Unplugged

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BLIP spends all day plugged into her computer, playing games and having fun. But when there is a POWER CUT, Blip goes down the stairs and out the front door, where she discovers playing games and having fun . . . OUTSIDE. Isn’t it wonderful to be UNPLUGGED?

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

English

• Use ‘Unplugged’ as the title for your own story. What might it be about?
• Think of some speech / thought bubbles to accompany the illustrations in the book.
• Write a persuasive letter to your teacher encouraging him / her to let you use technology more frequently in your lessons.
• What are the for / against arguments related to using technology in the classroom?
• How many different verbs can you find in the story (e.g. liked, played, toppled, drifted)?
• Write a review of the book that could be added to the shelves of a bookshop or posted online.
• Carry out some role-play activities, e.g. interview Blip at different points in the story to find out how she was feeling.
• Write a postcard or letter from Blip to her new friends.
• Think of a ‘backstory’ for Blip. Where did she come from?
• ‘Blip’ is an example of onomatopoeia. Can you think of any more? Could you use one of these words as the name for a character in a new story?
• Think of some questions that you would like to ask the author. Here is a video in which he talks about his work:

Maths

• Create a table that shows how long you spend using technology over the course of a week. Use this to create a graph / chart to show your use over time. How does this compare to others?
• Carry out a survey to find out the favourite indoor and outdoor activities of the other children in your class.

Science

• What are the health implications of spending too much time using a computer?

Computing

• Blip can do lots of exciting things on her computer. Can you make a list of the ways that you use technology?
• Make a stop-motion animation which features Blip doing some exciting outdoor activities.
• Create a labelled diagram that shows the different parts of a computer (or another piece of technology). Can you add labels and captions?
• Design a game that Blip might like to play on a computer.
• Write reviews of some child-friendly sites that Blip could visit.
• Use publishing software, create a podcast or record a video to teach Blip how to stay safe online.
• Find out how robots are used to help people today and discuss how this might change in the future.
• Record and edit your own video review / retelling of the story. Here is an example:

Design Technology

• Can you make a model of Blip the robot?
• Can you design and make a robot friend for Blip?

Art

• Think about the use of black and white (and colour) in the illustrations. Could you use create some illustrations in black and white, and also in colour, and see what the impact is?
• Retell the story in the form of a comic strip.
• Draw some pictures that show Blip’s point of view at different points in the story.

Geography

• Create a story map that shows the places featured in the book and shows what happened there.

History

• Can you find out about the history of robotics?

PSHE

• Imagine that there was a power cut at your home or school. What impact would this have?