Can I Build Another Me?

Product Information

He realizes the diversity of the feelings he has, the intensity of the dreams he grows, the joy of interacting with different people and the secrecy of some of his most intimate thoughts. This is a wonderful picturebook about the nature of individuality, perfect fo r building a classroom or school culture where the uniqueness of each person is celebrated. I could share about how when I was in school, I saw somebody get bullied for wearing glasses, so when I was told that I needed glasses, I felt super anxious and would take them off in the corridor.

What is shared may or may to be quite personal, but crucially, that decision is made by the children. Some really thoughtful artwork and picture books can be created by the class through a short sequence of lessons using this book, but more than this, the greatest strength is in the quality of discussion that can come about through getting the kids to create their own pages. It Might Be An Apple – The story follows a child’s hilarious, wildly inventive train of thought through all the things an apple might be if it is not, in fact, an apple.Distrusting the apple’s convincing appearance, the child’s imagination spirals upwards and outwards into a madcap fantasy world – maybe it’s a star from outer space with tiny aliens on board? To get what I mean, think about one of your classes: you will have a couple of children in there who can capture the attention of everyone in their class when they are telling even a quite objectively boring and uneventful anecdote, and you will have some children who, even if something truly remarkable has happened to them, haven’t got the capacity to tell it well. Storytelling can go beyond narrating the written word, and I think there is merit in pupils ability to speak narratively about their own experiences. I have used it before with two classes, and I have been using as part of my mentoring with some of the Year 6 children.

As you see, the simple idea of it is that different body parts are labelled and different facts or stories are linked to each. A vital closing part to this session should be the opportunity for children to share their work with each other in the class, perhaps randomising it in some way so that they are not necessarily just sharing with their best friends.The boy lists everything that comes to his mind, from details about his family and particular features of his body, to many of the things he likes and dislikes. I could share – and I have just thought of this now, and this is the kind of free flowing retrieval of anecdotes that this lesson is all about – the time when I was taking a group of kids to the swimming baths with a youth charity, and I had to choose between wearing my massive glasses in the pool and looking weird, or going without, and lacking my eyesight. Some kids might point out birthmarks or scars, some of them might talk about trapping their fingers, or about a special piece of jewellery they are wearing, or why they are wearing mehndi at the moment.

A loose set of lesson plans can be found here – I am going to use this when we get back with Year 4 over the course of the four lessons, one a fortnight, that I cover each class during their Creative Arts Day. I leave traces of me”, Kevin admits, thinking of how his parents identify his mess or how his peers recognize his belongings. The circle is just to cement the idea that we need to listen to each other, and make sure that everyone can see each other. However, before he can bring his cloned self to life, he must embark on a quest to uncover the essence of his individuality. I shared how I have always bitten my nails, and my Dad really hates it (always has) and he threatened to put English Mustard on my fingernails if I didn’t stop.I could have shared the weird feeling it gives me when I wear gloves for too long, which makes me feel like I am being suffocated. I chose to go without glasses, but because I couldn’t see properly, I tried to take the wrong kids onto the slide, which was among the most excruciatingly awkward moments of my life. This esoteric little book is a brilliant one to share, it is visually arresting and is such a great book to teach with. Each page shows something different, such as his Likes and Dislikes and the Things I Can and Can’t Do. Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.

follows a child’s hilarious, wildly inventive train of thought as he decides to make a clone of himself – and starts to ponder what makes him HIM. Teachers could use this book as an icebreaker discussion to enable a new class to get to know themselves and others, for thoughtful artwork based on the fun labelled diagrams in the book or for PSHE lessons about expressing and celebrating individuality.Follows a child's hilarious, wildly inventive train of thought as he decides to make a clone of himself and starts to ponder what makes him HIM. Younger classes will enjoy imagining what a robot close of themselves might look, act and feel like, while older children can get philosophical about the factors that have come together to make them who they are, or even about the potential ethics of cloning oneself (I’m sure overly busy teachers may also be tempted to wish for a clone!