Keep this beat light and action-first. Start the turn-and-tell straight away; the prototype line is only a one-sentence frame after groups have spoken briefly.

Hold up one group's Investigation Journal design page / Design Brief (with permission) or point to the class wonder wall of problem sketches. Do not hand out the junk kit yet.

Pupil action: short turn-and-tell in groups (about 30 seconds), then invite one or two groups to share their user and the one job.

Key question: Who is your user, and what will "fixed" look like when we test next time?

Name bridge: Say once, clearly, that the page they sketched earlier is the Investigation Journal design page, also called the Design Brief. Use both names once here so nobody hunts for a new sheet.

Nature of STEM: engineers turn a plan into a first model so they can learn quickly. The prototype is not the final product; it is the tool for finding out what works.

Have scissors stored safely until the build step. Remind groups they will keep their prototype between sessions for the next lesson.

Spoken reminders (keep light): Point at their page and say once that this Investigation Journal design page is their Design Brief. As they choose what to build first, add: if they alter the sketch while making, that is a build change, and they will jot why on a sticky note as they go.

Model aloud (one short cycle): "I wonder if our sketch still makes sense. I predict the wide base will be the first thing we need. I check the brief: user is the class librarian, success is two books stay on the shelf. I think we should build the base before the arms."

Misconception to head off: children treat the sketch as a finished product they must copy exactly. A prototype can change; the job is to solve the user's problem, not to photocopy the drawing.

Roles: every group names a materials collector and a brief-keeper before kits are issued. Everyone else is a builder. The brief-keeper keeps the Design Brief flat and visible for the whole build.

Issuing kits: after roles are set, the materials collector fetches one prepared kit bag (or tray) from the side table and brings it back. Kits stay put until this moment.

Before the Lesson

• Prepare one kit bag or tray per group (card, tubes, bottles, tape, string, elastic bands, sticky notes, 2 round-tip scissors for simple cuts).
• Print the Investigation Journal page for each pupil (hand these out in step 5, not now).
• Set up one adult cut station tray for pieces that need a difficult cut. Pre-score thick card and pre-cut string lengths so live adult cutting is rare.
• Clear floor space so groups can place prototypes safely.
• Keep each group's Design Brief (Investigation Journal design page) from earlier in this project ready to hand back.

How kits arrive

Kits stay on the side until step 2 roles are set. Then the materials collector fetches one prepared kit bag/tray for the group. Do not place kits on tables during Getting Started.

One-adult cutting model

You cannot stay fixed at the cut station and circulate at the same time. Make the model runnable for one adult:

• Groups use their table scissors for simple cuts only.
• Pre-scored card and pre-cut string mean most groups rarely need you.
• For a tricky cut, the pupil leaves the piece in the cut-station tray and returns to taping, measuring, or writing a sticky-note build change.
• Clear the cut-station tray in short bursts between circulation rounds (about one minute every few tables), then keep moving with build questions.

During the build

Circulate and ask: Which part of the brief are you building now? Does this still help your user? What would make it unfair if we tested this next time with the wrong materials?

Prompt a sticky-note jot the moment a group alters the sketch so step 5 is filling detail, not reconstructing from memory. Sticky notes are the only in-build jot tool; Investigation Journal pages stay for step 5.

If a group freezes, send them back to the success line on the Design Brief and ask them to build only the one part that would prove that line.

Stability rule: only designs that need to stand or hold themselves up to do the job must do so without anyone holding them. Designs meant to hang, clip, or sit inside something must stay in place the way the brief describes.

Differentiation: less confident groups build a simpler version of one part of the idea; confident groups add a second feature only after the first part works on its own.

Safety: round-tip scissors only for pupils; adult makes any difficult cuts at the cut station in short bursts; mind eyes when structures collapse; no running with materials.

This is a short oral investigation beat, not a full fair test and not a journal step. Writing stays in the next step so mid-build hands stay free.

Model one check aloud: "Our brief said the prop must hold two books. Our base is wide, which matches the sketch. We changed the upright from flat card to a tube because the flat card flopped. That is a build change. We still need a small lip so the books cannot slide forward."

Visit each group once. If a prototype has drifted into something fun but unrelated to the user, gently steer them back: Would your user still recognise this as a fix for their problem?

Groups that are nearly finished use the remaining minutes to strengthen weak joints rather than adding new decorations.

Hand out the paper Investigation Journal pages now (not during the build). Pupils record in class. The page stays with the classroom-stored prototype, so do not send the journal page home. Do not invent column names or boxed layouts; say what to record, not where it sits on the page.

Show the tiny board example once so pupils see that a sketch plus two short lines is enough. Discourage long stories.

What to record:

• what the prototype is meant to do for the user
• one or two build changes from the original sketch and why (lift from sticky notes if needed)
• what still needs to be finished or strengthened before testing

Early finishers add a simple label on the prototype naming the user (for example, "for the class librarian") rather than starting a second build.

Collect or store prototypes carefully so they survive until the next lesson in this project.