FOX AND CHOOK CREATIVE ACTIVITY PACK BY SOPHIE MASSON AND KATHY CREAMER

Fox photo by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash

Chooks photo by Sophie Masson

P L E A S E N O T E T H A T T H E T I T L E , C O N C E P T ,S T R U C T U R E A N D C O N T E N T O F T H E F O X A N D C H O O K C R E A T I V E A C T I V I T Y P A C K I S C O P Y R I G H T T O S O P H I E M A S S O N A N D K A T H YC R E A M E R , 2 0 2 0 .

T H E A C T I V I T Y P A C K I S F R E E T O D O W N L O A D ,U S E A N D P R I N T A T H O M E O R I N S C H O O L S ,B U T M U S T N O T B E E X T R A C T E D W I T H O U TA C K N O W L E D G M E N T A N D C A N N O T B E S O L DO R U S E D C O M M E R C I A L L Y , I N W H O L E O R I NP A R T , W I T H O U T T H E C R E A T O R S ’ W R I T T E NP E R M I S S I O N .

F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N , C O N TA C TU S H E R E .

INTRODUCTION

• In this fabulous activity pack, you’ll find:

• Story starter ideas and writing activities

• Discussion, reading and research activities

• Listening activities

• Looking at art pages

• Hands on art activities: drawing, colouring-in, model sculpting

• Shadow puppet play-making

• Lots and lots of fun!

LET’S GET STARTED!

D I S C U S S I O N , R E A D I N G A N D R E S E A R C H A C T I V I T I E S , B Y S O P H I E M A S S O N

FOXES AND CHOOKS ARE FOUND PRETTY MUCH ALL OVER THE WORLD..List all the things you know about them, for example:

*Where do they live? (what sort of houses/dens they live in)

*What do they eat?

*How do they spend their days (and nights!)?

*What are the males, the females and the young ones called?

*What sort of sounds do they make?

*Anything else you know!

But what about what you don’t know?

DID YOU KNOW THAT…

• Foxes have such amazing hearing, they can hear a watch ticking from 37 metres(120 feet) away! Hmm…how did people find that out?

• Chooks have amazing memories: they can remember100 different faces of people or animals

• Foxes hunt by using the magnetic field of the Earth—the only animals that hunt their prey that way!

• A chook called Matilda was awarded the title of World’s Oldest Living Chicken by the Guinness Book of Records: she lived 16 years ! (Normally 5-10 years)

• What other amazing facts can you find out?

T H I N K O F O N E WO R D TO D E S C R I B E T H E M

Okay, let’s talk about words to describe foxes

For example:

Quick

Smart

Red

Sly

Wild

What else can you think of?

T H I N K O F O N E WO R D TO D E S C R I B E T H E M

And words to describe chooks..

For example:

Clucking

Flapping

Silly

Busy

Useful

What else can you think of?

S T O R I E S A B O U T F O X E S A N D C H O O K SA R E F O U N D A L L OV E R T H E WO R L D, E S P E C I A L LY T H O S E A B O U T F OX E S

IN JAPAN, FOXES CAN BE TRICKSY SHAPESHIFTERS OR TEMPLE GUARDIANS…

AESOP’S FAMOUS FABLES FROM ANCIENT GREECE OFTEN FEATURE FOXES—AND SOMETIMES CHOOKS TOO!

IN EUROPE, STORIES OF THE CUNNING REYNARD THE FOX WERE VERY POPULAR FROM THE MIDDLE AGES ON

I N O L D S TO R I E S A N D F O L K L O R E , C H O O K S A R E U S UA L LY G O O D

Roosters are seen as bringing the day, while hens bring good luck(because of laying those wonderful tasty eggs!)

In the town of Bremen in Germany, there’s a statue to the ‘Four Musicians’ from the famous story, the Four Musicians of Bremen: and look, one of them is a chook!

SOME BOOKS WITH FOX CHARACTERS

SOME BOOKS WITH CHOOK CHARACTERS

AND SOME BOOKS WITH CHOOKS AND FOXES!HOW MANY MORE FOX AND CHOOK BOOKS CAN YOU FIND?

LISTENING AND WRITING

ACTIVITIESB Y S O P H I E M A S S O N

AN OLD RUSSIAN FOLKTALE, THE ROOSTER WITH THE GOLDEN CREST, TELLS THE STORY OF HOW A FOX WAS OUTWITTED BY A ROOSTER’S FRIENDS

L I S T E N TO A M O D E R N V E R S I O N O F T H E S TO RY

Audio book free to listen to here! (Click on the audio book on the linked page,The Rooster with the Golden Crest is the second story)

AFTER YOU’VE LISTENED TO THE STORY• Write your own version of the story• Draw one or more of the characters• Make up your own fox-song • What kind of food is the rooster cooking for his friends? Make up a

recipe• Create a shadow-puppet play based on a scene from the story(see

the Shadow Puppet pages in the Art Activities)

Read the poem at left and write your own poem or story inspired by it. (Poem by Sophie Masson, illustration by Anna Bron, published in The School Magazine).

W H AT ’ S H A P P E N I N G I N T H I S P I C T U R E ?

Imagine you’re a detective, and you’ve just arrived at the Fox’s house and seen this through the window: what would you put in your report about it?

Illustration by David Allan, from Two Trickster Tales from Russia

STORIES OF FOXES AND CHOOKS IN REAL LIFE…Does your family keep chooks? Have you ever seen a fox? Write about your own experiences-or those of your family or people you know, about foxes, or chooks, or both! Illustrate them with your own drawings or photos.

Your parents or teachers might also like to read this real-life story by Sophie Masson about a fox-- and chooks !

FOXES AND CHOOKS IN ART

H O W A R T I S T S H A V E S H O W N T H E MP R E S E N T E D B Y S O P H I E M A S S O N , W I T H T H A N K S T O T H E

N E W E N G L A N D R E G I O N A L A R T M U S E U M ( N E R A M )

CHECK OUT THESE WONDERFUL PAINTINGS IN THE NEXT FEW PAGES…

They come from the extraordinary collections of the fabulous New England Regional Art Museum, in Armidale, northern New South Wales, Australia.

The paintings that follow are reproduced with the kind permission of NERAM.

You can find out more about each artist by clicking the links on each page.

To find out more about NERAM, click link above, or logo below.

Enjoy looking, and discuss what you can see in each painting. They’re great story starters, too!

LOOKS LIKE CHOOKS ARE POPUL AR!

‘IN THE ORCHARD’ (1917) , BY AUSTRALIAN ARTIST ELIOTH GRUNER

See more of Elioth Gruner’s work in NERAM collections online.

Describe a day in the lifeof these chooks…

‘THE EMPEROR’ OR ‘WHITE COCK’ (1922) BY AUSTRALIAN ARTIST LIONEL LINDSAY

See more of Lionel Lindsay’s work in NERAM collections online.

Why do you think this rooster is called ‘The Emperor?

‘THE WATER MILL’ (DATE UNKNOWN) BY HUNGARIAN ARTIST ANTON VON NEOGRADY

See more of Anton von Neogrady’s work at link on his name above.

What is the girl in the picture doing? And where are the chooks and ducks going?

‘CHOOKYARD 1979,’ BY AUSTRALIAN ARTISTWILLIAM ROBINSON

See more of William Robinson’s work at NERAM collections online

What a commotion in the chookyard! What do you think is going on?

HERE’S A FOX , THOUGH!‘SNOW SCENE, HUNGARY’ (1935), BY ANTON VON NEOGRADY

Who do you think the fox is looking at? What’s going to happen next?

AND JUST FOR FUN..SOME ALERT GEESE AND A VERY FASHIONABLE KITTEN!

DETAILS OF FEATURED PAINTINGS FROM NERAM COLLECTIONS:Hinton Collection: Link to collection on NERAM website, https://www.hinton.neram.com.au/

• Elioth Gruner, In the Orchard 1917, Gift of Howard Hinton 1933

• Lionel Lindsay, The Emperor (The White Cock) 1922, Gift of Howard Hinton 1939

• R.W Sturgess Geese no date, Gift of Howard Hinton 1944

• Anton Von Neogrady, Snow Scene Hungary 1935, Gift of Howard Hinton 1945

• Anton Von Neogrady, The Water Mill n.d, Gift of Howard Hinton 1939

• Artist Unknown, Miss Chinchilla 1941, Gift of Howard Hinton 1942

Armidale City Collection:• William Robinson, Chookyard 1979, The Armidale City Collection

HANDS-ON ART ACTIVITIESC R E AT E D A N D P R E S E N T E D B Y K AT H Y

C R E A M E R

T I M E T O G E T S T A R T E D O N S O M E H A N D S - O N A R T A C T I V I T I E S !

A C T I V I T Y 1 : F O X A N D C H O O K D R A W I N G F U N

A C T I V I T Y 2 : F O X A N D C H O O K S C O L O U R I N G P A G E STO P R I N T O U T A N D C O L O U R( A L S O AVA I L A B L E A S S E PA R AT E P D F )

ACTIVITY 3: MAKE YOUR OWN FOX AND CHOOK MODELS-WITH STEP BY STEP PHOTO INSTRUCTIONS!

How to Make a Chook with Sculpey Clay

by Kathy Creamer

You will need brown, red, yellow and black Sculpeyclay.

Some modelling tools. If you don’t have any then you can use a pencil, ruler, end of a spoon, spatula or even a dinner knife (but not a sharp one!)

Roll some small balls of brown clay in your hands to help make the clay softer.

Chook neck and body

With your hands roll one clay ball into a little egg shape.

Roll another one into a pear shape and place it on top of the egg shape.

Now you have the body and neck of your chook.

Chook eyesRoll out two small white balls for the eyes.

Roll out tiny black balls for the eye pupils.

Position the eyes near the top of the head.

Press gently so that they stick in place.

Chook Tail

Roll out a long thin sausage shape.

Cut into small pieces of the same length.

Flatten out and make feather marks with your modelling tool, pencil or cocktail stick.

Chook Tail

Place tail feathers in a bunch on the end of your chook body.

Roll out two more balls ready to make the wings.

Chook Wings

Flatten balls into tear drop shapes.

Chook Wings

Make feather markings using modelling tools or a pencil.

Place each wing into position on either side of your chook. Press gently to make the wings stick.

Chook Beak

Use orange Sculpey clay to make the beak.

I didn’t have orange, so I mixed together some red and yellow.

Chook Beak

Roll out a tiny ball of orange clay and place below the eyes on your chook. Press gently into position.

Use a modelling tool to mark where the beak opens.

Chook FeetRoll out a long orange sausage for the feet.

Chook Feet

Cut into small pieces to make the chook toes.

Gently press the pieces together to make two chook-shaped feet.

Chook Feet

Gently attach the feet to your chook.

Position the feet until your chook can stand up by herself.

Roll out a little red ball of clay, ready for the chook’s crest.

Chook Crest

Flatten a tiny piece of red clay.

Cut the crest shape with your modelling tool.

Chook Crest

Postion the crest and press gently onto the head and above the eyes.

Add a tiny piece of flattened red clay beneath the beak.

Add more detail to your chook with feather markings and texture using your modelling tools or pencil.

Now your chook is ready to be hardened by baking in the oven.

Follow the instructions on the Sculpey packet for oven temperature and timing.

How to Make a Fox with Sculpey Modelling Clay

by Kathy Creamer

You will need red, white and black Sculpey clay.Clay modelling tools.If you don’t have any then you can use the end of a spoon, cooking spatula, a pencil, a ruler, cocktail sticks, a dinner knife (not a sharp one!) or similar utensil.

Find a clean surface to work on. I’ve used a ceramic tile so that the Sculpey doesn’t stick to the surface.

Warm the Sculpey clay in your hands to help make it softer, and then roll pieces of it into balls of different sizes.

Making the body of the fox.

Take a red ball of clay, and a slightly smaller white one and gently mold them together into a tear drop shape in your hands.

Be careful NOT to let the colours blend into each other.

You should have the beginnings of a fox shape that looks like this.

Now take two smaller balls clay to make the back legs of your fox.

Roll the red clay balls into little sausage shapes.

Do the same with some pieces of black clay.

Join the pieces together so that you now have what will become the back legs of your fox.

Make some marks in the black clay to resemble paws.

Attach the legs to the bottom end of your fox body and press gently.

Position the legs how you want them to look.

Use slightly smaller balls of red and black clay to make the front legs.

Do this the same way as you made the back legs.

Attach the front legs to the top of your fox body.

Remember to make little marks at the end of the front legs to represent paws.

Making the fox face

You will need one ball of red clay, and one of white.

Making a Fox Face

Gently mould the red and white clay together in your hands, to make a ball shape for the head.

Try not to blend the colours together.

A Foxy Snout.

Take a tiny piece of red clay and make a sausage shape for the snout of your fox.

Making the nose.

Attach the sausage shape to the middle of your fox head and then put a tiny blob of black clay on the end of it. This makes the nose.

Using a pencil tip or a cocktail stick, make holes for the eyes and nostrils.

Fox Eyes

Roll out some very tiny pieces of black clay to make the eyes.

Fox Ears

Make two balls each of red, white and black clay.

Flatten them into tear drop shapes.

Fox Ears

Place the white tear drop on top of the red.

Then use the black to make the tips of the ears.

Fox Ears

Make holes in the top of the fox head for the ears to fit in.

Fox Ears

Attach the ears and gently press into place.

Lift head and place on top of the fox body using gentle pressure to fix and position.

Fox tail

One ball of red and one of white.

Join together in a sausage shape.

Taper each end of the sausage for the tail end and where the tail joins the body of your fox.

Fox Tail

Attach tail to the back of fox body and press gently.

Position the tail how you want it and then make fur marks with your modelling tool or pencil.

Finishing touches

Add extra detail with clay or texturing in order to make your fox look the way you want.

I put eye-brows and a fringe as well as extra detail to the eyes.

Now he’s ready to be baked hard in the oven. Please follow the instructions on the Sculpey packet for oven temperature and timing.

ACTIVITY 4: MAKE YOUR OWN FOX AND CHOOKSHADOW PUPPETS—WITH STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

How to Make Shadow Puppets

by Kathy Creamer

Print out the puppet design given here or design your own characters.

Using tracing paper, draw around the design and then trace out yourpuppets onto a piece of stiff card.

Shadow puppets

• Carefully cut out eachcharacter around thedrawn lines.

• You may need anadult to help youwith the fiddly bits ofcutting.

You can add detail to your puppet by cutting eye-holes and other features that the light can shine through.

Firmly tape a thin stick to the back of your puppet character. I’ve used a barbecue stick here, but please ask an adult to cut off the sharp end of the stick!

Use paper fasteners to attach the arms to the body

Firmly tape the sticks to the ends of each character’s arms. Now you can practice moving your puppets and making them do different actions.

You will need a white bed-sheet to make your shadow puppet stage, and a light source, such as a small bed-side lamp.

PLEASE MAKE SURE A RESPONSIBLE ADULT IS PRESENT TO ENSURE SAFETY WITH THE USE OF THE LAMP.

Drape the sheet over two chairs which are spaced apart.

Close the curtains to darken the room.

Place the light source behind your stage, keeping the lamp well away from the sheet!

Let the puppet show begin!

Have fun!

ONCE YOU HAVE YOUR SHADOW PUPPETS, YOU CAN CREATE YOUR OWN SHADOW-PUPPET PL AY! HERE ARESOME IDEAS AND TIPS FROM SOPHIE

• The play should be short, you only need to write a page or two at the most

• To start with, just use two shadow-puppet characters (one fox and one chook) You can alwaysadd more later, once you make more shadow puppets, and then create a longer play

• Have a simple storyline to begin with: for example, the fox is waiting for the rooster to comeout of the henhouse, but gets a fright when it crows loudly and unexpectedly; or you could justdo a chase scene, like in The Rooster with the Golden Crest. You can always make it morecomplicated later as you get more experienced and add more characters!

• You can just have a narrator telling the story, or have dialogue as well.

• Enjoy!

THIS CREATIVE ACTIVIT Y PACK HAS BEEN CREATED BY AUTHOR SOPHIEMASSON AND ILLUSTRATOR KATHY CREAMER.WE ARE FRIENDS WHO LIVE IN THE NEW ENGLAND REGION OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA

WE HAVE WORKED ON BOOKS TOGETHER

AND SEPARATELY…FOR MORE INFO, CHECK OUT SOPHIE’S SITE HERE

AND CHECK OUT KATHY’S SITE, HERE.

T H A N K S T O :

* T H E N E W E N G L A N D R E G I O N A L A R TM U S E U M ( N E R A M )

* C H R I S T M A S P R E S S A N D D A V I D A L L A N

* L I T T L E P I N K D O G B O O K S

* N A T H A N A N D E R S O N ( F O X P H O T O )

F O X A N D C H O O K C R E AT I V E A C T I V I T Y PA C K© S O P H I E M A S S O N A N D K AT H Y C R E A M E R ,2 0 2 0 .