TP-Issue14.5

www.teachwire.net | 59 TEACH READ I NG & WR I T I NG like?What did theymiss? Look at the first spread (showing Elise at a grey table.) Howwould you describe her? Talk about loneliness. How is Elise feeling?What could she be thinking? Add sticky note thought bubbles to capture pupils’ ideas then ask them to write descriptively about loneliness or being ‘stuck indoors.’ Emil helped Elise by visiting her. What else could she do to connect with others? Could we help someone who is feeling lonely? How? Colour moods Look at the front endpaper (Elise’s unoccupied room) and compare with the back endpaper (the same room in colour.) List words and phrases to describe each picture. How do theymake us feel?What stays the same?What changes? Use paints, pastels and other media to investigate colour combinations. Sort the results intomood groups: happy, sad, Loved this?Try these... v AskMe by Antje Damm v Waiting for Goliath by Antje Damm v The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr v The Snorgh and the Sailor byWill Buckingham and Thomas Docherty v A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker and Kady MacDonald Dentonn paper, making a rule about how planes are launched, etc). Try different paper types or add paperclip weights to the nose or wings, then retest.What effect do your changes have? Repeat the investigation outside. Did the planes fly further?Write about what you’ve done and learnt. Extend the activity by decorating sheets of paper with paint and printed patterns. Fold into planes and hang from the ceiling to create mobiles. Make special planes with friendly messages on them and send them to someone who has to stay indoors or might be lonely. THROWAPARTY Build on the work you did earlier by hosting a real tea party for special guests. If visitors are not allowed into school, invite toys. Involve children at all stages of planning and delivery, giving them responsibility for manageable tasks. Play hide and seek, grandmother’s footsteps, musical statues and other traditional games that Elise would recognise and enjoy sharing. Remember to leave plenty of time for Emil stories! energetic, calm, etc. Does everyone agree on choices? Are there ‘right’ answers? If we wanted to cheer someone up, which colours would we use? Paint cheerful pictures for someone who’s feeling sad? Special visitors If children could invite anyone to visit them – friends, family, famous people, imaginary characters – who would they choose?Why would they invite these guests?What games would you play?What refreshments would you offer? Ask children to choose three visitors to join them for an imaginary tea. Who will they invite, and why?What will they eat and drink? Provide invitation, menu and place card templates to be filled in. Ask children to draw themselves and their guests in blackmarker onwhite card. Cut the characters out and sit them on chairs around a table – use doll’s house furniture or make fromcardboard. Photograph each group. If you want food, ask children to draw on a paper square the same size as the tabletop, then add them to your scenes. Ask children to write reports explaining what they did. Display these with your photographs, figures andmenus. Reading to Emil Add collections of short stories to your reading corner. Record children reading their story choice aloud for Emil and build an audio library for everyone to enjoy. Recruit some older volunteers to read ‘Emil stories’ to small groups. What scares you? What frightens Elise?What impact have these fears had on her life?What scares your children? Share ways tomanage fear. Devise a questionnaire to discover what scares children and grownups in your school. Examine your results. How many people answered?What is themost common fear? Is there a difference between children and adults? Show your results on a table and as a graph. TP Carey Fluker Hunt is a freelance writer, creative learning consultant and founder of Cast of Thousands, a teachers’ resource featuring a selection of the best children’s books and related cross-curricular activities. castofthousands.co.uk