At the end of time is an “e” - in what other words can you think of where an “e” at the “end” should be ?
© Jacqueline Richards 2008
Archive for Astro Sputnik Series of Kids' Stories
The Just ‘Cos Mo Cosmos Game
Just ‘cos Mo had a go,
He won a bobsleigh for the snow,
In outer space, there’s not much snow, I know,
So hardly surprising that the bobsleigh didn’t do what it was meant to do !
Thank heavens, for Mo, having a go,
Now, out in the Cosmos,
The planets can glow and Mo can Go - Go - Go !!!
The WHY GO TO THE COSMOS ? Game
This spelling game is a bit like eye - spy combined with “What Time Is It Mister Wolf ?”, when, if you don’t give the chant “Mr Wolf”, then you can’t move further up towards Mister Wolf. The purpose of the game is to expand vocabulary, aid spelling and develop understanding of sentence structure : how words can be applied. There are two parts of the game, and two points for each word spelling round.
1. Divide the class into 2 teams.
2. A number of word cards are written and given to the teacher.
3. The compere calls out - “How do I spell …..”
4. Each team takes it in turn to try and earn a point for their team.
5. Next, the compere calls “Why do I need to know that ? Is it just ‘cos Mo out in the outer cosmos say so ?”
6. If a team player can give a reason, application or example using that word, then a second point is awarded.
7. Example - Part 1) Spell “book” … (1 point) then cry the chant …
“Why do I need to know ? Is it just ‘cos Mo out in the outer cosmos say so ?”
Part 2) No … it’s ‘cos in the cosmo … Astro Sputnik doesn’t know which way to go without a book.
© Jacqueline Richards 2008
Ea”rth” calling Space
Can you see Planet Ea”rth” from outer space ? In all of these words, the two letters are there, can you spot them in their place ? The letters R - T - H are all inside these words - circle them.
RATHER
WORTH
WORTHWHILE
FARTHER
RITCHER
RIGHT - HAND
GROWTH
RATCHET
WRETCH
WRATH
WRIST WATCH
BERTH
DEARTH
HEARTH
COUTHOUSE
MIRTH
How many other words also contain R - T - H ?
© Jacqueline Richards 2008
Unidentified Flying O’s
Read the Astro stories again and circle the letter “O”, where they fly in and out of Astro Sputnik’s universe, in the astro - plane …
© Jacqueline Richards 2008
Astro Crew’s Broken Satellite Lights
All of the words that end in the suffix - ITE or - IGHT have been highlighted - which is the correct one to use ?
Astro Sputnik was somewhere near Mars, when he noticed a satell _____ circum - navigate the stars. Round and round, the satell_____ span. It’s l_____ s were flashing and the engine loudly ran. Suddenly, Astro got a fr_____ - a bulb has burst and now everything was as black as Midn_____ . Would they be alr_____ ? the crew wondered, getting rather up t_____ … Astro Nomical lit a candle to try and get some better s_____ , but it was difficult when the Sun eclipsed the l_____ . The candle was really no good, - it was made from Moondust, rather than wax or wood. Luckily, a box of matches was one of things the crew did remember - but that didn’t mean to say that the candle was any better a glowing ember. Hardly surprising that the candle didn’t shine that br_____ - doing little to illuminate the satell_____ (which continued to zoom off in full fl_____ at qu_____ a height !). Getting the universe’s billions and billions of stars lit, was proving to be difficult and no l_____ did they omit. The rocket that they were flying in was still just about upr_____ - the headlamps, too, were broken, making the Astro crew even more up t_____ ! The Astro crew hid in an Astro - cave, with stallegm _____s and stallect_____s - in the dark, they say an alien - looking pale and wh ____. On the craters of the Moon, Astro Nomical started to al_____ - he planted a candle - then puffed with all his m_____ . The sparks became constellations and shone in the sky, l_____ ing the way for rockets and Astro buggies passing by.
E - X - P Explosion !
How many words can you think of that E - X - P lode like a star ?
© Jacqueline Richards 2008
Answers :
Astro Sputnik was somewhere near Mars, when he noticed a satellite circum - navigate the stars. Round and round, the satellite span. It’s lights were flashing and the engine loudly ran. Suddenly, Astro got a fright - a bulb has burst and now everything was as black as Midnight. Would they be alright ? the crew wondered, getting rather up tight … Astro Nomical lit a candle to try and get some better sight, but it was difficult when the Sun eclipsed the light. The candle was really no good, - it was made from Moondust, rather than wax or wood. Luckily, a box of matches was one of things the crew did remember - but that didn’t mean to say that the candle was any better a glowing ember. Hardly surprising that the candle didn’t shine that bright - doing little to illuminate the satellite (which continued to zoom off in full flight at quite a height !). Getting the universe’s billions and billions of stars lit, was proving to be difficult and no light did they omit. The rocket that they were flying in was still just about upright - the headlamps, too, were broken, making the Astro crew even more up tight ! The Astro crew hid in an Astro - cave, with stallegmites and stallectites - in the dark, they say an alien - looking pale and white. On the craters of the Moon, Astro Nomical started to alight - he planted a candle - then puffed with all his might. The sparks became constellations and shone in the sky, lighting the way for rockets and Astro buggies passing by.
Astro Gnome’s Astronomy Class
Pulsars, radars and quasars, all supersonic sound,
In space, the Astro crew found,
It was easy even for a gnome to be a thousand feet above the ground !
There were lots of things to do, spinning around,
In weightless gravity, it was even easy to drop a pound !
Astro Gnome was the smallest member of the Astro crew, flying
above the city,
So it came in very handy, that there wasn’t any gravity !
On Planet Earth, Astro Gnome was two feet tall -
But on the other side of the universe, height didn’t matter at all !
In orbit, with no wait, even Astro Gnomes start to inflate !
Soon even Astro Gnomes are ten feet tall (I don’t exaggerate !).
Of course, gnomes aren’t usually known for being great astronomers,
Their skills at astronomering are quite anonymous,
But from the Moon, that the only way of getting home for tea !
Big Bang Maths !
Astro Gnome’s theory of the universe, is that particles bounce off and collide into each other … which is a great way to learn multiplication with one another ! Imagine each of the following numbers represents a times table. Using a different coloured pen, trace which particles should bounce off and collide into each other. Eventually, you should end up with a number of multi - molecular chains. For example, 2 - 4 - 6 - 8 etc.
39 41 44 18 1 22 10 32 47 5 12
20 15 33 8 49 19 6 13 35 3 7
14 2 46 17 4 9 36 25 40 11 48
16 21 25 23 31 24 37 26 27 28 29
30 34 38 42 43 45 50 51 52 53 54
55 56 57 58 59 60 3 15 25 32 1
Teacher’s note - you could pin a number onto each of the pupil’s backs - then get them to form in the correct times tables when you call “Big Bang !”.
© Jacqueline Richards 2008
A (Maths !) Class - Less Maths Society
Like all of the acitivities on this web site, designed for use in Maths classes, here is another example of a game that can be used in teams to focus on a mathematical concept, (in this instance, time) and loosen up thinking about numbers. In this quick, simple maths game, at various points the tutor stops and asks - how much more time is there in the maths class to go !? The team with the correct answer wins a point.
© Jacqueline Richards 2008
Astro Logi’s Astrological Logy Quiz
Astro Logi was one of Ray Radar’s crew,
His favourite words were illogical, too !
His favourite pastime was astrological,
Instead of doing his homework,
He was often found studying the stars,
Somewhere between Jupiter and Mars.
Until his astro - helmet became quite muddied,
Astrological words were all that he studied.
Unfortunately, in the Big Bang, as the Astro capsule started to depart,
The “logy” parts of his dictionary fell apart.
How many words can you think of that end in the suffix “logy” ?
© Jacqueline Richards 2008
Theory Of Universal Relativity
Add the letter R - E - L to complete these words.
__ __ __ ative
__ __ __ ated
__ __ __ ativity
__ __ e __
__ __ __ ief
__ __ dup __ icate
__ __ dep __ oy
__ __ f __ ect
__ __ f __ uent
__ __ f __ ex
su __ __ __ y
pu __ __ __ y
ra __ __ __ y
ca __ __ fu __ ly
Astro Masters Of The Maths Universe
Astro and Radar studied hard to be astronauts at the University of the Universe.
It was all a matter of matter, of course,
Though in their lunch break,
The pair did try to save the universe from getting much worse !
They looked at angles, rectangles and all kinds of triangles …
They studied the Moon and the Equator …
And whether or not the world was becoming relatively lesser or greater.
A gravity - less Astronaut school was a real treat …
Astro - Nomical ended up on the Moon, simply by stamping his feet !
Species Spectacle
How many species of animals can you see on this web page using Astro Nomical’s astro spectacles and Ray Radar’s radar ?
© Jacqueline Richards 2008
