Lesson Plan

Resources → Subject Notes → Design and Technology → Notes
Lesson Plan
Grade: Date: 17/01/2026
Subject: Design and Technology
Lesson Topic: The terms invention, innovation and evolution.
Learning Objective/s:
  • Describe the definitions of invention, innovation, and evolution in technology.
  • Compare and contrast the three concepts using real‑world examples.
  • Analyse how user feedback and market forces influence the evolution of a technology.
  • Explain the role of intellectual property in protecting inventions and innovations.
Materials Needed:
  • Projector and screen
  • Whiteboard and markers
  • Printed handout with definitions and comparison table
  • Image cards (light bulb, LED, smart lighting)
  • Sticky notes for group brainstorming
  • Worksheet for individual assessment
 Introduction:
Begin with a quick visual of a classic light bulb and ask students what makes a technology “new”. Connect this to prior knowledge of everyday gadgets and state that today they will distinguish invention, innovation and evolution. Success criteria: students will be able to define each term, give examples, and map a technology’s development pathway.
Lesson Structure:
  1. Do‑now (5'): Short quiz on familiar tech terms to activate prior knowledge.
  2. Mini‑lecture (10'): Slide presentation defining invention, innovation, evolution with the light bulb/LED examples.
  3. Group matching activity (15'): Teams match example cards to the correct concept and justify their choices.
  4. Whole‑class discussion (10'): Explore drivers (research, market demand, feedback) and introduce intellectual property basics.
  5. Guided practice (10'): Students complete a comparison table for a chosen technology.
  6. Exit ticket (5'): Write one original example of an invention, its innovation, and a recent evolution.
Conclusion:
Recap the three stages and highlight how they interlink in real product cycles. Collect exit tickets as a retrieval check and assign homework: research a modern technology and create a brief flowchart showing its invention‑innovation‑evolution pathway.