This Is Not My Hat

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When a tiny fish shoots into view wearing a round blue top hat (which happens to fit him perfectly), trouble could be following close behind. So it’s a good thing that enormous fish won’t wake up. And even if he does, it’s not as though he’ll ever know what happened, will he?

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

English

• Use the speech in the story to create a playscript.
• Rewrite the text in the book as direct speech and / or reported speech. What is the difference between them?
• The book is written in the first person. Can you rewrite it in the third person?
• Use the story as the basis of a newspaper report about a stolen hat.
• Can you find different examples of nouns / adjectives / verbs / adverbs in the text?
• Look for examples of different types of punctuation in the story.
• Carry out role play activities involving the small fish, the large fish and the crab. What are their thoughts about the events that took place in the story?
• What happened to the small fish? Did he get away? Was he eaten? What might happen next?
• Lots of the sentences in the story are very short. Could you join them using connectives? Why did the author choose not to do this?
• Create a set of captions / speech bubbles / thought bubbles for the illustrations in the book.

Maths

• Estimate the size of the small and large fish in the book. How do they compare to everyday objects in your home / classroom?

Science

• Research different types of fish and write a report about one.
• Write a set of instructions to teach people how to care for a pet goldfish.
• Find out about other types of creatures that live in the seas and oceans around the world.

Computing

• Use art software to design a new hat for the fish(see Resources below).

Design Technology

• Design and make a new hat for the fish so that he doesn’t have to steal one. What materials could you use?
• Look at existing examples of hats. Who might wear them? How are they made? What materials are they made from? (see Resources below)

Art

• Look at the illustrations. How do the images convey movement / expressions?
• Look at photos of fish and other sea creatures. Use these as the starting point for your own artwork (see Resources below).
• Use the template to design a new hat for the fish (see Resources below).

Music

• Compose a tune that could be used in an animated movie of this story.

PSHE

• Make a list of reasons why it is wrong to steal things from others. How does it make the people involved feel?
• Think of things that the small fish could do if he were ever tempted to steal again. How could he stop himself?

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