Technical Knowledge
KS1DT-KS1-D004
Understanding structural principles and mechanisms, including how structures can be strengthened and how mechanisms such as levers and wheels work.
National Curriculum context
Technical knowledge at KS1 introduces pupils to foundational engineering principles in an age-appropriate, exploratory way. Pupils investigate how structures can be made stronger, stiffer and more stable through hands-on building activities, discovering principles of bracing, triangulation and form through practical investigation. They also explore simple mechanisms including levers, sliders, wheels and axles, learning how these enable movement and function in products. This domain connects design and technology to science and mathematics, developing pupils' understanding of the physical world and how it can be harnessed to create useful products.
3
Concepts
2
Clusters
2
Prerequisites
3
With difficulty levels
Lesson Clusters
Understand materials and their properties
introduction CuratedMaterials and their characteristics (C003) underpins both structures and mechanisms: pupils must understand material properties before they can purposefully select materials for building stable structures or creating moving products. Teaching this first provides the knowledge base for the other two concepts.
Explore structures, stability, levers and mechanisms in products
practice CuratedStructures and stability (C004) and mechanisms (C005) are both applied technical concepts that pupils investigate through hands-on making. Both extend material knowledge into engineering principles and are typically taught in the context of the same making project — building a stable structure that also incorporates a moving part.
Teaching Suggestions (4)
Study units and activities that deliver concepts in this domain.
Freestanding Structures
Design & Technology Design, Make, EvaluatePedagogical rationale
Building a structure that stands up without support is a fundamental engineering challenge. Pupils discover through trial and error that a wide base is more stable, that triangles are stronger than squares, and that rolling paper into tubes makes it stiffer. The process of testing and improving teaches the iterative design cycle through direct physical feedback -- it stands or it falls.
Moving Pictures (Sliders and Levers)
Design & Technology Design, Make, EvaluatePedagogical rationale
Moving picture books are an engaging first mechanisms project because the end product is immediately functional and satisfying -- the slider moves, the lever lifts, the child sees cause and effect. The project combines Art (illustration) with DT (mechanism) in a natural way. The relatively simple construction (card, split pins, paper strips) is achievable for 5-7 year olds while still teaching genuine mechanical principles.
Wheeled Vehicles
Design & Technology Design, Make, EvaluatePedagogical rationale
Making a wheeled vehicle combines structures (the chassis must be rigid) with mechanisms (wheels must rotate freely on axles). The clear success criterion -- does it roll? -- gives immediate feedback. Pupils discover that axle placement, wheel alignment, and chassis rigidity all affect whether the vehicle works. This is problem-solving through making.
Windmill
Design & Technology Design, Make, EvaluatePedagogical rationale
A paper windmill combines structures (the tower must stand) with mechanisms (the sails must spin). It introduces rotational movement created by wind -- a natural connection to science (forces, wind). The construction requires precise folding and pinning, developing fine motor skills and sequencing ability.
Prerequisites
Concepts from other domains that pupils should know before this domain.
Concepts (3)
Materials and Their Characteristics
Keystone knowledge AI DirectDT-KS1-C003
Different materials have different physical properties that make them suitable for different purposes. At KS1, pupils learn to identify and describe the properties of a range of materials including construction materials such as card, wood and plastic, textiles and food ingredients, and to make informed choices about which material to use based on what the product needs to do.
Teaching guidance
Provide opportunities to handle and explore a wide range of materials before asking pupils to select. Use sorting and comparing activities to build awareness of material properties such as rigidity, flexibility, waterproof, absorbent, rough, smooth. Discuss why certain materials are used in real products - why a raincoat is made from waterproof fabric, why a cardboard box cannot hold water. Build vocabulary for material properties through explicit teaching and practical exploration.
Common misconceptions
Pupils may choose materials based on aesthetics alone (e.g. choosing the prettiest colour) without considering functional suitability. Prompting with 'Will this work for our purpose?' during making helps. Some pupils may not understand that a material can have both advantageous and disadvantageous properties for a given task.
Difficulty levels
Identifying different materials by name (card, fabric, wood, plastic) and describing one property of each.
Example task
Feel these materials. What is each one called? Is it bendy or stiff?
Model response: This is card — it is a bit stiff but I can bend it. This is wood — it is very stiff. This is fabric — it is very bendy.
Choosing a material for a specific purpose and explaining why it is suitable based on its properties.
Example task
You are making a rain hat. Which material would you choose: paper, plastic or wool? Explain why.
Model response: I would choose plastic because it is waterproof. Paper would get soggy in the rain and wool would absorb the water.
Comparing materials systematically and selecting the most appropriate one by weighing up multiple properties against design criteria.
Example task
You need a material for a bridge in your model village. It must be strong, stiff and light. Compare card, wood and plastic. Which is best?
Model response: Wood is strong and stiff but heavy. Card is light but not very strong — it bends under weight. Thin plastic can be stiff and light but might crack. I think thin wood (lolly sticks) would be best because it is strong enough, fairly stiff, and not too heavy for the model.
Delivery rationale
DT food knowledge — nutritional science and food safety theory deliverable digitally.
Structures and Stability
knowledge AI DirectDT-KS1-C004
Structures are physical constructions that support loads or maintain a form. At KS1, pupils explore how structures can be made stronger, stiffer and more stable through practical building activities. They investigate how the shape of a structure, the way it is joined and the materials it is made from all affect its strength and stability. This concept introduces foundational engineering principles through hands-on investigation.
Teaching guidance
Set building challenges using reclaimed materials, construction kits and card. Investigate how tubes, triangles and other shapes resist bending. Explore different joining methods including adhesives, tape, folding tabs and fasteners. Challenge pupils to make a structure that can support a specific load - a bridge that holds toy cars, a tower that holds a book. Use questions to prompt investigation: 'What happens if you make the legs wider?', 'Which shape is stronger - a square or a triangle?'
Common misconceptions
Pupils often attribute strength to the amount of material used rather than to structure and shape. Demonstrating that a triangulated structure is stronger than a square one with the same materials addresses this. Some pupils may not understand that stability is about balance and the distribution of weight as well as strength of materials.
Difficulty levels
Building a simple freestanding structure from given materials, exploring how to stop it falling over.
Example task
Use these cardboard tubes and tape to build a tower that stands up on its own.
Model response: I stood three tubes up and taped them together. Then I spread them out at the bottom so it didn't wobble.
Explaining why some structures are stronger than others and using shapes like triangles to add strength.
Example task
Make a bridge from paper that can hold a toy car. How can you make the paper stronger?
Model response: I folded the paper into a zigzag shape, like a concertina. This made it much stiffer than a flat piece of paper. The folds act like little walls that stop the paper bending.
Designing and building a structure that meets a specific brief, explaining how the shape, materials and joining methods contribute to its strength and stability.
Example task
Design and build a shelter for a toy animal that is at least 15cm tall and can support a book placed on top.
Model response: I made four corner pillars from rolled newspaper tubes because tubes are stronger than flat paper. I used triangular braces between the pillars to stop them leaning. The roof is corrugated card for stiffness. It is 18cm tall and held the book. The triangles and tubes make it strong even though the materials are light.
Delivery rationale
DT knowledge concept — material science, mechanisms theory, and systems knowledge deliverable digitally.
Mechanisms: Levers, Sliders, Wheels and Axles
knowledge AI DirectDT-KS1-C005
Mechanisms are devices that transmit and modify motion and force. At KS1, pupils explore simple mechanisms including levers, sliders, wheels and axles, learning how these can be used to create movement in their products. Pupils investigate how levers pivot around a fulcrum, how sliders create linear movement, and how wheels turning on axles enable rolling. This concept introduces the principle that mechanical systems convert one type of input into useful output.
Teaching guidance
Provide ready-made mechanical components such as split pins, card strips and wheels for exploring levers and pivots. Make simple moving pictures using levers and sliders that create movement when a card is pulled. Attach wheels to simple vehicles and investigate how the diameter of wheels affects how far they travel. Examine real products that use these mechanisms. Encourage pupils to describe the movement they observe using appropriate vocabulary.
Common misconceptions
Pupils may confuse wheels (which rotate) with rollers or may not understand the function of an axle in keeping a wheel spinning. Practical investigation with real mechanisms is more effective than diagrammatic explanation at this stage. Pupils may not recognise that levers are found in everyday objects such as scissors, seesaws and door handles.
Difficulty levels
Creating a simple moving mechanism (lever or slider) with adult support, observing that pushing or pulling creates movement.
Example task
Use a split pin to attach this card arm to the body. Push the arm — what happens?
Model response: When I push the arm it moves around the split pin. The split pin is in the middle and the arm swings up and down.
Incorporating a mechanism (lever, slider or wheel and axle) into a product to create intentional movement.
Example task
Make a moving picture where a character waves their arm using a lever mechanism.
Model response: I cut out a character and a separate arm. I attached the arm with a split pin at the shoulder. I added a card strip at the back so I can push it from behind to make the arm wave.
Choosing and combining appropriate mechanisms for a design brief, explaining how the mechanism works and why they selected it.
Example task
Design a card with a moving part for a younger child. Choose the best mechanism and explain your choice.
Model response: I chose a slider mechanism because it is simple and safe for a small child to use — they just pull a tab. I made a fish that slides across a sea scene. The slider is a card strip that moves through two slots. I chose this instead of a lever because the sliding movement looks like swimming, which matches the fish design.
Delivery rationale
DT knowledge concept — material science, mechanisms theory, and systems knowledge deliverable digitally.