Numbers
Sharing the story
*Share the story Alien numbers with the children and ask them which part the enjoyed the most and why.
Movement
Suggest that the children try out the actions performed by the characters in the story:
* Make a jigsaw like Rizwan.
Encourage the children to experiment, first working with one hand then with two hands.
Then try doing the jigsaw with a friend, making a total of three, then four hands. Develop the children's understanding of addition as one hand after another is added to help piece the jigsaw together.
* Run around like Dad. Run at different speeds, dodge one another and stop on a designated command.
* Practise jumping like Naomi. Jump, bounce on two feet, skip, hop on one leg then change to the other leg.
* Make and have fun on an obstacle course of PE equipment.
Model alien
* Read the story again. Suggest to the children that they make a junk model of an alien.
* Encourage them to count how many heads, legs, wings and hands are neede to make the alien the same as Emily's in the story.
* Use the painted corrugated cardboard for the body, legs and arms.
* Attach the arms and legs to the body with split-pin joints.
* Make the heads from egg boxes, foil, wire, springs and coloured paper and cut pointed ears from plastic lids.
* Make the wings from cellophane, stapled to painted cardboard frames.
Let the children decide how big to make the wings and on which part of the alien's body to fix them.
* For the alien's hands, draw around children's hands, cut them out, paint them and attach them to the alien's arms with split pins.
* Suspend your alien on shirring elastic from the ceiling.
Counting up
Read the story again and recap on the numbers of heads, wings, legs, hands on emily's alien.
* Let the children use the model to make comparisms, such as, 'Alien has three hands more than I have' , 'I have no wings', or 'I have one leg fewer than Alien.'
* Ask the children how they can pretend to have three legs. Some may find a prop from the setting, such as a cardboard cylinder or ruler. Others may join with a partner, taking turns to stand on one leg.
* Help all the children to find a partner. Let them take turns to count how many heads, hands and legs two children have. More experienced children may count in twos.
Music
* Ask where the alien lives and lead the children's suggestions towards space and spaceships.
* Suggest to the children that they compose special alien music.
* Experiment with conversational percussion instruments as well as home-made ones, such as banging cardboard boxes and saucepan lids with wooden and metal spoons and shaking tins and plastic containers filled with dried peas.
* Ask what alien sound like and what words they use. have an alien conversation by blowing through greaseproof paper sticky-taped over combs.
Make tape recordings.
Drama
* Read the story again and suggest to the children that they make a spaceship for themselves and Alien. Ask, 'How many seats do you need in your space ship?' Count how many children there are.
* Arrange chairs in a circle around Alien and designate an entrance.
Provide junk items, such as plastic containers, lolly sticks, platic-coated wire, clock faces, for the children to design their own control panel, within the circle of chairs.
* Encourage the children tp 'talk' to one another with the paper and combs, making one blow per syllable.
* Play their alien music composition tape recording.
