It’s alright to be 17-24 October 2015 Charity Number: 313182 What’s Out There? It’s alright to be bright it’s cool to be clever we’ve all got potential let’s celebrate together! It’s Alright What’s to be Bright! Out There 17-24 October 2015 ? Welcome! Join us to celebrate It’s Alright to be Bright! 2015 We hope that you will find something in this on the topic of What’s Out There? In our tenth year activity booklet that will inspire you to run an ’s Out There of the It’s Alright to be Bright! campaign, we are activity. We have covered all ages and abilities, What ? searching for things that are not in normal view. encouraging everyone to learn something new, Our activity booklet is for you to use in your class, develop their skills and exercise their thinking. If year, club, group or family. you have found it useful, please let others know about it. The aim of the campaign is to celebrate the many gifts and talents of children everywhere; we hope Potential Plus UK is an organisation that supports to honour their diverse passions, ambitions and children with high learning potential. We offer successes. Children are capable of extraordinary family membership, school membership and achievement in many different areas and we professional membership so that we can support remember them all, no matter where their talents these groups. We also carry out assessments lie: mathematics, languages, science, writing, art, on children and provide recommendations and drama, music, chess, sports…in almost anything! support to families and schools. We deliver workshops in schools for teachers, governors and We also recognise and wish to raise awareness parents. If you would like to find out more about of the children who are misunderstood, feel our work, please visit www.potentialplusuk.org . isolated and who struggle to get their needs met because they are different to most. These children We hope you enjoy the activities in the booklet. often learn in unusual ways, have an atypical Let us know how you get on! understanding of the world and suffer with asynchronous development in a number of ways. These differences can impact on their social lives, Denise Yates their emotional experiences and their behaviour. Chief Executive, Potential Plus UK 2 About Potential Plus UK Potential Plus UK (the operating name of The National Association for Gifted Children) is a charity that supports the social, emotional and learning needs of children with high learning potential* of all ages and Contents backgrounds. This includes children who have been identified as Academically More Key Stage 1 Activity: Able within the school setting who have the potential to achieve in a Page 4 net X wide range of academic subjects, the arts or leadership, those who are Life on Pla Dual and Multiple Exceptional (high ability coupled with a disability or learning difficulty) and the profoundly gifted. Page 7 Key Stage 2 Activity: Our aim is to enable every child with high learning potential to grow in Cryptozoology confidence, thrive and achieve fulfilment. Established in 1967, we provide parents, carers and professionals Page 9 Key Stage 3 Activity: with the confidence and tools they need to help these children thrive. New Species We give them support and specialist advice covering a wide range of issues such as lack of self esteem, underachievement or challenging Key Stage 4 Activity: behaviour. Page 11 There? What’s in In addition, we provide opportunities for fun, friendship and challenge outside the classroom. Most importantly, we celebrate the achievements and potential of these amazing children. What *This is the term preferred by Potential Plus UK ’s Out www.potentialplusuk.org There T 01908 646433 Potential Plus UK ? Challenge House E [email protected] Sherwood Drive www.facebook.com/PotentialPlusUK Bletchley 3 @PPUK_ Milton Keynes MK3 6DP Learnin Outcomes * To develop speaking and listening skills Life on through discussion about ideas * To explore creativity by using a stimulus to inspire original thought Planet X * To develop ine motor skills through drawing, painting, printing and assembling * To develop higher order thinking skills through application o knowledge and evaluation o ideas KEY STAGE KS1 TIME 1-2 hours (depending on the ollow up activities chosen) About the Activity SUBJECT AREAS English, Geography, Art, Design and Technology This activity is designed to initiate some open-ended creative (and hopeully slightly wacky) thought about lie on other RESOURCES Flip chart pad and pens; Blu tack; planets, based on a simple and logical starting structure. assorted art materials – paint, pens, By giving the creative work a logical initial structure it should pastels, sugar paper, collage materials, be more accessible to children who ind imaginative and scrap (whatever you have really); construction toy such as Lego ‘pretend’ tasks challenging. Drawing on existing scientiic/ geographical knowledge children will be encouraged to EXTENSION RESOURCES Copies o the alien lie writing rame; communicate their ideas both verbally and visually. some o the suggested extension tasks will require additional materials. Access to computers/internet or research may be desirable. Click here for the Alien Life Data Collection H&S I using tools such as scissors, glue guns etc then appropriate saety precautions sheet to print out: should be taken. http://www.itsalrighttobebright.com/Alien%20 Lie%20Data%20Collection%20Sheet.pd 4 Life on 3. Practical activities which Planet X could follow on from this input: a. Encourage the children to paint/ draw a picture or create a collage of any aspect of the Planet that appeals to them. Alternatively, use construction toys, clay or junk modeling to create 2. State that changing any one of these 3D models of some of the buildings/ facts could make Planet Earth a very artifacts on this planet. at’s different place. We are going to imagine Wh another planet where the opposite of b. Use a simple writing frame to some of these things is true. Choose encourage descriptive writing – Our Out one of the facts given before and ask the Planet is… On the planet are…etc. children to suggest what the opposite of that might be. Allow a little flexibility c. You may like to start a class project ere? in the definition of ‘opposite’ (e.g. the to create a large 3D map/panorama of Th opposite of trees as we know them the planet using papier-mâché. Add could be ones that grow upside down). details of plant life, buildings etc by Expand on the idea and by questioning using pictures, collage, junk modeling or promote a discussion as to what construction toys such as Lego. implications this change could have for life on the planet. (E.g. upside down d. Planet X documentary. Script and trees would have roots which spread film a David Attenborough style natural Suggested Plan across the sky and might make the history documentary about life on the planet surface darker. This could lead to planet. Act out scenes to dramatise. Ask the whole group for facts that the people needing lights on all the time, or 1. animals developing the ability to see in children already know about planet Write a story or cartoon strip about a the dark much better) Repeat with up to e. Earth. These can be anything from visit to this planet. simple ideas like ‘grass is green’ to more 5 facts – linking each one to the previous complex suggestions such as ‘rain is ideas - until you have a fairly detailed 55 part of the water cycle’. descriptive picture of the new Planet. SEN Activity Ideas Life on Provide children with pictures of planets seen from space and a circle of paper or a foam/card sphere that they can colour Planet X in and stick collage materials onto. Alien plants can be created very simply by adding a range of craft materials to bare branches/ sticks. Also provide assistance for children who struggle with cutting and glueing shocking about life on Earth? What materials. Consider alternative ways of adaptations did they have to make to live Useful Resources recording ideas to suit individual children. here? Create alien music/language/writing. What are the weather systems like? Each Clips of videos on space, the SEN Discussion planetary exploration is likely to raise Earth and the Solar System unique topics which could be expanded http://www.bbc.co.uk/ By giving the creative work a logical initial upon and followed up. structure it should be more accessible to education/topics/zdrrd2p/ resources/1 Any favourite books about children who find imaginative and ‘pretend’ aliens or space can be used tasks challenging. Be prepared to explain High Potential Learner Discussion A range of downloadable to support this topic but a that, where a true ‘opposite’ is difficult to Plan an expedition from Earth to this resources to support this few suggestions are: define exactly, that you might have to accept planet. What resources would you need? topic idea an idea which is just ‘very different’ from the Aliens love underpants Can you work out how much you would http://www.sparklebox. situation on Earth. (Children with autistic Clare Freedman and Ben Cort need in terms of supplies? What personnel co.uk/topic/fantasy/space. spectrum disorders might have an struggle Here come the aliens should you take with you? Can you design html#VgmPlpdLbbE with this.) Focus on just one or two ‘opposite’ a suitable vehicle to transport you there? Colin Mc Naughton ideas to discuss in more detail and create a Space themed A4 word Dr Xargles book of mat for KS1 mind map of these as a small group Earthlets Positive, Negative, Interesting http://displays.tpet.