FIRST LEVEL

LEARNING RESOURCES

What theLadybirdHeard by JuliaDonaldsonand LydiaMonksResource created by Alison McAllister and MelWest from North AyrshireCouncil Library andInformation and InformationService

Learning to look

COVER

Discuss the cover—what do you think this book might be about? Whatkind of animals are in the story? Who’s on the back? What do you thinkthey might be up to and how can you tell?

ENDPAPERS

What do you notice about the leaves? (There are lots of different collageopportunities in this story—leaves, sheeps’ fleece, trousers, bushes etc)

Discuss the farmyard scene—who can you see, what’s happening, thedifferent animals, painting v collage. Who’s arriving in the trailer? You willget the chance to compare this end paper with the same scene at the endof the book.

TITLE PAGE

Collage, glitter and those two characters again! You may want to discussthe dedications and the purpose of them.

PGS 1-2

Discuss rhyming, the different animals , can you see the ladybird? Why isthe cow wearing a rosette?

PGS 3-4

Animals noises—who says what? Why do you think the text isn’t in astraight line and why are the sounds in capital letters?

PGS 5-6

Why do all of the animals seem much bigger? Why are they all staring atthe ladybird? What do you think they might be thinking about?

PGS 7-8

What time of day is it and how can you tell? Who’s in the van and what dothey have in front of them? You may wish to discuss nocturnal animals.

PGS 9-10

Discuss the map and the directions. Which animal is asleep on the mapand how can you tell? What are the brown marks? Where’s the ladybirdand what do you think he might be doing? Why is there a big red crossabove the cow?

Reading>

Understanding,

Analysing�and

Evaluating>

ENG1-17a

CfE

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PGS 11-12

What do you think the ladybird is doing? What are the lines around it’shead for? What do you think the other animals are thinking? Why is thephrase “Being careful not to wake the dog” in brackets?

PGS 13-14

Why are the animals all “talking” on this page?

PGS 15-16

What does the dotty, sparkly red line represent? What do you notice aboutthe animals?

PGS 17-18

What’s happening in these pictures? What has Hefty Hugh stood in onpage 18? Who’s keeping watch on page 17? Where’s the ladybird? What’sLanky Len holding?

PGS 19-20

Discuss what’s happening—how are the animals managing to trick the twomen? Where’s the ladybird? What’s Lanky Len stood in?

PGS 21-22

Oh no! What’s happened? What’s the ladybird doing? Look at the fish—how do you think they are feeling? What’s Lanky Len got on his head on pg22? How is the farmer feeling and how can you tell?

PGS 23-24

What’s everyone doing? Are they happy or sad?

ENDPAPERS

How does this endpaper compare with the one at the beginning of thebook? (animals all together, sheep looking on, footprints, baddies in policecar)

LAST PAGE

What are the cats doing and why? (High five?!)

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Ladybird activities

BBC Breathing Places is currently running a ladybird survey—you maywish your class to take part. More information can be found online: www.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces/7summer10/

A printable ladybird guide can be found online here:www.ladybird-survey.org/bbc/spotter.php

Details about creating a minibeast corner can be found here:www.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces/2summer08/

And ladybird dominoes can be found here:http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces/images/activity-ladybird-dominoes.pdf

Some excellent photos of different ladybird species can be found here:www.uksafari.com/ladybirds.htm

Commercially available Ladybird Kits allow children to observe the lifecycleof ladybirds in the classroom—available online from the world’s longestriver retailer!

Lots of craft ideas, lifecycle information and general facts about ladybirdsare available here: www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/ladybug/

VARIOUS OTHER CRAFT IDEAS

www.freecraftideas.org/craftprojects/pompom/40

www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/insects/mladybug-3d.htm

www.dell-cottage.co.uk/page17.html

OTHER IDEAS

Information about collage can be found here:www.preschoolexpress.com/art_station05/art_station_jun05.shtml

You can also find it here:www.earthskids.com/projects_for_preschoolers/projects-preschoolers-collage.htm#guidelines

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BUG HOTEL

Make a fabpad for your local bugs with these instructions from Gardener’sWorld: www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/projects/insects-bug-box /

A very basic online game to identify animal noises can be played onlinehere: http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/games/language-games/animal-noises

You can download farm animal noises (for free!) here: www.animal-sounds.org/farm-animal-sounds.html

Learn about all of the animals on the farm on these websites:www.kidsfarm.com/farm.htm

You can also find it here: www.kiddyhouse.com/Farm/

FARM ANIMALS CRAFTS:

www.dltk-kids.com/animals/farm.html

www.first-school.ws/theme/animals/farm.htm

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