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Every night Blue Kangaroo falls fast asleep cuddled in Lily’s arms. He is her very own kangaroo. But things change when the new toy animals arrive. There just doesn’t seem to be enough room for Blue Kangaroo anymore…
Teaching Ideas and Resources:
English
- Retell the story from Blue Kangaroo’s point of view.
- Try hot-seating the characters in the story to find out their feelings about what happened. How did Blue Kangaroo feel at different points? Did Lily realise that Blue Kangaroo was feeling upset?
- Think of speech bubbles for the toys in each illustration.
- Make a list of adjectives that are used to describe each of the toys in the story. Can you think of more describing words for each toy?
- Can you perform the story? Use the text and the speech to rehearse and present the story to an audience.
- Write a story about your favourite toy.
- Think of words to describe your favourite toy. What does it look like? Where did it come from? How does it make you feel?
Maths
- Think of prices for each toy that Lily receives. Set up your own toy shop and work out the total prices for people who buy more than one item.
Science
- Blue Kangaroo has trouble sleeping at night because he is upset. Find out why we need sleep and think of ways that we can help ourselves to sleep.
Design Technology
- Design and make your own animal toys.
- Find out how different types of toys are made.
- Create some packaging for a popular type of toy.
Art
- Draw an animal that is a different colour to what it is normally, e.g. a pink frog, a green pig.
- Look at the colours shown in the pictures. How many different colours can you see? Can you draw colourful illustrations like this?
- Design a new toy that Lily could receive from another family friend.
History
- Find out about toys from the past. What have children played with during different periods in time?
- Draw a family tree based on the people mentioned in the story.
PSHE
- Read the story and look at Blue Kangaroo in the illustrations. How is he feeling at each point?
- Discuss what sharing is and why it is nice to share things with other people. What do you have to share with your family / friends?
- Blue Kangaroo is a special toy to Lily. Think about what ‘special’ means. What special things do you have?