Stormy Weather
Teachers Notes
Resources created by Alison McAllister and Mel West from North Ayrshire Council Library and Information and Information Service
Stormy Weather
Learning to Look (Reading>Understanding, Analysing and Evaluating>Eng1-17a)
Cover
Discuss the cover (front and back)—What time of day is it? How do we know? Describe what is happening in the picture? How are the foxes/rabbits feeling? Name the animals in the foxes’ bed. Look at the pictures in the book they are holding, does it look familiar? How has the illustrator make the weather look stormy?
Endpapers
Front: What are the foxes doing and where do you think they are going? What time of day is it? How do we know?
Back: Look at the tree and describe the animals. In real-life would they all be sleeping at night? How has the illustrator drawn the trees in the forest?
Title Page
What do you notice about this page?
Pgs 1-2
Describe the little fox’s room. Does it look like your room? The little owl ornaments have a special name and they all fit inside one another, can you find out what that is called. Look at the pictures above the fox’s bed, can you think of any stories that involve frogs, kings, and gingerbread men?
Pgs 3-4
Look at each page of the book and describe each page. What is your favourite page? Why are there two pages with the owls?
Pgs 5-6
How do you feel looking at these pages? What else is on the rock next to the seal? How has the author written the words?
Pgs 7-8
What do you call the building on this page? What is it used for? How has the author written the words on this page?
Pgs 9-10
What is the weather like now? How do you think the little rabbit is feeling and how do you know this? Where has the author written the words on this page and why?
Pgs 11-12
What has the illustrator done to make it really windy? Look at the leaves, what time of year do you think it is and why? What other animal can you see on these pages, apart from the owl.
Pgs 13-14
Look at the owl, what can you say about how the author has drawn it?
Pgs 15-16
Who is telling the story on this page? How have they made a boat?
Pgs 17-18
Where do you think we are looking at this page from and how do you know?
Pgs 19-20
How has the polar bear made a four-poster bed?
Pgs 21-22
Who do you think was telling all the stories now? Can you name all the places where the animals live?
Pgs 23-24
Why has the illustrator coloured everything in blue? Why are the foxes still red?
Activities
Weather (Technologies>ICT to Enhance Learning>TCH 1-03b)
The book features storms with snow and rain. Play the Weather Symbols game with Barnaby Bear: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/barnabybear/games/weather_report.shtml
or watch this weather animation from BBC Learning Zone Broadband clips: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/weather-animation-snow-rain-sunshine-and-wind/7782.html or this one about travelling in extreme weather: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/how-do-we-travel-in-extreme-weather/482.html
Animal Babies
Each pair of animals is parent and baby. Ask your class if they know the names of animal babies for a rabbit (kitten), fox (cub), polar bear (cub), owl (owlet), seal (pup) hen (chicken). Ask if they can think of any other animal parents. Use the Scran website for images of baby animals and their mothers: http://www.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-001-653-L
Nocturnal Animals (Reading>Finding and Using Information>Lit 1-14a)
The book features nocturnal animals including foxes, owl, and rabbits. Print out this
factsheet from RSPCA Education: http://www.rspca.org.uk/servlet/Satellite?blobcol=urlblob&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=RSPCABlob&blobwhere=1166616300386&ssbinary=true
Watch some clips of Red Foxes from BBC Wildlife Finder: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/species/Red_Fox#p0085cvx
Use your school or local library to find out more information about these animals.
Make a Book (Writing>Creating Texts>Lit 1-28a, Eng 1-31a)
On pages 3-4 we see all the pages of the book. Your class (in groups) could make their own book with each child creating their own page with illustrations and each group organising the pages and then writing a verse to go with it e.g. using rhyme. It could be about another type of weather, one particular animal or animals, a particular habitat e.g. sea, wood, polar land or river.
Light and Dark
The book is mainly set at night with the moon, lamp and lighthouse providing light. Take a look at BBC Schools Science Clips to find out more about Light and Dark: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/5_6/light_dark_fs.shtml
Stormy Weather
Activities
Habitats
The Northumberland Grid for Learning has a picture and factsheet about the polar habitat: http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/ict/AAA/polar.htm and UK wildlife: http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/ict/AAA/ukwild.htm. Take a look at CBBC’s Serious Arctic: http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/wild/arctic/ and find out more by clicking the Interactive Polar Bear.
Autumn
Some of the pages feature autumn. Use this factsheet from Nature Grid to find out more about autumn: http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/infant/autumn/pro10.html or look at this online book with your class: http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/infant/autumn/bkau.html
Boats (Expressive Arts>Art and Design>EXA 1-03a)
In the book we see that the snail has made a boat out of leaves. Make an origami boat with your class: http://www.dltk-bible.com/crafts/mboat.htm