Autumn 2 2021
DT, English and PSHE
Thinking and Interdependence
Rationale: After sharing the story of “The dragon and the Nibblesome Knight”, the children are inspired to help design and build a new castle for the dragons to live in. They will start by investigating what features castles have and what they are used for. Labelled diagrams will help to show their findings. The children will focus on the message in the story about friendship and write their own version of the story. Making a fabric toy dragon which the children can take home, will help them to recognise the needs of a dragon. They will use this experience and the facts they have found out about castles, to prepare a plan and design in small groups. They will test different ideas, make mock ups and choose which tools and materials are best to use. The children will write instructions, descriptions and explanations to accompany their designs. The project will culminate in a castle presentation for Year R where the children look at how the features work and match the dragon.
Hook: The children arrive in the classroom to discover a small castle tent, a dragon, a selection of small dragons and a book (The Dragon and the Nibblesome Knight). The last page of the book has a very special message just for Year 1/2! The children will share the book and discover the story of how the knight and the dragon become friends, so much so that the knight decides that the dragon needs a castle like his to live in. The children are set the task of building a castle for the dragon which has working parts and provides the dragon with a safe place to live.