Resilient Australia - What is Needed in a Recovery Pod?

Australian Curriculum content descriptions: 

Year 5 and 6 Design and Technology:

• Examine how people in design and technologies occupations address competing considerations, including sustainability in the design of products, services, and environments for current and future use (ACTDEK019)
• Generate, develop and communicate design ideas and processes for audiences using appropriate technical terms and graphical representation techniques (ACTDEP025)

Relevant parts of Year 5 and 6 Design and Technology achievement standards: Students describe competing considerations in the design of products, services and environments, taking into account sustainability. They describe how design and technologies contribute to meeting present and future needs. Students create designed solutions for each of the prescribed technologies contexts suitable for identified needs or opportunities.

Syllabus outcomes: ST3-14BE, ST3-15I, ST3-16P, ST3-5WT

General capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – Teachers may need to help groups who are not as capable of using craft materials to build their recovery pods. Some groups may also lack ideas as to what is necessary in a Recovery Pod. The teacher may counteract some of these issues by building their own pod before the lesson and use it as a demonstration of what rooms/items may be considered important, and how to use the craft materials to build furniture, etc.

• A device capable of presenting a video to the class
• Shoebox – ask students to source one from home
• Stationery to design and decorate their Recovery Pod (Pencil, ruler, rubber, scissors, glue, tape, coloured marker pens etc.)
• Student Worksheet – one copy per group
• Variety of household objects or art supplies which can be used to make furniture (Cardboard, aluminium foil, modelling clay, paper cup, popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, straws, index cards, rubber bands etc.)

This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:

• Creativity
• Critical thinking
• Collaboration

We encourage you to undertake the free PD Course How to teach a unit on fire and flood resilience for tips on how to best deliver this lesson.
If you’re concerned about the challenging nature of these topics, consider the free PD Course How to approach trauma in the classroom for information on how best to support your students.

This lesson was made in partnership with
Minderoo Foundation (www.minderoo.org).