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Thematic Unit (PMLD) To Infinity and Beyond OVERVIEW In this unit learners gain an awareness of outer space and space travel. This awareness is developed and embedded through a range of carefully planned and personalised sensory experiences such as poetry, stories, songs, ICT, art and music. These activities are suggestions only. You can adapt or extend them to suit your learners’ age, cognitive ability and specific needs. Please note: before beginning an activity, check that all the resources are suitable for your individual learners. For example, some essential oils may not be appropriate for young children and others may have contraindications for learners with complex medical needs, life-threatening conditions and/or epilepsy. It is advisable to consult a trained therapist before using essential oils. Contents Learning Activity 1 Outer Space A sensory introduction to space ....................................................... 2 Learning Activity 2 Rockets All about rockets ................................................................................. 6 Learning Activity 3 Let’s Get Ready to Rumble! A musical story .................................................................................10 Learning Activity 4 Voyage to Outer Space A sensory story .................................................................................12 Learning Activity 5 Fun on the Moon Messy and sensory exploration ......................................................14 Learning Activity 6 Explosion in Outer Space Interactive sensory boxes ............................................................... 20 Learning Activity 7 Final Destination Musical body awareness ................................................................ 22 Resources ...................................................................................... 24 Acknowledgements .................................................................. 33 To Infinity and Beyond 1 Learning Activity 1 Outer Space Setting the Scene What to Do Outer space is something most of us will never really Introduce your learners to the activity by explaining that experience. However, we can recreate it in our classrooms. they are going to learn all about space. Place a silver It’s all about stimulating the senses through a wide range emergency blanket over them or encourage them to wear of experiences related to this theme. a pair of moon boots. Decorate your classroom with resources from To set the scene, darken the room and play a piece of www.twinkl.co.uk (use the word ‘space’ to search) or cosmic music (downloaded from Audio Networks). If ideas from www.pinterest.com (use the words ‘outer possible, move the learners around the room as you talk space – sensory’ to search) or transform your classroom about the sky at night, darkness, twinkling stars, meteor into the NASA space station. Add spaceship portholes to showers, the moon and the planets. your classroom windows and use your learners’ artwork to Slowly introduce one experience at a time. transform your classroom door into a rocket. This will help to create an atmosphere from the moment your learners If possible, connect twinkling fairy lights to a switch. For arrive at their classroom. battery-operated lights, you will need a battery switch adaptor and a switch. For mains-operated lights, you will need a PowerLink and a switch. You can find these at www.inclusive.co.uk. Give your learners opportunities to switch the lights on and off. Encourage them to examine the lights from different angles. You may wish to sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, depending on the age of your learners. Introduce your learners to a meteor shower in outer space by using an app such as Visual Effects. Depending on the number of tablets you have, encourage each learner to use this interactive app to experience cause and effect. Encourage staff to use words like ‘whoosh’, ‘whee’ and ‘crash’ as they talk to your learners. If you are still playing space music in the classroom, simply mute the tablet before starting the app. To increase the effectiveness of the app, display it on an interactive whiteboard (either wirelessly or with a cable) or use a projector to project it onto an umbrella or net laundry basket. This activity will allow each learner to experience the meteor shower at close proximity and, if appropriate, reach out to explore it from different angles. 2 To Infinity and Beyond Areas of Learning Primary Language and Literacy The World Around Us Post-Primary English Environment and Society Science and Technology Cross-Curricular Skill Using ICT What You Need • Mini silver scourers • Access to Audio Networks through C2k to • Silver emergency blanket (to place over search for and download a track called your learners’ legs or wrap around their Meteor shoulders) • Large cardboard moon painted grey with • Moon boots (wellington boots covered in egg cartons stuck to it to resemble craters foil) • Long roll of bubble wrap • White fairy lights (stars) • Large cut-out or 3D stars and planets to • Data projector attached to a laptop and hang from the ceiling in the centre of the access to the internet group. Before starting this topic, you can • Interactive whiteboard involve your learners in covering large • Tablet paper lampshades or balloons in papier- • Cat toy on a stick or something similar, mâché to make planets. with the handle covered in black crêpe • Instructions for making a solar system paper and tinsel and metallic streamers mobile: search for ‘solar system model’ at attached to the string and end to make www.enchantedlearning.com it look like a meteor. If possible, attach a glow-in-the-dark or light-up toy to the end To create an atmosphere in the classroom, play the downloaded track called Meteor. Sweep the meteor stick (cat toy on a stick) around the room, using big exaggerated movements. Make lots of whooshing sounds as you engage with your learners. Hold the stick close to your learners and then move it away, to visually stimulate them and encourage tracking. Drop mini silver scourers from a height or throw them from one learner to another to build and develop the skill of anticipation. To Infinity and Beyond 3 Learning Activity 1 (continued) Outer Space Finally, it’s time to explore the planets. Lay some bubble • Jupiter spins very fast and makes lots of different wrap out on the floor and encourage each learner to move weather in the clouds – let your learners feel some over it, either on foot or in a chair. What can they hear? Is cotton wool or wadding. that the sound of the moon? As one learner does this, pass • Saturn spins very fast and this creates hurricane-like the cardboard moon around the group, allowing time for storms – use a fan with streamers attached to create each learner to feel it, look at it and listen to a member of a wind effect. If available, attach an electric fan to the staff describe the experience, for example ‘the moon is PowerLink and give each learner the experience of bumpy’, ‘the moon is big’, ‘the moon is grey’ or ‘the moon turning the storm on and off. is cold’. • Uranus is a blue-green colour. Encourage your learners Use a torch to focus each learner’s attention on one planet to explore a circular card painted blue-green or a blue at a time. Use individual sensory experiences to represent and green jelly. each planet as you talk about it: • Neptune is named after the Roman god of the sea – • Mercury is very cold – pass an ice pack around your give your learners a bowl with blue water (soak a small learners, letting them feel it. amount of blue crêpe paper in water to give it a blue colour) to investigate. • Venus is hot and covered by clouds of water vapour – spray your learners lightly with warm water. • Pluto is very small – pass around a small, light grey or silver ball that fits into your learners’ hands. • Mars is known as the red planet – give your learners a red fur fabric circle to explore. 4 To Infinity and Beyond Through your learners’ responses, you will be able to Further Suggestions assess which stimuli they react to best. This may be useful for planning future lessons. It is not essential to Amazing apps use all the sensory experiences every time you have a Go to http://amazingspacejourney.com and explore lesson. However, it is important to repeat activities so this app. For some learners this will provide an that your learners can embed the key concepts. augmented reality (AR) experience. You will need to download and print the augmented reality board from Remember to take photographs of the different the website. experiences and learner reactions. These will be useful for class discussions and for creating a sensory book in Download the Amazing Space Journey 3D Solar System one of the other activities. app. You may wish to use the Space Journey app with some of your older learners. Project it onto a wall, ceiling, whiteboard or white tent (with learners and staff inside) as you talk about the planets and allow them experience the individual sensory activities described. Search online for other apps or resources that might help you to create a solar system in your room. To Infinity and Beyond 5 Learning Activity 2 Rockets Setting the Scene Let’s Make A Rocket! Explain to your learners that they are going to learn about Experience 1 (Cardboard Rockets) rockets. Show them different types of rockets from books, • Give your learners a range of brightly coloured or metallic posters, toy or model rockets or images on a tablet. You may paints. If appropriate, allow them to choose a colour even want to add some junk materials to a younger learner’s from the range of two or three, to develop choice and chair to turn it into a rocket. decision-making. Talk to your learners about the colours and the choices available. What to Do • Support each learner to choose a cardboard tube to use Search online for ‘rockets videos for kids’ and apps about as a rocket. Encourage them to explore the tube, by: rockets.

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