Lesson idea: Design a martian (or a ‘clay’lien’!)
This is a lesson I have done with a lot of senior classes, but the bones of it would still be very suitable for the junior classes. From reading through the Mars classroom resource, I can see how what I previously have just used as an art lesson could so easily be tied into STEM! I have an ‘Alien Adventure’ poem I wrote as a stimulus for 3rd class poetry last year that I feel could be repurposed for this junior-level lesson. I would hope it could spark discussions about what martians/aliens might look like, where they might live etc.. If they don’t respond well to it, a short clip from ET couldn’t fail me!
I would take inspiration from the Mars resource and get the children to draw their ideas before moving on to clay work- I have found even with senior classes that most children benefit from planning out their ideas thoroughly, rather than jumping in and getting frustrated when they can’t get their ideas across in their clay.
A nice extension idea to link with Drama could be a hotseat activity- the children introduce their new pet clayliens and take questions from the audience.