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Design and Technologies – Sustainable Timber Design: The Phone Stand Project

Lesson Overview:

Years 7–8 | Design and Technologies | Free Download

Design with purpose. Build with timber.
This hands-on project helps Year 7–8 students explore the product design process while building a functional phone stand using engineered wood like plywood. Students investigate sustainability, develop creative solutions, and safely bring their ideas to life in the workshop.

Developed in partnership with the Design and Technology Teachers’ Association of Victoria (DATTA Vic), this unit aligns with the Australian Curriculum v9.0 and builds skills in design thinking, sustainability, and manufacturing.

What’s Included

• Student Workbook
  Guided worksheets and activities covering each stage of the design process.
• Teacher Workbook
  Detailed lesson plans, background content, suggested answers, and assessment tools.
• Multimedia Support
  Instructional videos, technical drawings, digital design exemplars, and PowerPoint slides.
• Ed Tech Integration
  Includes ForestVR™ immersive videos, Kahoot! quizzes, and video walkthroughs.

Lesson Sequence:

• Part 1: Investigating & Defining
  • Lesson 1: Intro to Design Process – Design brief, user profiling, and evaluation criteria
  • Lesson 2: Exploring Existing Designs – Research, rapid ideation, and peer review
  • Lesson 4: Innovation in Wood Products – Sustainability, circular economy, and poster design

  Part 2: Generating, Designing & Producing
  • Lesson 3: Technical Drawings – Isometric and orthographic drawing skills
  • Lesson 5: Workshop Safety – Hazard identification and safe tool use
  • Lesson 6: Measuring & Marking – Cardboard prototyping and process journaling
  • Lessons 7–8: Cutting & Shaping – Construction of the timber stand
  • Lesson 9: Finishing – Surface treatment and decoration

  Part 3: Evaluating
  • Lesson 10: Evaluation – Reflection on process, outcomes, and success criteria

Bonus Resources

• Production Guide Videos – below
  Step-by-step walkthroughs for cardboard modelling, measuring, cutting, and finishing.
• 3D Models & Technical Drawings
  Three phone stand designs ready for classroom use

Production Guide

• YouTube playlist link
• Vimeo playlist link

‘HOW-TO’ VIDEOS

• • 1. Phone Stand Project – Production Guide – Measuring & Marking
  • 2. Phone Stand Project – Production Guide – Cutting
  • 3. Phone Stand Project – Production Guide – Shaping & Smoothing

 

CARDBOARD MODELS

• Phone Stand Project – Production Guide – Half Joint Cardboard Model
• Phone Stand Project – Production Guide – Intersecting Cardboard Model
• Phone Stand Project – Production Guide – Double-sided Cardboard Model

Related Resources:

Design and Technologies - The Sustainable Seating Project (7/8)

Design and Technologies – The Sustainable Seating Project

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