You're Called What - Teaching Ideas

Ice Cream Cone Worm. Monkeyface Prickleback. Pink Fairy Armadillo. You’re called WHAT?!

Welcome to the Ministry of Silly Animal Names, where all the creatures have one thing in common: they want to change their names.

English:

What is your name? Can you find out what it means?
Can you find out the history of different words? What is etymology?
Look at the use of inverted commas, question marks, exclamation marks and other types of punctuation throughout the story. Can you explain why they have been used in different places?
Rewrite the story as a play script and perform it to an audience.
Write a newspaper report about the discovery of a new animal with a silly name.
Create a new story in which a group of animals visit Secretary Bird to find out something or change something.
Create some instructions to teach people how to look after a Cockapoo (or one of the other animals in the story).

Estimate (or find out) the sizes of the creatures mentioned in the story. Make a graph to show this information.
Find out other data about the animals (e.g. How many are living in the world? How long do they live for?). Show this information in different ways.

Choose one of the animals and find out more about it. Can you write a report about it?
Could you find out about other animals with silly names? Make a list of them.
Make a branching key to help identify the animals mentioned in the book.
Make lists of similarities and differences between the animals in the story.
Can you invent your own animal with a silly name? Where does it live? Does it have any adaptations? What does it eat?
Choose one of the animals and make a food chain / web that includes it.
The book states that the Blobfish was voted the world’s ugliest animal. Can you think of some awards for other animal achievements (e.g. world’s fastest runner, world’s oldest living animal, an animal with the longest tongue)?

Use graphics / design software to make your own version of the poster on the final page of the book. Include a photo / illustration of yourself and your name. Can you include other information / statistics about yourself?
Make a PowerPoint presentation / audio report / video report about one of the animals in the book.
Create a certificate for the Blobfish, the winner of the award for the world’s ugliest animal.

Make a piece of artwork based on your name. Try this idea.
Look at photos of the animals in the book and create your own pictures. These could be realistic drawings / paintings or cartoons (in a similar style to the illustrations in the book).

The animals all laugh when they hear each other’s names. How would you feel if somebody laughed at you?