Aside from being fun, toys also teach us about our world. This resource looks into toys around the world and through time and into the reasons toys were invented. It gets students to use design thinking to invent or reimagine a toy.
Structure and features
Show students this resource on Aboriginal toys. Talk about the ways that Aboriginal parents used the toys for fun and play, but also to teach their children about becoming adults in their community.
Show them the text and pictures timeline of toys.
View this 100 years of toys video, which shows the ways toys have changed over time.
Ask students to think about 2 of the toys in the video and the timelines:
- What is the purpose of these toys?
- How have toys have changed over time? Why have they changed?
- Which toys have remained popular? Why?
Discuss toys of the past and what they could have been teaching children.
Ask students to fill in the table about toys that they or their friends like. This is the 'define' part of a design thinking process.
Students can now sketch some designs of toys they would like to invent, or redesign. Students could post their new designs for feedback in a safe online environment they are using for school, or show them at home.
For students and families
Parents can choose how much they want the student to do.
For teachers
You can choose how much you want the student to do. When creating solutions students need to use a design thinking process. Two popular ones are:
But you can use any process where the students are in a cycle of:
- investigating and defining
- generating and designing
- producing and implementing
- evaluating.
Teacher notes
This resource forms part of a longer research and design project. It aligns with the Design and Technologies subject.
The contexts for this learning are Engineering Principles and Systems and Materials and Technologies.
