I am not sure how I acquired a copy of this story: it does not matter though because I love books by Mario Ramos, and this one is no exception. For ideas to celebrate his work on his day, 7th November, click here!
Click here to see inside the book and watch a very short video introduction to the story.
Language of text: French
Type of text: [icture book
Author or source: Mario Ramos, at Pastel, l’école des loisirs
Intended age of students: Key Stages 2/3
Source reference: 9782211076234
This is the story of an elephant that is so shy that he turns red at every occasion, and is very embarrassed about it. Then a little mouse comes along…
You may want to ask the children what the story might be about… However if they do say anything about Shakespeare’s Rome and Juliet… you will have to tell them that it has very little to do with it! It will be necessary to tell younger pupils what the story actually is about before you read it, as otherwise they may not understand it.
You can give the children a challenge before you read it: to keep a tally of the number of times they hear the words “Roméo”, “Juliette”; during the second reading, they can listen out for “éléphant”, “souris”, and “rouge” as well as its derivatives: rougir, rougissait.
You can extract from the story all the vocabulary that relates to feelings and practise it with the children.
Rationale:
This is a great story that will get the children thinking about being and feeling different from others, and about making fun of others who are different.
Outcomes:
They will learn new vocabulary relating to expressing feelings and they will reflect on considering others’ feelings in the process.
This book can also be used to either introduce the imperfect tense or reinforce it.
Topics or themes:
animals; saying how you are feeling
Grammar:
the imperfect tense
How much time required: 1 lesson
Do you like the look of this story? You can buy the book here at Amazon.co.uk.
Do you need more ideas of activities you may do with it? There you will find the following links interesting: on Bout de Gomme, Académie de Poitiers, et www.adequations.org: FicheActiviteRomeoJuliette (1)
Click here for more ideas of books by Mario Ramos!
If you know a good story about being shy and fitting in, please share it in the comments below!
N.B. Would you like to read about books, ideas, resources and opportunities for the primary languages classroom? Then click here to receive a regular round up of my blog (and more!) straight in your mail box!