Welcome teachers!

Here you will find ideas on using the material on this website with your class. You can adapt the content according to the proficiency levels of your students. You don't need to be a technical expert to use the resource links on this site. Remember, technology is not always reliable and it's always a good idea to have a back up plan! The links on this page are in orange, just click on them and they will take you directly to the linked website. Due to copyright laws, the transcript of the Gruffalo hasn't been provided but I recommend that you purchase this great book to use in class.

Lesson 1

Lesson one reviews vocabulary linked to animals, their diet and adjectives to describe their appearance. This is in preparation for the reading of the Gruffalo and provides the key vocabulary needed for parts of the listening exercise. You may also need to review parts of the body and meal times, depending on the proficiency of your class.

At the end of the lesson, there is a section called make your animal talk. This is done through a website called Blabberize. It's lots of fun. Here's a link to a You Tube video that explains how to use it : You Tube video

Websites to expand on the material in lesson 1: My free zoo

Go to lesson one

Lesson 2

Lesson two begins with a pre-listening exercise to speculate what the story is about. Expand this with your class by discussing where animals live and which animals live in different habitats. The website the learners used for homework, www.switcheroozoo.com has a useful game on this topic. Place the animals in categories such as desert, jungle, farm, wood/forest. Once this exercise is complete, play the first part of the Gruffalo. Stop the movie at 4minutes 16seconds, just before the Gruffalo appears. Ask the students to name the four animals and the habitat and compare with their previous ideas.

The activities are then designed to test not only comprehension but also understanding and vocabulary.

Go to lesson two

Lesson 3

Lesson three begins by speculating how the story will continue. You may find that some learners have watched the remainder of the Gruffalo story at home. In this lesson you will listen to the second part of the Gruffalo and complete the exercises in lesson three on the website. The homework this week involves writing a review of the book and how they felt about the story. This activity may be carried over to week four if necessary.

Lesson 4

In this final lesson your class has the opportunity to tell the story themselves. Here are some ideas to help the children expand their ideas and role play the story. If your class don't like role playing or acting, why not get them to make a cartoon or a comic based on the story. There is also a Gruffalo song and a Gruffalo movie. For learners who are interested in animation, this is a fantastic movie on You Tube to show how the Gruffalo movie was made.

The making of the Gruffalo movie. The trailer to the movie can also be found on You Tube.

click on any of these orange links to take you to the websites -

Make a model

Go for a walk in the wood

Make finger puppets

Make a mask