq

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Review

Should your creature be fierce or friendly? Skillosaurus

Posted by Anna Richardson on 9th December 2010

Activity time: 5 hours
Level / prior knowledge: Level 3 – 5, no prior knowledge required

Activity time: 5 hours
Level / prior knowledge: Level 3 – 5, no prior knowledge required
Subject / curriculum links / skills: Science/Maths/D & T, develops safety and use of a craft knife
Preparation time: 3 hours
Extra resources: Small task: white card grids with a selection of square sizes, scissors and craft knife
For big task: pre-cut squares, selection of three sizes (15cm, 20cm, 28cm),ready rolled cardboard tubes, glue, split pins, screw drivers, craft knives, cutting mats, pencils, safety ruler, masking tape
Commentary
Suits a range of abilities, health and safety needs to be addressed at the start but most children are able to design their own creatures with little supervision. Scissors can be used for those children less confident with using craft knives. When moving on to the Big Task pictures of animals as stimulus should be avoided as this tends to lead the student into creating creatures away from the skillosaurus structures. Extension activities could be to decorate the skillosaurus and decide on its habitat and diet. Be aware that students need support during designing and creating the big structures as some struggle to create a stable freestanding structure.
By Louise Heyes