Little J is initially scared to approach the ‘monster’ in the back yard. Encouraged to face his fears, he vows to catch the frilly-necked monster and sets about building a monster trap with the help of Levi.

Explore - Explore needs or opportunities for designing, and the technologies needed to realise designed solution.  Generate, develop and record design ideas through describing, drawing and modelling.

Theme - DESIGNING

Throughout history many different inventions have assisted people to live more technologically. Connect to ABCMe to find the interactive My Place ABC webpage:

Explore the ‘kitchen’ through the different date eras. In particular, pose questions to students about the changing style of the stove, and the type of energy people used to cook food and light their homes. Ask students to develop their own questions about what they know, and don’t know, about the different eras.

Select the ‘Before time’ eras to view the ways of cooking and storing food for a traditional Aboriginal family. Talk about how carrying and storing food was important to survival. Pay particular attention to the materials used to make the implements, storage containers, woven bags, etc.

Visit the following websites to view how traditional tools were made and used:

• Weaving
• Traditional Aboriginal Tools (eBook) (pdf)
• Aboriginal Culture: Aboriginal Body Adornment 
• Indigenous bark canoe from New South Wales

Take students on a walk around the school or ‘on Country’ to collect natural materials that they can use to make a container to carry something, e. g. food, water, etc. These natural materials could be leaves, grasses, stalks, bark, stones, clay, etc.

Observe how a bird or possum nests to see how the twigs, grasses and leaves are woven, intertwined to create a container for the eggs or babies. Question students about how the fibres hold together and becomes strong.

Ask students to mimic the weaving techniques of the bird or possum and weave a nest of their own design. The design should include some organic materials and some constructed materials (wool, fabric strips, aluminium, shredded paper, modelling wire, etc.

Ask students to evaluate:

• What purpose does it meet?
• What do I like about it?
• How can it be improved?

The students should enter their designs, process and new terminology in their Design journal. Photograph and display the nests to share electronically with others.