Lesson 7 — Imagine, Plan, Make, Improve

Summary

Learners follow a four-step design process — imagine, plan, make, and improve — to build something that meets a simple need, and test it to see how it works. They discover that making is a loop, not a straight line, and that this loop is how everything people build gets better.

Objectives

• Follow a simple design process of imagine, plan, make, and improve to build something that meets a need. (D07.S4.03.01)

Connection

Everything around you that works well was once an idea that got tested and fixed and tested again — a shoe, a basket, a bridge, a pot. The maker first imagined it, then planned it, then made it, then improved it after trying it out. That four-step loop is called a design process. Today you will run the loop yourself to build something that meets a need.

Materials

• A small pile of making materials (paper, cloth, string, tape, boxes, sticks, cups, clay)
• A four-step design chart (imagine, plan, make, improve)

Preparation

• Gather a small pile of varied materials so learners have real choices.
• Display or draw the four-step design chart where everyone can see it.

Facilitator note

This lesson is written to the learner (“you”) so it works in a classroom and for a self-directed learner. The design loop is a skill, so model it once — “we need a pencil holder; I imagine a cup; I plan paper folded around a box; I make it; I test it and it tips over, so I improve it by adding a wider base” — before learners run their own loop (Kirschner, Sweller & Clark, 2006). The key idea is the loop: improve comes from testing, not from getting it right the first time. “Improve” can be one small change. The plan may change as the learner builds — that is the loop working. A learner with limited fine motor directs a partner who handles the materials — imagining, planning, and deciding the improvement are the heart of the task. A learner who does not speak points to the four boxes and to the change they made. A learner who is blind or has low vision plans by feel and names the steps aloud, and tests the build with their hands. Every loop belongs.

Procedure

1. Gather (5 min). Look at the materials. Today you will design — build something that meets a need. First, pick a need: a holder for pencils, a bridge for a toy to cross, a stand to keep a book open, a cup to hold water. Say or point to your need.
2. Imagine (5 min). In your mind (or aloud), picture what you could make to meet the need. That is step one: imagine.
3. Plan (10 min). Before you build, say or draw your plan — what it will look like, what materials you will use, what you will do first. That is step two: plan.
4. Make (15 min). Build your plan with the materials. It does not have to be perfect; it has to exist so you can test it. That is step three: make.
5. Improve (10 min). Test it. Does it meet the need? If it tips, breaks, or falls short, change one thing to make it work better — a wider base, a stronger join, an extra fold. That is step four: improve. Test again.
6. Share and close (5 min). Show what you made and tell (or point to) the need it meets and the improvement you made. Remember: imagine, plan, make, improve — that loop is how everything good gets built.

Differentiation

• Support: Offer one clear need (“make a place for the pencils”) and a two-step loop (make, then improve), and let the learner choose one material.
• Support (fine motor): The learner imagines, plans, and directs while a partner handles the materials.
• Support (non-speaking): Point to the four boxes and to the change made to improve.
• Support (blind/low-vision): Plan by feel, name the steps aloud, and test the build with the hands.
• Extension: Invite learners to run the loop twice, making a second improvement, and to tell how the second version is better.

Assessment

• Formative (observation): Does the learner follow imagine, plan, make, and improve to build something that meets a need, and identify the improvement they made?
• Artifact (portfolio): The built thing (or a photo) and the plan, kept in the portfolio.

Resources

• No external resources required; the design-loop claims here are about the learner’s own process, which they practice directly.

Home connection

At home, find a small need (a place for keys, a stand for a spoon) and run the loop with a grown-up — imagine, plan, make, improve — then test it together.