Section drawings

This is one of a set of resources developed to support the teaching of the primary national curriculum. They are designed to support the delivery of key topics within design and technology and maths. This resource focusses on creating a section drawing of a product.

Different types of drawing are used to communicate different types of information. Section drawings are a type of 2D drawing that show the parts or features inside a product. In effect, a section drawing shows the view as if the product has been cut in half – most typically this is along the longer dimension of the product, such as its length. Section drawings are used to show what the inside of a product looks like and how the parts of a product fit together.

Producing a section drawing develops drawing skills, whilst simultaneously allowing concepts such as dimensions, proportion and scale to be introduced in a practical context.

Activity info, teachers' notes and curriculum links

In this activity learners will produce a section drawing of a safety helmet worn by cyclists, working in proportion and ideally to scale.

This could be used as a one-off activity or linked to other D&T activities, such as product analysis or exploded drawing (especially when using the extension activity, creating a section drawing of a pen). It could also be used in conjunction with the IET Faraday Primary Poster – Section Views.

The activity sheet includes teachers' notes, useful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in each of the four devolved nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

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All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students' and your schools' needs.

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