AN EXAMPLE STAR

AN EXAMPLE STAR ACTIVITY: ANIMAL ADVENTURE Animal Adventure Cosmic and Gem are sitting on the climbing frame. They are bored. “OK,” Cosmic replies. He starts to prowl around Gem while pretending to be a tiger. “Uncle Astro said that there are little animals, called minibeasts, all around us,” says Gem. “But I can’t see any.” Where do you think Uncle Astro will tell them to look? Activity Card “Let’s go on an animal safari!” shouts Gem, jumping down. “Wow! You mean tiny lions and tigers and things?” asks Cosmic. “Come on, let’s see if Uncle Astro can help us.” “No, not a pretend safari,” says Gem, “I mean a real animal adventure.” Cosmic looks puzzled. He follows Gem round the playground. She looks high, she looks low but doesn’t seem to be able to find what she is looking for. Star Animal Adventure Every CREST SuperStar activity comes with a separate Organiser Card to help you plan your session. It includes tips on what equipment you might need, as well the time required to run it and what discussion points you could use with the children. Get children exploring indoors and out, to find minibeasts and their habitats! • Engage with animals and creatures in a realworld context • Develop their practical science skills, using collecting jars and pooters • Discuss terms such as ‘animal’, ‘minibeast’ and ‘invertebrate’ • Make and communicate decisions about where animals and minibeasts might live Animal Adventure Kit list About the activity Organiser’s Card This activity is designed to get children thinking about minibeasts and habitats. Cosmic and Gem are bored. Gem wants to go on an animal adventure. Uncle Astro said that they will find minibeasts if they look carefully. Gem looks high and low but she can’t find any little animals. Cosmic thinks they should ask Uncle Astro for help. Through this activity you will support children to: • Go on a minibeast hunt • Find out about the minibeasts they see and their habitats • Share their findings with the rest of the group • Collecting jar or pooter (special devices for catching minibeasts) • Magnifying glasses and/or digital microscope • Identification book (optional) • Outdoor environment, preferably with rocks, logs, large stones, pieces of old carpet (you could place some on the ground a few weeks earlier) What to do 1. Introduce the activity using the story on the activity card. Ask the children where they think they will find minibeasts. 2. Give out activity cards and equipment to the children. 3. Explain that they will be going on a minibeast hunt. 4. Encourage children to discuss their ideas and how to carry out their investigations. Prompt questions: • Where will you look for minibeasts? • Will we collect them? How will we make sure we don’t harm them? GEM COSMIC 5. Support children to conduct their investigation and make their own records of their results. They could also take photographs or make drawings. They might like to use a minibeast guide to identify what they find. 6. Ask the children to present their findings to the rest of the group, they can be as creative in their presentation as they want. 7. Return any collected minibeasts to their habitat. Your challenge Go on an animal adventure and see how many animals you can find. GEM COSMIC 12 13