The Fox And The Star
Written and illustrated by Coralie Bickford-Smith
Review link:the-fox-and-the-star/ /
Suits: / R / Y1 / Y2 / Y3 / Y4 / Y5 / Y6 / Y7 / Y8 / Y9
Notes: I have suggested younger years for this book although I believe its ability to be used to comfort children and teach lessons of loss, grief and hope can be extended up into older ages, particularly when used for P4C.
English
- Poetry: topics could include stars, foxes, nocturnal animals, forests, night time, friendship, loneliness or loss. Children could create shape poetry, emulating pages of the book
- Stories: The __ And The __. Children write their own stories using different nocturnal animals and objects such as The Hedgehog And The Moon
- Diaries: from the fox’s point of view through the story
- Letters: write to the fox to comfort him or write to the author
- Non-chronological reports: fact files about different nocturnal animals or animals/plants from a forest habitat. Children could write fact files about stars and the night sky. Fact files for different fox species
- Drama: freeze frames of the most important moments, thought tracking showing the development of the fox’s emotions
- Shape: different shapes created from star constellations
- Measurement: how tall the trees in the forest are. Volume of rain water during a storm
- Word problems: number problems using forest creatures such as beetles and rabbits
- Grid references: plot grid references to create different star constellations
- Data handling: interpreting graphs and charts with data about nocturnal animals. Sort creatures into nocturnal / diurnal or by habitat using Venn / Carroll diagrams
- Area & perimeter: measuring the size of the forest or Fox’s den
- Animals: distinguish between nocturnal and diurnal animals; how they are adapted; look at habitats and which animals live there at different times of day; food chains and webs; prey and predators and their adaptations; fox life cycles; different species of fox
- Habitats: forest habitats; different types of forest; different types of plants; life cycle of trees and plants; what trees need to live
- Space: learn about what stars are and why we can see them
- Light: sources of light; how light travels; why some animals can see in the dark; how the eye works; how shadows are formed; compare the moon and stars
- Materials: which materials come from a forest; what can be made from wood; renewable and non-renewable products; recycling
- Make a clinometer
History
- Learn how old different trees in local area are. There is a useful conversion chart at the link below that uses tree girth to estimate its age dependant on species:
- What was happening through the life of an old tree? Track famous trees e.g. learn about the Romans in Britain with a link to Sycamore Gap in Hadrian’s Wall
- Local trees with links to history
- Different forest habitats around the world: compare a local woodland with a contrasting forest as well as the creatures and plants found there
- Where in the world could this story be set?
- Where in the world do foxes live and how have they adapted to life in different countries?
- Stars in different hemispheres and which ones you see according to season and why this happens
- Compose music to sound like the rain or to represent the stars
- Make a forest soundscape
- Create music to represent the different emotions of the fox through the story
- Create contrasting day time and night time music – is night time always scary?
- Listen to animal sounds from day and night time
Art
- Forest art work
- Create pictures in the style of the illustrator, Coralie Bickford-Smith
- Illustrate their own adapted stories e.g. The Hedgehog and The Moon
- Artwork using negative space
- Lino print beetles or rabbits
- Hidden creature artwork like the rabbit art
- Underground art work to show animals in their dens
- Painting using bright colour or muted colour/black & white as a way of demonstrating emotion in an image
- Materials and products we get from trees
- Woodwork project
- Tie-dye space and star scenes
- Sewing fox characters
- Create 3D story diorama
- Importance of friendship; how having a friend can help us; who we rely on and why; people who help us feel better
- Dealing with loss and loneliness
- Understanding why the fox felt so sad and scared without the star; children link this to their own real experiences
- How we can make ourselves feel better when we feel scared or alone
- Celebrating beautiful moments in life
- How can we recognise if somebody feels sad? What can we do to help them?
PE
- Tag Rugby: link this to rabbits and foxes
- Hawks and blackbirds: adapt this game to rabbits and foxes. There are lots of explanations online but the premise is that the rabbits must collect a food source, which makes them and any unattended young vulnerable to attack from the foxes. Habitats can change to make this harder/easier for the two species
- Leafsnap: a fantastic app that allows you to take a photo of a leaf and it will identify the tree and give you more information and images
- Scratch: create a fox vs rabbit game or a game where the fox has to search through a forest to find a star
- Create fact file leaflets for different animals or Science topics studied
- Create spreadsheets and graphs to represent data found in different subjects
- Learn animal and habitat vocabulary in a different language – you could link this to the language spoken in the country of your contrasting forest study in Geography