Year 6 Design Brief- Earthquakes

Sudden geological changes and extreme weather events can affect Earth’s
surface (ACSSU096)

Introduction-
It is your job to design an earthquake proof building! What materials are you going to use to
build this structure? How tall is your building going to be? What scientific evidence do you
have behind your theory about why this structure will work? You can use everything
provided on the resources table to build your building, or anything you want to bring in
from home! I will show you some example structures if you are stuck or you can build your
own.

Brief-
Over the past 5 lessons the year sixes have been learning about the effect that earthquakes
have on Earth’s surfaces. Over these five lessons the students have begun to learn that
tectonic plates cause majority of the earthquakes and the students know the different type
of tectonic earthquakes. The students have also learned the impact that earthquakes have
on Earth’s surfaces along with their secondary reactions (e.g. tsunami, volcanic eruptions)
and what countries do in an attempt to mitigate these impacts. In the second lesson the
students made miniature buildings out of toothpicks and marshmallows but without any
scientific understanding about what structures will be the best to use, now after 5 resource
rich lessons the students will be able to use their knowledge as well as research what will be
the best design for a building to withstand an earthquake. The students will work in groups
of three where they must design the building first and draw it before they can begin building
it. This design will take place over two weeks, so it is crucial that there is a lot of research
done before designing and building so the group knows what the best structure is
scientifically. Once the structure has been designed and built the class will conduct a variety
of earthquake simulations to figure out which building is the best to withstand an
earthquake.

Generating designs –
Some different designs for your buildings can include-
- Designing your building to go below ground level to give it extra support
- Having a wide based approach e.g. houses
- Using cross braces to add extra support to your building
- The use of different materials
There are many different types of buildings you will be able to create it is up to you to
research into these different types and decide which one will be the best to withstand
an earthquake.

Project specifications-
The students will be allowed to use whatever materials they think will be best for their
building. There will be materials provided in the classroom but this is not the limit for the
students, they will also be able to bring in any materials from home if they think it will make
their design better. There are no limits to this investigation, the students will be able to
create whatever design that they wish, and they will all be tested the same way to
 determine which design was the best to withstand an earthquake. Students will need to
handle all materials in a safe manner so no one will get harmed during this design brief.

Project management- steps to be completed

1- Research into different types of buildings designed to mitigate the impact of
earthquakes.
2- Complete the design plan that states what materials the group will use, an
explanation as to why the group has chosen those materials, the initial plan for the
building design and an explanation of why this design was chosen.
3- Students will document each stage of their design process with either photos or
short videos
4- The students will build their structure and edit their design if needed
5- The finished structure will be tested
6- Students will compile their design process of photos / videos and submit it to the
teacher along with their design plan and research conducted.
Evaluation- students will have a marking rubric they will follow during the course of building
their design.
Marking rubric Student’s Name
Year 6
Earth and Space Sciences Design Brief
Satisfactory Good Very Good
The design plan The design plan stated The design plan stated The design plan stated what
some materials that what materials were materials the group chose,
were chosen and gave a chosen and why, the plan why these materials were
brief explanation of how had some steps for the chosen, and had a step by step
to construct their building process. process for building their
building. structure.
The structure A structure was created The structure created was The structure used multiple
but it would not be able functional and different strategies to mitigate
to be used in society. implemented some the impact of the earthquake
earthquake mitigation and the design would be able
strategies. to be created in the real world.
The test The structure created The structure created able The structure created was able
was able to stand upright to withstand a small scale to withstand all earthquake
but not withstand the earthquake. tests that occurred.
earthquake.
The presentation The presentation was The presentation was The presentation was
submitted which submitted in an submitted in an aesthetically
highlights the steps aesthetically pleasing pleasing manner, incorporated
taken to build the design. manner, incorporated all all the stages of the design
stages of the design process, observations
process and observations throughout each stage and a
were recorded throughout review of the overall process
the process. with what went well and what
would be changed next time.
Additional comments:
Presentation-
As stated above the students will be recording the design process in a way of their choice,
this could be by taking photos or videos of each stage or any other way they would like to
present their information. After the test has been completed the students will then conduct
a review on their structure which will also be included in the presentation. The presentation
is open for students to choose, such as created an iMovie or PowerPoint and must include
each stage of the design process.

Time-
The students will have 4 lessons to complete this design brief.