Chinese Inventions

#TheCompleteSeries6lessons

This scheme of work is also part of a Topic Bundle. Perfect if you are teaching 'China' as a cross-curricular topic.

#Lesson1PaperandPrinting

Begin the topic by exploring the invention of paper and the moveable-type printing press. Challenge your class to reflect on how these inventions may have changed people’s lives once they had been discovered and challenge the children to take an in-depth look at the paper-making process.

#Lesson2GunpowderandtheCompass

Continue discovering China’s four greatest inventions by investigating the invention of gunpowder and the compass. Encourage your class to think about how these may have affected the everyday lives of people and on a larger scale, the ways countries were run. Challenge the children to look at the designs of existing products and change them to suit specific needs.

#Lesson3WaterpoweredMachines

Take a closer look into the machines that were built in ancient China. Challenge your children to look at the simple designs, investigating how water wheels, gears and cranks were used to create simple machines for different purposes. Explore the way in which gears move with each other or amend the design of a water clock to create different effects.

#Lesson4PrototypingKites

Discover how the ancient Chinese used kites for many different purposes and made them from different materials. Discuss the properties of these materials before testing different materials using prototypes. Challenge your class to decide which materials are most suitable for building a kite.

#Lesson5DesigningKites

Challenge your class to use their knowledge and understanding of materials and their properties to design a kite. Explore the different parts of a kite and how each part helps a kite fly before letting your class make informed choices about the materials they will use to build a kite. Alternatively the children could design a kite to a chosen design brief, influencing the choices they will make.

#Lesson6MakingKites

Make and evaluate your class’s designed kites taking careful consideration of the method the children choose to follow and how their finished product will meet the design criteria generated in previous lessons. Encourage the children to problem solve when they meet a challenge and use peer-evaluation to aid their self-evaluation.

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Curriculum Objectives covered

• KS2 - use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups
• KS2 - generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces and computer-aided design
• KS2 - select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their functional properties and aesthetic qualities
• KS2 - evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work
• KS2 - understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world
• KS2 - understand and use mechanical systems in their products [for example, gears, pulleys, cams, levers and linkages]