Bugs and Beasts

listen and th!nk
by Liz Weir
Illustrations by Corrina Askin
listen and th!nk
Working With Others
Bugs and Beasts is one of a set of stimulating stories for the Foundation Stage that embrace the Northern Ireland Thinking Skills
and Personal Capabilities framework.
This story is set in the Lough Neagh area. Amy and Paul go on an outing with their grandparents and have lots of fun learning and
playing together.
Using this book with the children:
•
Read/share the book with the children.
•
Use the illustrations to support the children’s understanding of the text.
•
Develop literacy across the curriculum through predicting, gaining meaning, asking questions and retelling.
•
At key points you will see a
. This may be an appropriate place to stop and explore the thinking with the children.
(You will find lots of examples of how you may do this within the Teacher’s Notes section at the back of this book.)
As appropriate opportunities arise when talking with the children, you should introduce and use some of the following:
•
leader
•
take turns
•
team
•
share
•
work together
•
roles and responsibilities
•
co-operate
•
join in
•
reach agreement
•
observe and match/search
•
agree
•
support
•
disagree
•
check
•
listen
•
find solutions.
You can find further information on Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities at www.nicurriculum.org.uk
1
Liz Weir is a writer and professional storyteller who travels all over the world sharing her tales. She
has written two collections of stories for children: Boom Chicka Boom and Here There and Everywhere
published by The O’Brien Press. Liz has appeared on RTE’s The Morbegs and wrote scripts for the
Together in the Park television cartoons. She lives at Ballyeamon Barn in the Glens of Antrim and visits
schools telling stories to children and giving workshops for parents and teachers.
Corrina Askin is an award winning illustrator, printmaker and animator. Her awards include the Bisto
Merit award for illustration, Cle publishing award and White Ravens award at the Children’s Book Fair
in Bologna. TV commissions include MTV, Channel Four and S4C. Her latest project is an animated
children’s series Castle Farm to be broadcast on Channel Five in 2010. At school she often got told off
for doodling and daydreaming but now she does it every day for work!
Acknowledgements
Doreen Mullan and Lyn Lynch (CCEA) would like to acknowledge and thank the following for their invaluable contribution to the
development of this resource:
•
Carol Weatherall, Belfast Education and Library Board
•
Ruth Stevens, South Eastern Education and Library Board
•
Marie Mullan, St Mary’s Primary School, Dunsford
•
Paula Rafferty, Cloughoge Primary School, Newry
Designed and produced by CCEA | Multimedia
2
3
Amy and Paul were going
on a special day out with
Granny and Granda.
“Is that the sea,
Granda?” asked Amy.
“No Amy, that‛s
Lough Neagh,” said
Granda. “It‛s a
really big lake.”
4
5
“We‛ve arrived,” said Granda.
“This is going to be fun!”
“Look! More people in fancy
dress!” shouted Paul.
6
7
“Right,” said Granda.
“Let‛s see what we are
going to do first.”
8
9
“I want to go pond dipping,”
said Paul.
“Can we look for bugs?”
asked Amy.
10
11
“Now hold on a wee
minute,” said Granny.
“We need to take
our time. We can‛t do
everything at once.“
12
“We need to work as a team,”
said Paul.
“I‛ll be the leader and Granda,
you keep an eye on the time.”
13
“Let me go first,” said Granny.
“I haven‛t done this since I was
a wee girl!”
14
15
Granny tipped some wet, soggy
things into the tray.
“Hurry up Granny. It‛s our turn
now!”
When it was Amy‛s turn, she
plopped some more bits and
pieces into the tray.
16
17
“What have we got?” asked
Amy. “It‛s got …”
“I‛ll check,” said Paul. “I think
it‛s a water boatman.”
18
19
Granda got some
bits of weed.
“Come on Paul. Give me a hand
here to see what these plants
are. Our time‛s nearly up and
we need to go on the Bug
Hunt.”
20
21
“Can I be the leader this
time? I know what to
do,” said Amy.
22
23
“We need to
search under
the logs first.
You hold the bug
box, Paul, and
we‛ll put them
in.”
24
“Watch you don‛t hurt them.”
25
“What does this word say,
Granny?”
“Have a go.
Sound it out.”
Amy ran her
finger across
the word and
said,
“B-u-g. Bug.”
“We need to see
if it‛s got a shell
and count its
legs,” said Granny.
26
“What do you think it is?”
“Granny, that‛s easy! It‛s a
woodlouse.”
27
Just then Amy stepped
back and got stung by a big
nettle.
“Granny! It jagged my arm!”
28
29
Granda and Paul
came running over.
30
31
“It‛s all right, love,
don‛t cry. This‛ll
fix it.”
32
Granda pulled a docken leaf
and rubbed Amy‛s arm with it.
33
“What‛s that wee
rhyme we always
used to say?”
“Docken in
and
docken out.
Take the sting
of my nettle out!”
“It worked, Granda!”
34
35
“Come on you two,” called
Granny.
36
“Let‛s put our bugs back again.
It‛s time we went inside for
the fancy dress. My feet are
killing me!”
37
When they got to the centre
there were bugs of every kind.
Amy won a prize for the
prettiest minibeast costume,
so she forgot all about her
nettle sting.
38
Paul got a prize for his spider
outfit.
39
The whole family sat down to
have their picnic.
“Look at this one, Granny. It‛s
my favourite.”
Amy said, “Can I
see the camera
Granda?”
40
41
“We‛re a great team,” said
Granda.
42
43
Teacher Notes
Page 4
Discussion Prompts
Suggested Activities for Connecting the Learning
(These activities provide opportunities to extend the discussion
prompt).
Have you ever heard of a lough?
If you have, do you know the names
of any loughs?
Provide pictures of lakes, rivers and seas, etc. Ask the children
to arrange the pictures in order of size, for example pond, river,
lough, sea and ocean.
Read stories, for example The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian
Andersen and Nessie The Loch Ness Monster by Richard Brassey.
Page 13
What helps us to work well
together?
Play table top games, encouraging the children to work together
to decide who goes first and establish turn-taking.
Ask the children to mirror the actions of their partner in a mirror
mime game.
Play a blindfold game, with one child leading another in class and/
or outdoors. Discuss what it is like to be a leader. Ask why some
people are good leaders.
Play ‘Follow the leader’ games.
Page 25
Imagine that there is a hole in the
Set out objects such as a shoe box, a plastic bug, a spoon, a scoop
bug box and the bugs have escaped. and a blindfold. Agree how one child wearing a blindfold can, with
How would you work together to get the help of the others, get the bug into the box without touching it.
the bugs safely into the box?
Page 29
What would you do if you got stung Ask the children to find out from older family members what
by a nettle? Who would you go to for cures and remedies were used long ago.
help?
Role play scenarios, for example exploring what the children
could do when someone gets hurt or stung in the playground.
Make a poster about keeping medicines safe.
Page 42
What makes a good team?
Do you think Amy, Granda, Paul and
Granny made a good team? Why?
Make a list of the characteristics of a good team (such as
listening, turn-taking, sharing, co-operating and reaching
agreement).
Make a list of times when the children like to work on their own.
Do you prefer to work in a team or
on your own? Why?
Suggested Websites
www.nicurriculum.org.uk
www.bbc.co.uk
www.enchantedlearning.com
www.ltscotland.org.uk/earlyyears/resources
www.e-gfl.org
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/Foundation/nurseryrhymes
44
Do you like creepy crawlies?
Amy and Paul dress up as their favourite minibeasts when they go
for a fun day out to Lough Neagh with their granny and granda.
Read the story to find out all the exciting things they do together.
Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities Framework
Thinking, Problem-Solving and
Decision-Making
Thinking Skills
and
Personal Capabilities