Learn With Mrs G - Design- Scarecrows

Learn With Mrs G

Scarecrow Solutions

Design Technologies

Lesson One | Introduction to Agricultural Technologies and Community Needs

Lesson Two | Understanding Scarecrows- Purpose, Sustainability and Safety

Lesson Three | Designing a Scarecrow – Planning the Steps

Lesson Four | Choosing the Right Materials

Lesson Five | Drawing and Annotating My Scarecrow Design

Design Technologies

Scarecrow Solutions

Unit Objectives

Understand how scarecrows support food and fibre production.
Explore technologies used in agriculture and their impact on communities.
Consider sustainability in design choices.
Follow a structured design process.
Select and safely use appropriate materials.
Communicate design ideas clearly.
Evaluate their design using criteria.

Lesson One | Introduction to Agricultural Technologies and Community Needs

Learning Intentions

Understand what food and fibre production involves.
Identify technologies used in agriculture.
Recognise how these technologies meet consumer and community needs.

Success Criteria

I can name different technologies used in farming.
I can explain how these technologies help farmers and communities.
I can organise my ideas in a mind map.

WATCH- What is food and fibre production?

While watching the video think about:

🎯 What food and fibre production is.

🎯 Examples of food and fibre.

🎯 What farmers need to grow food and fibre.

Be ready to share!

💡 Hot Tip- Use a whiteboard

Class Discussion

🎯 What is food and fibre production?

🎯 Examples of food and fibre.

🎯 What do you think farmers need to grow food and fibre?

Activity

Mind Mapping

🎯 As you are learning, fill out the mind map to help you retain information.

Technologies in Agriculture

Farming Equipment

🎯 Can you name the equipment in the images?

🎯 What are some other farming equipment that you know?

Farming equipment helps farmers in many important ways by making their work faster, easier, and more efficient.

Saves Time and Labour

Machines like tractors, harvesters, and seeders can do tasks much faster than manual labour, allowing farmers to cover large areas quickly.

Increases Productivity

With the help of machinery, farmers can grow and harvest more crops in less time, which boosts food production.

Reduces Physical Strain

Tools and machines reduce the need for heavy lifting and repetitive tasks, making farming safer and less tiring.

Supports Sustainability

Modern equipment can help reduce waste, conserve water, and use fewer chemicals, which is better for the environment.

Irrigation

Irrigation is the process of supplying water to crops or land to help plants grow, especially in areas where there isn’t enough natural rainfall.

Turn and Talk

🎯 Why do you think farmers use irrigation?

Farmers use irrigation to make sure their vegetables still get enough water to grow healthy and strong.

Greenhouses

Have a look at the images.
🎯 Can you tell me what a greenhouse is?
Use some descriptive language.

A greenhouse is a special building made mostly of glass or clear plastic
that helps plants grow by trapping heat and sunlight.

Turn and Talk

🎯 How do you think they help farmers?

Greenhouses help farmers by creating a controlled environment for growing plants.

🌿 Protect Plants from Weather

🌿 Extend Growing Seasons

🌿 Improve Plant Growth

🌿 Reduce Pests and Disease

🌿 Save Water and Resources

Scarecrows

Fun Facts!

Scarecrows were originally made to do exactly what their name suggests: scare off crows and other birds that might ruin the farmer’s crops.

Scarecrows have been around longer than you might think – the first scarecrows known to history were made about 3,000 years ago!

They were first made by the Egyptians to protect their wheat fields.

Birds are scared off also because of the smell of humans that linger from the clothes of a scarecrow.

Community Needs and Sustainability

Turn and Talk

🎯 How does farming help the community?

🎯 What does sustainability mean?

Activity

Mind Mapping

Complete the missing sections of your mind map.

Reflect and Share

What is something new you have learned today?

Food For Thought

How can we make a scarecrow sustainably?

Lesson Two | Understanding Scarecrows- Purpose, Sustainability and Safety

Learning Intention

Understand how scarecrows help protect crops and support food production.
Explore how scarecrows meet community needs.
Consider sustainability and safety when choosing materials for design.

Success Criteria

I can describe how scarecrows help farmers and communities.
I can identify materials that are safe and good for the environment.
I can explain how to use materials and tools safely.

Engage

What do you remember about scarecrows?

Let's play a Kahoot together.

How can scarecrows support the community?

Sustainable means using things in a way that doesn’t
hurt the Earth, so we can keep using them for a long time.

It’s about taking care of nature, saving energy, and not wasting
things—so people, animals, and plants can live happily now and in the future.

What are the 3 R's?

Turn and Talk

What about the term...

biodegradable?

It disappears over time with the help of things like water, air, and tiny living creatures—just like how food scraps or leaves rot and go back into the soil.

♻️🌏🍃

Material Exploration

Sustainable Materials Should:

Come from nature or be recycled

🌿 They should be made from things that grow again
(like bamboo or cotton) or reused (like recycled paper or plastic).

Be safe for people and animals

🌿They shouldn’t have harmful chemicals or cause pollution.

Break down or be reused easily

🌿 They should either biodegrade (break down naturally)
or be used again in new ways.

Use less energy to make

🌿 Making them shouldn’t waste electricity or water.

Last a long time without hurting the Earth

🌿 They should be strong and useful,
but not damage nature when we’re done with them.

Activity

Brainstorm

What are some materials we can use to make a scarecrow?

workbook.pdf

Sustainable Material Sort

In small groups, work together to decide whether the materials we brainstormed are sustainable or non-sustainable. Categorise them on your worksheet.

Don't forget the criteria!

Share your thoughts with the everyone

-are some materials more sustainable than others?-

♻️🌏🍃

What next?

Staying Safe

What do we need to think about when building something like a scarecrow?

Turn and Talk

🧤 Wear protective gear

Gloves to protect hands from sharp sticks or wires.
Closed shoes to protect feet.

🪚 Use tools carefully

Only use scissors or cutters with adult supervision.

Never run or play with tools.

🧱 Choose safe materials

Avoid sharp or rusty items.
Use soft, clean clothes and straw or paper stuffing.

🧍‍♂️ Work with a buddy

Always build with a partner or group.
Help each other and ask for help if needed.

🧼 Clean up properly

Put away tools and throw away scraps safely.
Wash hands after handling materials.

Checklist Completion

Complete a materials checklist to see what materials you may like to use.

workbook.pdf

Reflect and Share

Share with your group from before one of your chosen materials.

🎯 Why is it a good choice?

🎯 What makes it sustainable and/or safe?

🎯 What would you use it for?

Lesson Three | Designing a Scarecrow – Planning the Steps

Learning Intention

Understand the stages of a design process.
Plan a sequence of steps to design a scarecrow.
Begin preparing for their own scarecrow project.

Success Criteria

Understand the stages of a design process.
Plan a sequence of steps to design a scarecrow.
Begin preparing for their own scarecrow project.

What do you know?

quiz

Learn

Investigate | Generate | Produce | Evaluate

design_process

Try It

Let's discuss

Investigate

What do scarecrows do?

Generate

What could it look like?

Produce

What materials will I use?

Evaluate

How will I know it works?

Apply It

In your groups, complete the Design Process Planning Sheet

What is the purpose of this task?

Design_Process_Planning_Sheet.pdf

Share and Reflect

Each group will share something from their planning sheet.

After listening to others, reflect with your group.
Is there anything you want to modify in your planning process?

Lesson Four | Choosing the Right Materials

Learning Intention

Identify suitable materials for building a scarecrow.
Choose resources based on sustainability and safety.
Understand how to use tools and materials safely.

Success Criteria

We can choose materials that are safe and suitable for my scarecrow.

Watch

What were the materials used?

Why did she choose them?

Do you think they were all good choices? Why?

Review

Sustainable Materials Should:

Come from nature or be recycled

🌿 They should be made from things that grow again
(like bamboo or cotton) or reused (like recycled paper or plastic).

Be safe for people and animals

🌿They shouldn’t have harmful chemicals or cause pollution.

Break down or be reused easily

🌿 They should either biodegrade (break down naturally)
or be used again in new ways.

Use less energy to make

🌿 Making them shouldn’t waste electricity or water.

Last a long time without hurting the Earth

🌿 They should be strong and useful,
but not damage nature when we’re done with them.

Thinking about sustainability,
are there any different materials you would use from the video?

Why?

Safety looks like:

🧤 Wear protective gear

Gloves to protect hands from sharp sticks or wires.
Closed shoes to protect feet.

🪚 Use tools carefully

Only use scissors or cutters with adult supervision.

Never run or play with tools.

🧱 Choose safe materials

Avoid sharp or rusty items.
Use soft, clean clothes and straw or paper stuffing.

🧍‍♂️ Work with a buddy

Always build with a partner or group.
Help each other and ask for help if needed.

🧼 Clean up properly

Put away tools and throw away scraps safely.
Wash hands after handling materials.

Group Task

Each complete a Resource Selection Worksheet.

🎯 Choose materials for their scarecrow

🎯 Explain why each material is safe and/or sustainable

🎯 List any tools they will need and how to use them safely

workbook.pdf

Reflect and Share

Members from the group share your ideas with the class.

Lesson Five | Drawing and Annotating My Scarecrow Design

Learning Intention

Create a visual design of their scarecrow.
Use technical terms to annotate their drawing.
Communicate their design decisions clearly.

Success Criteria

I can draw my scarecrow design clearly.
I can label my drawing with materials and features.
I can use technical words to explain my design choices.

Watch

Why do designers label their drawings?

What is the purpose of an annotated drawing?

Turn and Talk

Learn

Why annotate?

Clarify Complex Ideas

Combines visuals with text to explain how something works, how it's built, or how it's used.

Improve Communication

Helps bridge gaps between experts and non-experts.

Used in fields like architecture, product design, and healthcare to explain concepts clearly.

Support Collaboration

Designers and engineers use them to share ideas with teams, clients, or manufacturers.

Annotations highlight key features, measurements, or changes.

Aid in Problem Solving

Annotated diagrams help visualise problems and solutions, especially in planning or troubleshooting.

Observe

Watch me draw a scarecrow design and how to annotate it.

Help me come up with annotations and any technical terms which need to be included.

Independent Task

Annotated Design Drawing.pdf

Using the worksheet, complete your own annotated design drawing.

Make sure to include the criteria on the worksheet.

Reflect

Come together in your groups and share your design with your group.

On a whiteboard, write notes to share with the cohort.

🎯 What do you like about each other's design?

🎯 What is the same? What are the differences?

🎯 What materials are you going to look for over the holidays?

Each group has a turn sharing details of their group reflection.

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