The Snowman Christmas Advert

Ages: 5-11
Contributor:
Sam Collins

The story of a girl who believes in the magic of Christmas, and what happens when she wakes to a snowy Christmas morning…

Watch this video with your children and then try some of our teaching and activity ideas below.

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

Explore our huge bank of ideas related to Raymond Briggs’ wonderful book The Snowman.
Stop the video at 0:17 and discuss the dedications at the beginning of the book. Why are there two? How are they linked?
Stop the video at 0:24 – write a thought bubble for the girl as she sees the snow. What might she be thinking? How might she be feeling?
Stop the video at 1:11. Why doesn’t the girl want to play with the dog?
Discuss the line“Maybe, just maybe” – what does it mean?
Write the story from Dad’s point of view.
Write some dialogue between the characters.
Make a storyboard of the story.
Use a thesaurus to find synonyms for cold, e’g’ nippy, freezing.
Write a character description for the girl.
Draw a map showing the girl’s emotions throughout the story. How do they change?
What happens next? Write the next part of the story.
Write the girl’s diary entry for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Watch the section from 0:55 to 1:09 and observe how the shadows change. Make your own snowman (perhaps out of a large piece of cardboard if you are not lucky enough to have snow!) and observe how the shadows change during the day.
If you do have snow, try this melting snowman experiment.

Learn and sing “Walking in the air”.
Listen to some different versions of “Walking in the air”. Which do you prefer? Why?

2018 is the 40th anniversary of the publication of the book. How were things different in 1978? Research on the internet and ask friends and family. How would a 1978 Christmas be different from one today?

The book dedications say “Always believe in Christmas Magic.” What is belief? What do you believe in?

Find out the words you need to describe snow and cold weather in the language you are learning.

What qualities does the girl show in the story? Why are those qualities important? When have you been determined, for example?