Books to Share
- Display and read Grass for Tea! (resources). Identify animals and discuss what they eat. Next, discuss the plants that other animals eat, e.g. hen = corn, cow = grass, duck = pondweed.
- Share Oliver’s Vegetables. Identify and enjoy the humour. Discuss why Oliver didn’t spot the potatoes instantly. Find each vegetable and recognise which part Oliver ate, e.g. cabbage = leaf.
- Read Oliver’s Vegetables. Notice how Oliver eats a different vegetable each day for a week. Order the days of the week and identify what Oliver eats on each day. Write ideas as a list.
- Enjoy Oliver’s Fruit Salad. Discuss why Oliver thought Grandpa’s fruit is better. Identify fruit children have picked and eaten; share favourites. Briefly consider why fresh fruit is seasonal.
- Read Oliver’s Fruit Salad. Notice that at the start Oliver didn’t want to eat the fruit. Discuss why he changed his mind. Finally, list lots of different fruits and describe them, e.g. red cherry.
Poetry/Rhyme of the Week: One Tomato, Tomato Two
Share the poem and rehearse at suitable times throughout the week, e.g. start/end of the day. Help children vary the pitch and tone of their voice as they rehearse to stress the counting words. Hold up fingers to correspond to each number and generate an action, e.g. munch = snap mouth shut.
Group Reader: Grass for Tea
This beautifully illustrated non-fiction book is a perfect introduction to the genre for beginning readers. Children will be able to find out information about native British animals, presented in a clear, accessible way. This phonologically decodable text is a superb accompaniment to a block of work on factual texts.