The Gruffalo Lesson
The Gruffalo is a delightful tale of a clever wood mouse who is strolling through the woods one day and is confronted by several animals who would like to eat him for lunch. He turns the tables with his quick wit by telling them about a scary Gruffalo that likes to eat certain woodland animals. The story takes a turn when at the end the mouse finds out that the creature really does exist. If you haven’t had a chance to read this hilarious tale, grab the book and enjoy The Gruffalo lesson I have for you.
Read the Story:
As you are reading The Gruffalo, point out to the students the rhyming words and the adjectives the author uses to describe different story elements, and ask questions like:
- Why do you think the owl believes the mouse? Would you believe him?
- Can you think of any other animals that look like what the mouse described?
- Do you think the mouse was afraid of being eaten?
No book? No problem. Check out the video of it being read here.
The Gruffalo Activity:
Draw the outline of a Gruffalo on a large piece of butcher paper or bulletin board paper. Let students take turns remembering what the Gruffalo looks like based on how he was described in the story and drawing the different parts of him on the paper.
Terrible Tusks Knobbly Knees Black Tongue
Terrible Claws Turned out Toes Purple Prickles on his back
Terrible Teeth Poisonous Wart
Terrible jaws Orange Eyes
The Gruffalo Craft:
Make a paper plate Gruffalo. The teacher can provide Markers, Paint, and construction paper and let the students create their own
face, or parts of the face can be pre-cut, and students can glue them
on the plate.
The Gruffalo Extension Activities:
Depending on whether you are doing this lesson at home or in a classroom setting will probably determine the extent of how much effort you put into the extension activities. But included in this lesson are snack ideas. I found several fun Gruffalo snack ideas around the web including this Gruffalo Crumble and these Gruffalo cupcakes.
There are also a few worksheets included in this lesson to help solidify other concepts using The Gruffalo as the theme. Students can practice rhyming, story order and story sequence. Check out the post on Teaching Story Sequencing using another great book for more ideas.
I have also included classroom set up ideas. The Gruffalo takes place in a wooded forest, so creating a woodlands environment would make this lesson extra fun. Grab some faux trees, pretend logs, maybe even take the lesson outside to a park and bring the lesson to life.
If you have the time allotted in your schedule, you may even want to check out the movie.
Check out these Gruffalo Extras:
Angela is the Homeschool Encourager for the Overwhelmed & Under-Caffeinated and the Chaos-to-Confidence Specialist behind Schooling with Grace. With a no-fluff approach, a dash of humor, and a whole lot of heart, she helps homeschool moms cut through the chaos, ditch unrealistic expectations, and teach with confidence.