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Educational and fun audiobooks for children and families. A variety of genres await and each podcast comes with podcast specific questions assessing retrieval, sequencing, SPaG, prediction, inference and note taking skills. Ideal as an independent classroom activity, intervention exercise OR homework task.
Episodes
Monday Oct 26, 2020
Funnybones by Allan and Janet Ahlberg
Monday Oct 26, 2020
Monday Oct 26, 2020
As a bit of a half term/Halloween treat here's my rendition of a childhood classic "Funnybones" by Allan and Janet Ahlberg. In a slight change to the podcast, instead of leaving guided reading questions, I'm leaving you a plethora of topical activities you might to want to try out instead. Enjoy!
FUNNYBONES ACTIVITIES
Find a different book in the Funnybones series, either from the bookshop and library, and see what other adventures they get up to.
Create your own story adventure for the characters.
There is a lot of repetition of the word 'dark'. Can you think of any synonyms?
Discover more about some of the bones in your body. How many are there? What are their names?
Make a skeleton diagram using black and white card and label it. Maybe look at a dog skeleton too!
Find an old cardboard box and paint it to look like their house.
Listen to the real "Dem bones" song and come up with your own 'bone connections'.
Make a map of the places the skeletons visit in the dark dark town.
Thursday Oct 22, 2020
THE GREAT ROCKET ROBBERY chapter 10
Thursday Oct 22, 2020
Thursday Oct 22, 2020
Chapter 10: THE DOG WHO TOLD THIS STORY
“A mere dog was the first to conquer space” - what does mere mean? Can you think of a suitable synonym?
Why is the term “helium balloons” a good description/metaphor of the dogs in space?
Who was at the rocket door?
How does Krasavka persuade the aliens to go to Earth as dogs?
How did the aliens try and look for?
Whose image was actually on the medal around Laika’s neck?
Laika is the Russian word for what?
Can you link some of the ideas from chapter 1 to chapter 10?
Who is your favourite character and why?
Write a 100 word blurb for the back of this book.
Think about who would like this book - age, gender, interests and genre - and recommend the book and podcast to someone you know !
Tuesday Oct 20, 2020
THE GREAT ROCKET ROBBERY chapter 9
Tuesday Oct 20, 2020
Tuesday Oct 20, 2020
Chapter 9: THE DOG WHO STOLE THE ROCKET
Why did ‘the humans’ put the dogs in heated rooms?
“… the dogs were dim.” What does ‘dim’ mean in this context?
What evidence does Zib use to prove dogs were not mean to be in the rockets?
How does Muschka compare the rocket to a stick?
Explain how Dezik’s Theory lets the dogs escape.
Whose shop does the star remind them of?
Who ended up in the space suits?
What is Sputnik?
Why could they hear the sound of water?
Sunday Oct 18, 2020
THE GREAT ROCKET ROBBERY chapter 8
Sunday Oct 18, 2020
Sunday Oct 18, 2020
Chapter 8: THE DOG WHO LET THE DOGS OUT
Who came out of the house?
How did Laika know that the man was not the sailor?
What is the name of the place they are now in?
What did Laika smell and hear than made her feel uneasy?
Why do you think the door ‘didn’t need to be locked’?
Why might the dogs be locked up? Who is locking them away and why?
Friday Oct 16, 2020
THE GREAT ROCKET ROBBERY chapter 7
Friday Oct 16, 2020
Friday Oct 16, 2020
Chapter 7: THE DOG WHO LOST THE ROCKET
Which word describes how Laika moved along the railway line? Which animal(s) is it usually associated with?
The answering wee was ‘pungent’ – what does this mean?
What does the word ‘slavering’ mean?
Why is the word ‘ghosts’ a good descriptive word for sand?
How do you think Laika is feeling at the end of the chapter?
Wednesday Oct 14, 2020
THE GREAT ROCKET ROBBERY chapter 6
Wednesday Oct 14, 2020
Wednesday Oct 14, 2020
Chapter 6: THE DOG WHO CAUGHT THE TRAIN
When chasing the motorbikes, how was Laika able to catch them up from time to time?
The train had “mighty wheels” – what does this tell you about the size/shape of the train?
How does the author use the metal rail to tell you about the weather on the journey?
Where do you think the food came from? Is it is a trap… a dream… or something else?
What had Krasavka been right about all along?
Monday Oct 12, 2020
THE GREAT ROCKET ROBBERY chapter 5
Monday Oct 12, 2020
Monday Oct 12, 2020
Chapter 5: THE LAST DOG IN TOWN
" 'You’ve ruined everything' they said in unison." What does ‘unison’ mean?
Why do you think Laika nodded when the other dogs decided to join the quest?
How does the Man with the Head Shaped like an Egg lure the dogs?
Why was Laika was kicked away and not captured too?
What do you think Laika should do now? Is it more important that she rescues her friends OR to continue the quest?
Saturday Oct 10, 2020
THE GREAT ROCKET ROBBERY chapter 4
Saturday Oct 10, 2020
Saturday Oct 10, 2020
Chapter 4: THE DOG WHO ATE THE SAUSAGES
“Pleased to meet you – Meat to please you” Explain the word play of this pun.
The food was ‘turning their jaws to water’ – how does this metaphor help?
What else could the dogs do with sausages, apart from eat them?
What happened when they pulled the handle? Which machine started up?
Who might have been holding the meat cleaver?
Thursday Oct 08, 2020
THE GREAT ROCKET ROBBERY chapter 3
Thursday Oct 08, 2020
Thursday Oct 08, 2020
Chapter 3: THE DOG WHO ATE THE PIES
Why does Laika only describe things on the floor of Freezing Cold City?
What makes the statue, and its name, humorous?
Why might dogs not need to know numbers above 4?
How do dogs identify if a new down is looked after or not?
If a dog had eaten your pie, how might you have reacted/felt?
Why do you think the conductor threw the dogs off the tram?
Wednesday Oct 07, 2020
THE GREAT ROCKET ROBBERY chapter 2
Wednesday Oct 07, 2020
Wednesday Oct 07, 2020
Chapter 2: THE DOG WHO WENT FOR A SWIM
Why does the author use the word ‘icicle’ when describing a dog’s tail?
Draw what you think the “Man with the Head Shaped like an Egg” looks like.
Krasavka says she went for a ‘brisk swim’. What does brisk mean?
What language do the dogs think the sailor is talking in?
How/Why did ancient cultures use the stars to help them?
The chain has a ‘laughing jingle’ What does this tell you about its actual sound?
“A dream you can share is a quest” What do you think this means?
Monday Oct 05, 2020
THE GREAT ROCKET ROBBERY chapter 1
Monday Oct 05, 2020
Monday Oct 05, 2020
Before there was a man on the moon – there was a mutt on the moon !
This month’s book offering is by Liverpudlian author Frank Cotterell-Boyce and is called “The Great Rocket Robbery”. This particular book may well be accidentally on your book shelves as it was free to purchase with a UK World Book Day token in 2019. In researching the book I contacted Frank himself on twitter and he seemed to a) be excited about me reading the book and b) very pleased about my choice of accent !
Our narrator, Barker, wades through the fake news regarding the history of space travel and reveals the ‘real’ story behind the most famous dog ever to leave the earth – Laika. Listen/read along as a mysterious gang muddles through an extraordinary set of coincidences & conjectures to end up being legends. Believe me, once you’ve heard ‘Dezik’s theory’ you’ll see it everywhere!
Chapter 1: THE DOG WHO LISTENS
What does Barker say is “Mr Mellor’s job” ?
Who is Mrs Cotton?
Why do dogs want to know about shoes, carpets and pavements more than faces?
What was the name of Laika’s rocket?
Which book does Chelsea start reading?
Do you think “The True Story of Laika” will really be the true story? Why?