JOURNEY TO THE FUTURE

Page 1 of 5

A Whole Language Experience where your students become travellers in time and space! Best Suited for Ages 9 - Upwards

GETTING STARTED: Oral and Visual Language

Stimulating the Imagination

Initiate a group discussion/debate around the statement " No good and only harm can come from wanting to journey into the future".

Have each group discuss this statement and report back listing reasons for and against making a journey into the future.

Play a selection of music to the class that gives the impression of music of the future, eg Star Trek, Space Odyssey, The Planets, Computer Music etc. Have students listen with eyes closed and then discuss and share the images evoked.

Have each student write a short statement to answer the question " What would your main reason be for making a journey into the future?"

ACTIVITY ONE: Oral and Visual Language

Identify the Problems We Face - an individual and/or group activity

As groups, have students brainstorm. identify and list all the problems that our planet will need to solve if life as we know it is to continue to exist on Earth in 100 years time - eg

• global worming and ozone depletion,
• rising ocean levels
• acid rain
• destruction of rain forests
• using up natural resources such as oil and gas
• famine
• terrorism, wars and nuclear disasters
• increasing levels of violence
• waste disposal

Groups make oral reports back to the class.

Each group designs their own bulletin board and keeps a media watch for the duration of the unit to identify, collect and display Earth Problems that need to be solved.

ACTIVITY TWO: Introducing the Scenario

Although scientists and governments have been working hard to try and solve these problems, it has been decided by the United Nations Commission on the Future that a group of time travellers (your class) will be sent 100 years into the future to see if and how these problems were solved." Does human life exist 100 years from now in 2100? The place is a small city of about 60,000 people.

ACTIVITY THREE: Time Machines

Imaginative Construction: Art and Design

Divide the class into groups and challenge each group to design and construct as time machine.

This machine should be large enough to fit the members of the group inside and could be made out of cartons and/or rolled newspaper tube construction.

When completed have group members explain the workings of the machine to the class. Include the following points in the explanations:

• method of propulsion
• how the time zone is chosen and controlled

Some groups or individuals could design plans of the machine rather than construct it.

Explanations of how the machine works should be included with the plans.

Another alternative would be for groups to design plans of their machine and challenge other groups to construct it from the plans.

Click here for the next page: Page 2