Your child's new Read Write Count activity bag is packed with fun items for you to play with together. It’s a great way to make their homework more enjoyable and to help you get involved. It’s free for all kids in primary 3 and they’ll get theirs during the autumn term.
What’s in the bag?
- A notebook and pencil
- Beastie Battle card game with routine and story activity cards on the reverse
- A parent/carer guide
- A measuring tape
Two books:
- Octopus Shocktopus by Peter Bently and Steven Lenton
- The Last Wolf by Mini Grey
Octopus Shocktopus by Peter Bently and Steven Lenton
One day, an octopus comes to live on top of a house. It’s not long before it makes friends with everyone, so why does it suddenly disappear one night?
You can watch a video of Octopus Shocktopus being read aloud here.
Spread from Octopus Shocktopus by Peter Bently and Steven Lenton
Game #1: Collective nounds
Game #1: Collective nounds
A collective noun is a name for a group of animals, like a murder of crows or a jumble of parrots. But there isn’t a collective noun for octopuses as they tend to stay alone. Can your child make up a good collective noun for the octopuses in the book? Have a look at this list for some ideas.
Game #2: Rhyme time
Game #2: Rhyme time
There are lots of rhyming words in the book. You could take turns to cover some of the rhyming words and see if you can guess what they might be, or even replace them with other words that rhyme. Your child could have a go at writing their own poem – what words can they find that rhyme with octopus?
Game #3: Making friends
Game #3: Making friends
At first the octopus is lonely, but it soon makes friends. Ask your child what they would do to make the octopus feel welcome – this will help them think about how they make friends in the real world.
Game #4: Octo-facts
Game #4: Octo-facts
How much do you and your child know about octopuses? Have a look online and see what you can find out together (this page from National Geographic Kids is a good place to start). Maybe your child could write down some facts in their notebook, or draw some octo-pics.
The Last Wolf by Mini Grey
Little Red sets off into the woods to catch a wolf. But the woods aren’t what they seem – and are there even any wolves left?
You can watch a video of The Last Wolf being read aloud here.
Spread from The Last Wolf by Mini Grey
Game #1: Return of the beaver
Game #1: Return of the beaver
Scotland has some animals that were extinct, like beavers, but have now returned. Why not do some research together to find out more about some of the animals that used to live in Scotland or live here now. You could start by looking at the Scottish Wildlife Trust and Royal Zoological Society of Scotland websites.
Game #2: Recycle, reuse
Game #2: Recycle, reuse
Red finds a bin bag full of rubbish on her walk. Maybe you could talk to your child about why we should recycle and reuse things rather than throw them away. Our page on saving money while saving the planet has lots of ideas for things you can do together to help save the environment.
Game #3: Portrait hall
Game #3: Portrait hall
The wolves in the portrait hall have some funny wolf-themed names. See if your child can come up with some more to join them. They could use the portrait page in their notebook to draw a picture of a wolf and label it with their best name.
Game #4: Little seedlings
Game #4: Little seedlings
Little Red plants some acorns to grow into trees. Next time you’re in the park or garden, you could try looking for seeds like acorns. You could even try planting them. This article from the BBC explains how to grow plants from seeds you can find in your kitchen cupboards!
Beastie Battle game with story and routine cards on the reverse
Game #1: Get playing
Game #1: Get playing
Deal all the green Beastie Battle cards with each player holding their cards so they can only see the top card. The first player starts by reading out a category. Then the player with the highest number on their top card wins and that player collects all the cards in play. Then their turn again to choose one of the four categories from the next card. The player with the most cards at the end wins!
Game #2: Story cards
Game #2: Story cards
These cards can be used to create new stories together. The cards include three themes to give you some ideas for the story: characters, settings and items. Select one of each at random and then let your imaginations run wild! You could take it in turns with your child to build the story sentence by sentence.
Game #3: Favourite animals
Game #3: Favourite animals
Ask your child to choose a favourite animal from the Beastie Battle game and see if they can draw a picture of it. Where does it live? What does it eat? They could draw this too, and maybe even collect leaves and sticks when they’re outdoors to add to the picture.
Game #4: Anything missing?
Game #4: Anything missing?
Included in the pack are some blank cards so your child can add their own animals to the game. What will they choose? You could help them research some facts about the animal to add to the card.
These videos on the Scottish Book Trust website have more ideas for playing games with the cards.
Measuring tape
Game #1: Shoe size
Game #1: Shoe size
Image of a 'Read Write Count' measuring tape.
Your child might know their shoe size, but do they know how long their feet actually are? Why not measure them and find out? Maybe one is bigger than the other!
Game #2: Toy sizes
Game #2: Toy sizes
What an opportunity to find out what their tallest toy is! Ask them which one they think it is and then they can go and find out.
Game #3: Room measurements
Game #3: Room measurements
See if your child can use the tape measure to measure the length of a room in the house. See if they can keep track of where they are with a piece of scrap paper on the floor.
Game #4: Tricky shapes
Game #4: Tricky shapes
Some things are easier to measure than others. A clever way to measure a tricky shape is to put a bit of string around it and then measure how much string you’ve use. See if your child can do this themselves with a funny shaped toy.
