Integrated guide — A stand for a story and a numberYear 1 · T1 · Week 03 Story Card Stand

Development draft · 29 September 2026 · five 35-minute sessions (Days 11–15). This is a practical Design and Technologies project with a small Digital Technologies link through symbols and algorithms. Pair each day with, but do not replace, Year 1 English Days 11–15 and mathematics Days 11–15. English's adult-read story supplies three retell events; maths supplies a separate tens/ones card within 51–70. In this guide the child designs a card stand for a fictional known user. The number card checks whether the stand holds different cards; it is not a substitute maths assessment. Read the source/rights ledger and exact ACARA crosswalk. All links are partial Years 1–2 band opportunities, not a full-year achievement claim.

Use: Print one day's learner source card plus the A4 stand planner or its text/tactile route. Keep keys, rubric and next moves teacher-side. Materials: clean scrap card/paper, reusable paper clips if safe, low-tack tape if approved, three original blank story cards, one drawn number card, broad pencil, flat mat. Adult pre-cuts materials; avoid staples, hot glue, sharp edges, tiny loose parts for children who may mouth them, or unstable high structures. Check mobility, sensory, fine-motor and class safety plans. The child may direct an adult maker and use tactile, large-print, sign, AAC, spoken, drawn or typed explanations. Do not require a child to disclose a real personal need or design “for” a classmate without that classmate's informed input.

Evidence line every day: source/fiction label | exact design choice | what was actually tested | response mode and prompt | next move. The fictional Mina card is an invented design brief. A teacher-run real material test is an actual classroom observation and must be recorded separately; no fixed outcome is supplied. Home version uses two folded paper scraps and three hand-drawn cards, with no purchase.

Day 11 — Whose problem are we solving?

Question: What does the known fictional user need, and what are we guessing? Codes: AC9TDE2K01, AC9TDE2P01, AC9TDI2K02 (symbols as data). 35 = 4 welcome + 6 source model + 12 investigate + 10 sketch/talk + 3 exit.

1. Welcome · 4 min. Place three loose story cards labelled first, next, last on a table. Slide one gently yourself. Say: “A loose card can move. Does every table do this? We need to test our table.”
2. Source model · 6 min. Read invented Card 11 aloud. Separate Mina's stated need—keep three cards in order and visible—from our assumptions about why. Point to the fact that people design products for a purpose; reuse of available material is one sustainability choice, not proof that a product has no impact.
3. Investigate · 12 min. Learners ask one question of the source card: How many cards? What size? What is unknown? They try three blank cards on an approved mat and observe whether any move under a gentle adult tap. Record our mat today rather than replacing the fictional brief with a claim about Mina's real table.
4. Sketch/talk · 10 min. Pairs draw or model one possible stand, label where first/next/last go, and place a drawn 52 card (five tens/two ones) beside it as a second card type. Maths Day 11 teaches 52; here we ask only whether the stand could display it. Offer a symbol/number/word label choice and note which communicates best to the invented user.
5. Exit · 3 min. Ask: “What did Mina say she needs? What do we still need to test?” Teacher check: need vs assumption. If a learner says Mina has a disability, return to the actual words and ask what the card does not say.

Home/access/extension: Use three paper rectangles. A child may point and direct an adult to slide one; no real table test is required at home. Extension: compare how a large symbol and a small word label might serve different readers without assuming one is universally better.

Day 12 — How does material change movement?

Question: What happens to a card on a flat sheet, a fold and a support? Codes: AC9TDE2K02, AC9TDE2P02, AC9TDE2P03. 35 = 4 predict + 6 safe model + 12 test + 10 compare + 3 exit.

1. Predict · 4 min. Show the three material arrangements on Card 12: flat scrap, folded scrap, reused stiff card with adult-approved support. Children predict which might hold one story card at the angle they want. All predictions are provisional.
2. Safe model · 6 min. Adult demonstrates a gentle test: same card, same mat, same small touch at one marked point, then releases. Say: “A fold may change how the paper holds a card; we will report what this setup does.” Stop if a piece flicks or becomes unstable.
3. Test · 12 min. In small groups, children or child-directed adults try two of the three arrangements. Mark actual stayed / slid / tipped / other in a blank log. Use only safe, pre-cut pieces and a flat reachable work surface. If no material test is safe, inspect a teacher model without claiming first-hand results.
4. Compare · 10 min. Discuss what changed (material/shape/support), what stayed similar (card/mat/touch) and what could still differ (adult hand angle). Learners choose a promising arrangement and one improvement. This is exploratory evidence, not a controlled proof about every paper type.
5. Exit · 3 min. “What did your test actually show, and what would you try next?” Teacher check: prediction/observation distinction and safe use. If a child repeats the prediction as result, put the two statements in separate columns and review the observed card position.

Home/access/extension: Adult can perform one gentle test while child chooses and observes; paper only. Extension: try another reused paper thickness and note that material and fold both changed, so the comparison is limited.

Day 13 — Two ideas, then a making sequence

Question: How can a design hold a story order and a number model? Codes: AC9TDE2P01, AC9TDE2P04, AC9TDI2K02, AC9TDI2P02 (a simple sequence only). 35 = 4 retrieve + 6 model + 12 design + 10 order steps + 3 exit.

1. Retrieve · 4 min. Look at actual Day 12 test logs. Ask which evidence supports a material choice and which claim still needs checking.
2. Model · 6 min. Draw two contrasting ideas: one folded stand and one flat slot/clip design. Say: “I have not tested either drawn idea. I will choose the one I can make safely with our materials.” Show how symbols 1–2–3 represent the order of three story events; they are data, not the story itself.
3. Design · 12 min. Learners sketch/model two ideas on the stand planner, select one, and place original English-story event cards (signs drawn, signs moved, signs clipped/mapped) in first/next/last order. Add a separate 64 card (six tens/four ones) from maths Day 13 as an optional second format. The teacher reads rich captions; no independent decoding of them is required.
4. Order steps · 10 min. Pairs arrange make-steps: choose clean reused material → fold/support → place cards → gently test → change one feature. Child names a safety step and whose job it is; an adult handles cutting. This is an algorithmic sequence and a design-making plan; branching/iteration receives fuller teaching in Week 4.
5. Exit · 3 min. “Which idea did you choose, and which test will tell you if it works for the card?” Teacher check: idea, reason and test. If the child chooses only by decoration, offer the user brief again and ask how Mina would see card order.

Home/access/extension: Describe or tactile-model two ideas; child directs adult fold. Extension: adapt one idea to display a wider number card without losing the story order.

Day 14 — Build, test, revise

Question: Does our stand make the cards usable in this setup? Codes: AC9TDE2P02, AC9TDE2P03, AC9TDE2P04. 35 = 4 prepare + 6 model + 12 make/test + 10 revise + 3 exit.

1. Prepare · 4 min. Check material edges, safe clip choice, reachable work area and user brief. Display a blank actual-test log, not the fictional feedback card as an observed result.
2. Model · 6 min. Teacher folds a small scrap stand, places one card, gently tests it, and records the actual result from this demonstration. If it tips, say so and model a change; do not promise that a fold always works.
3. Make/test · 12 min. Learners or directed adult makers follow their chosen steps with safe materials, display three story cards, then try one number card: 69 or 70 from maths Day 14. Reader checks whether order and numeral are visible; count accuracy stays with maths lesson. Observe held/slid/tipped without inventing a favourable outcome.
4. Revise · 10 min. Give Card 14, clearly marked fictional possible feedback, then ask each learner to compare it with their own actual test. Change one feature (base width, fold angle, card slot) and test again. Note both outcomes and whether the change was helpful in this setup.
5. Exit · 3 min. “What did you change, and what did the second test show?” Teacher check: revision based on observed evidence. If a learner reports only “better”, ask for a concrete card position before and after.

Home/access/extension: A flat card layout can be a preliminary design when a stand is inaccessible; adult maker can test the child-selected fold. Extension: compare support strategies while changing only one feature where possible.

Day 15 — Larger assignment: make, show, transfer

Question: Can a reader use our designed stand, and can we adapt it to a new brief? Codes: AC9TDE2K01, AC9TDE2P01, AC9TDE2P02, AC9TDE2P03, AC9TDE2P04. 35 = 4 brief + 5 plan + 15 make/test/share + 8 transfer + 3 exit.

1. Brief · 4 min. Read the Week 3 assignment sheet. It is a new product brief for fictional Mina: show three original story cards in order and a 68 number-model card without mixing them. Reusing scrap is allowed, not mandatory if unsafe or inaccessible.
2. Plan · 5 min. Learner points/draws to where each card will go, states a safe making sequence and a test. Adult notes whether the plan came from the child or a model.
3. Make/test/share · 15 min. Use or improve Day 14 prototype; place first/next/last cards and the 68 card; have a teacher/consenting peer try reading the order without prompting. Record actual success/ambiguity and one revision. A learner can communicate by pointing, AAC, speech or child-directed adult voice. Keep public display free of child names and real place data.
4. Transfer · 8 min. Give unseen transfer Card 15: a different fictional table permits two cards and no clip. Ask which one design choice changes and why. Accept a paper sketch; no second build required.
5. Exit · 3 min. “What did your actual test show? Which change would you try next?” Record the four-criterion rubric and one exact next move, not a global ability label.

Home/access/extension: A child may direct an adult maker or submit a tactile/drawn design plus test plan when physical building is unavailable; record which making outcome was actually observed. Home card display can be paper only. Extension: defend a design trade-off between visibility, card stability and amount of material used, based on evidence rather than preference alone.

Rights: Original scripts, fictional briefs and assignment © NeuroForgeIO Pty Ltd 2026, CC BY 4.0. Credit source and mark changes. ACARA wording has separate terms; no endorsement or affiliation. Educator, Technologies, access, cultural and local-syllabus review pending.