The History of Space Travel

In this series of five History of Space Travel KS1 lessons, your class will become experts in the history of space exploration! Their mission begins with a lesson all about Galileo and how his improvements to the telescope invention enabled him to make incredible discoveries about space. Your KS1 class will then get to find out about the space race and Apollo 11 mission which resulted in the first human ever setting foot on the Moon. Then, children will find out about the important impact two individuals made on our understanding of space: Neil Armstrong (the first human to set foot on the moon) and Katherine Johnson (an incredible mathematician whose calculations enabled the Apollo 11 Moon landing to succeed). Timelines are the focus of the next lesson and children will learn about the amazing developments in space exploration over the years. Your KS1 class will order significant events chronologically to create timelines of space exploration. In the final lesson, your KS1 class will find out about how Mars rovers have enabled us to better understand the red planet and will compare how these incredible vehicles have developed over the years.

This History of Space Travel KS1 lesson pack contains everything you need to get your budding KS1 astronauts excited about the history of space. It really is an incredible story of human achievement and everything you need to teach this sequence of five engaging lessons is contained in the pack, including a detailed slideshow for each lesson, lesson plans with differentiated activities and all the printable resources required. You might also be interested in our Exploring Space KS1 Topic Enrichment Pack, which includes Art, DT and Geography lessons - all carefully crafted to complement your teaching while developing key skills across the curriculum.

A Knowledge Organiser is available to support the learning in this scheme. It is included in the Complete Series download or can be purchased individually.

Galileo's Telescope

In the first lesson of our History of Space Exploration scheme of work, children will learn how Galileo ingeniously adapted the recently invented telescope and, in so doing, made some incredible discoveries about space.

Children will find out about Galileo's five main discoveries: that the Moon does not have a smooth surface, Venus orbits the Sun, Jupiter has moons which orbit it, the Earth is not at the centre of the solar system and that the Milky Way is not just a band of light in the sky. At the end of the lesson, your KS1 class will learn about the most recent photographs taken by NASA and will reflect on how Galileo might feel were he to see how his invention has developed over time.

Everything you need to help your class become experts on the discoveries of Galileo is included in the pack: an engaging slideshow, a detailed lesson plan with differentiated activities and all the printable resources required.

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The Moon Landing

In this KS1 Moon Landing lesson, your class will begin by learning what the space race was and how it kick-started NASA's Apollo programme.

Children will use historical sources to find out about the Apollo 11 mission which led to Neil Armstrong becoming the first human to set foot on the Moon and utter those famous words, "One small step for man - one giant leap for mankind." Your KS1 class will reflect on what information could be gained from different sources and which was the most informative source they looked at in this lesson.

Everything you need to help your class become experts on the events of the Apollo 11 Moon landing is included in the pack: an engaging slideshow, a detailed lesson plan with differentiated activities and all the printable resources required.

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Neil Armstrong and Katherine Johnson

Who made the bigger impact on space exploration: Neil Armstrong or Katherine Johnson? That is the question children will discuss at the end of this Space KS1 lesson.

In this lesson, children will learn about the life and work of two very important people in the field of space exploration: Neil Armstrong (the first human to set foot on the moon) and Katherine Johnson (an incredible mathematician whose calculations helped the Apollo 11 mission the success that it was). They will find out about both as a class but will then choose one to research in detail, producing a fact file of their research. Alternatively, after learning about Armstrong and Johnson, the children could research a British astronaut and find out about their achievements.

This pack is full of everything that you need to teach this important lesson about two incredible individuals who played a huge part in the exploration of space. There is an interactive slideshow, a detailed lesson plan with differentiated activities and all the printable resources needed.

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Space Travel Timeline

In this Space Travel Timeline KS1 lesson, children will learn what is meant by the term chronological order. They will practise by ordering events from the Apollo 11 Moon landing chronologically.

Your KS1 class will then learn what a timeline is and how years can be used to order events on a timeline. They will then order event cards detailing key events within the history of space exploration along a timeline. At the end of the lesson, children will reflect on the changes that have occurred over time in this field of discovery.

Everything you need to help your class become confident in ordering the events of space exploration chronologically on a timeline is included in the pack: an engaging slideshow, a detailed lesson plan with differentiated activities and all the printable resources required.

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Comparing Mars Rovers

In the final lesson of this series, children will learn what a rover is and will look in detail at the Sojourner and Perseverance Mars rovers.

The main focus of the lesson is then to compare these two Mars rovers. They will identify similarities and differences between them. At the end of the lesson, children will discuss what they predict the future of Mars exploration will be.

Everything you need to help your class become knowledgeable about Mars rovers and confident in comparing events from history is included in the pack: an engaging slideshow, a detailed lesson plan with differentiated activities and all the printable resources required.

View Lesson 5