Packaging pioneers
View Sequence overviewStudents will
- be guided through the design process to create appropriate packaging to keep their food cool, sealed and leak-free.
Students will represent their understanding as they:
- create a package design with labels and descriptions of the materials and properties of their food packaging.
- share their food packaging design and communicate their design choices to a chosen audience.
In the Act phase, assessment is summative.
Students working at the achievement standard should be able to:
- name the possible properties of common materials.
- link the properties of materials to their use.
- apply their understanding to make recommendations about materials suitable to package, store and transport food.
Refer to the Australian Curriculum content links on the Our design decisions tab for further information.
Whole class
Class science journal (digital or hard-copy)
Optional: Demonstration copy of the Package design plan Resource sheet
Optional: Demonstration copy of the Designing food packaging evaluation Resource sheet
Each student
Individual science journals (digital or hard-copy)
Package design plan Resource sheet
Designing food packaging evaluation Resource sheet
Optional: A variety of materials students can use to make a prototype of their food packaging solution, including plastics, foils, paper, cloth, scissors, glue, markers, stapler and staples, tape (plant-based if possible), paper, card, etc.
Lesson
The Act phase empowers students to use the Core concepts and key ideas of science they have learned during the Inquire phase. It encourages students to develop a sense of responsibility as members of society—to act rather than be acted upon. It provides students with the opportunity to positively influence their own life and that of the world around them. For this to occur, students need to build foundational skills in an interactive mutually supportive environment with their community.
When designing the Act phase, consider ways that students could use their scientific knowledge and skills. Consider their interests and lifestyles that may intersect with the core concepts and key ideas. What context or problem would provide students with a way to use science to synthesise a design? How (and to whom) will students communicate their understanding?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkScience education consists of a series of key ideas and core concepts that can explain objects, events and phenomena and link them to the experiences encountered by students in their lives. The purpose of the Anchor routine is to identify and link students’ learning to these ideas and concepts in a way that builds and deepens their understanding.
When designing the Act phase of a teaching sequence, consider the core concepts and key ideas that are relevant. The Anchor routine provides an opportunity to collate and revise the key knowledge and skills students have learned, in a way that emphasises the importance of science as a human endeavour.
What have we learned?
Re-examine the data and ideas collected in the class journal over the course of the teaching sequence.
Discuss what conclusions students have drawn about:
- the tensile strength of different types of paper.
- materials that are the best thermal insulators.
- material combinations that are most waterproof.
- plastics that are compostable and biodegradable.
- the properties that are suitable for food and drink packaging.
- how we can make packaging more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
The Act phase empowers students to use the Core concepts and key ideas of science they have learned during the Inquire phase. It encourages students to develop a sense of responsibility as members of society—to act rather than be acted upon. It provides students with the opportunity to positively influence their own life and that of the world around them. For this to occur, students need to build foundational skills in an interactive mutually supportive environment with their community.
When designing the Act phase, consider ways that students could use their scientific knowledge and skills. Consider their interests and lifestyles that may intersect with the core concepts and key ideas. What context or problem would provide students with a way to use science to synthesise a design? How (and to whom) will students communicate their understanding?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkEach student comes to the classroom with experiences made up from science-related knowledge, attitudes, experiences and resources in their life. The Connect routine is designed to tap into these experiences, and that of their wider community. It is also an opportunity to yarn with community leaders (where appropriate) to gain an understanding of the student’s lives, languages and interests. In the Act phase, this routine reconnects with the science capital of students so students can appreciate the relevance of their learning and the agency to make decisions and take action.
When designing a teaching sequence, consider the everyday occurrences, phenomena and experiences that might relate to the science that they have learned. How could students show agency in these areas?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkWhat do people need from our design?
Discuss the properties a food packaging solution would require. Relate the discussion to any specific context you have selected.
- What sort of foods do people transport?
- What properties are they looking for when they pack food for transport?
- What else do they have to consider (temperature, flexibility, etc.)?
- Do people have to transport and store the same food every day?
- How will you provide different options for all types of foods?
Use the identified properties to produce a set of criteria for designing the food packaging solution that students can use as an evaluation and reflection tool. See the Designing food packaging evaluation Resource sheet for an example that can be used as is or modified to suit your needs.
The Act phase empowers students to use the Core concepts and key ideas of science they have learned during the Inquire phase. It encourages students to develop a sense of responsibility as members of society—to act rather than be acted upon. It provides students with the opportunity to positively influence their own life and that of the world around them. For this to occur, students need to build foundational skills in an interactive mutually supportive environment with their community.
When designing the Act phase, consider ways that students could use their scientific knowledge and skills. Consider their interests and lifestyles that may intersect with the core concepts and key ideas. What context or problem would provide students with a way to use science to synthesise a design? How (and to whom) will students communicate their understanding?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkWhen students use their knowledge and skills in new ways, they also have an opportunity to develop and use their creative and critical thinking skills. With scaffolded support, they can become more confident to work in a team and develop a stronger sense of autonomy. This results in stronger student outcomes, attitudes and sense of empowerment.
When designing a teaching sequence, consider what activity would allow students to showcase their knowledge and skills. Consider the current abilities of your students. What are they capable of explaining? What props could they design or build that would support their explanations? How much information would they need in their design brief to support their thinking? How does this connect with their lives and interests?
Designer lunch
Using the steps of the design thinking process, students use their understanding of materials and their properties to design a food packaging solution.
Define
In order to create the design brief for the challenge as a class, outline the problem in a simple manner.
How can we create a food packaging solution that someone could use to pack, transport and store all different types of food?
These are some example question prompts. These should be modified and added to suit any specific design focus/context you have selected.
- Who will you design for? A hiker going camping for four days, or a student at school?
- What types of food will they need packed?
- What will they put the food in?
- What else will be packed next to the food? Will it get squashed?
Alternatively, you might provide a pre-prepared design brief to the students.
Ideate
Brainstorm ideas related to the design of food packaging. At this stage, to support creative thinking, every idea offered by students should be recorded in the class science journal. No idea should be discounted, as the practicality/possibility of each idea will be considered in the next stage of design.
As students offer ideas, ask probing questions (Why do you think… or How do you know that…) to draw out the reasoning and evidence behind the idea.
- What food are you transporting?
- What properties are important?
- What will happen to the packaging once you have finished the food?
- Will the food be protected from unwanted changes?
Prototype
Provide students time to draft design ideas for their food packaging solution. Students might create many drafts during this process. At each stage of the prototype designs, encourage students to consider how the design would work for different food types. Encourage students to keep each prototype drawing (even if they decide that it is not appropriate) so they can record how their thinking has changed and their design has improved over time.
At the end of the allocated time, students should have one clearly identified, labelled, and annotated final design, naming parts of the package, the materials that they have selected, and why they have selected them
Optional: Once students have drawn their design, they can use available materials to create a prototype for their design. Encourage students to be creative about the idea of their prototype. For example, they may not be able to make their own bioplastic in time, but they could use a different material to ‘represent’ the bioplastic for the prototype.
The Act phase empowers students to use the Core concepts and key ideas of science they have learned during the Inquire phase. It encourages students to develop a sense of responsibility as members of society—to act rather than be acted upon. It provides students with the opportunity to positively influence their own life and that of the world around them. For this to occur, students need to build foundational skills in an interactive mutually supportive environment with their community.
When designing the Act phase, consider ways that students could use their scientific knowledge and skills. Consider their interests and lifestyles that may intersect with the core concepts and key ideas. What context or problem would provide students with a way to use science to synthesise a design? How (and to whom) will students communicate their understanding?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkA key part of Science Inquiry, the Communicate routine provides students with an opportunity to communicate their ideas effectively to others. It allows students a chance to show their learning to members of their community and provides a sense of belonging. It also encourages students to have a sense of responsibility to share their understanding of science and to use this to provide a positive influence in the community.
When designing a teaching sequence, consider who might be connected to the students that have an interest in science. Who in their lives could share their learning? What forum could be used to build an enthusiasm for science. Are there members of the community (parents, teachers, peers or wider community) who would provide a link to future science careers?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkSharing our designs
Test and share
Students use the Packaging design plan Resource sheet to develop a testing procedure for their preferred design. Discuss what criteria students’ food packaging solution would need to meet in order to satisfy the design brief, e.g. containers need to be waterproof and resistant to impact.
Brainstorm ideas for testing the food packaging solutions against the criteria, such as spraying with water, dragging or squeezing the package into a school bag, and dropping the containers. Ask students to record what criteria each team member’s packages need to meet in the ‘Criteria’ section of their Packaging design plan Resource sheet.
Ask students to negotiate what tests they will use and to provide reasons for their choices. For example: We chose to drop the package from a height of 1 m because it is unlikely the lunch containers will be dropped from higher than that, and we chose to spray it with water because the lunch might be rained on. Allow students time to complete their planning and to conduct their tests.
Ask students to discuss their package with team members. Encourage team members to ask questions to provide peer support and informal peer assessment of students’ procedural text and package. Team members might ask questions, such as:
- Is the material natural or processed? Why did you use that material?
- How did you construct your food packaging solution?
- What changes did you make to your procedural text? Why?
- What steps in your procedural text were not effective in the construction of your food packaging solution?
Students share their designs with an appropriate audience, pitching their food packaging solution and its properties to them.
They might do this by organizing a class presentation, by recording a video of the students’ design pitches, or by taking photographs of each design for students to annotate.
Use the Designing food packaging evaluation Resource sheet for self- and peer assessment.
Reflect on the sequence
You might:
- refer to the list of student questions asked in the TWLH chart during the launch phase. Determine which questions have been answered throughout the learning sequence, what the ‘answers’ to the questions are, and the evidence that supports these claims. Address questions that have not been answered during the learning sequence, discuss why they might not have been addressed, and potential investigations that might support students to answer them.
- consider what students have learned about properties of materials, and how new materials can be invented and developed in ways that are environmentally conscious.
- discuss why it is important to understand how we can test and change the properties of materials. Discuss kinds of jobs that would need to use this understanding? Discuss how it might apply to everyday life and how it might make you think about the packaging used for your lunch.
- Watch the video A Scientist Just Like Me: Pearl Agyakwa a Materials Scientist (3:28) and discuss what a materials scientist does.