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Long ago, in a faraway land, a cat lived in a barn. Of course, he had to share it with all the other animals: cows and chickens and-mice! Then, one wintry night, the door flew open and in came a man and a woman on a donkey…
Teaching Ideas and Resources:
English
- The story is written from the cat’s point of view. Can you rewrite it (or part of it) in the third person?
- Could you retell the story of the Nativity from a different animal’s point of view?
- Compare this story with a different version of the Nativity story. Which do you prefer? Why?
- Choose one of the illustrations and imagine what the animals in it might be thinking / feeling.
- Write your own version of the Nativity story.
Maths
- Make a timeline that shows the order of each new arrival in the barn.
- Work out how many visitors came to see the new baby. How many people? How many animals? How many eyes did they all have? How many legs?
Computing
- Create a newspaper article that reports on the arrival of the special baby.
- Create a video report about the events in this story.
Art
- Can you create your own scenes of different animals arriving in the barn?
- Describe how the illustrator has used different colours to show the darkness of the barn at night… or the light from the sunrise.
Religious education
- Can you explain why this story is important to Christians?
- Can you describe why the baby in the story is so special? Why did so many people come to visit him?
- Why, do you think, did the cat stop catching mice after the events of this story?