PLAIDYPUS LOST TEACHER TIPS
1. Opposites:
- Have students find the opposite pairs in story as you read it.
- List them on blackboard or chart paper.
- Have students add more opposites to the list.
- Have students write their own opposites story.
2. Sequencing and comprehension activities:
- List in order, the places where Plaidypus was lost.
- Why/how did she lose him?
- How was he found each time?
3. Looking for detail
- List all the matching things that the little girl and her Plaidypus wore throughout the book
- Endpapers are usually blank. Notice the front and back endpapers of this book--how are they different?
- Play the song "One-eyed, one-horned flying Purple People Eater" and compare it to the "One-eyed, one-armed Plaida-polka-stripapus
4. Flat Plaidypus
- Trace Plaidypus pattern from cover on white paper
- have students make a Plaidypus by cutting one out of inexpensive scraps of plaid wall paper using the pattern
- Make a second Plaidypus with one arm/one eye missing using polka dot/ striped patches
- Have them take Plaidypus on adventures, taking photos and keeping a journal
5. Discovering plaid--make your own Plaidypus
Discover the varieties of plaid by:
- showing plaid clothing and/or fabric
- having students make their own Plaidypus using paper, pencil, and crayons or markers
6. Plaid in Scottish history
- Show pictures of Scottish people wearing plaid--and how the plaid represented their family or clan.
- Bring in samples of plaid belonging to certain clans.
- show where Scotland is on a map
7. Missing poster
- Discuss what it's like to lose something like a favorite toy, blanket, article of clothing, pet
- Have students make a missing poster for something they have lost--what information needs to go on it?
