the tales of mrs mancini teachers' notes
TRANSCRIPT
TheTalesOfMrsMancinibyNatalieJanePrior
IllustratedCherylOrsini
BookSummary:
TheTalesofMrsMancinitellsthestoryofacatwho,togetherwithherhumanfriend,Filippina,runsacakeshopfullofdelectabletreats.Alongsideherflairforflan,MrsMancinialsohasaspecialabilitytobringlonelychildrentogether.
Acollectionofthreefullyillustratedshortstoriescelebratingfriendsandfriendship!
CurriculumAreasandKeyLearningOutcomes:TheTalesofMrsMancinisuitsthefollowingAustralianCurriculumcontentdescriptors:Foundation(Kindergarten/Prep)English ACELT1575ACELT1783 Year1English ACELT1581 ACELT1586 Year2English ACELA1469 ACELT1591
ACELT1833 DesignandTechnologiesF-2ACTDEP007ACTDEP009GeneralCapabilitiesPersonalandSocialCapability
AppropriateAges:Ages3+
ISBN:9780733335655
Notesby:ChristinaWheeler
KEYCURRICULUMAREAS• English• DesignandTechnologies
REASONSFORSTUDYINGTHISBOOKTheTalesofMrsMancinicombineseffectivestorytellingwithbeautifulillustrations,creatingthreeshortstoriesthatarerelatableandappealing.Centringonthethemeoffriendshipandthespecialbondsharedbysiblings,thebooktellsthetalesofMrsMancini,whoisperceptive,thoughtfulandgenerous,steppinginwhensheseesherfriendsstruggling.Itisaperfecttextforearlychildhoodaudiences,asitemphasisestheimportanceofnoticingandreactingtoothers’feelingsandhelpsnavigatethedifficultiesthatarisewhenapologiesneedtobemadeorwhenfeelinganxiousorlonely.
THEMES
• Friendship• Anxiety• Loneliness• Siblings• Perseverance• Generosity
ABOUTTHEAUTHOR&ILLUSTRATORNatalieJanePrioristheaward-winningauthorofnumerousbooksforchildrenandyoungadults.HerworkincludestheclassicpicturebookTHEPAW(illustratedbyTerryDenton),theinternationallysuccessfulfantasyseriesLILYQUENCHandTHEFAIRYDANCERS(illustratedbyCherylOrsini).ShelivesinBrisbanewithherhusband,daughterandtwoDachshunds.Formorevisitwww.nataliejaneprior.comCherylOrsinihasillustratedmorethantwentychildren’sbooks,includingthemuch-lovedABCBOOKOFCARS,TRAINS,BOATSANDPLANES.Herworkalsoregularlyappearsinmagazinesandexhibitions.Formorevisitwww.cherylorsini.com
STUDYNOTESONTHEMESANDCURRICULUMAREAS
Pre-readingQuestions• Beforereading,lookcarefullyatthefrontcover,endpapersandtitlepage
ofTheTalesofMrsMancini.MakepredictionsaboutMrsManciniwiththecluesgiven,suchasherbodylanguageandtheexpressiononherface.
• ExplainthattherearethreeshortstoriesthatmakeupTheTalesofMrsMancini.Taketimetodiscusstherhymingcoupletonthetitlepageofeachtale.Whatdotheserevealaboutthestoryabouttounfold?
• Discussthewayinwhichillustrationshelptellstories,offeringanotherlayerofmeaninginadditiontothewrittentext.
ReadingandViewing• Tracethenarrativestructureofeachoftheshortstoriesonasimplestory
graph,highlightingtheintroduction,complication,climaxandresolutionforeach.Discussthemessageineachstory.
• Whatcanwetellabouttherelationshipsbetweenthemaincharacterofeachstoryandtheirsiblings?HowdoweknowthatClaudetteandZiggyareclose?EventhoughSamhasonlyjustbeenborn,howdoweknowhowJackfeelsabouthim?Whatcanwetellaboutthespecialbondbetweenthetwins,DaisyandRose?
• ExaminetheillustrationsinwhichMrsManciniusesherTailMagic.Howdotheillustrationshelpustoseethemagicatwork?Discusstheplayonwordsinthetitle–taleandtail.
• Howdothebodylanguageandfacialexpressionsintheillustrationsaddmeaningtothetext?InJack’sTale,forexample,Jack’sbodylanguagetellsmuchofthestory.WhatwordswouldyouusetodescribeJack’semotionsjustbyreadinghisbodylanguage(seeWorksheet3)?
• WhyisJackfeelinganxious?Howcanwetellfromtheillustrationsthatsomethingisbotheringhim?
• WhydoesJackfeedhisbananamuffintothepigeons?• Discusswaysinwhichtodealwithbullies.Likewise,discussthe
motivationofthebullies.• MrsManciniisagoodfriendtoClaudette,Jackandthetwins.Whatmakes
agoodfriend?HowdoesMrsMancinishowfriendshipinTheTalesofMrsMancini?
• InwhatwaysdoesMrsMancinidisplayperseverance?
SpeakingandListening• Inreadinggroups,taketurnsreadingthetextaloud.Askforhelpwithany
unfamiliarwords.AddthesenewwordstoyourWordWall.• WhichisyourfavouritepageopeninginTheTalesofMrsMancini?Whyis
thisyourfavourite?Sharewithafriend.• WhatwordswouldyouusetodescribeMrsMancini’scharacter?• WhichisyourfavouriteofthethreetalesinTheTalesofMrsMancini?
Discusswithafriend.• WhatdoyouthinktherelationshipbetweenMrsManciniandFilippinais
like?Useevidencefromthetexttosupportyourresponses.• ListentoapartnerretelloneofthestoriesinTheTalesofMrsManciniin
theirownwords,thenswapandtellyourversion.Alternatively,recordyourownretellingusinganappsuchasExplainEverything.
• DiscussRose’scommentthatshe‘justdidn’tknowhowtosaysorry’.HaveyoueverfeltlikeRose?Roleplaydifferentwaysinwhichtomendafriendshipafteramisunderstanding.
WritingandRepresenting
• Userole-playtoretelloneofthestoriesinTheTalesofMrsMancini.Performascenetoyourclass.
• WriteandillustrateanewtaleinwhichMrsMancinihelpsanothercharacterinthebook,suchasFilippina.
• WriteajournalentrydescribingatypicaldayinMrsMancini’scakeshop.• Chooseoneoftheothershopssuchastheflorist,bookshoporfruitshop
onwhichtowriteanoriginaltale.• DrawyourownportraitofMrsMancini.Considerholdingyourownart
showatwhichtodisplaytheclass’swork.• Intheroleofoneofthechildren,writearecountofMrsMancini’s
birthdaypicnic.Grammar,PunctuationandVocabulary
• Usethestreetscapeofthesquaretopractisegivingdirections,leftandright,forexample‘thefruitshopistotherightofthecakeshop’.
• UsethetextonthepageopeninginwhichZiggy’shatgetsblownawaytointroduceprepositionssuchasunderandthrough.
DesignandTechnologies• CreateamenuforMrsMancini’scakeshop,includingthefoodsthatshe
givesthechildrensuchasmeringues,chocolateéclairsandbananamuffins.Otheritemsinhershopincludesugarmice,gingerbread,cakesandfruitpies.
• HoldyourownbirthdaypicnicforMrsMancini,makingspecialinvitationsforclassmatesthatmatchtheirinterestsorlikes.Onceyouhavereceivedyourinvitation,designandmakethegiftforyourgivenperson.
• Insmallgroups,designandcreateamodelofthetownsquare,usingrecyclablematerialssuchascerealboxesandotherresourcestoconstructitsshopsandbuildings.Labelanddecoratethetownsquare.
• CreateMrsMancini’scakeshopinacornerofyourclassroom.Createpretendbakedgoodsorusethecut-outsinWorksheet4.TaketurnseitherbeingFilippinaandthecustomers,usingplaymoneytocompletetransactions.
AbouttheAuthoroftheTeachers’NotesChristinaWheelerisateacher–librarianwhoworkswithprimaryandlower-secondarystudents.ShecompletedanArtsdegree,majoringinEnglishandHistory,attheUniversityofQueensland,followedbyapost-graduatediplomainEducation.Shelaterreceivedagraduatediplomainteacher–librarianshipfromQUT.Oneofherfavouriteaspectsofherjobiswhatshecallsthe‘goosebumpeffect’–thosemomentswhenstudentssharetheirinsightsandexperiencesoftexts.Thejoyofbeingabletobringnon-readerstobooksisanotherofherpassions.