Animal Learning Club – Skyswood Primary & Nursery School

As from Monday 8th June I will be posting an Animal Learning Club each Monday. This will offer a range of opportunities across the curriculum and is specifically designed for those children who aren’t yet able to return to school.

This week our theme is ‘Frogs’ and there will be a maths booklet based around ‘Froggy Puzzles’, a story writing opportunity, a chance to combine your scientific knowledge with literacy through an information text, and an art opportunity to produce a frog picture in the style of Bridget Riley. Let’s start with the art:

Bridget Riley is a modern artist who often produces work using pattern and colour to create optical illusions. It’s worth researching her work if you like optical illusions!

STEP 1: On a piece of paper, draw a set of squiggly lines with a pencil or a black pen. Try to keep them running almost parallel to each other.

Draw your frog inside the lines. Keep the shapes simple. Add simple features such as eyes and spots.

STEP 3: Colour the lines OUTSIDE of the frog image in alternate colours. (I chose green and yellow because I thought they were ‘froggy colours’ but you can choose any two colours for this.)

Now colour the band areas inside the frog (not including eyes or spots). Colour these the OPPOSITE COLOUR to the colour that you used for each band outside of the image.

STEP 5: Now colour the spots (colour the bands within each spot the OPPOSITE of the colour that you used for the frog!) Then colour the eyes black (for impact).

Rainbow Frog Story

Our second learning opportunity should appeal to our creative story writers. Look at the picture below of a ‘Rainbow Frog’. There really is a rainbow frog species and some people in India believe the rainbow frog to have magical powers. This is a great subject for a short story. How did the rainbow frog get its colours? Where does your rainbow frog live?What magical powers might your rainbow frog have? How does it use its powers? How might your story end?

You could have great fun with your storyboard, and you might even wish to add a few illustrations.

Why not write a short story about Rainbow Frog!

Frog Information Text

Look at the example below of an information text on the Phantasmal Poison Dart Frog. For this example I found out about its habitat, found a few interesting facts for a fact-file, drew a picture, copy and pasted a map of where it lived, and copy and pasted a photo of the frog.

Simply imagine a non-fiction book about frogs and toads and take on the challenge of creating an interesting page for the book. You could choose any species of frog or toad as your theme for the page.

Froggy Maths

I have posted a Froggy Maths file below that you could download in order to complete a Froggy Maths challenge. The booklet is pitched at about Year 4/Year 5 level but could be worked on by younger children with a little support from a parent. It includes a series of short puzzles all related to frogs!

Froggy-Maths Download

I’d love to know how you get on, so please send any stories about Rainbow Frog, Bridget Riley-style frog art, Information texts for a non fiction book or your Froggy Maths booklets to me at head@skyswood.herts.sch.uk