I discovered this book at my 1st “Salon du Livre et de la Presse Jeunesse” in Montreuil in 2016; it was the 1st time I also met the author Stephanie Blake who kindly signed it for me, as you can see below!
Language of text: French
Type of text: picture book
Author or source: Stephanie Blake
Intended age of students: Key Stage 2/3
Source reference: 9782211201681
Approaches:
I think many children (and adults!) will relate to Simon’s fear of going to the dentist… Hopefully sharing this story will help to aleviate those fears!
I want to read it and after each page the children will join in with an action to show what is happening on the picture and relate it to the writing. On second reading, the children will also repeat the main sentence of each page.
Rationale:
If they are familiar with Simon’s character and can relate to his fears, it may make children feel better about going to the dentist’s next time. You could also use it as a class teacher to discuss sleepovers.
From a language point of view, there are some interesting phrases which I would pick out to study more closely with the children: j’ai mal à, une très grosse carie sur la molaire gauche, une grosse piqûre, je ne vais pas te faire mal; for classroom use: jamais de la vie, pas question, au secours, tu as été très courageux (which could actually go on the classrrom wall and next to it could be recorded names and instances when children have been brave, eg taking part in an activity), même pas mal.
Outcomes:
The pupils will enjoy being read a story they most probably can relate to; they will practise some every day phrases which do not normally get taught but could come in very handy.
Topics or themes:
aches and pains; Fathers’ Day (the dad makes the pancakes!)
Grammar:
the repeated use of the adverb “très”; any other grammar point you would like to pick out; the text is very rich
How much time required:
1 lesson
You can buy the book here at Amazon.co.uk.
Looking for other Simon stories? Check some of them out here!
How do YOU feel ahead of a visit to the dentist? I am lucky, I have very good teeth (my granddad at 93 still has all his own teeth so I have good genes!) so I don’t mind!
