Topical Tuesdays: What are we looking at? - KS2 News Story and Reading and Writing Activity Sheet from The Week Junior

On December 25th last year, the James Webb Space Telescope was launched into space on a mission that could change our understanding of the universe. This resources pack includes an article from The Week Junior magazine, along with a sheet of activities designed to get children thinking, talking and writing about what the story means to them.

Debate

Should we really be spending over £7 billion on something to look at the stars when we already have so many problems to sort out here on Earth? Or is it an important part of human nature to learn as much as we can about our universe? In any case, surely we are clever enough to be able to channel our efforts and resources into more than one challenge. What do you think?

Writing challenges

Write a short narrative about aliens finding the James Web Space Telescope. What would they think about it? What might they do with it?

OR

Write two or three haikus about space and what this telescope might see or even about how small Earth is compared with the universe.

Investigate

What is a supernova and what is a black hole? Research both terms and explain what they are in words that a Year 3 or Year 4 primary school child would understand.

Find the entire series of Topical Tuesday resources to download here.

What is The Week Junior?

The Week Junior magazine looks at current affairs and helps children make sense of the world, provides context and clarity to complex issues, improves general knowledge and encourages discussion and debate.

To find out more about The Week Junior and to download its free resources, please go to https://schools.theweekjunior.co.uk. 

This resource is part of the News Activities Archive collection.
View more from this collection

• News story
• Answer sheet