The class can be trainee astronauts on a rescue mission, journalists tracking a breaking news story or other exciting characters. These simulations are intended to support cross-curricular learning objectives, especially in Literacy, Science and in PSHE/Citizenship.  The cross-curricular activities support the speaking, listening, reading and writing objectives in the renewed Literacy Framework. The simulations are resourced with materials for pupils and teachers to support all the themes and provide hours of learning.

The dark side of Elpmis is an astronaut’s training mission but something goes wrong! The key decision to be made by the children is whether to save their own skins or rescue their stranded comrades!

Before planning the rescue and deciding what equipment to take, pupils need to research the conditions on the planet.

Then, there are a number of resources included for follow-up activities, including:

• Summarising the story in 12 or 24 frames

• Writing up the Captain’s Logbook

• Writing an incident report for Mission Control

We Want a Playground is about a group of children who have nowhere safe to play.

When a dangerous game of football out in the street results in a near miss with a van, the children decide, with the help of a local youth worker, to start a campaign for a playground.

The class are then invited to help with the campaign. This involves exploring the issues, planning the campaign – who to target, how to get publicity – and writing and designing the campaign materials. This activity addresses key aspects of Literacy, in terms of persuasive writing, and Citizenship/PSHE, in terms of learning about the wider world and how children’s “own choices and behaviour can affect local … issues and political and social institutions.”

After the Storm is the first of two Newsroom simulations. It puts children in the role of trainee journalists. The story, which is revealed during the simulation, revolves around the escape of an animal from a zoo after a major storm. The objective is for children to produce a news report, in the style of a radio, newspaper or TV bulletin.

Big Bang , the second of the Newsroom simulations features a more serious issue - a major disaster caused by an explosion in a chemical factory. The simulation is also more complex than After the Storm.  The trainee journalists need to work out whether the two main events – the explosion and the plane crash are linked, or do we have two separate stories here?