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Year 1 Frame structures: bridges worksheet

“Bridges that stand firm” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 1 design and technology unit “Frame structures: bridges”, for children aged 5 to 6, and takes about 23 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 1 to 8 of the year, 8 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Bridges that stand firm

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 1 · Design & technology · about 23 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can say what a bridge is for and what makes it strong and stable.

A Look back3 min

1.
Circle the right name for this shape.
trianglesquarecircle
2.
Circle the right name for this shape.
squarerectanglecircle
3.
Circle the shape whose four sides are all the same length.
rectanglesquaretriangle

B Watch me, then you4 min

Ola builds a bridge from sticks. It wobbles and falls over. What shape could she add to stop that?

A small wooden footbridge crossing a stream in a park, with no people

Watch me

This is a triangle.

Its three corners hold each other in place.

A triangle is stable, so it does not wobble.

Now you

1.
Sam's bridge leans to one side. Which word means it stays in place? Circle the word.
stablebendylong

C Your turn7 min

Read each row. Then do the next one.

Three different bridges over water, a road bridge, a rail bridge and a footbridge

1.
Join each word to its meaning.
engineerstructurestable
still and steady, so it will not tip overa built thing with a job, which keeps its shapesomeone who plans and makes bridges and other things
2.
Write each bridge card under the right heading.
a path over a stream in a parka road over a valleya railway across a river
Cars Trains People on foot
3.
What must a bridge be so it does not break? Circle the word.
stronglongtallbendy
4.
Which thing helps a bridge stay stable? Circle it.
a triangle in the framepaint on the sidesa thin stick on its owna round ball on top

Say it out loud: Each card had a different job for the bridge. What does every bridge need to do?

D Spot the mistake3 min

A small bridge made from lolly sticks with a wobbly top, over a gap

Kit says: “A structure is a word for the person who builds the bridge.”

1.
Circle the right word for the person who designs and builds the bridge.
engineerstructurestable

E Think deeper4 min

A narrow stream with stones and grassy banks, ready for a bridge

1.
Draw a bridge for a narrow stream. Show one part that keeps it stable. Label it with a word from this sheet.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Bridges that stand firm · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. triangle

2. rectangle

3. square

B

1. stable your child may be thinking of how the bridge looks. Ask: which word means it will not fall over?

C

1. engineer → someone who plans and makes bridges and other things; structure → a built thing with a job, which keeps its shape; stable → still and steady, so it will not tip over your child may have matched by the first letter. Read each word out loud, then read each meaning, and check again.

2. Cars: a road over a valley · Trains: a railway across a river · People on foot: a path over a stream in a park

3. strong your child may think a long or tall bridge will not break. Ask: which word means it will not snap under weight?

4. a triangle in the frame your child may think paint makes a bridge firm. Paint makes it look nice. Ask what keeps the corners still.

D

1. engineer Kit has mixed up two words. A structure is the bridge itself. Ask your child: which word names the person?

E

1. Look for: A drawing of a bridge with one part labelled to show it keeps the bridge stable, such as a triangle labelled triangle or stable.

Words to use

Say“Which part of your bridge keeps it stable? Show me.”

Instead of“That's right, you know this, just tell me the answer.”

After the sheet

Make a card bridge at the kitchen table. Lay two strips of card across two books, then fold a triangle of card and tape it underneath. Test it with a small toy car. A grown-up should do any cutting with scissors or a craft knife.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

7 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Bridge collage time(with a plan)
Bridges that stand up(with a plan)
Stronger bridge shapes(with a plan)
Sketch your bridge ideas(with a plan)
Build and test a bridge base(with a plan)
Decorate your bridge(with a plan)
Testing our bridges(with a plan)

Every Year 1 design and technology worksheet

The worksheets plan opens a printable sheet for every lesson in Years 1 to 6, each with its answers on a separate page for you. It costs £6.99 a month or £59 a year for the whole family, with no free trial.

The full StudyDen plan adds the lessons themselves, marked as your child works, with the worksheets included. It is 7 days free, then £29.99 a month.

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