Sadly not as a Blue Peter presenter, but I have recently been involved in some work for the BBC World Class site.
As their website says –
BBC World Class is an initiative bringing the benefits of international school linking to schools across the UK.World Class also encourages children and schools to get their stories on air and on line across the BBC.
Thanks to a recommendation from Liz Hitchcock of the British Council, I was asked to work with BBC World Class to come up with some resources to link a reading by Michael Morpurgo of his book, This morning I met a whale, to the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit via a ‘Share a story’ activity. The idea was that two (or more) partner schools read the book and complete some activities that they can share with one another.
You can download a PDF of the activities and enjoy the beautiful pictures of the Thames and the whale.
I thoroughly enjoyed Michael Morpurgo’s beautifully written story, based on real events in January 2006 when a 15 ft northern bottle nosed whale was found swimming past the Houses of Parliament before getting stranded at Battersea Bridge and sadly dying before it could be returned to open water. In the story, the whale comes with a message for the children (because adults are hard hearted) to pass on the message that we need to look after the planet. A simple story with a powerful message.
Even if you haven’t got a partner school or even a class with whom to do the activities, I’d recommend the book as a good (very quick) read – for children and adults alike. And if you use the activities, well, let me know what you think. They’re not all my work – I just gave ideas, some of which haven’t been used – but I’m obviously interested in views as they have my name on them!!
Perhaps Blue Peter might come calling next…..
