Hello everyone,
This week’s story is a Julia Donaldson classic, The Snail and the Whale. This is the tale of an adventurous snail who sets out to sea with an accommodating whale. It’s a great rhyming story with so many opportunities to find a few rhyming words.
Literacy:
What stories could you innovate? Where would you go on an adventure? You could make a map and illustrate the places. Use as many adjectives/describing words that you can. If there is an island in your child’s story, describe the trees, are they gargantuan, as tall as giants, swishing in the wind? Draw a story map of your child’s tall tale and then it’s your child’s turn to have a go at ‘drawing/writing’ a story. What kind of fantastical animals might there be? The grander and more extravagant the better! Asking your child to go into depth when using their imagination is a great chance to extend their language and their creative thinking. It will help them when it comes time to write their own stories as they progress in their school careers.
Maths:
Maps are a fantastic way to help your child’s mathematical reasoning skills and spatial awareness. Use positional language to describe your island’s physical features. Is the town next to, over, behind, under, across the sea, mountain, hills? Describe the sizes of the features of your child’s story. If it’s a treasure map your child is making, how many steps do you need to take? How many mountains could your child draw? Count different features on your map or the steps to where X marks the spot. What kind of food would you find on your island? You could cut some fruit in half or quarters and talk about how you would share the pieces.
Until next time, do good looking for adventures, clean your ears out for good listening and turn your noggins (brains) on for good learning.
Take care,
Mrs Howe, Mrs Bain, Mrs Mitzman, Mrs Hill and Mrs Bence