Tilda Teaches Chatterboxes Teaching Notes
Learning outcomes
Students will:
Use an ‘I see, I hear, I feel’ graphic organiser.
Learn to make paper chatterboxes.
Practise making paper planes and then turn their flight data into a class graph.
Write a creative short story about a family camping trip.
Synopsis
Tilda shows up for the first day of school excited to tell her friends Binky and Harry all about her fantastic summer holidays with her cousins Coco and Ivy. But all Binky and Harry want to talk about was their epic camping adventure, which Tilda missed out on for the first time ever. Tilda decides to teach Binky and Harry how to make paper chatterboxes, which she learned on her holiday, as a way to make them stop talking about the camping trip. They play with different kinds of chatterboxes, and then learn to fold their own, but Binky and Harry keep bringing up memories from the camping trip and making Tilda feel left out. They even insist on making paper planes like they did on their holiday. Finally, Tilda realises that the only way to fix the situation it to tell them how she feels. She uses her mum’s ‘sandwich’ technique to have the tricky conversation, which makes her feel better straight away. Tilda reflects on her week, and on what she’s learned about the value of communicating with her friends.
Themes
Friendship
Communication
Jealousy
Feeling left out
Before you read the story
Read the blurb:
Tilda has just come back from an amazing holiday. She can’t wait to tell Binky and Harry all about it! But her two best friends won’t stop talking about their holiday together, and it sounds like they had the Best Time Ever! Tilda is feeling jealoppointed. That’s right, jealous and disappointed! Maybe her friends will stop talking about their holiday if Tilda teaches them to make paper chatterboxes…
What’s the best holiday you’ve ever been on? How would you feel if two of your friends were talking about something that you weren’t included in?
Discussion Questions
Chapter 1
What were some of Tilda’s favourite things about her summer holiday?
Where would you prefer to go, camping or to a fun-park paradise? What are some of the differences between them?
Is it nice of Tilda to want to make her friends jealous of her holiday?
Chapter 2
What does Tilda love about the first day of school? Do you like the first day of a new school year? How does it make you feel?
Earlier in the story, Tilda said the TEAM camping trips were epic adventures. Now she’s calling them ‘boring old camping trips’. Why has she changed her mind?
What would you perform at a Family Camping Talent Show?
Chapter 3
What do you think a ‘We’re Having Tacos For Dinner’ dance would look like? Stand up and demonstrate!
Why does Tilda want to teach Binky and Harry to make chatterboxes? How many reasons can you think of?
Tilda has a weird feeling in her tummy all day. Can you think of a time that you had a weird feeling in your tummy? What made you feel that way? What might that feeling be called?
Chapter 4
Harry thinks the chatterboxes are origami. What is origami? What do you know about it?
Who has played with a chatterbox before? What are some of the types of chatterboxes you’ve seen?
Tilda says teachers always need to be encouraging. What does that mean? What kinds of things can teachers say and do to be encouraging?
Chapter 5
Can you think of a time when you’ve learned something using ‘hands-on teaching’?
Can you think of some fun physical challenges that Harry could put in his chatterbox?
Why does Tilda give her Chatterbox Class three gold stars?
Chapter 6
Binky and Harry want to make paper planes out of Tilda’s paper, instead of chatterboxes. Can you think of some other things they might have done with the paper?
Are Binky and Harry being good friends to Tilda today? Why or why not?
How is Tilda feeling today? What could she do to make things better?
Chapter 7
What is Tilda’s mum’s sandwich technique? Have you ever tried telling someone something tricky by using a sandwich?
Why does Miss Emmanuel choose Binky and Harry to Show and Share first? What are some other ways that students can show their good manners?
How does Tilda feel after she talks to her friends?
Chapter 8
Why is Tilda so tired today?
In her weekly report, Tilda gave herself a B in ‘Being a Good Friend’. What do you think Binky and Harry would get on their reports this week for the way they acted as friends? Why?
What do you think Tilda learned this week?
Activities
Chatterbox time!
Use the instructions in the back of the book to make some chatterboxes. How many different kinds can you think of? Now play them with your friends!
I See, I Hear, I Feel!
Tilda found this worksheet really useful in organising her thoughts, and it helped her to understand how she was feeling about her friends. Miss Emmanuel gave it to the class to help them organise their thoughts before they wrote about their holidays. What can you use an I See, I Hear, I Feel chart for? Give one a try and see if it helps you organise your thinking.
Perfect Paper Planes!
In Tilda Teaches Cartwheels, Binky and Harry have lots of fun playing with paper planes (although Tilda doesn’t love it so much!). Do some research about the best ways to make paper planes — here are some to get you started. After you’ve made a few, organise your own class competition – whose plane can fly the furthest? You can use a long tape measure to measure each plane’s flight, and turn your data into a class graph.
Camping Chaos Stories!
Some of the stories from Binky and Harry’s camping trip sound pretty funny! Can you write your own story about a family camping trip? What goes right? What goes wrong? Think of some problems the family might encounter – bad weather, wild animals, forgetting to bring some important camping supplies…Remember, in the most interesting stories, the main characters need to have some problems or challenges to overcome.