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“Good morning, class. Today we are going to learn about Earthlets. They come in four colours. Pink, brown, black or yellow . . . but not green.” In this way, Dr Xargle, our friendly alien teacher, begins to teach his class about humans and babies. This is an hysterically funny book, with a particularly wry look at our natural methods and practices in bringing up babies: look out for the ‘egg-mangle’ – will you ever want to eat it again?
Teaching Ideas and Resources:
English
- Could your children write a new set of instructions from Dr Xargle’s point of view? They could write about earth animals, vehicles, families, technology or other topics.
- Ask pupils to write a similar book about aliens from a human point of view. What do aliens do? Where do they live? How are they similar and / or different to humans?
- Imagine that you went on an exchange visit to Dr Xargle’s school. What would it be like for humans to see an alien school? What would the aliens think of human schools?
Science
- Use the books as a starting point for learning about life processes and human development.
Computing
- Ask children to use drawing software / online tools to create an image of an alien.
Art
- Design your own alien creature.
PSHE
- Think about how you learn best. How could you teach an alien about one of your favourite topics?