By Lisa York Cox Northland's Primary Five class experienced a special new twist on the Literacy Place programme.

They got to make rockets from recyclables in connection with their story "The Best New Thing'' by Isaac Asimov.

Their teacher, Diane Hunt, spoke of the programme, explaining: "The object of this programme is to get the student to further research and read to improve their reading skills and to make the story more meaningful for them. If it's not meaningful, it will not interest them.'' "There are some suggestions in the teachers' resource book,'' she added.

"However, we try to go with the students' interests. There are certain things suggested that I feel are not applicable to children in Bermuda. I adapt it to suit the needs of my students when the occasion calls for it.'' During the week-long project students had to use things that can be recycled to tie in with the environment.

The children were eager to show their rockets and to explain what they used to make them.

Dante' Cooper, nine, made his from a water bottle, a party hat, a toilet paper roll and a paper towel roll. He named it Space Fighter 2000.

The RJ Space Power, made by Ronelle James, nine, was made from glitter, cotton balls, a Lucizade bottle. She also equipped her rocket with an astronaut.

Nine-year-old Ashley Isaac said: "My rocket is a space shuttle. It takes cargo and people between Earth and space. I made it out of a cheese box, some foil and tape and styrofoam.'' Ashleyanne Eversley, also nine, made hers out of two water bottles, two toilet paper rolls, foil, and a paper cup. She named it T-Rex 2000.

The Discovery was built by Rebecca DeSouza. She crafted her rocket using pencils for boosters, plastic, a paper cup, and coloured paper.

Steven Meireles, nine, named his rocket Team Rocket 2000 and made it out of a paper tube and tape.

The Stinger was made by Jasmine Edwards. She made her rocket from gift wrap paper roll, plastic, wood, spray paint and stickers.

She equipped it with a launch pad made from a Quality Street bowl covered with shiny purple wrapping paper.

Nine-year-old Alicia Trott named her rocket, The Alicia Express, from a tube, a cardboard cone and silver spray paint.

The Apollo 7000, a rocket made by Taneisha Holman, was made from two water bottles, a gift box and tape. It also had its own astronauts inside.

Stacey Robinson made his rocket out of a paper tube and the top of a soda bottle.

Two of the students outlined the story they read.

Nine-year-old Victoria Watson said: "The story we read was about two children who lived in space. They wanted to know what Earth was like. They asked their father about it. They asked about the grass and gravity. Their father took them to Earth. The best new thing for them was to roll down a grassy hill because they didn't have grass or gravity in space. We wanted to see what space was like and they wanted to see what Earth was like. It was the opposite.'' Stdre Ming, also aged nine, explained the plot of the story, saying: "We read our literacy books. They (the two children) were on a little planet with no gravity. They asked their daddy if they could go to Earth. They rolled down the hill on Earth. That was the best new thing to them and that is how we made our rockets.'' "We also discussed the person of the century, Albert Einstein as the Father of Technology,'' Ms Hunt added. "This sparked the making of the rockets.

Along with the story. They are also required to write a summary of what they read. This is all a part of the whole spectrum of reading, writing and oral presentation.

"We have five classes coming to see our exhibit. It is fine to do a project but if the student cannot stand up and present it orally, then it is just a waste of time for them to do research.

"The true test is the student being able to tell you about their project without looking at their notes.''