L01 · Pre-Diagnostic Day — Bridge It Baseline Test (no teaching yet)

🎯 Learning intentions

I can take the Bridge It pre-diagnostic calmly and do my best.
I can skip questions I don't know without worrying — this is a BASELINE, not a graded test.
I can name 1 thing I HOPE to learn about bridges this term.

✅ Success criteria

I have attempted every question I can in the 40-mark diagnostic.
I have handed the test in (even if I left some blank).
I have written ONE hope/curiosity on the exit sticky note.

Do Now · 5 min

Quick seating + materials check (5 min)

Find your seat. Pencil + eraser + ruler on your desk.
No laptops today — we're working on paper.
Phones away.

Ms Gao's promise: today's test does NOT count toward your Term 2 grade. I use your answers ONLY to know what to TEACH you this term. Blank answers are fine. Do your best, don't stress.

I Do · ~10 min Teacher demonstration

Welcome to Term 2 Technology (5 min).

Very quick overview — just so you know what's coming:

Term 2 unit = Bridge It. 11 weeks. You'll build a real popsicle-stick bridge.
You'll work in pairs for most of the term.
Final bridge will be load-tested until it breaks (it's supposed to — that's the fun part 🌉💥).
One big assessment task — released in Lesson 5.

Why we're testing TODAY before teaching ANYTHING: if I teach you about bridges first, then test you, I'm really testing whether you were paying attention — not what you already know. So we test FIRST. The score tells me where YOU are so I know what I need to teach YOU.

What's on the test:

Part A — 10 marks: recognise things in bridge photos (you'll be guessing on some — that's OK)
Part B — 10 marks: short written answers about forces and design
Part C — 9 marks: reading a scaled drawing (you've done scale in Term 1)
Part D — 11 marks: freehand drawing — cube + truss sketch

Total 40 marks. 50 minutes. No phones, no laptops, no talking. Skip anything you're unsure of.

We Do · ~15 min Guided practice

Quick test-taking reminders (5 min). Ms Gao reads these aloud:

Write your name on the front page.
Use pencil so you can rub out and redraw.
Read each question once before writing. Don't panic.
Skip questions you don't know and come back at the end. Don't sit on one question for more than 2 minutes.
For Part D (drawing), use your ruler. Don't worry about making it perfect.
When you finish, silently raise your hand and I'll collect. You may read quietly until everyone is done.

Any questions about the test instructions? (Not the content — I can't help with answers.)

You Do · ~35 min Independent pair work

🎯 The Bridge It Pre-Diagnostic Test (50 minutes, SILENT)

👉 Start the interactive diagnostic

Click below. Log in with your full name + class, answer all 40 marks, then click Submit. Your work saves automatically as you type.

📝 Open the Bridge It Diagnostic →

Remember:

This test is WORTH ZERO in your Term 2 grade — it tells Ms Gao what to TEACH.
Your tier (Support / Core / Extension) appears immediately when you submit, AND Ms Gao will post it in Google Classroom by Friday.
If a question is genuinely blank in your head, still pick the best guess — you'll see the correct answer after submitting so you start learning right away.
Your answers save automatically to THIS laptop. You can close the browser and come back.
After submitting, follow the on-screen instructions to paste your score into a Google Classroom private comment.

If your laptop won't load the interactive page, ask Ms Gao for a printed paper copy — the docx link is in the Resources section below.

Differentiation

🪜Support

Ms Gao reads Part B + Part C prompts aloud (instructions only, not the answers). Larger-print version available on request. No time pressure beyond the 50 min.

🎯Core

Standard conditions. Independent work, silent room. Aim to finish all 30 questions.

🚀Extension

Finished early? Scroll to the 🚀 Extension Corner at the bottom of your results page — 6 stretch tasks (bridge spotter, glossary head-start, Sydney Harbour Bridge deep-dive, 3 concept sketches, load prediction, metacognition bonus). Pick ANY ONE, do it in your exercise book or a Google Doc, and mention it in your private comment.

Exit Ticket · 5 min

🎫 Before you leave (5 min) — on a sticky note:

Finish this sentence: "One thing I HOPE to learn about bridges this term is ___."
How did the test feel? (😀 easy / 😐 OK / 😰 tough) — circle one.

Stick these on the way out the door. I'll read every one tonight and build Lesson 2 around the tough bits.

Next lesson (L02): we meet the Bridge Workbook Folio, take a tour of famous bridges around the world, and start filling in Research Q1 (bridge glossary) + Q2 (4 bridge types). Bring a charged laptop.

7TECJ fast-pace note Extension Corner

Because you move quickly in this class, the interactive diagnostic includes a built-in Extension Corner that appears on your results page after you submit. Six tasks, you pick ONE:

1 · Bridge Spotter — find 3 bridges on PBS Building Big, identify type + reason.
2 · Glossary head-start — define 10 Workbook Folio terms in your own words.
3 · SHB deep-dive — 5 facts about the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

4 · Sketch 3 bridge ideas — concepts that fit the APHS 500 mm gorge build rules.
5 · Predict the load test — what weight will your team's bridge hold?
★ BONUS · Metacognition — pick ONE wrong answer, reflect on why + how to remember.

One task done well > five rushed. These feed directly into Phase 1 + 2 of the unit.

📚 Resources for this lesson

Before you leave Quick check-in

🚩 Stuck or confused?

Click this button to flag to Ms Gao that you need a 1-to-1 next lesson. Your message is copied — paste it into a Google Classroom private comment.

📄 Export journal so far

Save your journal as a .txt file to upload to Google Classroom for Ms Gao's Friday review.

📓 Open journal + export