Moving Pictures

• Ask the children to imagine the scene at the flying competition. What and who would be in the picture? The picture will show somebody trying to fly across the river; where will the other people in the picture be looking, pointing etc?

• What or who could move in the picture? This could be Jackie or Lizzie or could be one of the other characters mentioned or one who the children imagine taking part. Will the competitor have wings, a cycle, a firework, an elastic band?
  
  
• The children use a lever to show their character travelling across the river.
  
  
• Will the lever take them all the way across? If not, think about using a wheel, cutting out 4 windows in the picture to show the journey. The window (attached behind the picture) has 4 pictures of the person flying. Each are different and appear in order; for example spreading wings to start, flying confidently, heading down and finally SPLASH! In to the river.

Food Technology – Design a Dumpling!

Look at the recipe for Auntie Doreen’s famous dumplings (Appendix 6). What is in them? Can you imagine what they would taste like? As a class, list ingredients which might make them more interesting (cheese, herbs, bananas, chocolate, syrup). Divide the class into groups; each group will take it in turns to make the basic dumpling recipe but add something extra. How will you present the dumplings once they have finished?

Which were the children’s favourite dumplings? Create a tally and turn this information into a bar chart.

As an easier alternative, discuss the basic recipe and alternatives but all try the banana and toffee sauce recipe.

(See maths section for extending this as a maths activity.)

Design and Make a Bird Coat for Jackie or Lizzie

Adapt the “Coat for Joseph” module to make a coat for Jackie, for example using different colour fabrics to cut out basic feather shape and attach these to a basic coat through sticking or sewing.

Things That Fly

See the science section for paper aeroplanes and a gyrocopter. Set up a table for the children to make discoveries about the best shape for successful flying and other methods of propulsion such as coiled springs, balloons, paper and elastic bands (with adult supervision!!)

Nest Building

(See also role play areas under Literacy for ideas for building a giant nest.)
If possible, examine a real nest and talk about its construction – what are nests made of and why?

Set out tables with different materials – some natural such as twigs and grass and others with art straws or plastic construction materials. Which do the children think would make the strongest nest?

Children are challenged to construct a nest which will hold a 200g weight. What will they use and how will they do it? Once they are made, which do the class think are the strongest and why? Which will hold a 200g weight? Which will hold more?

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