K'NEX INSET DAYS - now booking for 2010!

K'NEX in an educational setting

Why use K'NEX:

K'NEX is wonderfully versatile and is used successfully to support a range of cross curricula subjects whilst having the flexibility to provide differentiation and progression opportunities for students.

Kid K'NEX adds considerable value to KS 1 activities whilst K'NEX challenges provide a rich basis to develop and extend KS 2 & 3 students' understanding around a number of key principles and concepts. We specialise in K'NEX Challenges for:

•	Key Stage 2 (7 - 11 year olds)
•	Key Stage 3 (11 - 14 year olds)

And Kid K'NEX Story Time for Early Years and KS1.

Other links to the curriculum:

Our most popular K'NEX challenges support the following national curriculum topics:

Science:

•	Pushes and pulls
•	Forces and motion
•	Balanced and unbalanced forces
•	Wheels, axles and inclined planes
•	Pulleys
•	Gears
•	Motors
•	Science investigations

K'NEX challenges based around a science investigation can be particularly effective, at a higher level, for instance:

1. Building a fan with K'NEX which is driven via a gear train, and investigating how different gears can be used in combination to change speed and the direction of motion.

2. Building a catapult out of K'NEX, and adjusting variables in the model to see how far a table tennis ball can be fired (e.g. length of throwing arm, angle of release, starting position).

Design and Technology:

•	Focused practical tasks
•	Use of construction kits
•	Designing skills
•	Proto type design
•	Making skills
•	Understanding structures
•	Understanding simple mechanisms
•	Designing and making products

Age 5 +

ICT:

K'NEX can be used very effectively to broaden the value of computer-based work, We can successfully use the 'egg box' for younger students, progressing to 'flow go' for older students.

Age 6-18

K'NEX INSET DAYS:

We offer 2, 1 day INSET CPD Days:

Both courses are for KS1 & KS2 practitioners: teachers, DT Co-ordinators and TAs who:

•	Wonder why your school has boxes of K'NEX that are dusty and not getting used to their full potential
•	Organise the Young Engineers Challenge for your school
•	Are running extended school provision
•	Are struggling with computer controlled technology
•	Are newly appointed DT co-ordinators

K'NEX INSET DAY FOR BEGINNERS! - is a 6 hour course giving practitioners knowledge about:

	Using the kit - hints and tips!
	Getting started: K'NEX and Kid K'NEX
	Making structures
	Making mechanisms using spring and battery motors
	Understanding and using K'NEX Challenge
	Using the 'egg box' to control simple mechanisms

K'NEX INSET DAY FOR IMPROVERS! Offering confident practitioners detailed computer control knowledge:

	Introduction to the extended K'NEX range
	Introduction to control
	Using the 'egg box' to control complex mechanisms
	Using the 'flow go' control box to write simple computer programs

Delegates attending our courses have the opportunity to use all the K'NEX kit and accessories needed to run effective classroom based K'NEX Challenges!
As well as being informative our courses are designed to be practical, hands-on, non-threatening and above all lots of fun!

A point recognised by Ofsted commenting on a recent session we ran at a local Primary school in East Sussex:

22 May 2009

Dear Pupils

Inspection of Rocks Park Primary School, Uckfield TN22 2AY

Thank you for welcoming us to your school the other day. We enjoyed talking to you and looking at your work. Like you, we were very excited to see your model racing cars race against each other in your problem-solving activities, and wished we could have taken part!

Mrs Joan Greenfield, Lead inspector

Course costs:

A full day INSET for your school, to support a maximum of 20 delegates, costs £450 plus travel and VAT (£22.50 per delegate)

A full day INSET place at one of our national teacher INSET programmes costs £60.00 plus VAT per delegate

Get in touch:

Please email info@planetknex.com or call 01825 760 501 to find out more, to book a training session for your school or to book a place on one of our forthcoming national teacher training days. We look forward to hearing from you!