The Black Cat by Allan Ahlberg is another wonderful story choice for this time of year. If you have not already done so please check out my other “Halloween” suggestion: Room on the Broom.
The Black Cat is one of the titles in Allan Ahlberg’s iconic children’s picture book series, Funnybones . There is nothing scary about The Black Cat in spite of being set in a dark dark town. The book is brightly coloured and has lots of repetitive lines for younger readers to join it with.The skeleton friends go sledging – whee! And crashing – bang! They can’t see their bones in the white snow but they can see a black cat …until she slips into their dark, dark cellar.
The Black Cat isn’t just a fantastic story for a classroom. It would make for wonderful reading at home at this time of the year! Click here for a link to purchase it.
The Black Cat provides lot of learning opportunities. It would make a fantastic starting point for Music, Drama, SESE and English.
Music: Composing: Improvising & Creating:
- select sounds from a variety of sources to create simple sound ideas, individually and in groups
- invent and perform short, simple musical pieces with some control of musical elements
There are so many sound effects that could be created to accompany the story-telling- sliding, shouting crashing, barking, banging., bumpety sledge…
SESE:
- explore the use of “camouflage” in nature. ” A white leg in the snow is hard to find, A black cat in show is easy to find’, ‘A white dog in snow is hard to find”, “A black cat in a cellar is hard to find’.
- body parts -function of our skeleton
English: Reading: Receptiveness to Language:
- listen to, enjoy and respond to stories
- become an active listener through the development of a range of listening activities based on stories read or told (linkage with Music above)
English: Reading: Developing Cognitive Abilities through Language:
- re-read, retell and act out familiar stories, poems or parts of stories
nglish: Reading: Emotional and Imaginative Development through Language:
- record response to text through pictures and captions
English: Writing: Receptiveness to Language:
- write and draw
Here is my Reader Response Sheet for The Black Cat. What else could be sliding on the sledge? Encourage children to imagine for themselves.
Check back later this week for more spooky reads 😉
Have fun,
Miss Mernagh 🙂
missmernagh.com 