COMPETITION TIME!

"Once upon a time, there was a tiny country called Cornucopia, which had been ruled for centuries by a long line of fair-haired kings. The king at the time of which I write was called King Fred the Fearless. He’d announced the ‘Fearless’ bit himself, on the morning of his coronation, partly because it sounded nice with ‘Fred’, but also because he’d once managed to catch and kill a wasp all by himself, if you didn’t count five footmen and the boot boy."

Did you know?

J.K. Rowling has released her first non-Harry Potter children's book called 'The Ickabog'! She is releasing a new chapter every day until July 10th, there is a competition to send your own drawings of each chapter in and they could be published alongside her writing when she publishes the whole paper-copy book! Your work could be featured in a famous author's book - how cool would that be?! 

For more information visit: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-52809600

To read 'The Ickabog' and explore the website, visit: https://www.theickabog.com/read-the-story/

The Very Interesting Octopus- added 1st May

• What do you think is interesting about the octopus? Which facts did you already know?
• Why has Matt Dawson (the artist) presented the facts in this way? What is the effect of the layout on the reader?
• Who is the intended audience?
• Why is the fact about camouflage written in a different coloured font?
• Write an information page about The Rather Interesting Octopus. Consider the layout and use organisational features to help the reader.
• Research a creature of your choice. Present the information in an interesting format.

NON-FICTION IDEAS:

• Information text -  add any extra facts you find! Think about your presentation.
• Explanation text: Explain how an octopus catches its prey or something else that you find interesting.

Calling all future writers, publishers, reporters, politicians, news readers.

A weekly page has been set up to get your creative writing juices flowing https://www.writenow.live/?fbclid=IwAR0mHPkleQMscVxIQHf4WVSmldV_5ScBg-yl9Cg5FuJlwDoWzNTWcJ0iG4w 

If you want to, you can even send the writing/picture you create to the publisher of the website and it can be displayed for all to see! 

• Describe an egg and see if a partner can guess it.
• Which dragon do you think is the most dangerous? Why?
• Which dragon do you think will be the friendliest? Why?
• Which species could survive in cold temperatures? How do you know?
• Which dragon egg would you like to find?
• What would you do if you came across a Norwegian Ridgeback egg?
• Can you plot the origins of these species on a map?
• Try drawing what you think each species will look like as a fully grown dragon; use details from the egg’s appearance and the species name to inform your choices.
• Create ‘Top Trumps’ cards for each species. Decide on the categories and give them ratings, then do battle!

A list of species:
Hungarian Horntail
Ukranian Ironbelly
Antipodean Opaleye
Swedish Short-snout
Hebredian Black
Peruvian Vipertooth
Chinese Fireball
Romanian Longhorn
Norwegian Ridgeback
Common Welsh Green

NON-FICTION IDEAS:

• Information/non-chronological report: Write an information page/booklet about a species of dragon. What would the reader want to know? How will you structure the information?
• Discussion/debate: Should dragons be kept as pets?
• Instructions: How to care for your baby dragon. [Link to ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ by Cressida Cowell, ‘Dragonology’ by Dugald Steer and ‘Tell Me A Dragon’ by Jackie Morris.]