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Traction Man and Scrubbing Brush are at the beach!
Traction Man even has his special Squid-Proof Scuba Suit, perfect for exploring the secret crevices of the Rockpool. But there are adventures in store for our intrepid hero as he faces the thrills of Operation Picnic, the tribulation of being buried in sand and – worst of all – being washed away by a giant wave…
Teaching Ideas and Resources:
English
- Create a new adventure for Traction Man, in which he travels to a different place.
- Explore the book and find any words that you are unfamiliar with (e.g. odyssey, unrealistic, elusive). Can you find out what they mean? Could you try to use them in a sentence… or in your own stories?
- Can you find any examples of onomatopoeia in the story?
- Create a new story with Beach Time Brenda as the main character.
- Truffles needs ‘some Proper training’. Can you write some instructions to teach people how to train (or look after) a dog like Truffles?
- Create a diary entry from the point of view of the boy who owns Traction Man.
- Can you turn this story into an audiobook, narrating the text and adding sound effects / music?
- Discuss the use of punctuation throughout the story.
- Choose a character / location and make a list of words / sentences that could be used to describe it. Are there any words in the text that you can use?
- At the end of the story, the Dollies plan to go on ‘an expedition to the Mysterious Cave’. Write a story about what happens there.
Science
- Traction Man visits the beach. Can you find out about the types of creatures that might live in habitats around there (e.g. rock pools, caves, under the sea)?
- Plan a healthy picnic lunch for Traction Man’s family.
- The plastic bottle floats on the sea. Make a list of materials that float / sink and plan an investigation to test other materials.
- The girl’s family have an ‘Ice-O’ ice box. What is this for? Carry out an investigation to find out materials that can be used to keep food cool.
Computing
- Create a poster to advertise a Traction Man movie.
- Design your own Traction Man game or app.
Design Technology
- The inside covers show an advert for Beach Time Brenda, with some safety warnings at the bottom of the pages. Can you look at existing toys and think about how the designers have made them safe for children?
- Make a model of the Dollies’ original castle (using sand or other materials)… or make a new one for them.
- The Dollies’ castle is ‘seriously unstable’. Investigate how people design and build strong structures.
Art
- The inside covers show the pages from ‘Brenda Magazine’. Can you create a comic strip for this magazine… or continue the unfinished one at the back of the book?
- The inside covers show an advert for Beach Time Brenda. Can you design similar adverts for a ‘Ski Slope Brenda’ or ‘Princess Brenda’?
- Draw some of the photos (and selfies) that Scrubbing Brush might take with his camera while they are on holiday.
- Design some outfits that Traction Man / Brenda can wear in different places and seasons.
- Discuss the features and layout of a comic strip. Can you make your own?
Geography
- In this story, Traction Man goes on holiday. Think of some places where you would like to go on holiday and find out more about the place. Could you create a report, a travel guide or an advert to encourage others to go there)?
- Find a large map of the world and add labels to show the places where you and your friends have visited (or would like to visit in the future).
- Traction Man does an ‘equipment check’ before he goes on holiday. Make a list of things that you would need to visit different places (e.g. Mount Everest, the Sahara Desert, the Great Barrier Reef).
- Look on a map and find the location of your nearest beach. How far away is it? How might you get there? How long will the journey take?
- Traction Man gets washed out to sea. Can you make a poster to teach people how to stay safe at the beach?
- There is an ‘earthquake’ in the Dollies’ Castle. Can you find out about earthquakes and other natural disasters?
- At the end of the story, the characters are ‘digging an exploration hole to the Centre of the Earth’. Find out about the centre of the Earth and create a labelled diagram to show the different parts.
