New
New
Year 3

Sustainability and packaging design

I can compare a range of packaging designs.

New
New
Year 3

Sustainability and packaging design

I can compare a range of packaging designs.

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.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Critiquing a range of existing products provides valuable insights for future designs.
  2. Personal taste in design is shaped by expressing likes and dislikes of existing products.
  3. Ways to make packaging as sustainable as possible: reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Keywords

  • Packaging - used to wrap, cover or protect a product

  • Materials - what things are made from

  • Critique - to discuss strengths and weaknesses

  • Sustainable - using what we need while protecting the environment, so there’s enough for the future

  • Environment - the living world around us

Common misconception

Critiquing is negative and criticising.

Critiquing involves looking at the positive and negative aspects of a product.


To help you plan your year 3 design and technology lesson on: Sustainability and packaging design, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Have lots of examples of packaging in different materials, shapes, sizes and styles for pupils to explore. Collect clean examples from recycling bins and around the school and home. Avoid using empty/open tins or cans (metal packaging) as these could be sharp.
Teacher tip

Equipment

A range of packaging of different styles and materials including paper/card, plastic, metal and glass (see teacher tip).

Content guidance

  • Exploration of objects

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

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

Loading...

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the names of the 2D shapes to their descriptions.
Correct Answer:circle,one curved side

one curved side

Correct Answer:square,four equal sides

four equal sides

Correct Answer:rectangle,two long and two short sides

two long and two short sides

Correct Answer:triangle,three sides

three sides

Correct Answer:pentagon,five sides

five sides

Q2.
Which of the following 3D shapes is a cuboid?
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Q3.
What does the symbol shown mean?
An image in a quiz
reward
Correct answer: recycle
remake
rewind
Q4.
Which of the following is a product?
sleep
happiness
Correct answer: toys
air
time
Q5.
Which of the following does not help the environment?
looking after wildlife
saving water
recycling
Correct answer: cutting down forests
Q6.
Which of the following describes the meaning of the word 'compare'.
finishing something
Correct answer: looking for similarities and differences
matching words
choosing a colour

4 Questions

Q1.
Which of the following is not one of the main purposes of packaging?
to protect
to cover
Correct answer: to build
to advertise
Q2.
Match the following products to the most likely packaging material.
Correct Answer:jam,glass jar

glass jar

Correct Answer:shoes,cardboard box

cardboard box

Correct Answer:baked beans,metal tin

metal tin

Correct Answer:water,plastic bottle

plastic bottle

Correct Answer:biscuits,plastic wrapper

plastic wrapper

Q3.
What does the word 'sustainable' mean?
using something that will run out and causes harm
using something that is cheap and easy to make
using something that is expensive and difficult to make
Correct answer: using something that won't run out and doesn't cause harm
Q4.
Which of the following type of packaging is the least sustainable?
glass
Correct answer: plastic
metal
cardboard