Wheelchair Box Construction - Activity Instructions

Activity Description

Let’s put on our designer hats! In this activity children explore the different features of wheelchairs and how they help wheelchair users in different situations. They put their problem solving skills to work and design wheelchairs for different situations. This is a ‘Find Out’ activity following on from reading Two Mates, by Melanie Prewett.

Tune In

Watch the following clip:

International Wheelchair Day: A Day to Celebrate The Positive Impact of Wheelchairs - (youtube.com/watch?v=oc3V2tyh4hw)

While we watch this clip, take note of the way the girl uses her wheelchair to get around, the different parts of the wheelchair and how her wheelchair can move.

Find Out

After watching the video and revisiting the pictures of Raf’s wheelchair in ‘Two Mates’ have the children assist you in drawing and annotating a picture of a wheelchair and highlighting the important parts of the wheelchairs. Children might suggest:

big wheels so it can roll around
small wheels at the back (so you don’t tip over)
handle so people can help you move it around
rims on the big wheels so you can move the wheels while sitting down
seat to sit on (with a comfy cushion!)
seatbelt to make sure you don’t fall out
footrests

Take Action

Invite children to create their own wheelchairs using box construction materials.

Wheelchairs are very important pieces of equipment for some people. They help them to get around and join in with all the things they love doing! Let’s have a go making some wheelchairs with the things we can find in the box construction area.

You might use:

bottle tops to act as wheels
paddle pop sticks to act as handles
pipe cleaners to act as controls on ‘electric’ wheelchairs
small cardboard boxes to create the basic shape/seat of the wheelchair
skewers and straws to act as axles for the wheels to spin
fabric for decoration and seat cushions.

Children may need a little assistance executing their ideas, so feel free to offer assistance as they cut, stick and create! While children are thinking and creating, prompt them to think about how wheelchairs work, and want we can include. What obstacles do wheelchairs helps people overcomes? Children might include things like

extra chunky wheels for rolling over sand
rocket boosters for when you need to go fast
a pocket to keep all your stuff in
inflatable wheels so you can go in water

To extend children’s exploration, you could show them a range of wheelchairs for different situations. You could explore racing chairs, beach accessibility chairs, basketball wheelchairs, rugby wheelchairs, standing wheelchairs and ‘Not-a-Wheelchair’s. What are the different features you can see, and why do you think this chair has that feature?

Wheelchair Box Construction

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Summary

Activity type

Target age

Activity guides and printables

Activity Details

Skills

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

In this activity