Night Monkey Day Monkey

Night Monkey and Day Monkey don't think they have much in common. But when they each spend time in the other's opposite worlds, they learn a lot. And they also learn to be the best of friends.

Book Author: Julia Donaldson

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Teaching Ideas and Resources:

English

• Find the different words used to describe how the monkeys move (e.g. clambered, leapt). Can you think of any more?
• Can you make up a new story about a 'Night' animal and a 'Day' animal?
• Look at the rhyming words in the story.
• Retell the story in the form of a playscript, using the speech marks to help you.
• Try some role play activities. Pretend to be Night Monkey and interview her about her experience in the day time (and vice versa).

Maths

• Count the different types of animals mentioned in the story. How many of each species are there? 

Science

• Make a list of the animals mentioned in the story. Could you write a report about one of them?
  Day Monkey doesn't know what the moon is. Write a description of it to teach him.
• Night Monkey doesn't know what shadows are. How would you teach her about them?
• Find out why we have night and day.

Computing

• Take some photos of different places when they are light and dark. Make a photo collage to compare them.
• Watch this retelling of the story. Can you record your own version?

Design Technology

• Make a model of a rainforest scene in the day / night time.

Art

• Draw pictures to show what a rainforest looks like in the night time and the day time.

Music

• Describe what the rainforest might sound like at night time. Could you try to make some of these sounds and record them?

• Sing along with the songs on the CD version of the book.
• Compose a tune to accompany the rhyming story.

Geography

• Make a list of the similarities / differences between the rainforest in the day and night time.
• Look on a map and try to find a forest where Night Monkey and Day Monkey might live.

Physical education

• Think about how the different animals in the story move. Could you try to copy some of their movements?

PSHE

• How would you feel standing in a rainforest in the day / night time?
• Night Monkey and Day Monkey are very different. Why is it good to learn about each other's differences? Why are people sometimes afraid of things that are different?