Ug

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Ug and his parents are living in the Stone Age. And that means stone blankets, stone cold food, an even colder cave and, worst of all, hard stone trousers! Being an inquisitive and intelligent child, Ug suggests a series of modifications to improve the quality of family life.

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

English

• Imagine that everything you own is made from stone. How would life be different?
• Imagine that you swapped lives with Ug. Could you write a story about your experiences in the Stone Age? What might Ug think of modern times?
• Make some instructions to teach Ug’s family about things that might help them (e.g. writing / cooking / catching food / making boats / finding new materials to use).
• Look at other comic strips and discuss their features (e.g. caption boxes, speech / thought bubbles). How are they different from other types of text?
• Could you perform part of the story to an audience? Could you turn the speech into a playscript?
• Can you rewrite the comic strip in the form of a narrative text?
• Ug’s mum doesn’t like the exciting new words that Ug uses (e.g. nice and terrific). Can you think of other amazing words that Ug’s mum wouldn’t like to hear?
• Can you identify any new words used in the text (e.g. neanderthal, carcase, anachronism). Can you find out what these words mean? Could you make a glossary to explain their definitions?
• Some of the illustrations in the story don’t have any captions or speech bubbles. Can you think of some for them?
• Write a letter to Ug telling him what life will be like in the future.
• Carry out some role-play activities in which you interview Ug about his life.

Maths

• As it explains in the text, people in the stone age didn’t have minutes or hours. How would you explain this concept to them?

Science

• Different types of rock are mentioned in the story. Can you find out about any others?
• Ug tries to play lots of games with stone. What forces are taking place in the illustrations?
• Why doesn’t Ug’s boat float on the water? Can you find out about materials that float? Could you carry out an experiment to find out how much weight different materials will hold while floating?
• Ug invents a wheel. What could he use it for? What do we use wheels for today?

Computing

• Use comic creation tools (e.g. Comic Life) to create your own comic strips about life in the Stone Age.

Design Technology

• In the story, Ug’s family only have mud, bushes and stones. Can you make a list of the materials that we can use today? How would you describe each material? How are different materials used? Why are certain materials used for specific purposes?
• Can you explain why it is not a good idea to make trousers using stone?
• Design some new clothes for Ug and his family to wear.
• At the end of the story, Ug starts to make some new trousers. What could he do to join the two pieces together? Could you practise sewing and make some for him?

Art

• Could you make your own comic strip about Ug or another Stone Age character?
• Make a new page for the story, in which Ug’s family help him to test one of his new ideas.
• Can you try to create your own cave paintings?

Music

• Did people living in the Stone Age make music? What could they have used as instruments?

Geography

• Can you find out about places in the world where cave paintings have been found? Could you plot them on a map?
• Can you find out what causes landslides? How do they affect people and wildlife?
• Ug wants to bend the stream so that it is nearer to his cave. Can you find out how people use rivers and streams?

History

• Ug tries to invent lots of new objects. Can you find out about famous inventors and the things that they invented? How do these objects affect our lives today?
• The story mentions ‘The Stone Age’ and ‘The Iron Age’. What terms would you use to describe the period of time that we are living in now?
• Can you find out more about Sisyphus and retell his story?

Physical education

• Ug’s mum tells him to go and play with stones. Can you make up some (safe) games that could be played with stones?

PSHE

• Why don’t Ug’s mum and dad like his new ideas? What could he do to make them listen?