Father Christmas

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Father Christmas has awoken from a dream of summer sun to discover it is December 24th, Christmas Eve – the start of his longest night’s work of the year!

Much merriment ensues as Father Christmas travels the world, with a few issues along the way, to bring joy to children everywhere.

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

English

• Can you find any examples of onomatopoeia in the story?
• At the start of the story, Father Christmas is dreaming about a relaxing holiday on a beach. Can you write the story of his dream?
• Imagine that you are Father Christmas. Tell a friend why you like / dislike Christmas.
• Think of different words to describe Father Christmas’ emotions throughout the story. How does his mood change?
• Think of captions for some of the illustrations.
• Write a set of instructions to remind Father Christmas how to get ready for Christmas.
• Create a job description for Father Christmas. What activities does the job involve? What kind of person will be best for the role?
• Write Father Christmas’ diary for the 24th of December. Remember to include his thoughts and feelings at different times of the day.
• Imagine that Father Christmas met the Queen. What would they say to each other?
• Pretend that you could interview the author. What questions would you ask him?
• Find out more about the author and write a biography to describe his life. Watch this video for some information:

Maths

• Can you tell the time on the clocks shown in the illustrations?
• Use the clocks to create a timeline showing the events of Father Christmas’ day and when they happened.

Science

• Father Christmas gets cold throughout the story. Can you find some materials that will help to keep him warm?

Computing

• Could you use WordArt (or software like Comic Life) to create calligrams showing the onomatopoeia in the story?
• Create an animation that shows Father Christmas delivering some presents.

Design Technology

• Design and make a model of a new sleigh for Father Christmas.
• Design a machine that will help Father Christmas to deliver the presents.

Art

• Look at the illustrations of Father Christmas in this book. Can you find other pictures of Father Christmas? How are they similar / different?
• Can you create your own illustrations of Father Christmas, with different expressions on his face?
• This story is told in the form of a comic strip. Can you retell another famous story in a similar way?

Geography

• Father Christmas travels through different types of weather. How would you describe these? How are they formed?
• Create a map that shows Father Christmas’ route throughout the story.

PSHE

• Think of some ways to cheer Father Christmas up when he is feeling grumpy.