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Hey Diddle Diddle
The Cat and the Fiddle
The Cow jumped over the Moon.
The Little Dog laughed
To see such fun
And the Dish ran away with the Spoon.
That’s the bit we know – but have you ever wondered what happened next? Mini Grey, the creator of such favourites as Biscuit Bear and The Pea and the Princess, has this brilliantly funny and wonderfully inventive suggestion, narrated by one of the principal players – the Spoon himself.
Teaching Ideas and Resources:
English
- Write your own adventure story about other nursery rhyme characters.
- Retell the story from the point of view of the Dish.
- Rewrite the story in the third person.
- Write the Spoon’s diary entry from different points in the story (e.g. When they are earning lots of money in the travelling show, when they are forced to rob the bank, when the spoon is locked in prison…).
- Think of some speech / thought bubbles to accompany the illustrations in the book.
- Make a persuasive poster to encourage people to watch the Dish and the Spoon’s travelling show.
- Make a new story about the notorious Carving Knife Gang.
- Make some ‘Wanted’ posters for the characters in the Carving Knife Gang.
- Write a newspaper report about the bank robbery.
- Write a biography of the Spoon’s life.
- Describe what was happening in the Dish’s life while the Spoon was in prison.
Maths
- The Dish and the Spoon earn lots of money (but then lose it all). If you had one million pounds, how would you spend it?
- The Spoon uses tally marks to count the days that it has been locked in prison. Can you use tally marks to count the days to important events (e.g. Birthdays, school term dates, important events and festivals)?
Science
- Find out how a record player works.
- What is sound? How do we hear things?
Computing
- Use puppets to create a video of the Dish and the Spoon’s travelling show.
- An audio version of this story is available with narration, music and sound effects. Could you create your own audio recording?
- Could you record your own video retelling of the story? Here is an example:
Design Technology
- A sign in the window of the junk shop says that they ‘mend anything’. Can you think of different materials and tools that are used to mend broken objects?
- Could you create your own models of the dish and spoon?
Art
- Create a comic strip about a new adventure of the Dish and the Spoon (or a different nursery rhyme character). Use our free templates!
Music
- Sing the ‘Hey Diddle Diddle’ nursery rhyme. Could you rehearse the song and perform it to an audience?
- Compose a different melody to accompany the nursery rhyme.
- At the start of the story, the dish and the spoon hear their song on a record player. Investigate how music has been recorded in different ways over time (e.g. Records, cassette tapes, CDs, MiniDiscs, MP3s etc).
History
- The Spoon is released from prison after 25 hours. Investigate what life was like 25 years ago. Could you interview someone to find out more about their life 25 years ago?