Voluntary activity

Art in class

Reader

   

I have chosen to adapt this book because I wanted to change some things. When I was a little girl I really loved this story but I would have liked another end. In my childhood I liked both, the town and the country. I didn’t find agreeable that Town mouse didn’t like the Country and Country Mouse didn’t like the Town. I didn’t like it but I understood and I accepted. However, I have had the opportunity of changing the end and I have taken it.

I have written a little biography in my reader because from my point of view it is very important to know who has written the story. If I read a book and I like it I will buy another book of the same author. Also I put two photos of me in the town and in the country because the children will like them and they will be curious to know things about these places. I will take advange of these pictures to describe them, so the children will detect some differences between the country and the town. It might be useful to introduce the book.

Another reason because I have chosen to adapt this book is because I wanted to introduce these mice like if they were my friends. I think this is a good idea to attract the attention of the children and to motivate them and besides they learn many differences between the town and the country.
I focus the story in the friendship too. For me, this value is incredible and essential.

 

          

 

    

      

ACTIVITIES

Before reading the story

§    The teacher tells the children that she is going to read them an interesting story about a town mouse and a country mouse.

§    When the teacher shows her pictures she will describe them and she will ask something about them.

§        She asks the students:

- What is the meaning of town? And, what is the meaning of country?

During the story

§        The teacher reads the story word by word.

§      The voice of the teacher should be loud and slow, changing her voice to sound like the character in the book. This makes the story interesting and fun to listen to, so, children don’t get distracted easily.

§    When the teacher flips on a new page, she asks the children to guess what might happen in the next scene or she asks something about the pictures.

After reading the story

§        The teacher asks:

-   What do Town Mouse and Country Mouse eat?

§        The pupils have to match the words with the pictures:

- Apples, Bus, Cheese, Cows, Supermarket, Milk, Mice and Tree.

  

§    The children have to bring two pictures of them to the class, the following day. One picture in a country and the other in a town. They can request help to their parents to find these pictures. They will do a mural with their pictures. On the left the pictures of them in the country and on the right in the town.

§     One day the children will go to a country estate to see the animals that they can find there and besides they will see how to milk the cows. The children who want to milk the cows, will do it.

Storytelling

TOWN MOUSE AND COUNTRY MOUSE

I have chosen this book for many reasons:

It was one of my favourite stories when I was a little girl. My aunt usually read it to my cousin and me at night.

I think this is an interesting story and an appropriate book for five-year-old children.

Children have fun with listening because the main characters are animals. In this case the animals are two mice and it is not common to find mice in stories.

They learn more about the differences between town and country.

This story teaches the kids that everyone is different but we can be friends with those differences.

The illustrations are very useful to increase children’s imagination.

To sum up, the descriptions are made with short and very clear sentences which is easier for children to understand the story.

Therefore, vocabulary is also easy and the teacher can teach them some key words to increase their vocabulary.

I like all the colours of the drawings.

From my point of view, these characteristics make the children to be motivated and interested about the story.

ACTIVITIES

Before reading the story

§        The teacher tells the children that she is going to read them an interesting story about a town mouse and a country mouse.

§        She asks them:

- What is the meaning of Town? And, what is the meaning of Country?

- What can you find in a town? And, what can you find in a country?

- What do you think Town Mouse likes to eat? And, what do you think Country Mouse likes to eat? The teacher has to point the pictures to difference each Mouse.

If they don’t know these meanings, the teacher explains them giving the pupils some examples with drawings. In this way, the children can understand the explanation and the meanings better.

During the story

§        The teacher reads the story word by word.

§        The voice of the teacher should be loud and slow, changing her voice to sound like the character in the book. This makes the story interesting and fun to listen to, so, children don’t get distracted easily.

§        When the teacher flips on a new page, she asks the children to guess what might happen in the next scene or she asks something about the pictures.

After reading the story

§        The teacher asks the children to tell her:

- What is the story about?

- Do you like the story? Why?

- Who are the characters?

- Who is your favourite character? Why?

§        The teacher gives a picture of a town and a picture of a country to each pupil. She also gives them some drawings of different kinds of animals. The children have to stick the animals that they can find in the country on the picture of the country and also the animals that they can find in the town on tthe picture of the town. Some of the animals that the teacher gives to the students do not appear in any of these places.

§        The teacher gives a puzzle of a farm to the pupils. They have to fit the pieces.

§     One day the children will go to a country estate to see the animals that they can find there and besides they will see how to take the milk off the cows. The children who will want to milk the cows, they will do it.

ACTIVITIES

The very hungry CATERPILLAR.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj2kIPuaH68

ACTIVITIES

Before reading the story

§   The teacher tells the children that she is going to read them a wonderful story about a Caterpillar.

§        She shows the cover to the pupils and she asks them:

- Do you know what this animal is?

- Did you see a Caterpillar before?

- What colour is the Caterpillar?

- What do you think a Caterpillar eats?

During the story

§   When the teacher sees fit, she asks the children some appropriate questions related to the book. Also she asks them to guess what might happen in the next scene or she asks something about the pictures.

For example: Which colour is this one? (And the teacher points the drawing). Or how many pears the Caterpillar eats?

§     The voice of the teacher should be loud and slow, changing her voice to sound like the character in the book. This makes the story interesting and fun to listen to, so, children don’t get distracted easily.

After reading the story

§      The teacher asks the children to tell her:

- Do you like the story? Why?

- Which fruits the hungry Caterpillar eats?

- Which is your favourite fruit?

§     The children who have Caterpillars at home can bring them to class, to see the evolution of this creature and how the Caterpillar turns into a butterfly.

§    The teacher paints a caterpillar or a butterfly in the children’s face. Those who have allergy to the wax crayons will make a mask. Every kid chooses between a caterpillar mask and a butterfly mask.

                             

§        The children play Bingo with the the fruit that appears in the book.

§        They have to make a caterpillar with plasticine.

       §        They are going to make a mural with the appearance of a Caterpillar with different materials and shapes.

Is ZOG an appropiate book?

From my point of view this book is appropriate for children who are five years old.

This is a story about child support, companionship, body care, collaboration and love.

Zog, is a magnificent story that can make possible almost all the croos-cutting themes (CCT), a lot of different themes values. It's a different story that moves away from the clichés.

I think that the princess is very smart and I like that she helps the Dragon to realize that besides being fierce he also has a good heart. I like characters that are far from typical. I see very interesting that the dragon learns to appreciate what he has and he takes care about it. It is not common to find kind dragons in stories. 

I imagine that children can feel identify with the characters because their personalities are very real and close.

I consider that this story is very well designed. I really like illustrations; these are the best I have seen lately. I am convinced that these are very useful for small kids to follow and understand the main idea. This is especially because it has a very good layout, drawings are with brightly and strong colours and their size are suitable for small children.

The descriptions are made with short sentences which is easier to understand. The vocabulary is a little bit difficult, so the first time is better that I will tell the story instead of read it and I could adapt it to these ages.

Children can learn a lot of values like companionship or friendship and humility. They might improve their imagination and creativity.

IVHT