The Magic Finger

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The story of a little girl with magical powers. When someone makes her angry she zaps a punishment on them with her magic flashing finger!

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

English

• Write your own story about a magic finger. What special powers would it have?
• Imagine that you had a magic finger. What adventures might you have?
• Without reading the story, look at the illustrations of the characters at the front of the book. Predict what might happen to them in the book.
• The story is written in the first person. What does this mean? Could you rewrite part of it in the third person?
• Every Saturday morning Mr Gregg and the boys go off hunting. Think of some ‘for’ and ‘against’ arguments about hunting. Could you have a class debate to discuss it?
• Write a prequel to the book explaining how the girl got a magic finger.
• Rewrite the story from the point of view of one of the Gregg children.
• Think of some words and phrases that can be used to describe what happens when the girl uses her magic finger.(see Resources below).
• Carry out a role-play activity to decide what the girl should do after she has used the magic finger on the Gregg family. Should she help them?
• Make a list of words to describe how the Gregg family might have felt when they were turned into birds and another list to describe their feelings when they became human again.
• Write a new chapter for the end of the book that describes what happens to the Cooper family.
• Can you write a set of instructions to teach someone how to do a magic trick of their own?

Science

• Can you make a list of different types of birds? How are they similar / different?
• Choose one type of bird and write a report about it. Where does it live? What does it eat?
• Make a poster to teach people how to help look after wild birds.

Computing

• Use drawing software to draw a picture of a human with wings. or a human with the features of another animal.

Design Technology

• Design a nest / bird box for the Gregg family to stay in after they had turned into birds.

Art

• Retell the story in the form of a storyboard.
• Could you use natural materials (e.g. sticks and leaves) to build a nest?

Geography

• Draw a map showing the locations in the story.
• How many different types of weather are mentioned in the book? Can you think of other words to describe each type?

PSHE

• If the girl gets cross, she uses the magic finger. Can you think of any techniques she could use to stay calm and control her anger?
• The girl punishes people who she feels are doing something wrong. Do you think that these are fair punishments? Why?

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