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Reception Transport: On the Move
Space

Inspired by stories and rhymes, use your imagination to travel away from Earth and into space. Learn about rockets, the moon, stars and the planets. Have a visit from an alien visitor and teach them about earth life and space travel. Make your own space rockets, space art and stories.

block outcomes

Session 1 Alien countdown

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Objectives

Early Learning Goals

  • Count reliably with numbers from 1 to 20, place them in order and say which number is one more or one less than a given number.
  • Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.
  • Learn about media and materials in original ways, thinking about uses and purposes. Represent own ideas, thoughts and feelings through role-play.
  • Show good control and co-ordination in large and small movements. Move confidently in a range of ways, safely negotiating space. Handle equipment and tools effectively, including pencils for writing.

Lesson Planning

Create spaceships and a mission control role-play area.

Teaching Outcomes:

  • To place numbers 1 to 20 in order, forwards and backwards
  • To self-select from available resources and tools to create spaceships and a mission control role-play area showing control and co-ordination as they handle tools effectively and safely.

Children will:

  • Order numbers from 0 to 10/20 and 10 to 0 (extend to 20 to 0).
  • Create spaceships using reclaimed materials/junk modelling.
  • Begin to create inside of spaceship/mission control role-play area.

You Will Need

  • Alien puppet
  • Crashed space rocket scene - chairs upturned, parts of the ‘rocket’ scattered, e.g. tin foil shapes, litre water bottles sprayed silver, control panel - box with lids/circle shapes for stickers
  • Resources for rocket building
  • Large number cards/whiteboards

Session 2 Alien spare part scramble!

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Objectives

Early Learning Goal

  • Use everyday language to talk about size, weight, capacity, position, distance, time and money to compare quantities and objects and to solve problems.

Lesson Planning

Measure the width and height of the space shuttle.

Teaching Outcomes:

  • To measure the width and height of the space shuttle and record on to order form.

Children will:

  • Use a range of non-standard measures to record the height and width of their/the class spacecraft.
  • Complete an order form showing their findings.
  • Begin to learn about using standard measures (cm).

You Will Need

  • Spacecraft model created in session 1
  • Non-fiction book such as The Usborne Big Book of Rockets and Spacecraft
  • Non-standard measures, e.g. carrots, books, pencils
  • Unifix cubes
  • Tape measures

Session 3 Blast Off!

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Objectives

Early Learning Goals

  • Talk about past and present events in your life. Know that other children don’t always enjoy the same things, and are sensitive to this.
  • Count reliably with numbers from 1 to20, place them in order and say which number is 1 more or 1 less than a given number. Using quantities and objects, add and subtract 2 single-digit numbers, counting on or back to find the answer. Solve problems, including doubling.

Lesson Planning

Record all of the things we love about our world and count objects on your journey into space.

Teaching Outcomes:

  • To record all of the things we love about our world - share with alien and respectfully listen to others’ interests which may be different from their own.
  • To count objects on our journey into space.
  • To respond to planet problem solving showing ‘one more’ or ‘one less’ than a given number.
  • To add numbers of space objects to work out totals.
  • To subtract numbers to work out how many stars to stick onto their telescope.

Children will:

  • Discuss and record the things they love about our world.
  • Record the number of space items they saw on their adventure to space.
  • Respond to addition and subtraction sums by showing numbers or a pictorial representation.

You Will Need

  • Blue/green sugar paper circles and pens
  • Black card/sugar paper
  • Star stickers
  • Simple subtraction sums on post it notes/small pieces of paper
  • Large black paper
  • Chalk
  • Potatoes
  • Coin with ‘one more’ on one side and ‘one less’ on the other
  • Clipboards
  • Squared paper

Session 4 Alien’s Home Coming

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Objectives

Early Learning Goals

  • Make music and dance and experiment with ways of changing them. Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.
  • Learn about media and materials in original ways, thinking about uses and purposes. Represent own ideas, thoughts and feelings through art, music, dance, role-play and stories.
  • Show good control and co-ordination in large and small movements. Move confidently in a range of ways, safely negotiating space. Handle equipment and tools effectively, including pencils for writing.

Lesson Planning

Use a range of media and material to respond to music to show movement, ideas, feelings, story as the alien returns home to his family.

Teaching Outcomes:

  • To use a range of media and material.
  • To respond to music to show movement, ideas, feelings, story as the alien returns home to his family.

Children will:

  • Respond to space music using their bodies in dance movements.
  • Respond to music stimulus using a range of materials and media including space background, dances with light, small world aliens, alien’s home.

You Will Need

  • Torches
  • Large black cloth to cover table
  • Drums
  • Orange, red and yellow ribbons on sticks
  • Large paper for floor
  • Felt tip pens
  • Masking tape (to stick down corners)
  • Black paper
  • Moon sand or normal sand
  • Plasticine or playdough
  • Goggle eyes, Mini coloured matchstick/pom poms

Session 5 Alien Sleepover

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Objectives

Early Learning Goals

  • Count reliably with numbers from 1 to 20. Solve problems, including halving and sharing.
  • Use phonic knowledge to write words in ways which match their spoken sounds. Also write some irregular common words. Write simple sentences which can be read by you and others. Some words are spelt correctly and others are phonetically plausible.

Lesson Planning

Solve alien sleepover problems and share favourite bedtime stories with friends/teddies.

Teaching Outcomes:

  • To solve alien sleepover problems including halving and sharing.
  • To share favourite bedtime stories with friends/teddies, nurturing a love of reading.
  • To write for a purpose – invitations.

Children will:

  • Add and subtract 2 single-digit numbers, counting on or back to find the answer.
  • Solve problems including halving and sharing.
  • Write invitations and share story books.

You Will Need

  • Cups
  • Hot chocolate
  • Mini marshmallows (optional: tweezers/tongs)
  • Soft toys and shoe boxes
  • Books

Session 6 Rocket Launch Home

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Objectives

Early Learning Goals

  • Use everyday language to talk about size, weight, distance, time to compare quantities and objects and to solve problems. Explore characteristics of everyday objects and shapes and use mathematical language to describe them.
  • Show good control and co-ordination in small movements. Handle equipment and tools effectively.
  • Make observations and explain why some things occur, and talk about changes.
  • Follow instructions involving several ideas or actions; Answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions about experiences and in response to events.
  • Use phonic knowledge to write words in ways which match their spoken sounds. Also write some irregular common words. Write simple sentences which can be read by themselves and others. Some words are spelt correctly and others are phonetically plausible.

Lesson Planning

Create rocket balloons. Use a stopwatch to time the rockets as they whizz through ‘space’ and give reasons for why some rockets go faster than others.

Teaching Outcomes:

  • To create rocket balloons using controlled and technical fine motor skills
  • To use a stopwatch to time the rockets as they whizz through ‘space’
  • To give reasons for why some rockets go faster than others, linking explanations to speed and weight/size.

Children will:

  • Make balloon rockets and be able to explain how the rocket moves.
  • Use mathematical language to describe the shape journey their rocket has travelled.
  • Write a diary sharing their experiences of their adventure into Space.

You Will Need

  • String
  • Straws
  • Stopwatches
  • Tubes of various lengths
  • Masking tape
  • Items to decorate rockets
  • Black paper
  • Sticky stars
  • White pencils
  • A4 paper folded in half to make diaries
  • Stapler

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