Introduction(10mins, Whole class)
Explain to the children that we live an age where there have been more exciting technological inventions and advances than in any other period of time.
Ask them to suggest inventions.
People travel around the world all the time very easily because aeroplanes are so efficient and plentiful. There has been space travel for some time now and soon there will be space tourists!
Activity(15 mins, Whole class in groups of six)
In groups of six (mixed ability), children compare in turn the answers they have back from the three generations and write up any interesting differences.
(They should focus particularly on the huge developments in transport since their grandparents were young and how these have impacted on family life.)
A feedback session from each group to the class
Children write a few paragraphs summarising their findings. They try to find reasons to explain the results.
DifferentiationThe children will be in mixed ability groups so the more able can assist and guide the less able in the activity.
Children to report their findings to the class one group at a time.
Plenary(10mins, Whole class)
Teacher to make notes on interesting findings from all three questionnaires on a master copy on the whiteboard.
Discuss.
How did grandparents get to school?
How did parents get to school? How do the children travel to school today? Why are there differences?
Where did grandparents go for their holidays, if at all? Parents? Children?
Did grandparents and parents go away for half term? Discuss the reasons it may be different now.
(There is more money, loans credit cards etc. The world is shrinking because of easier and cheaper air travel; mothers and fathers work hard so need to get away from it all more often. Some families are split so children take holidays with parents separately. In the 1930’s holiday with pay came about so holiday camps sprung up around the country where people went for their annual holiday. Some families travel together several times a year so their thirst for adventure increases as they have visited all the most popular places.)
What type of family adventures would children like to do in the future when they have families of their own?
(World tour, space travel, time travel)
Visit
www.jetix.co.uk/oban for some inspiration on futuristic travel.
ResourcesQuestionnaires (3 for each child) completed.
Enlarged master copy – 1 for each group of 6 (5 in an average class)
Enlarged master copy for the teacher on an easel or an interactive whiteboard.
Suggestions for further developmentMATHEMATICS and ICT: Children could produce three bar charts of the whole class results showing the three different generations form and their forms of transport. Also their ideas of future travel. Compare results visually.
The results could be put into a database on the computer and graphs and pie charts of the results produced for comparison and discussion and for a colourful display.
HISTORY: Children research the evolution of a chosen form of transport and present their findings as a mini topic.
GEOGRAPHY: Children produce a page of writing on a country they have visited recently. They could include a map and post cards from the area. These are displayed around a large map of the world.
ENGLISH: Creative writing task. Imagine you and your family go on a holiday to another planet. Describe your journey there, the characters you meet, what it looked like when you arrived, where you stayed, what you ate and what you did all day to entertain yourselves.
Less able pupils could draw up a storyboard of the adventure with brief notes about the adventure accompanying each frame.
More able pupils could produce a play script of one the scenes in their story.
For ideas, look at the adventures of Molly and Jordan the Oban Star Racers at
www.jetix.co.uk/oban
bravenet.com