The Rock from the Sky

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Turtle really likes standing in his favourite spot. He likes it so much that he asks his friend Armadillo to come over and stand in it, too. But now that Armadillo is standing in that spot, he has a bad feeling about it…

English:

• Look at the front cover. Discuss who the two characters are. How do they know each other? What are they looking at? What might happen in this story? Does the title of the book give any clues about what might happen?
• Rewrite some of the speech using direct speech with the correct punctuation, e.g. “I like standing in this spot,” said Turtle.
• Think of an alternative ending for the story.
• Rewrite part of the story in the form of Turtle’s diary entry.
• Create some posters to warn animals about the dangers of falling rocks.
• This story has a number of moments of ‘suspense’ where it seems that something is about to happen but the animals are not sure what that could be. Could you use a similar technique in your own writing?
• Watch this ‘read aloud’ video of the story and try to record your own.

• Watch this video in which the author talks about this book and how he is inspired by movies. What questions would you like to ask him? What movies inspire you?

Maths:

• Estimate the size of the rock. Find some rocks in an outdoor area and measure their sizes.

Computing:

• Design a game in which a character has to avoid falling rocks.
• Drawing some pictures of turtles or armadillos using art software.
• The animals find it difficult to talk when they are far apart. Think of the different ways that people can communicate when they are not together.

Design Technology:

• Could you make some models of Turtle, Armadillo, Snake and the rock?
• Design some new hats for the animals.
• At different points in the story, the creatures struggle to hear each other. Could you design a tool to help them communicate?

Art:

• Look at the illustration of the animals when the rock has fallen in Turtle’s spot. How has their expression changed? Draw pictures of a character showing different emotions and expressions.
• Retell the story (or a part of it) as a comic strip.
• Create some alternative illustrations for chapter 3 (about the future). How might your version of ‘The Future’ differ from Armadillo’s ideas?
• Create your own pictures of the animals featured in the story.
• Discuss how the author has used colour in the story. Could you create some pictures in a similar style?

Geography:

• Investigate different types of rock. Where do they come from? Where can you find them? How do people use rocks?

PSHE:

• Turtle loves standing in his spot. Do you have a favourite place to be? Why do you like it? How does it make you feel?
• Pause the story at different points and discuss how the animals are feeling. Why might they feel this way?