KS1 Lesson 6 Main 1: Planetary Breakdown!

Time: 25 mins

Group size: Groups

Tag words: Fuel, Engine, Rocket, Breakdown, Gravity. Role-play, flight check, crescendo, louder, music, piece, crescendo, quietly, louder

Tell the class that we need to return to Earth. Role-play opening the hatches, and climbing into the spaceship.

Set the scene by running through some flight checks – “check fuel – check! Check engines – check!” etc. Starting at 10, countdown to blast off but – oh no! The engines aren’t powerful enough! We can’t break free of the planet’s gravity!

The spaceship has a very powerful set of rocket boosters, but their fuel tanks are empty. Luckily for us, they run on Music. Tell the class we need to use a very special device in our own music to make the spaceship take off! This device is called a crescendo (gradually getting louder).

Put the class into small groups or pairs and ask the pupils to choose the instruments for their piece of music. Ensure that a wide-range of instruments are given out (i.e. metallic sounds, wooden sounds, shakers, tuned, un-tuned).

Ask each group to create a short piece of music to fuel the boosters to help the spaceship to take-off.

Each piece should use a crescendo, so it needs to have the following elements. Write these on the board and draw the pupils’ attention to them:

• The music should start quietly and get louder • It should start slowly and get faster • Any tuned percussion should start with low notes and get higher in pitch to follow the rise of the rocket

Listen to the different groups perform their pieces. Did they meet the criteria on the board?

Check the fuel gauge on the rocket boosters – they’re full! Well done everybody. Counting down from 10 to 1, lead a rousing blast off all together.