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Space Lesson Plan

This lesson is suitable for primary and secondary pupils with profound or severe learning difficulties and may be suitable for some pupils with autism. These pupils may be starting to recognise, copy, and/or create simple patterns of sound e.g. recognising or vocalising individual words, getting quieter or louder, getting faster or slower, a steady beat.

This lesson will offer pupils opportunities to listen to, create, and interact with different music and sounds that relate to the theme of space. The lesson is bookended by a hello and goodbye song, and then there are three main activities that explore space and space travel.

Pattern-makers

Pattern-makers

Pupils with profound or severe learning difficulties; may include autism. ‘Pattern-makers’ are able to recognise, anticipate, and copy simple patterns of sound.

Lesson Format

The activities in this lesson can be undertaken in one go or could be divided over a couple of lessons. Try repeating the activities over a series of lessons and see how your pupils’ musical responses change and develop.

Download lesson plan View all activities

Resources needed

  • A small selection of percussion instruments for pupils to choose from and play – anything!
  • Chime bars or any other metallic-sounding percussion instrument
  • A picture of a rocket

Backing tracks

Music Learning Outcomes
  1. Listening: to respond to simple patterns of sound (e.g. start and stop, getting louder/quieter, getting faster/slower, a steady beat, very simple rhythms)
  2. Creating: to create simple sound patterns by vocalising or using an instrument or their body (e.g. start and stop, getting louder/quieter, getting faster/slower, a steady beat, very simple rhythms)
  3. Interacting: to copy simple patterns that another person has made or to recognise that their simple patterns
    have been copied back to them (e.g. getting louder/quieter, getting faster/slower, a steady beat, very simple rhythms)
Links to wider curriculum

PSHE: Playing and working together

EYFS: Communication and Language (turn-taking, imitating, and responding to others using instruments and vocalisation; vocabulary
development), Physical Development (gross and fine motor skills), Understanding the World (travel, space), Expressive Arts and Design (music

Key vocabulary

Rocket, moon, numbers 1-10, today, hello, goodbye, friends

Hello Song

A hello song to welcome pupils into the space and to cue the start of their music class

Sound and Silence

A simple song which challenges pupils to play and stop together

Rocket Song - part 1

This activity offers the opportunity to play instruments together in different ways

Rocket Song - part 2

This activity offers opportunities for one-to-one interaction and playing together

Goodbye Song

A goodbye song to signal the end of the lesson