Teachers Notes Ruffy and Me Written by Dave Trumbull Illustrated by Adam Carruthers

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1 Teachers Notes Ruffy and Me Written by Dave Trumbull Illustrated by Adam Carruthers Teachers Notes by Madeline Holmes Contents OMNIBUS BOOKS About the Story... 2 Category Picture Book Title Ruffy and Me Author Dave Trumbull Illustrator Adam Carruthers Extent 32 pp Age 4+ ISBN About the Author 2 About the Illustrator 2 Study Notes for Teachers.. 2 Teachers Notes may be reproduced for use in school activities. They may not be redistributed for commercial sale or posted to other networks.

2 About the Story Ruffy and Me is a wonderful picture book about a child and his furry friend s imaginary adventure. Together the two explorers travel the world and take in the wondrous sights, counting animals along the way. An excellent book to introduce concepts of counting and countries of the world, Ruffy and Me speaks to the imagination in every child. About the Author Dave Trumbull grew up in Sydney and completed his degree in Computer Engineering at Sydney University. A successful career in computer programming took him and to Hong Kong with his family for some years. They have now settled in Melbourne. About the Illustrator Adam Carruthers is an illustrator and graphic designer based in Melbourne. He graduated from Swinburne National School of Design with a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design and works for Flaming Rhino Design. He lives in Altona with his wife and two children and two little dogs. Study Notes for Teachers 1. Ruffy and Me is an ideal book to introduce or practise counting: As you read through the book, have children use their fingers to count one, two, three. Talk about why we count. Think up scenarios where knowing your numbers is important. Have children create imaginary shopping lists and then draw corresponding pictures. Ask them to come up with a list of things we use numbers for: dates, phone numbers, street numbers, etc. 2

3 Make a number chart and have children practise their counting by collecting items in number groups. For example, they could go outside into the playground and collect one stick, two leaves and so on. Have children pick their favourite numbers and paint them on paper to hang up around the room. If children have access to the Internet, the Australian Government has a terrific website with counting games for young kids: 2. Ruffy and Me is a great starting point for drama games and creative fun: Have a dress-up day where children can choose a country that the two friends visited and dress up in clothes inspired by their choice. For example, they could come as a native animal or dress in their chosen country s colours. Ask the children to think of all the places they would visit. Put up a world map and take turns choosing a location. As a group imagine what it would be like to visit with questions like what kind of food would you eat? and what animals would you see? and what sights would you visit? Have the children make their very own around-the-world travelling vehicle. Use the book for inspiration: the two friends travel in a submarine, on the back of a kangaroo, on a train and on a bus, among other things. They can use cardboard boxes as the base of their contraption and decorate it with art supplies you have available. Let the children choose a place they think the two friends should visit the next time they go travelling and have them create their own painting of what it might look like, drawing inspiration from the colourful illustrations. 3. Ruffy and Me can be used as a reference for world activities: Ask students to find out where their family was originally from. It might be a place that the two travellers visited or a place they have not 3

4 discovered yet! Make a class list of all the countries and if a school camera is available, take a photo of each child and cut them out to put on the world map. You could even hold a show and tell day where each child can share something they have learnt about where their family originally came from. Have children trace their own world map, and fill in the countries. Play a game with a blank world map and see who can identify the different land masses. Talk about how we travel. Today we can travel from place to place by plane or train. But long ago, these methods of transport were not available. Discuss how people travelled around and what prompted them to explore new places. Find out where each child has travelled and where they would like to explore. Ask them why they want to visit foreign places and have them come up with a list of all the things they would need to take away with them. 4. This is a story about imagination. Ruffy and Me is a great starting point for discussions and activities about how we think: Everyone s imagination is different. Explain that imagining things is like making things up that are not real. Find out how many children play imaginary games. Talk about how much fun it is to imagine different things and see if anyone can answer why we like to play make believe. Make a list of imaginary games people like to play. In pairs have children make up stories to tell one another. Talk about how stories have a beginning, middle and end. Keep it simple: show how Ruffy and Me starts in the bedroom where the two characters are bored this is the beginning. Then show where the two friends go exploring this is the middle. And then show children how the story ends with the friends coming home for the day. You could explain it to them in terms of a day. We wake up in the morning and have breakfast (the beginning), we go to 4

5 school/kindergarten /playgroup (the middle), and we come home for dinner and go to bed (the end). The two friends go on their journey because they are bored at home. Talk about the different moods we have. Sometimes we are bored but we can also be excited, busy, happy, sad, mad, sleepy, etc. Have children draw corresponding pictures to the list of moods that they experience. Then pass the drawings around and see if the children can recognise the moods from the pictures. Have a look at the colours children have used to draw their moods. Ask them to see if there is a pattern. See if they think some colours represent a happy state of mind and if some colours represent a sad state of mind. Talk about how there are different shades of colours. So a bright blue and a pale blue might convey a different mood. Have a look through Ruffy and Me and see how the illustrator has used colour. 5. Ruffy and Me shows animals in their native countries. This is a great book to introduce the concept of native species: Explain that different countries have different animals. See if children can identify Australian animals. Once you have made a list, explain that these animals are native to Australia and that means they belong here. Native animals survive best in their homeland because the environment is just right. Explain it in terms of each child s bedroom. This is a place that is made specifically for them it has the best place to sleep, it is a safe place, it is where they can keep their belongings, etc. and then make the comparison to a native animal s home. You could say that just like us, a koala wouldn t be very happy if it had to live in the ocean. Look through the book and see what animals live where. See if children can list other animals that live in the countries the two friends visit. 5

6 Play a game where children pick an animal from the book to impersonate and see if the others can guess from their body language what animal they are. Have children draw pictures of their favourite animals and pin them on the world map in their correct habitat. 6

SCOTTISH RESOURCES. First Level/Second Level Autumn 2008. Tuesdays 03.45 04.00 16 and 23 September BBC Radio 4 digital (terrestrial, cable, satellite)

SCOTTISH RESOURCES. First Level/Second Level Autumn 2008. Tuesdays 03.45 04.00 16 and 23 September BBC Radio 4 digital (terrestrial, cable, satellite) B B C Learning Scotland SCOTTISH RESOURCES First Level/Second Level Autumn 2008 Tuesdays 03.45 04.00 16 and 23 September BBC Radio 4 digital (terrestrial, cable, satellite) China Stories Programmes in