Scarface Claw, Hold Tight! By Lynley Dodd The toughest tomcat in town is back in a new rhyming adventure. Happily snoozing in the sun, Scarface Claw is suddenly jolted awake when his comfy sleeping spot is on the move. Clinging to the top of the truck, Scarface Claw must hold on tight as Tom zips through the streets while bystanders try everything to get driver Tom s attention to STOP. In typical Lynley Dodd rhyming prose Scarface claw is fast paced and sure to grab the attention of the reader as they wonder who will rescue the cantankerous cat? Key Message for Parents Children learn from watching and copying A Storytime session provides lots of opportunities for children to learn from watching and copying. Share with parents the importance of sharing stories and singing songs at home with their child. Through these experiences children will: Learn a lot about how a book works by watching someone hold the book, turn the pages and point out the pictures and text. This is an important skill for later when they are learning to read and write. Try holding the book upside down and back to front. Children will love to point out the error. Build their vocabulary and language through song. Sing songs with actions - when you demonstrate simple actions, children will attempt to copy. Before singing a song with actions show the children each action and give them time to practise for example: hunt for mice- use hands to pretend to creep. Practising the actions before singing the song allows the child time to explore the action and learn how their body needs to move to do the action. Learning Outcomes Outcome 3: Children are confident and involved learners By encouraging and building upon a child s curiosity practitioners can help children to develop dispositions towards learning. We can help young children become confident learners by: Using predictive questions such as who do you think will rescue the cat? or what do you think might happen in this story? These types of questions help to develop thinking skills Responding positively to achievement and offer praise and encouragement. It is more important to praise the process or attempts rather than just a final product or result. For example, great sharing or team work as opposed to a completed craft or activity Providing open ended play activities which foster curiosity and engagement (play dough, blocks, tinkering tables and various craft materials) Providing opportunities for children to revisit their ideas and extend their learning. For example having a discussion about the different types of cats will extend the child s knowledge about cats.
Themes within this story Cats Rhyme and repetition Cars and vehicles Welcome Ask carers to write nametags for themselves and their children. Welcome everyone, introduce yourself, remind adults to turn their mobile phones off and that there will be time for adults to chat after the story and songs. Welcome Song (or your preferred song) Have the words available as a handout or written on a board or butcher s paper for the adults to read and join in. Good Morning Good morning to you Good morning to you Good morning everybody and welcome to you! Songs I m little kitty cat (sung to the tune of I m a little teapot) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkqwugm9-ae I m a little kitty cat Nice and sweet Here are my whiskers (make whiskers with fingers) Here are my feet (touch feet or hold up hands as feet) When I go out hunting (pretend to creep with your hands) Mice beware, or you might just have a scare! If You re a Cat and You Know It If you re a cat and you know it say meow (make a meow sound) If you re a cat and you know it say meow If you re a cat and you know it, then you really ought to show it If you re a cat and you know it say meow Other verses can include: If you re a cat and you know it lick your paws (pretend to lick hands) If you re a cat and you know it swish your tail (use arm behind back to make a tail) If you re a cat and you know it hunt for mice (use hands to creep like a hunting cat) If you re a cat and you know it show your claws (make hands into claws shapes) 2
Before Reading Before showing the cover of this book you may like to introduce the theme of the story - cats and ask some questions before you reveal the book. Tell children: Today we are reading a book about a cat. Does anyone have a cat as a pet? What is your cat s name? What colour is your cat? What sound does a cat make? Can everyone meow together? Some of you may have heard about the cat in this story before. I am going to give you some clues and see if you can guess who the main character might be. The cat is a tom cat, which means it s a boy cat He is large and black He has big yellow eyes He is sometimes called the toughest tom in town He likes to scare Hairy Maclary..Yes, its Scarface Claw! Today we are sharing a story about Scarface Claw s new adventure and it s called Scarface Claw, Hold Tight! It is written by Lynley Dodd. Show the children the cover of the book. Looking at the cover of the book, why do you think Hold Tight is in the title? What is Scarface holding onto? Let s find out together what Scarface is up to. As this story has a rhyming structure it is important to practise reading the story a lot beforehand so that the rhyme flows easily (it s easy to get tongue tied). During Reading When reading aloud you can use your voice to bring this story to life. Using a calm slow voice start the story holding the book so all children can see the words and pictures. As you start the second page read the word Suddenly with alarm. Increase the speed you read as you continue throughout the story to give that sense of urgency. Read the capital letters in a loud voice. Once you reach the part in the story where it says SOMEBODY STOP HIM and RESCUE THAT CAT! ask the children who they think will rescue the cat. After Reading Talk about some cat facts What do they like to eat and do? Where do cats live? What sounds do they make? Talk about the different types of cats and invite the children to make a list (lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, jaguar, snow leopard, or cougar). Alternatively have some photographs of cats or if your site has a smart board you could show videos. You may be introducing children to new animals or to some of their favourites. Short video clips are an appropriate way to use technology with young children. You can watch and talk about how cats move, are they fast or slow? Do they stretch, leap, hop or curl up? Chat about pets. Ask if big cats are good pets? Where would you go to see a big cat? Write a list of good names for a cat on a whiteboard/blackboard or butcher s paper. Children will love to contribute their ideas and draw from their own experiences. 3
Activity Time Scarface claw mask Bring out your inner feline with this Scarface Claw mask. What you need Template (see attached) Black plastic plates (or paper plates can be coloured in or painted) Pipe cleaners Pop sticks Textas, crayons or pencils Scissors, Glue and/or sticky tape What to do: 1. Colour and decorate template pieces (eyes, ears and nose) 2. Cut out template pieces 3. Glue the pipe cleaners on before you stick the nose on 4. Attach the pop stick to the other side of the plate to the face. Extension Activity: Felt board game/rhyme - 5 little cats Down around the corner at the pet store Were 5 little cats and not one more Along came someone with a dollar to pay And they bought a little cat and took it away What you need Print 5 pictures of cats, cut out, laminate (optional) and attach a Velcro dot to the back. Print 5 pictures of dollar coins, cut out laminate (optional) and attach a Velcro dot the back. Stick the 5 pictures of the cats onto the felt board Recite the rhyme, sticking a dollar onto the board and take away a picture of a cat each time someone buys one. Count the remaining cats each time. Continue until all cats are purchased. In addition to the children watching the felt board they can have their own 5 cats by holding up their fingers of one hand. Fold down each finger as a cat is bought. Get them to count the remaining standing fingers until there are none left. Once all the cats are purchased you can then count how many coins the pet store has. Try the game again asking some different questions What if someone wanted to buy 2 cats, how many dollars would they need. A great way to introduce simple math concepts of counting, addition and subtraction. 4
STEM Focus Young children are natural scientists, inquisitive, curious and keen to learn about the world around them. Providing experiences that allow children to explore and ask questions will foster this curiosity. One activity scientists do is to classify items. Scientists do this by sorting collections by comparing and matching. Give children a collection of animals and ask them to sort (classify) them. In the collection include different types of cats, big (lions and tigers) and small, plus other large and small animals (mice, beetles, elephants, dogs) Have the children lay the collection of animals on the floor. Ask them to look closely at the animals and see which animals are the same or different. Allow the children to sort the collection any way they like. Some suggestions include colour, size, and type of animal. Goodbye Conclude the session with some suggestions of books that parents might want to share with their children. The Little Big Book Club suggests the following books to support learning in this area. If your library has copies, make them available for families to borrow or include them in your story time session. For some more stories to share, we recommend the following titles: Cat by Mike Dumbleton and Craig Smith Hairy Maclary from Donaldson s Dairy by Lynley Dodd Moo by Matthew Van Fleet Find me a Castle by Beci Orpin My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes by Phyllis Root and Jill Barton Goodbye Song Depending on the size of your group, you may wish to insert each child s name in the place of you as it develops a more personal relationship between yourself, the child and the family. Sung to the tune of (Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush) or your choice. Goodbye This is the way we say goodbye (wave) say goodbye, say goodbye This is the way we say goodbye to all our library friends (or) (to our friend )! 5
Activity Template Cat Mask 6