teacher notes

Two Little Monkeys By Mem Fox Illustrated by Jill Barton

• Repetition • Rhyme • Wildlife

Synopsis Two little monkeys are hiding in a tree—two little monkeys named Cheeky and Chee. Step into this delightful rhyming tale set in Africa following the two little monkeys Cheeky and Chee as they swing and climb through that big old tree. Who are they hiding from? Will they fall? You will have to read the book if you’d like to see just why they’re hiding in that big old tree!

About the Author Mem Fox was born in in 1946. At six months she went with her parents to Africa where she grew up on a mission in Zimbabwe. Her father’s name—Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge—is also the title of her second book. Miss Nancy, in the same book, is her mother. In the mid-sixties, totally unsophisticated, she went to drama school in London and spent three arduous but happy years speaking Shakespeare, singing Beatles’ songs, wearing mini-skirts and dyeing her hair—a habit she has never grown out of. She took a great risk in 1969 and married an Englishman! In 1970 they migrated to , . She and Malcolm have lived happily ever after. Their only child Chloë, to whom Possum Magic is dedicated, was born in 1971 and is a journalist. Writing is Mem’s second love. Her first love is teaching, to which she admits a powerful addiction. It has been the major focus of her life. She has been teaching teachers since 1973 and is much in demand as a keynote speaker at national and international literacy conferences. She is passionate about literacy and its development. Half her life, until the end of 1996, was spent teaching literacy studies with zest and enormous happiness as an Associate Professor at in Adelaide. She is now a ‘real’ writer for the first time, and a highly regarded literacy consultant in Australia, the USA and many other countries around the world. She has been presented with many awards including the 1990 Dromkeen Medal for distinguished services to children’s literature; a 1991 Advance Australia award for her outstanding contribution to ; a medal in the 1993 Australia Day Honours awards for services to the cultural life of Australia; and an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the , in 1996.

Teacher Notes may be reproduced for use in school activities. They may not be redistributed for commerical sale or posted to other networks. Copyright © 2014 Scholastic Australia Pty Limited. For more great resources go to www.scholastic.com.au/toolkit 1. ACTIVITY 2: About the Illustrator MORE LITTLE MONKEYS Jill Barton left school, there were no courses specialising in In shared learning discuss what would happen next if more illustration. It was only when Jill’s children were grown up little monkeys came along. Are they hiding this time? that she was able to take up her degree in illustration. What else could they be doing? Playing, running, jumping, Jill was listed for the Macmillan Prize for students in 1988. swinging, dancing? She won the Boston Globe Horn Book Award in 1997 for In the Rain with Baby Duck. The leopard has gone away. Who might the monkeys be hiding from? Shared Learning Children may go on to write their own pages of the book and Discussion Points on the CM below. c. CM—More Little Monkeys Extension 1. THAT BIG OLD TREE www.scholastic.com.au/toolkit Show your class the pictures of the ‘big old tree’ in the book. Have some pictures ready of other types of trees, in particular the different types of gum trees we have in Australia. ASK YOUR STUDENTS: • Does this look like the trees we have here in Australia? • How is it different? How is it the same? • Do you know the names of any of these native Australian plants and trees? As a class identify the names and features of the following: wattle tree, waratah, red gum, ghost gum, rainbow gum, coolibah.

DISCUSS: Look at a picture of the scribbly gum tree. Discuss with your class what they think may have made these unique marks on the tree before explaining that the distinctive brownish ‘scribbles’ are made by the larvae of the tiny scribbly moth. Activities and Copymaster

ACTIVITY 1 TELL ME A STORY Put the children in pairs for this speaking and listening activity. Give them the storytelling mat and images to cut out (CM a). Children can then take turns to retell the story using pictures as props. Use CM b Word Mat to provide language support where required in your class. a. CM–Storytelling activity b. CM–Extra-Support Vocabulary Mat www.scholastic.com.au/toolkit

Teacher’s Notes may be reproduced for use in school activities. They may not be redistributed for commerical sale or posted to other networks. Copyright © 2014 Scholastic Australia Pty Limited. For more great resources go to www.scholastic.com.au/toolkit 2.