Make alliterative sentences involving types of animals, e.g. an extraordinarily excited elephant, a long lazy lion. Try some role-play activities from Elmer’s point of view… How does he feel about being different? Why did he decide to paint himself grey with berry juice?

Elmer the Elephant | Waterstones Elmer the Elephant | Waterstones

Carry out some research to find out about different types of elephants. Could you present your findings to an audience (in the form of a presentation or written report)?

Multibuys

Use the ‘Elephant Expressions’ sheet (see Resources below) to investigate different emotions and how these are expressed.

Elmer Soft Toy - Elmer Elmer Soft Toy - Elmer

Look at the decorated elephants on Elmer Day. Which is your favourite? Can you explain why? Can you describe one of the elephants to a friend who has to guess which one you are thinking of? Elmer is part of a herd of elephants. Can you think of other collective nouns for different animals? Look at the illustrations in the book and think of speech / thought bubbles for the elephants and other animals.

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

Try role-play activities from the other elephants’ point of view… How do they feel about Elmer? How did they feel when we turned grey and then surprised them all? How do they decide how to decorate themselves on Elmer Day?

Elmer Home - Elmer

Open the PNG images (see Resources below) and load them in a paint program. Ask children to paint them using warm colours, cold colours, a mixture of colours or different shades of the same colour! Look at the shapes and patterns on the decorated elephants. Do any of them have repeating patterns, symmetry, or tessellation? There are lots of adverbs in the story, e.g. absolutely, quietly, usually. Can you find any more? Can you describe what adverbs are? Can you make some sentences which include adverbs? Can you count the berries on the bush? Can you count the coloured patches on Elmer? Can you count how many elephants are in the herd? Can you count how many other animals are in the jungle? Decorate an elephant for Elmer Day using unusual shapes, patterns and colours (see Resources below).An old elephant says to Elmer “It didn’t take you long to show your true colours.” Discuss what this expression means.