Grade 6 Science: Engineering and Technological Design
Free Grade 6 Science unit on Engineering and Technological Design: 10 lessons in order. Includes practice questions and answer keys.
10 lessons in this unit
Engineering problems
Identify a real problem that engineering can solve, state it clearly from the user’s point of view, separate needs from wants, and consider who is affected and what success would look like.
Lesson 2Design criteria
Write measurable design criteria that say what a solution must achieve, distinguish criteria from constraints, rank criteria by importance and use them to compare ideas.
Lesson 3Constraints
Identify constraints such as time, cost, materials, size, safety rules, environmental impact and ethics; explain how constraints shape designs and why trade-offs are necessary.
Lesson 4Researching solutions
Research existing solutions to a problem using books, reliable websites and expert interviews, evaluate sources, learn from nature (biomimicry) and record ideas with credit to sources.
Lesson 5Creating models
Create sketches, labelled diagrams and simple physical or digital models to communicate and test design ideas, choose between several concepts using criteria, and explain the limits of a model.
Lesson 6Building prototypes
Plan and build a working prototype from a chosen design using safe tools, a materials list, a step-by-step plan and a build log, and understand how a prototype differs from a model and a final product.
Lesson 7Testing prototypes
Plan a fair test of a prototype against the criteria, control variables, repeat tests, record measurements in a table and use safe testing methods without hazards.
Lesson 8Analysing performance
Analyse test results using means, ranges, bar charts and line graphs, compare performance with each criterion, identify strengths and weaknesses, find causes of failure and reach evidence-based conclusions.
Lesson 9Improving designs
Use test evidence to identify improvements, change one thing at a time, retest, compare versions, understand iteration as a cycle and judge when a design is good enough.
Lesson 10Presenting engineering solutions
Present an engineering solution clearly to an audience: state the problem, criteria and constraints, show the design process and evidence, explain improvements and limitations, answer questions and reflect on teamwork and ethics.