Nanny - Fun Activities - Houses and Buildings

Houses & Buildings - NANNY

The Adventures of Nanny Piggins

Primary

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Critical and creative thinking

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Literacy

Cooperative Learning Activity

1. In groups of 4 - 5 students, go to the following website and print the PDF (or click here if this link isn't working).

2. Select ONE of the following activities from page 4:

Activity 1

In the author's statement before the book starts, R. A. Spratt tells us that ‘. . .Nanny Piggins is an elite athlete so she has a freakishly fast metabolism. . .’ Do you think that statement is true? Look at the book's cover and re-read any snippets you find about Nanny Piggins. Does she LOOK like an elite athlete? What sort of sports do we see Nanny Piggins involved in? Or is this humour? Why is it funny?

Activity 2

On page 81, Nanny tells us: ‘Beauty has been a lifelong burden of mine. Even butchers sigh when I pass. . .’ Why do you think butchers might sigh when Nanny goes by? The author is having her character say something that Nanny Piggins believes, but we know differently and that's why we grin. Can you find some other examples of this kind of humour in the book?

Activity 3

On page 64, R. A. Spratt tells us ‘. . . Nanny Piggins let the children eat their own body weight in chocolate in the street . . .’ Do you think the children could really eat their own body weight in chocolate in one sitting? How many 200g blocks of chocolate does that mean you would need to eat? The author is using exaggeration to add to the humour of the story. Find some other examples where exaggeration makes us laugh.

3. On page 5 of the Activity book [PDF] are the following activities: Select ONE for the group to complete

FUN FAST ACTIVITIES - You have 90 seconds to complete one of these tasks

1. Choose three of your favourite chapters from The Adventures of Nanny Piggins. Invent newspaper headlines for those chapters.

2. Make 3 lists: 10 Things Not to Do with a Pig, Nanny Piggins' Top 10 Favourite Foods, 10 Adjectives that Describe Nanny Piggins.

3. Good news! You've been chosen to retell The Adventures of Nanny Piggins. Bad news is, you must do it in 90 seconds!

4. Nanny Piggins and the children have decided to make a time capsule that will represent the adventures they've had in this novel. What artefacts would you recommend they include?

5. Using all your dramatic skills, improvise an advertisement of The Adventures of Nanny Piggins that persuades your audience to buy and read the book.

6. If Nanny Piggins went head to head against Mary Poppins, who do you think would win? Why? Nanny Piggins vs Big Bad Wolf? Spiderman? Pigzilla? Create a cartoon based on one of your ideas.

7. R.A. Spratt invented Leonardo da Piggins. Can you think of any other famous people or celebrities you could give a Piggins slant to? It might be fun to try to sketch them. Perhaps you could start with an opera singer called Pigarotti.

4. Find key words that will sum up the book for someone who hasn't read it. Use a word cloud to display those words.

5. You have been employed by The Ministry of Health to investigate the diet Nanny and the children live on. Describe this diet, giving examples from the book, and investigate whether it will lead to healthy outcomes for the children.

6. The Queen is not the only one to deliver a Christmas Message. Nanny Piggins does too. Here is an example of a message from the Queen.

YouTube: THE QUEEN'S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FOR 2017
https://youtu.be/5xz-djN-cgs

YouTube: Here's an example of one from Nanny Piggins: Christmas Message
https://youtu.be/SYwiaYmlBZ0

In what ways are the messages similar/different? Which one do you prefer?

7. For fun, draw your own picture of Nanny Piggins, scan it into the computer, upload it to Blabberize and make your picture talk with your own Nanny Piggins voice.

8. Consider what message your Nanny Piggins would like to give the world. If there is one important message the world should hear, what is it?

Nanny McPhee & Mary Poppins - who would win?

Primary Middle
Australian Curriculum General Capability: Information and Communication Technology Capability
Australian Curriculum General Capability: Critical and creative thinking
Australian Curriculum General Capability: Personal and social capability
Australian Curriculum General Capability: LLiteracy

1. In pairs, look at the following clips of Nanny McPhee and Mary Poppins:

YouTube: Nanny Mcphee Trailer
https://youtu.be/YFcsn70hlHQ

YouTube:Spoon Full of Sugar - Mary Poppins
https://youtu.be/HrnoR9cBP3o

2. Who do you think would win if they went "head to head" against each other? Why? What powers do each of them have? How do these powers help the children in their care? Discuss.

3. Are appearances important? Why? What is the influence of Nanny McPhee and Mary Poppins on their families? Discuss.

4. Together, create a cartoon based on one of your ideas using Voki (Source: Random House))