Zambia Grade 8 Design and Technology Syllabus

I. Introduction to Design and Technology

• Career Prospects: This course introduces learners to various career paths related to design and technology, including graphic communication, materials science, bricklaying, systems technology, and entrepreneurship. It also explores related fields like electrical engineering, carpentry, metal fabrication, welding, building construction, architecture, and entrepreneurship.
• Safety in the Workroom: Emphasizes safe working habits, protective attire, daily routines, and understanding safety signs and colors. It covers the use of safety equipment and procedures for specific workroom activities.
• First Aid: Introduces basic first aid techniques and the contents of a first aid box for use in the workroom.
• Fire Protection: Covers different methods of firefighting, including the use of water, chemical foam, carbon dioxide, sand, and extinguishing powder.
• Ventilation and Lighting: Explains the importance of proper ventilation and lighting in the workroom to prevent suffocation, extract fumes and dust, and ensure a free flow of air. It also covers different types of ventilation and lighting, including natural and artificial options.
• Environmental Protection: Focuses on waste management techniques in the workroom and community, including waste disposal methods and the importance of maintaining a healthy environment.

II. Graphic Communication

• Plane Geometry: This section covers the construction of lines, angles, triangles (equilateral, isosceles, scalene, acute, obtuse, and right-angled), quadrilaterals (rectangle, square, kite, rhombus, parallelogram, trapezium), circles, and polygons (regular and irregular). It emphasizes accurate construction and the use of various geometrical instruments.
• Pictorial Drawing: Introduces isometric and oblique projections, including the drawing of straight edges, slanting edges, and circles. It also covers freehand drawing techniques for communicating design ideas.
• Orthographic Projection: Teaches learners how to transform simple isometric drawings into orthographic projections, including adding hidden details and creating title blocks. It also covers producing missing views (end elevation or plan) and interpreting simple building drawings with elevations and plans.

III. Design and Communication

• Design Process Cycle: This section guides learners through the design process, from interpreting a theme and identifying a problem to developing solutions and creating working drawings and a production plan.
• Realisation: Focuses on the practical application of the design process, including gathering materials, marking, cutting, shaping, applying appropriate finishes, and producing an aesthetically appealing artifact.
• Designing Enhancements, Symbols, and Logos: Covers techniques for enhancing drawings and materials, designing symbols for various purposes (buildings, danger signs, directions), and creating logos for companies, clubs, organizations, and schools.

IV. Manufacturing Materials

• Classification of Materials: This section explores the properties and uses of various materials, including wood (indigenous and exotic timber, manufactured boards), metals (ferrous, non-ferrous, and alloys), and plastics (thermoplastics and thermosets). It also covers the effects of heat on plastics and their environmental impact.
• Preparation of Materials: Focuses on preparing materials for use, including measuring, marking, cutting, and testing. It introduces different units of measurement and the use of various tools.
• Wasting of Materials: Covers methods for cutting different materials using appropriate wasting tools, including saws, chisels, planes, hacksaws, files, drill bits, and coping saws. It also emphasizes the use of holding tools like vices and sawing boards.
• Joining Materials: Explores permanent and temporary joining methods for wood, metal, and plastic. This includes techniques like stopped housing, stub mortise and tenon, single dovetail, nailing, screwing, tinplate joints, riveting, soldering, welding, and laminating.
• Adhesives: Covers the use of various adhesives, including casein, animal glue, PVA, contact cement, PVC weld, and Tensol cement. It also emphasizes safety precautions when working with adhesives.
• Fixings: Introduces different types of fixings for security and penetration, including locks, nails, screws, bolts, nuts, rivets, and hinges. It also covers the main parts of screws and nails and methods for fixing them.

V. Electrical Engineering

• Basic Technology and Energy: This section covers different forms and sources of energy, including electrical, mechanical, heat, kinetic, and potential energy. It also explores sources like fossil fuels, biofuels, solar, tidal, wind, hydro, and thermal energy.
• Electrical Equipment: Focuses on operating electrical instruments like multimeters, voltmeters, ammeters, and testers. It covers electrical tests, measuring resistance and voltage, and safety precautions.
• Domestic Installations: Covers identifying cable sizes for different installations, installing electrical components (sockets, switches, lamp holders, lightening arrestors, meters, distribution boxes, breakers), installing conduit pipes, wiring meter boxes and distribution boxes, and earthing.

VI. Bricklaying and Plastering

• Trade Tools: Classifies hand tools used in bricklaying, including laying tools, wall straightening tools, cutting and trimming tools, and finishing tools. It emphasizes the correct storage and cleaning of tools.
• Building Materials: Classifies building materials, including binders (cement and lime), aggregates (pit sand, river sand, quarry dust, stones), and building units (clay bricks, concrete blocks). It also covers the process of making clay bricks, including kneading clay, molding, and drying.
• Brick Kilns: Introduces different types of kilns, including clamp kilns, down-draught kilns, Hoffman kilns, and continuous kilns. It also covers the process of constructing a brick kiln.
• Concrete Block Making: Covers mixing materials for block making, molding blocks (by hand and machine), curing cement sand blocks, and stacking and storing blocks.
• Mortar: Explains how to prepare mortar, including the different types, characteristics, composition, ratios, and mixing procedures.
• Bonding of Brickwork: Introduces the parts of a brick and the importance of bonding brickwork. It covers methods of laying bricks and building brick walls of different thicknesses and configurations, including stretcher bond, double return corner, T-junction, and cross junction.

VII. Entrepreneurship

• Entrepreneurial Activities: Explains the benefits of engaging in entrepreneurial activities, including using local raw materials, developing self-reliance, developing rural communities, and reducing crime. It also covers identifying entrepreneurial activities in design and technology (carpentry, welding, electrical work, building products and services), creating business plans, and implementing those plans.

VIII. Grade 9 Content: The Grade 9 syllabus builds upon the Grade 8 foundation, expanding on topics like graphic communication (tangents, ellipses, surface development, orthographic projections, computer drawing), design and communication (evaluation, portfolio presentation), resistant materials (heat treatment of metals and plastics, impelling tools, finishing materials), systems technology (structures, energy sources), and entrepreneurship (business management, credit management, final accounts).