1 There and back
ADULT-LED
Explore fast and slow movements through a children's favourite story.
Planned learning intentions
To explore different ways of moving with confidence, imagination and in safety, and contrasting slow and fast movements To extend their vocabulary, exploring the meanings and sounds of new words, about fast and slow movements
Adult:child ratio 1:6
Resources
Bears in the Night by Stan and Jan Berenstain (Collins, out of print but readily available in libraries) or We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury (Walker Books, 3.99); obstacles such as mats, tyres, cones, planks and cushions
Activity content
* Read one of the stories, both of which involve a range of careful and slow movements that are then reversed into very fast movements.
* Bears in the Night tells the story of bears that sneak out one night and cross the dark countryside to investigate the source of a noise. Set up an obstacle course that mirrors the story, starting with a mat as the bed, and a stuffed toy for the owl. Children can do the actions slowly as you read the book. They then have to do everything quickly in reverse, to escape from the owl and get back into bed.
* In We're Going on a Bear Hunt, a family set out in search of a bear, but have to bid a hasty retreat when they find one. Children can mime the actions throughout.
Things to say
* Can you tiptoe slowly/quickly?
* What do you do when you stumble and trip?
* Can you show me how to go between the cones?
* Can you creep/wriggle quickly through the tunnel?
Stepping stones
* Children with little experience may move spontaneously, sometimes slowly, sometimes fast, and occasionally appropriately to the story. They may understand some of the movement and positional words, but will generally move as they wish. They will be able to stop when asked.
* Children with some experience will move in a range of ways and they will adjust their speed or change direction to avoid obstacles. They will build up their vocabulary of action and positional words as they use them and see them in action.
* Children with more experience will experiment with different ways of moving, and they will be able to go backwards and forwards. They will be able to move slowly and quickly as appropriate, and they will be able to avoid bumping into each other. They will use the vocabulary of action and position from the books.
Extension ideas
* Play the game 'Simon says...', with fast and slow movements: 'Simon says sit down slowly/stand up quickly' and so on.
* Play 'I am an insect'. Discuss with the children all the ways that insects move, such as crawling, flying and creeping and encourage the children to move in these ways.
* Have a 'tai chi' class, which involves sequences of slow, controlled movements, followed by an 'aerobics' class (or vice versa) to contrast moving slowly and energetically.
2 It's a wind-up
CHILD-INITIATED
Compare the speeds of a variety of wind-up toys.
Resources
Small and large wind-up toys, such as a caterpillar, mouse, train, car, chattering teeth and so on (include cheap novelty party toys, as well as more robust toys); a ramp
Play suggestions
* Experimenting with winding the toys up and comparing the kinds of movements that they make.
* Choosing two toys and deciding which moves faster.
* Moving the toys up and down a ramp.
* Setting out starting and finishing lines and organising toy races.
Things to say
* How can we find out if the mouse goes faster than the car?
* Will the caterpillar be able to crawl up the ramp?
* What happens if the caterpillar crawls down the ramp?
* I wonder which of these trains is the slowest.
* Why do you think the big train will be the slowest?
Possible learning outcomes
* Shows an interest in how the wind-up toys move in different ways.
* Explores how the different toys are wound up to work.
* Sorts fast toys from slow ones.
* Notices and comments on the different ways that the toys move.
* Shows an awareness that the system of ramps affects how the toys move.
3 At top speed
Child-initiated
Change the speed at which marbles move using a series of ramps.
Resources
A selection of ramps from various construction sets; lengths of plastic guttering; cardboard tubes; thin card folded to make narrow runways with sides; marbles; sand or egg timers; measuring tapes; objects such as small balls, plastic eggs, wooden cylinders and flat shapes that slide Play suggestions
* Constructing ramps of varying lengths using a range of materials.
* Joining some of the ramps together to make a longer construction or joining the ramps at right angles to make a zigzag ramp.
* Changing the angles on the straight ramps to see if it makes a difference to the speed that marbles run down the ramps.
* Introducing sand or egg timers to time the marble runs and measuring tapes to measure the length of the ramps.
* Rolling a range of other round, flat or cylindrical objects down the ramps and observing how they move.
Things to say
* What do you think will happen if you put the start of the ramp higher?
* Did you notice how the marble rolled round the corner of the ramp?
* I wonder if the egg will roll in a different way to the marble?
* Has anyone any ideas about how we could make the marble roll a bit more more slowly?
Possible learning outcomes
* Chooses suitable materials to build a ramp.
* Speculates on whether changing the angle on ramps affects speed.
* Looks at differences and similarities in ramp design.
* Describes how the marble rolls down a series of ramps.
* Uses the measuring tapes.
* Shows curiosity about how different objects will roll down the ramp.
