Bedtime Ba-a-a-lk Teacher s Guide for Grades K-3 With Student Activity Sheets

Transcription

1 Bedtime Ba-a-a-lk Teacher s Guide for Grades K-3 With Student Activity Sheets by Rukhsana Khan

2 About Rukhsana Khan Rukhsana has been writing seriously since 1989 with, at this point ten books published, several of which have been nominated and/or won various awards. Along the way she also became a storyteller and has performed at numerous festivals. For more information on Rukhsana and her books please see her website: Rukhsana was born in Lahore, Pakistan and immigrated to Canada, with her family, at the age of three. She began by writing for community magazines and went on to write songs and stories for the Adam's World children's videos. Rukhsana is a member of SCBWI, The Writers Union of Canada, CANSCAIP, and Storytelling Toronto. She lives in Toronto with her husband and family. Rukhsana has four children, three girls and a boy. Books by Rukhsana: Wanting Mor A New Life Many Windows Silly Chicken Ruler of the Courtyard The Roses in My Carpets Muslim Child King of the Skies Bedtime Ba-a-a-lk Dahling if You Luv Me Would You Please Please Smile Bedtime Ba-a-a-lk Teacher s Guide by Rukhsana Khan Page 2

3 The following curriculum applications are fulfilled by the discussion topics and activities outlined in this teacher s guide: Legend writing applications visual art applications drama applications character applications Math applications Music applications Discussion topics and Activities before Reading the Book: Grades K Grade 3: This book works very well for teaching story structure and boosting vocabulary. Vocabulary boosting exercise: Explore the meaning of these words and phrases that will occur in the story: Melody of yawns as a class, produce a melody of yawns, make sure that when you yawn there is a bit of a tune to it. Conjured this is something a magician would do. Make a motion of conjuring a rabbit out of a hat Furrowed looks at me with forehead furrowed. Frown hard so that your forehead gets all wrinkled up. Point out the furrows (wrinkles) and let them repeat the word after you. Murmur this word is great for demonstrating onomatopoeia. It sounds like what it means! As a class murmur. Rickety rickety old fence. It means shaky. This word has very good onomatopoeia too! Mutiny discuss in terms of context there s mutiny in the ranks ie. the sheep are rebelling. Ram male sheep Ewe female sheep I m a ram! Bedtime Ba-a-a-lk Teacher s Guide by Rukhsana Khan Page 3

4 What is a baby sheep called? (Answer: lamb) Make a poll to illustrate the point saying if everyone in the class were sheep, put up your hand if you d be a ram put up your hand if you d be a ewe. Whim Just wanting to do something for no particular reason. Ask the students, have they ever felt like just doing something? Snub to treat with disdain, ignore someone. Ask if the students have ever seen someone be snubbed. Act it out. Have one student come to shake your hand and then pass your hand over your head, ignoring the student s outstretched hand classic snub! Discussion topics and Activities after Reading the Book: Grades K - 3 Do you think it was fair for the little girl to vanish the carnival rides? What would you have done if you were her and these sheep were treating you like that? Do you think the old ram learned his lesson? If she brought him back do you think he d listen to her now? Refer to the illustrations. You first see the old ram on page 4. Look at the expression on his face as he s looking at the little girl. What do you think he s thinking? How did the carnival music and vendors selling cotton candy, helium balloons and other things get in the story? The little girl says she didn t put them there. Who did? What was the last word the old ram was going to say before he disappeared? Read out the paragraph: You truly are one of a kind. If you think we re jumping that rickety old fence, you must be out of your (Answer: mind) Teaching Story Structure: Grades 2-3 All stories should have three major parts: A beginning, middle and end. The beginning of a story has three ingredients: setting, characters and problem. Bedtime Ba-a-a-lk Teacher s Guide by Rukhsana Khan Page 4

5 What is the setting of this story? Ask the students to be as specific as possible. (Answer: The story takes place in the little girl s imagination.) Who are the characters? (Answer: the girl and the sheep and in particular the old ram. The girl and the old ram are main characters!) What is the problem? (Answer: the sheep won t listen to the girl. They won t obey. The humour of the situation lies in the fact that these sheep are conjured from the girl s imagination.) Once the reader knows these three things: setting, characters and problem, the beginning of the story is finished, and the middle has to start. What constitutes a middle of a story. In the middle of a story, the problem actually has to get worse. If the problem doesn t get worse then the story isn t very good. Structurally, Bedtime Ba-a-a-lk is mostly middle. The beginning is very short and ends at page 6, when the little girl says, Leap sheep leap. And the ram says, Why should we? The middle starts from page eight and goes for almost the whole book, where the little girl is trying to coax, then cajole and then threaten the sheep into listening to her. Even after the sheep are over the fence and playing on the merry go round and rollercoaster, the problem isn t solved, because they re still not listening to her. The end of the story is when the problem finally gets solved. This is the last page after she s had to replace the rebellious sheep with more compliant sheep. Look back over the story. Count how many pages are beginning, how many pages are middle and how many pages are end. Make a graph to show the results. Read other books. Examine their story structure, compare how many pages they have for their beginnings, middles and ends. Activities: Grades K 3 In groups, act out the story. Write and compose a song for the sheep to sing while they re playing on the rides. Many of the sentences in the story have a rhythm to them. Clap out the rhythm as the teacher reads out the words. Draw a picture of your favourite part of the story. Bedtime Ba-a-a-lk Teacher s Guide by Rukhsana Khan Page 5

6 Other Related Books: Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw Sheep in a Shop by Nancy Shaw Sheep out to Eat by Nancy Shaw Sheep Take a Hike by Nancy Shaw Wool Gathering: A Sheep Family Reunion by Lisa Wheeler Bedtime Ba-a-a-lk Teacher s Guide by Rukhsana Khan Page 6