Oxford Dolphin Readers
Level One
Lost Kitten
Di Taylor
Illustrated by Genny Haines
DESCRIPTION
Toby the kitten is lost. He asks his animal friends to help him but
none of them can. They live in different places, not in a house.
Finally he finds the way to his house. His mummy is waiting for
him and he’s happy to be home.
CROSS CURRICULAR
Natural Sciences (animals and habitats).
VALUES
The importance of a home, learning to help one another, learning
not to wander away and get lost.
1
Level One
LANGUAGE
Vocabulary: Kitten, bird, spider, bat, cat, house, web, nest,
flower, door, grass, sun, tree.
Structures: I live in (a house, a nest, a web), I’m lost, Can you
help me?, I’m sorry, I can’t help you, Toby sees a...
Lesson Plan
BEFORE
1 Play a TPR game to practise ‘asleep’ and ‘wake up!’. When you say ’You’re asleep!’, pupils put
their heads on their desks and pretend to be asleep. When you say ‘Wake up!’ they stretch and yawn.
2 Brainstorm the names of animals and write them on the board as pupils provide the
vocabulary. Make sure the animals above are included (kitten, bird, spider, bat, cat).
3 Draw a simple house (or show a picture). Say ‘I live in a house. People live in houses or flats’.
Choose an animal from the board and ask ‘Where do (birds) live?’‘In a nest’. Provide the
answer if necessary and ask children to repeat. Ask about other animals. ‘Where do cows live?’
‘On a farm’ (lions – jungle, fish – in the sea, cats and kittens – house, spiders – web).
4 Introduce pupils to the idea of being lost by looking at the picture on the front cover of the book.
Remind pupils of any stories they know about being lost: Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, etc.
DURING
1 Pupils write their names, age and class number on the first page of the book.
2 Look at page one. Say ‘Look! A kitten! Where do kittens live?’ (In a house). ‘Look a bird!’,
‘Where do birds live?’ etc. Continue with spider, bat and cat.
3 Look at the picture on page two. Ask ‘Is Toby asleep?’, ‘Can you see Toby’s house?’, ‘Where is he?’,
‘Is he lost?’ Encourage pupils to speculate.
4 Tell the story using gesture and mime to convey meaning:
a.Page two: Toby the kitten wakes up (stretch and yawn). Oh no (look around and appear to be lost).
b.Page three: (Point to your eyes) Toby sees a bird (in a sad, worried voice) I’m lost.
Can you help me?
c.Page four: (Apologetic voice) I’m sorry. I can’t help you. I live in this nest (point to nest).
d.Pages five, six and seven: The same as pages three and four.
e.Page eight: (Point to the cat) and say ‘Look, Toby’s Mummy’ (Point to the house) and say
‘Look! Toby’s house’. Then read the last part.
AFTER
1 Ask ‘Did you like the story?’ Invite pupils to relate their own experiences of being lost in their
own language if you wish.
2 Pupils read the book again for homework and do the activities on pages nine, ten and
eleven. Check in class.
3 Play Noughts & Crosses to revise ‘Where does
chicken
cow
bird
a .... live?’, ‘In a ...’ Draw a grid with nine
lion
dolphin
dog
squares (three rows of three) and write these
spider
cat
elephant
nine words in the squares:
Divide the class into two teams (noughts and crosses). In turns, each team chooses a square,
for example ‘dolphin’ and says ‘A (dolphin) lives in the sea’. If they are right they win the
square and you draw a nought or a cross in the square. The winning team is the first to win
three squares in a row in any direction.
Ask children to play again in pairs or groups of four if you wish, with the same or other
animals. Then do the activities on pages twelve and thirteen.
4 Pupils do the word search on page fifteen in pairs and then
make their own word search using an empty grid and words
from the picture dictionary. First show pupils how to fill in
the words and then add random letters. Remind them to
keep a note of the answers. Ask pairs to swap word
searches, complete them and then return them for
correction. Pupils do page fourteen for homework
or fast finishers can do it in class.
EXTRA PROJECT IDEA
As a class, extend the story. Imagine that Toby the cat meets (as well as the bird and the spider)
a horse. Build up the dialogue. Say ‘Toby sees a horse’ .
Toby: ‘I’m lost! Can you help me?’
Horse: ‘I’m sorry. I can’t help you. I live on this farm’.
In pairs pupils choose other animals. They draw a picture, write the dialogue and act out the
scene for the rest of the class.