Speaking and listening

In small groups retell the story. Write each event on cardstock then sequence the events in the order they occurred in the story.

In a large group create a chain (train) story, about a different form of transport or using lots of emotions, by sitting in a circle and asking each child to add a sentence when it is their turn. They must listen to the person before them because that person has to add their bit then leave the story mid sentence for the next person to complete and leave mid sentence… The whole story can be recorded as it is created on a large sheet of butchers paper.

Look at each double page illustration. Discuss the ways that the little blue carriage tries to help his Mummy Engine solve each problem that arises. For example, when shes in shock he asks for cuddles, kisses and tickles.

Look at each double page illustration and discuss the different colours used to highlight each emotion illustrated. For example, in the tunnel black is used to illustrate fear and loneliness and red and orange are used to illustrate anger or frustration.

Discuss as many emotions as possible that could be illustrated through the story. Have each child write their word on a giant concept web drawn on the board.

With a partner, talk about one illustration the best explains how you feel right now.

Reading and viewing

Some words in Mummy, Let’s Go! are written in word art form. Discuss why the words have been chosen and written that way.

Choose a page and ask the children to sit on the floor and quietly keep the rhythm of the story by patting their hands on the floor as it is read. Discuss why the rhythm is portrayed that way. What vehicle has a similar rhythm when it is in motion?

Re-read the story and omit each of the rhyming words asking the children to fill in the blanks as you read.

Talk about why rhyme has been used. Why is it effective in this particular story?

Look at the first and last pages of the story. Discuss the features in both the text and illustrations that indicate there is a switch between reality and fantasy. Why has the author/ illustrator used these techniques?

Discuss what is meant by "we found her choo wooo in her heart."

Create a book lounge. Borrow a variety of books from several different genres about trains. Include other environmental print such as train timetables and itinerary.

Collect a variety of pictures of transport vehicles past and present. Sequence them on a wall frieze. Hang it in the book lounge!

Writing and designing

Draw a map of a place that you would like to travel to by train. Label all the places you would like to visit.

Look for journal ideas on the station page with kisses and cuddles. Notice the wallpaper is a torn journal entry. Try to decipher what might have been written and predict the other events that have been torn out.

Write a journal entry of a place that you have visited. Create a help chart for the class with all the jobs that need to be done for the class to function smoothly. Create a roster for class members.

Search the Internet for recipes using fresh strawberries.

Create a classroom recipe book that can be taken home throughout the year by each child.

Create a "What am I?" for various types of transport. Compile them into a class book with the "What am I?" on one page and an illustration of the vehicle on the following page (underneath).

Visual Art

Discuss why the illustrator has used acrylic paint for this story.Discuss why the illustrator has used Rainbow Lorikeets throughout the earlier pages in the story. What do they represent? What do birds symbolize? Why are they only in the earlier illustrations?

The rainbow appears throughout the story. Can you find where the rainbow is used? Look at the ball on the bridge. Why is it important that the rainbow ball is being taken in the carriage? What does the rainbow represent? Compare the rainbow sprinkles on the first page and the rainbow background on the last page. Why is it so bold on the last page?

Create a colour wheel. Experiment with mixing primary coloured paints. Look for various techniques that have been used and discuss how and why they have been used. For example, in the tunnel the rocks were created using a palette knife to smear the paint over the rocks to create a very rough textured feel. How do you think the stars were painted to glow in the stuck in the mud page? What makes the mud look like mud?

Choose an emotion that you would like to express. Using colours, lines and symbols, paint that emotion. Hang each painting around the room and go on a gallery walk. Ask each artist to describe their artwork and explain why they choose particular symbols or colours.

Offer a selection of music and ask children to draw whatever they "feel" during each piece. This could be done as a series of short lessons over a couple of weeks.

Construct a model train using cardboard boxes. Think about how it should be connected and painted. Include signs for passenger information.

Choose a vehicle and animate it for use in a children's book.

Drama

In a small group write a skit about someone who has missed a train.

In pairs, mime a scenario that depicts a specific emotion and the event that triggers that emotion.

With a partner, mime the facial expressions and body language of a passenger in a train when it runs into a storm, slows through mud, goes through a tunnel, over a bridge or crashes into a river.

Perform three things that you would do to relax and stay calm if you were going on a scary journey.

Recreate a different ending within the small group.

Perform the varied ending for the whole class to view.

Music

Create a variety of traffic noises and transport sounds using musical instruments.

Create a song from the story to a familiar tune.

Mathematics | Learning experiences

Create a board game using a train map. Include trivia cards that have quiz questions about trains.

Look at the variety of 3D shapes that form model trains. Using 3D shapes create a train and then draw it onto paper. Using tracing paper flesh out the model into a lifelike representation.

Complete symmetrical drawings of trains. Classify a variety of model cars, trucks and trains according to shape, colour, size and use. Draw a graph to report the results. Investigate measurement and velocity. Discuss the use of compass points in direction.

SOSE | Learning experiences

Research a variety of old and modern trains. Discuss the changes in trains and why they might have been made. Discuss the different fuels used and the effects of those fuels on our environment. Research and then on a map plot out the major rail, air and sea routes in Australia. Research a particular culture and share a story or bring a plate of food from that culture for a shared morning tea.

Discuss how one persons feelings and actions can affect relationships with others.

Science | Learning experiences

Create matchbox trains and explore the use of pulleys and levers.

Go on a nature hunt. Look for different insects. Tally the numbers found and graph them. Take photos of insects with a digital camera. Draw botanical drawings of the insects and group them according to habitat, diet and predators.

Create a slide show of photos and information gathered Visit the strawberry farm and compare insects found to those found in the school grounds.

Investigate biological pest control where particular useful insects are used on farms to control other pests.

Insect study

Create an ant farm, collect caterpillars or cocoons or ladybugs. Research insects on the Internet and construct a suitable habitat for them to be studied.

Technology | Learning experiences

Design a futuristic train and include the type of fuel it would use and why as well as its cargo. Draw a digital image of the futuristic train. Create a collection of the class designs in a slide show for presentation on a library computer.

These teaching notes have been created with permission from Queensland Studies Authority 2007, English (and The Arts) Essential Learnings by the end of Year 3, QSA, Brisbane

Ideas for library displays…

1. Create a model train from cardboard boxes and paper plates, painted to look like the train in Mummy, Let’s Go!

2. Fill the carriages with strawberries made from stockings painted red/ red tights filled with scrunched up newspaper and paper flowers made from coloured card.

3. Hang bees and butterflies made from more filled stockings and wire to create wings.

4. Create a display of train books to sit in the carriages.

5. Fill a large carriage or create a rocky cave from painted boxes (crushed to look like rocks) with big cushions to create a comfy reading spot.

6. Set up a model train display within the library.