What the Ladybird Heard

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Write a character profile about Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len? what kind of people are they? Where do they live? Create a simple model of the farm and use some programmable robots (e.g. roamer, remote control vehicles) to move around it. Could you decorate the roamer so that it looks like the ladybird? Draw a map of the farm on the coordinate grid (see Resources below) and use the coordinates / compass directions to show somebody how to move from one place to another.

The thieves ‘crept’ into the farm. Think of synonyms which describe how people can move. Can you demonstrate each one (e.g. sprint, crawled, paced). Why not have a red lunch – what foods can the children think of which are red in colour? They may want to have strawberries, watermelon, jelly or even a jam sandwich!Ladybird writing sheets - we often use sheets like these in class to help encourage children to have a go at writing. Your child could use these sheets to have a go at writing a few words linked to the story (animal names for example) or to write a sentence about something that happened in the book. Think about what stealing means and why it is wrong. How would you feel if someone stole from you? What happens to people who steal things from others? Try to find where different farms are in your local area. What crops do they grow? What animals do they look after?

The ladybird whispered into each animal’s ear. Think of other words that describe how we can communicate with others (e.g. shouted, screamed, hissed, chattered). Recap on the story of ‘What the Ladybird Heard’– whether at home or in class, read the story again with the children or invite the children to tell you or their parents/siblings the story.

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

For P1 (and older children) – the children might want to design a red lunch menu and invite their family to their red lunch!

Think of some speech bubbles to show what the ladybird might be thinking at each point in the story.P1 children (and older siblings) might be interested to hear the story being told by Julia Donaldson. Julia explains how she came to write this story and some of her other songs and books. There is even a guest appearance by one of her favourite characters - https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/authors-live-on-demand/julia-donaldson For nursery children – can they make a ladybird using playdoh, junk materials, or draw it with coloured pencils, chalks or paint? What shapes can they see? Talk about circles. Have fun with this interactive ladybird counting game - https://www.topmarks.co.uk/learning-to-count/ladybird-spots Build a Bug Hotel and see who comes to visit. You can keep a guest log and see if the visitors change, over the different seasons - https://www.yocom/watch?v=OexxoXo9uFk For P1 (and older siblings) - Learn how to draw a ladybird with illustrator, Lydia Monks - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpleGh5-6zU There are follow on videos from which the children can learn to draw all the characters in the book.

Why not do some baking? Here is the recipe for red velvet cupcakes - https://www.cookingwithmykids.co.uk/red-velvet-cupcakes/ Read the story of ‘What the Ladybird Heard’ by Julia Donaldson – or listen to it being read here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu9mPX7DuLA Can you sort the animals in the story using Venn or Carroll diagrams? Which ones have two legs? Which have four legs? Which ones have a beak or a nose? How many other ways could you sort them? Invite the children to create their own Wanted Posters for the robbers, Lanky Len and Hefty Hugh! Encourage them to use descriptive words about how the robbers look, whether they are tall or short and what they were wearing. (Some free resources of poster templates can be accessed here - https://www.twinkl.co.uk/search?term=wanted+poster) All the Gruffalo fans have many more things to be super excited about as Discover Children’s story centre has an Axel SchefflerandJulia Donaldsonexhibition that brings12 of their enchanting picture books bursting to life (Gruffalo included).

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It gives 51%+ profits to Reverence for Life, who fund a number of important initiatives in Africa, including bringing running water and basic equipment to a school in Tanzania. Can you make up a song which includes lots of examples of animal sounds? Get some ideas by watching this performance of a song by the author and her husband: By using food dye, colour a water tray or if at home, have fun at bath-time – by making the Red Sea! Allow the children to experiment with different sized containers to explore volume. Many children will also find playing with water emotionally soothing. Identify the rhyming words used throughout the book. Can you make your own rhyming dictionary, adding other rhyming words for the ones found? Remember to explore our teaching ideas for the sequel, What the Ladybird Heard Next. Teaching Ideas and Resources: English