Animal invasion!

Lots of books feature animals, sometimes in surprising places. You might

know “The Tiger Who Came To Tea” or “Paddington Bear” (also a great film

by the way!) This is your chance to write about an animal in YOUR house.

Using AR to help you imagine

If you don’t have access to a phone or ipad, then you can use this link to help you imagine what an animal in your house might be like.

https://videopress.com/v/OhuhywBz .

If you are able to, here is how to create your pictures—you might need adult help.

1) Google an animal on your iPhone or iPad.

Log onto www.google.com and search for your favourite animal. Google’s incredible Augmented Reality (AR) feature works for most animals, but not all. So, you may need to have a few attempts to find an animal that works. Perhaps try tiger, penguin and bear to get you started. Once the Google search brings up all of the information and images on your chosen animal, you will need to scroll down the page a little until you see the ‘view in 3D’ option, where you’ll be able to meet a life-sized version up close! Click on it. It will immediately switch to camera view and will ask you to move the camera around a little so it can adjust to the surroundings. After a few moments, your chosen animal should appear on your screen in your home! You can adjust the size, and you can take photos or even film short videos. (By the way, the penguins are for Miss Hancock—who loves pen-guins—but you can choose a different animal!)

2) Once you have had some fun trying out different animals, ask yourself a few questions:

How has this animal has ended up in your home – is it lost? lonely? hungry? On holiday? Is it a spe-

cial pet? Did it follow you home from the zoo? Can it talk?

Once you have some answers, your imagination is ready to go! Try any (or all!) of these ideas.

Option 1 – Write a short story: You could call it ‘Bear in the Bathroom!’ “Tiger in my toybox!” (or

any other title you choose). What sorts of things would you and your animal get up to?

Option 2 – Write a letter or postcard: You might like to use a photo and write a letter or postcard to

someone about how you’re having a lovely time at home because you’ve got a new best friend to

keep you company! What sorts of things would you do together? Do you need to feed it? Wash it?

Play a game with it? What mischief would you get up to? Would you have to hide your pet from

adults?

Option 3 – Create a comic! You could even take lots of pictures of your animal in a variety of situa-

tions and turn them into a comic, complete with speech balloons, and thought bubbles.

Have fun! Please share your pictures and/or writing!