Zoo

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Dad, mum and two brothers spend a day at the zoo, looking at the animals in the cages – or is it the animals that are looking at them?

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

English

• Think of some questions that you could ask people who work at, or visit, zoos.
• Could you rewrite the story in the form of a playscript and then perform it to an audience?
• Dad makes a joke about ‘jam’. Can you think of other words that have more than one meaning? Think is called a homonym. Could you make a poster with lots of examples of them?
• Make a set of instructions for a game that can be played on a long car journey.
• Make a list of ‘for’ and ‘against’ arguments about keeping animals in zoos. Could you have a class debate to discuss the issue??(see Resources below)
• The final sentence in the book asks a question. Could you think about the answer? Could you write a story about a dream that an animal might have?
• Write a paragraph from the point of view of an animal who is kept in a zoo. How do they feel?
• Could you write a story about a world in which animals keep humans in zoos?

Maths

• Find out the cost of entry for a zoo near you. Can you use the price list to make up some word problems?
• Think about the income and expenses that a zoo might have? Where do they get their money from? What do they have to spent it on?

Science

• How many different animals can you see in the illustrations?
• Make a list of animals beginning with different letters of the alphabet.?(see Resources below)
• Look at the picture of the giraffes. Can you see how they are camouflaged against the wall of the giraffe house. Can you think of other animals that use camouflage?
• Zoos often have signs that give information about the animals kept there. Could you make a poster to teach people about an animal kept in a zoo?

Computing

• Design a logo for a new zoo.
• Record a persuasive advert to encourage people to support a zoo / animal charity.
• Look at the creature comforts videos that show animals talking about their lives. Could you make a stop-motion animation about an animal kept in a zoo?

Design Technology

• Design an enclosure for a zoo animal. What kind of habitat will it need to live in?

Art

• Draw some of the animals shown in the illustrations. Use photos to help you?(see Resources below).

Geography

• Look on a map to find the locations of zoos near to where you live. Could you plan a visit to a zoo?
• The family didn’t have a map of the zoo. Could you make one for them?

PSHE

• Some of the people in the story don’t behave very well. How could they improve their behaviour?

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