Our P5 classroom was buzzing with mystery and excitement as we kicked off our new novel study, The Sheep-Pig by Dick King-Smith. Before we even turned the first page, the children were challenged to put their thinking caps on and dive into the world of prediction, using their imagination to guess what this unusually titled book could be about.
The day started with just three words on the board: The Sheep-Pig. We asked the class to imagine what on earth this creature could be, and the imaginations went into overdrive! The students had a wonderful time drawing their ideas, which ranged from pigs sporting thick, curly coats of wool to sheep with bright pink snouts. It was a fantastic way to see their creativity in action before we dove into the reality of the story.
Once the drawings were complete, the classroom transformed into a "clue scene" where the children became detectives. They were presented with three mysterious objects: a blue rosette, a shepherd’s whistle, and a bundle of wool. The students showed great reasoning skills, making logical connections between the objects and the title. Many began to suspect that this pig might be destined for a very unusual job on the farm!
To bring some data handling into our Literacy lesson, we also looked at clues for the different characters. Based on the adjectives in their names, the children predicted who they thought would cause the most trouble. We tallied the votes and presented the data in a bar chart, allowing the class to interpret the results. We discussed who received the most and least votes and what our expectations were for the cast of characters.
To wrap up our introductory session, we finally studied the front cover and the blurb to compare them with our earlier theories. After a lively discussion about how our predictions had evolved, we settled down to read Chapter 1. It is safe to say that P5 is officially hooked, and we are all eager to see what adventures await at Hogget’s Farm!
