57
Buy This Book * More books by Shirley Hughes
Sam loves playing in Trotter Street with her dog Mick and her friend Barney, despite Mrs Dean’s complaining. “Mrs Mean”, Barney calls her – and that’s what he writes by the snow lady that they build in front of her house on Christmas Eve. But what if Mrs Dean isn’t as cold-hearted as she seems?
Teaching Ideas and Resources:
English
- Samantha is called Sam and Micawber is called Mick. Can you make a list of other words that are often abbreviated?
- Write a set of instructions to teach people how to build the perfect snow lady.
- Rewrite the story from Sam’s point of view.
- Carry out some role-play activities in which someone pretends to be Sam. Ask her different questions about the events of the story, e.g. How did she feel when she realised that she might upset Mrs. Dean?
- The children in the story change the D in ‘Dean’ to an M to make ‘mean’. Can you choose some words and replace some of the letters to make new words?
- Write an alternative ending to the story in which Mrs. Dean did see the snow lady.
Maths
- Create a timeline that shows different events that Mick might get up to while he is guarding the house alone all day.
- Gather some small stones and use these to make letters and words, like the children do in the story. How many stones are needed for different letters? How many stones will you need to make your name?
Science
- One night, the water from a leaking drain froze on the pavement in the street. Can you explain why water changes state in this way?
- The children had fun sliding over the ice. Why is it easier to slide around on ice?
Computing
- Use Art software to create pictures of different snow people.
- Make an animation showing an adventure that the snow lady might have had during the night.
Design Technology
- Can you use junk modelling materials to make a model of a snow man or a snow lady?
- Use the Build a Snowman resources (see Resources below) to create your own snowman.
Art
- Design a new outfit for a snow man / lady.
- The inside covers show a scene from Sam’s dream. Can you draw a picture of a dream that you have had?
- Draw some pictures of the same street before and after snow has fallen.
Geography
- Find out about different types of weather. What is snow and when / why does it fall? What other types of precipitation are there?
Physical education
- The children have fun on the ice and think that it is like the Winter Olympics. Can you research some of the events that happen in the Winter Olympics?
PSHE
- Making a snow lady with the name ‘Mrs. Mean’ wasn’t a very nice thing to do. How would this have made Mrs. Dean feel if she had seen it?
