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Year 6

Design a sustainable transport system

I can design and annotate a drawing of a sustainable transport system for an urban environment.

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New
New
Year 6

Design a sustainable transport system

I can design and annotate a drawing of a sustainable transport system for an urban environment.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Understand what makes a transport system sustainable.
  2. Use drawings and annotations to communicate ideas.
  3. Explore how art and design influence the future of urban life.
  4. Consider environmental impact, functionality, and design aesthetics.

Keywords

  • Sustainability - using resources in a way that protects the environment and ensures they are available for future generations

  • Infrastructure - the basic physical systems (like roads, bridges, transport) needed for a city to function

  • Concept drawing - a visual representation of an idea, often used to show early design ideas

Common misconception

Sustainable transport is just about electric vehicles.

Sustainability includes more than just power sources - it also involves materials, passenger capacity, energy use, and reducing pollution across a whole system.


To help you plan your year 6 art and design lesson on: Design a sustainable transport system, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Encourage creativity but keep sustainability at the heart - prompt pupils with open questions like “How does this help the environment?” to guide design thinking beyond appearance.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Pencils, pens, erasers, coloured pencils or markers, rulers. Images of real-world and conceptual transport systems (printed or digital). Tablets/computers for digital sketching (if available).

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Doing what with ideas can help explain the function of a design clearly?

Correct answer: drawing and annotating
translating them into other languages
changing them

Q2.
Which of the following is an example of a green space in a city?

Correct answer: A public park with trees and flowers
A parking space
A busy street

Q3.
Why might cities be hard for wildlife to live in?

There are too many trees
Animals don’t like people
Correct answer: There is often a lack of food and shelter

Q4.
Wildlife-friendly features in cities, like bug hotels and bird-friendly bus stops, do what?

Correct answer: help provide shelter and food for animals
sell overpriced food and day trips
allow people to interact with animals.

Q5.
What do animals need in their habitats to survive?

Only water
Correct answer: Shelter, water, food, and safety
A place to stay

Q6.
Put these steps in the correct order to design a wildlife-friendly urban space:

1 - Research what wildlife needs to survive in urban areas
2 - Plan wildlife-friendly features like green spaces
3 - Draw your design with wildlife-friendly features
4 - Annotate your design to explain your ideas

Assessment exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is a key feature of a sustainable transport system?

Uses only diesel fuel
Works well only during the day
Correct answer: Reduces pollution and energy use
Is the fastest mode of transport

Q2.
Which of these ideas shows a misconception about sustainable transport?

It should reduce pollution.
It must include bike paths.
Correct answer: It is only about electric vehicles.
It should serve many passengers.

Q3.
Which of these is most likely to be included in a concept drawing for a new transport system?

A paragraph of facts
A list of rules
Correct answer: A rough sketch with key features
A photo of an old bus

Q4.
Why is annotation important in a design drawing?

It fills empty space
Correct answer: It explains the ideas behind the design
It looks artistic
It shows the final product

Q5.
Put the design steps in the correct order:

1 - Think about sustainability
2 - Choose a transport type
3 - Sketch your ideas
4 - Annotate your design

Q6.
Match each keyword with its correct definition:

Correct Answer:Annotation,Notes explaining a drawing

Notes explaining a drawing

Correct Answer:Infrastructure,Physical systems needed for a city

Physical systems needed for a city

Correct Answer:Concept drawing,Visual idea sketch for design

Visual idea sketch for design