All aboard with KS2

KS2 children will be transported from the Sahara to the Artic with the song The Magic travel machine, available in the Song Bank

KS2: take a trip. Selected song: The magic travel machine by Helen MacGregor

English

• Use the song as a stimulus for exploring non-fiction texts. Using the first verse, model how the text could be expanded into a piece of persuasive writing for a travel/holiday brochure.
• Children could then, in groups, pairs or individually, choose a different verse from which to develop their own persuasive text. 
• They could also look at travel brochures and use them to inspire a new verse. For example, children may choose an expedition to the Australian outback, an African safari, a diving trip off the Great Barrier Reef, or an eco-break.

Science/English

• Following on from the persuasive writing activities in English, why not ask children to take their ideas into 2110 and write a piece for a futuristic travel brochure, advertising trips into space? This could link to QCA Science Unit 5E: Earth, Sun and Moon.
• Children could determine the main features of the Earth, Sun and Moon and build them into a persuasive article. They may, for example, refer to the Moon’s low gravity and the fact that it orbits the Earth.
• Texts could be turned into verses for the song. If studying QCA Science Unit 4B: Habitats, children could write information texts or fact files for each environment, which are then developed into new verses.

PE/ Dance

• There are fun choreography ideas on the Sing Up website, but children will enjoy creating their own sets of movements for existing verses, or for any new ones they’ve written.
• Why not create a sequence for a trip to the Moon? They could then demonstrate their routines, and more confident children could direct their classmates for a whole-class performance.

Maths

• ‘Explorers and Pirates’ is a fun, practical way of learning about coordinates. Mark out a large grid outdoors or in the hall. Two or three ‘explorers’ from Team 1 must travel around the grid (in the magic travel machine) collecting three valuable items, such as a Chinese vase, an Egyptian sarcophagus and an Australian didgeridoo. Coordinates of their locations are read out to them one at a time by team-mates, who have a scale map.
• Team 1 decides on a route, moving via adjacent squares; map readers should note down the route on their grid. When they arrive on a correct square, a laminated picture of the treasure is collected. 
• Meanwhile, pirates in Team 2 have laid three ‘traps’, only visible on their own map. If Team 1 steps on a booby-trapped square, they lose a life. If they collect all of the treasure, they win the game; but trigger all three traps and Team 2 wins.
• Younger children could use letter/number grid references; older children could use (X,Y) coordinates, including negatives.

Design and Technology

• Many of the suggestions here relate to the verses, so this activity refocuses on the chorus. It would be great fun to design and produce a magic travel machine! This could tie in with Design & Technology units 5C: Moving Toys, or 6D: Controllable Vehicles. 
• For older, more able groups, travel on over to the D&T pages of the Northumberland NGfL site for detailed instructions on how to construct a steerable vehicle chassis (click on the Machine shop project 7 image, then on the PDF worksheet link).

ICT/Art

• Children could use free software such as Microsoft’s Photostory 3 or Movie Maker (both freely downloadable on the internet) to create slideshows that illustrate the song lyrics.
• They could create and photograph their own artwork to illustrate the different verses, and arrange these to fit to the performance track.

Citizenship/ Geography

• Although the magic travel machine is probably environmentally friendly, consider the damage to the environment caused by travel – air pollution from fuel, tourism, etc. – and consider carbon footprints. 
• Children might like to determine their own carbon footprints and look at how they can be reduced. Check out www.meetthegreens.org or www.planet-positive.org for carbon footprint calculators.

Geography/ History/ RE

• The links with Geography are clear: magic travel machines can transport us anywhere! The song focuses on climates as well as places, and it would be relatively easy to write new lyrics so that other features of geography could be introduced, according to the topic being studied: eg. cities, countryside, rivers, coasts, India.
• The magic travel machine could also be used to explore different times or cultures. Why not rewrite the verse lyrics to transport children to Ancient Egypt, Tudor times or a Hindu shrine? Children will enjoy writing their own lyrics to the verses, perhaps after a class brainstorming activity, or towards the end of a unit of work. 
• An assembly performance of the song, including the children’s lyrics, would motivate children during class and be a highly effective outcome to a topic.

Maths

• Talk about the frequency of letters used in the English language: which are the most commonly used letters, and which the least? Ask how children might determine the frequency of the five vowels in the words of the chorus. For example, they might suggest using different coloured highlighters on a lyrics sheet, or checking off the vowels one-at-a-time, using tally marks. You can check online here.
• After they have found out this information, how will children present their data? Younger children may wish to produce a pictogram or a bar graph; older children may prefer to use ICT software to create a pie chart or create graphs and charts online.
• The order of vowel frequency in English is E, A, O, I, U. How do the children’s results compare with this, and with their expectations?
• Children who have enjoyed this activity may enjoy going on to find out the frequency of all letters, A-Z, in the whole song.

Song Bank

Use other songs from around the world to complement this topic:

- A Keelie

- Alouette

- Bassez down

- Baningati

- Ca' Hawkie

- The drover's dream

- I turn on the tap/ I walk to the stream

- Kye kye kule

- Mo li hua

- Sakura

- Under the lemon tree

Andy Brooke is a teacher, songwriter and freelance writer on music education. He has taught music to all age ranges from nursery to sixth form. He now combines the role of primary school music coordinator with that of SENCO.