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PrimaryEnglish

Inspiring Reads – Can Your Children Move Like Gorillas, Serve A Silly Sandwich And Investigate Slugs And Snails?

Hilary White explores four picture books that will spawn a host of learning opportunities…

Hilary White
by Hilary White
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PrimaryEnglish

Let your class explore these four fantastic picturebooks through 12 engaging activities.

From Head To Toe

Eric Carle, Picture Puffin

Can you do it too? As you read From Head to Toe, encourage the children to join in with the animal actions. Make laminated cards depicting the animals, including several duplicates, and give each child two cards to hold. Play music for the children to dance to, stop the music and call out an animal action: “If you have the gorilla, thump your chest!” After a while swap the cards around. Once the children know the story well, distribute the cards around the setting and remind them to stop and perform the corresponding action whenever they spot an animal.

Eric Carle art Many of Eric Carle’s art techniques are easy to identify in his pictures and simple enough for even the youngest children to try. Cover coloured card with thick paint and use a brush handle to create markings (like the gorilla). Working on a dry paint surface, make sponge prints in a contrasting colour (like the elephant). Using strips cut from stiff card, scrape away layers of paint (like the buffalo) and drip watery paint onto paper to make splashes (like the cat girl’s socks). Cut the patterns into pieces to make a collage.

Exploring slugs & snails Gather some garden snails and slugs, and make them a temporary home in a plastic box with potting compost, pebbles, twigs and cabbage leaves for food. Provide magnifying glasses and observe the differences between slugs and snails. Let them crawl across Perspex sheets and black card so the children can see the snail’s foot rippling and the trails left by both snails and slugs. Emphasise the importance of handling the creatures with care, wash hands before and after, and return them to the garden as soon as the activity is finished.


Engaging tales

Picture books are designed to attract and engage young children, which makes them a great starting point for exploring the world.

Activities linked to a picture book enable children to develop an interest that has already been sparked by the words and pictures. The book can be revisited as often as you wish, both during and after an activity. You can also explore a particular concept, event or image for as long as necessary and build on the children’s understanding with each reading.

In this way, a carefully chosen activity and a good picture book are mutually supportive: the book provides a springboard for the activity, while the activity has the potential to enhance the children’s enjoyment and understanding of the book.

After any picture book-related activity, put copies in the book corner for children to enjoy independently. If a classic book comes in different formats (hardback, board book, anniversary edition) provide these too.


Hilary White is a former nursery and primary teacher. As an author she has written a number of books and contributed to a range of magazines.

Sandwich shop Set up a role-play sandwich shop with a menu, cash till, tables for the customers and so on. Sandwiches can either be made in advance, or a practitioner and team of chefs can make the sandwiches to order. Run the sandwich shop as a ‘real life’ activity at snack or lunchtime and check that the ingredients meet your food standards. Plan a rota so that every child has the chance to serve and/or be a customer. This will also enable you to control the number of customers at any one time.


Norman the Slug with the Silly Shell

Sue Hendra, Simon and Schuster

Silly shells Talk about the different items that Norman the slug investigates as he searches for a shell. Can the children think of other items that Norman might try? Gather some circular and spherical items such as coins, buttons, polo mints, old CDs, coasters, beads, marbles, balls and so on. Show the children how to roll clay into slug shapes and experiment with different ‘shells’ for their slug. Which items work best? Do they have to create different-sized slugs to accommodate the various items? Can they find their own items?

Patterns & colours Look at the various colours and patterns on the snails’ shells when they make their pyramid – orange, pink, blue, purple, mauve and green patterned with spirals, spots, stripes and zigzags. Give the children circles to decorate with different-coloured paint. Once the paint is dry, show older ones how to draw a spiral onto the circle with a soft pencil. Using wax crayons, add spots, stripes and zigzags. Cut out snail bodies, stick on the colourful patterned shells and make the snails into a poster for the wall.

Exploring slugs & snails Gather some garden snails and slugs, and make them a temporary home in a plastic box with potting compost, pebbles, twigs and cabbage leaves for food. Provide magnifying glasses and observe the differences between slugs and snails. Let them crawl across Perspex sheets and black card so the children can see the snail’s foot rippling and the trails left by both snails and slugs. Emphasise the importance of handling the creatures with care, wash hands before and after, and return them to the garden as soon as the activity is finished.


Engaging tales

Picture books are designed to attract and engage young children, which makes them a great starting point for exploring the world.

Activities linked to a picture book enable children to develop an interest that has already been sparked by the words and pictures. The book can be revisited as often as you wish, both during and after an activity. You can also explore a particular concept, event or image for as long as necessary and build on the children’s understanding with each reading.

In this way, a carefully chosen activity and a good picture book are mutually supportive: the book provides a springboard for the activity, while the activity has the potential to enhance the children’s enjoyment and understanding of the book.

After any picture book-related activity, put copies in the book corner for children to enjoy independently. If a classic book comes in different formats (hardback, board book, anniversary edition) provide these too.


Hilary White is a former nursery and primary teacher. As an author she has written a number of books and contributed to a range of magazines.

What’s it made of? As you look at the pictures in Home, talk about the different materials used to make each home (bricks, wood, straw for thatch, tiles, canvas, corrugated iron and so on). Create a display of building materials and tools for the children to explore, supervising carefully to ensure that everyone stays safe. Give the children materials such as straw, sandpaper, silver foil, lolly sticks, canvas scraps, corrugated card, wood, stone and brick patterned paper. Use the materials to make collage homes with a focus on different building materials.


Daddy’s Sandwich

Pip Jones & Laura Hughes, Faber and Faber

Funny sandwiches Talk about the objects the little girl puts in her daddy’s sandwich and ask the children what they would put in a sandwich for their daddy (or any other special person in their lives). Source pictures of each child’s chosen objects and provide other motifs and easy-to-stick items such as buttons, bows and washers. Give each child a tall rectangle of stiff card, two strips of brown paper for the bread and let them make their own collage sandwich. Add splashes of red, white and yellow paint for ketchup, mayo and mustard.

Try this! Discuss what it would be like to eat the sandwich in Daddy’s Sandwich and suggest making real sandwiches instead! Provide a choice of fillings, spreads and types of bread, and let the children create their own unique sandwiches. Introduce mathematical exploration by cutting bread, ham and cheese into squares, rectangles and triangles, and tomatoes and cucumbers into circles. Cut the sandwiches into halves and quarters to share between two or four children, and make a group bar chart entitled ‘My favourite sandwich’.

Sandwich shop Set up a role-play sandwich shop with a menu, cash till, tables for the customers and so on. Sandwiches can either be made in advance, or a practitioner and team of chefs can make the sandwiches to order. Run the sandwich shop as a ‘real life’ activity at snack or lunchtime and check that the ingredients meet your food standards. Plan a rota so that every child has the chance to serve and/or be a customer. This will also enable you to control the number of customers at any one time.


Norman the Slug with the Silly Shell

Sue Hendra, Simon and Schuster

Silly shells Talk about the different items that Norman the slug investigates as he searches for a shell. Can the children think of other items that Norman might try? Gather some circular and spherical items such as coins, buttons, polo mints, old CDs, coasters, beads, marbles, balls and so on. Show the children how to roll clay into slug shapes and experiment with different ‘shells’ for their slug. Which items work best? Do they have to create different-sized slugs to accommodate the various items? Can they find their own items?

Patterns & colours Look at the various colours and patterns on the snails’ shells when they make their pyramid – orange, pink, blue, purple, mauve and green patterned with spirals, spots, stripes and zigzags. Give the children circles to decorate with different-coloured paint. Once the paint is dry, show older ones how to draw a spiral onto the circle with a soft pencil. Using wax crayons, add spots, stripes and zigzags. Cut out snail bodies, stick on the colourful patterned shells and make the snails into a poster for the wall.

Exploring slugs & snails Gather some garden snails and slugs, and make them a temporary home in a plastic box with potting compost, pebbles, twigs and cabbage leaves for food. Provide magnifying glasses and observe the differences between slugs and snails. Let them crawl across Perspex sheets and black card so the children can see the snail’s foot rippling and the trails left by both snails and slugs. Emphasise the importance of handling the creatures with care, wash hands before and after, and return them to the garden as soon as the activity is finished.


Engaging tales

Picture books are designed to attract and engage young children, which makes them a great starting point for exploring the world.

Activities linked to a picture book enable children to develop an interest that has already been sparked by the words and pictures. The book can be revisited as often as you wish, both during and after an activity. You can also explore a particular concept, event or image for as long as necessary and build on the children’s understanding with each reading.

In this way, a carefully chosen activity and a good picture book are mutually supportive: the book provides a springboard for the activity, while the activity has the potential to enhance the children’s enjoyment and understanding of the book.

After any picture book-related activity, put copies in the book corner for children to enjoy independently. If a classic book comes in different formats (hardback, board book, anniversary edition) provide these too.


Hilary White is a former nursery and primary teacher. As an author she has written a number of books and contributed to a range of magazines.

Author & artist Show the children Eric Carle’s photo at the end of From Head to Toe and his signature on the back cover. Explain that this is the actual person who wrote the words (the author) and made the pictures (the illustrator). Visit Eric Carle’s website at eric-carle.com to find out more; pick out details that will make sense to young children and explore the FAQs on the site. Gather a collection of Carle’s other books, and help the children to create an ‘Eric Carle’ poster.


Home

Carson Ellis, Walker

My home Share Home with the children and talk about the different homes featured in the book. Ask parents if they are happy to supply photos of their child’s home, and/or ask children to do drawings. Talk to each child about their home, linking with the book wherever possible. Scribe the child’s words onto labels and speech bubbles, ask them to decorate a page and stick on the photos/drawings and writing. Turn the pages into a book and add sections showing other homes, such as the Queen’s palace, a holiday caravan, various animal habitats and a doll’s house.

Home opposites The homes featured in the book come in all shapes and sizes. As you look at the pictures, focus on the height and size of the different homes. Give the children large/small and tall/short card rectangles to decorate and turn into ‘home opposites’. Find pictures of small homes (bees’ nests, mouse holes) and huge homes (palaces, castles); tall homes (blocks of flats, towers) and short homes (rabbit hutches, tents); homes in cold places (an igloo) and homes in hot places (a straw hut). Make your ‘home opposites’ into a frieze.

What’s it made of? As you look at the pictures in Home, talk about the different materials used to make each home (bricks, wood, straw for thatch, tiles, canvas, corrugated iron and so on). Create a display of building materials and tools for the children to explore, supervising carefully to ensure that everyone stays safe. Give the children materials such as straw, sandpaper, silver foil, lolly sticks, canvas scraps, corrugated card, wood, stone and brick patterned paper. Use the materials to make collage homes with a focus on different building materials.


Daddy’s Sandwich

Pip Jones & Laura Hughes, Faber and Faber

Funny sandwiches Talk about the objects the little girl puts in her daddy’s sandwich and ask the children what they would put in a sandwich for their daddy (or any other special person in their lives). Source pictures of each child’s chosen objects and provide other motifs and easy-to-stick items such as buttons, bows and washers. Give each child a tall rectangle of stiff card, two strips of brown paper for the bread and let them make their own collage sandwich. Add splashes of red, white and yellow paint for ketchup, mayo and mustard.

Try this! Discuss what it would be like to eat the sandwich in Daddy’s Sandwich and suggest making real sandwiches instead! Provide a choice of fillings, spreads and types of bread, and let the children create their own unique sandwiches. Introduce mathematical exploration by cutting bread, ham and cheese into squares, rectangles and triangles, and tomatoes and cucumbers into circles. Cut the sandwiches into halves and quarters to share between two or four children, and make a group bar chart entitled ‘My favourite sandwich’.

Sandwich shop Set up a role-play sandwich shop with a menu, cash till, tables for the customers and so on. Sandwiches can either be made in advance, or a practitioner and team of chefs can make the sandwiches to order. Run the sandwich shop as a ‘real life’ activity at snack or lunchtime and check that the ingredients meet your food standards. Plan a rota so that every child has the chance to serve and/or be a customer. This will also enable you to control the number of customers at any one time.


Norman the Slug with the Silly Shell

Sue Hendra, Simon and Schuster

Silly shells Talk about the different items that Norman the slug investigates as he searches for a shell. Can the children think of other items that Norman might try? Gather some circular and spherical items such as coins, buttons, polo mints, old CDs, coasters, beads, marbles, balls and so on. Show the children how to roll clay into slug shapes and experiment with different ‘shells’ for their slug. Which items work best? Do they have to create different-sized slugs to accommodate the various items? Can they find their own items?

Patterns & colours Look at the various colours and patterns on the snails’ shells when they make their pyramid – orange, pink, blue, purple, mauve and green patterned with spirals, spots, stripes and zigzags. Give the children circles to decorate with different-coloured paint. Once the paint is dry, show older ones how to draw a spiral onto the circle with a soft pencil. Using wax crayons, add spots, stripes and zigzags. Cut out snail bodies, stick on the colourful patterned shells and make the snails into a poster for the wall.

Exploring slugs & snails Gather some garden snails and slugs, and make them a temporary home in a plastic box with potting compost, pebbles, twigs and cabbage leaves for food. Provide magnifying glasses and observe the differences between slugs and snails. Let them crawl across Perspex sheets and black card so the children can see the snail’s foot rippling and the trails left by both snails and slugs. Emphasise the importance of handling the creatures with care, wash hands before and after, and return them to the garden as soon as the activity is finished.


Engaging tales

Picture books are designed to attract and engage young children, which makes them a great starting point for exploring the world.

Activities linked to a picture book enable children to develop an interest that has already been sparked by the words and pictures. The book can be revisited as often as you wish, both during and after an activity. You can also explore a particular concept, event or image for as long as necessary and build on the children’s understanding with each reading.

In this way, a carefully chosen activity and a good picture book are mutually supportive: the book provides a springboard for the activity, while the activity has the potential to enhance the children’s enjoyment and understanding of the book.

After any picture book-related activity, put copies in the book corner for children to enjoy independently. If a classic book comes in different formats (hardback, board book, anniversary edition) provide these too.


Hilary White is a former nursery and primary teacher. As an author she has written a number of books and contributed to a range of magazines.

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