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Story Telling Wheel for the Snail and the Whale

Hi everyone, I’m so happy to be taking part in Storybook Summer. This week is all about oceans which immediately made me think of the wonderful The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler for our storybook.

Create a story wheel to help with comprehension and story telling language skills with kids based on the book The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson

If you are not familiar with the story then I can tell you it’s a tale about the friendship between a Snail and a Whale.

One tiny snail longs to see the world and hitches a lift on the tail of a whale. Together they go on an amazing journey, past icebergs and volcanoes, sharks and penguins, and the little snail feels so small in the vastness of the world. But when disaster strikes and the whale is beached in a bay, it’s the tiny snail who saves the day.

Create a story wheel to help with comprehension and story telling language skills with kids based on the book The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson

It’s a wonderful story with the potential for so many craft activities. My 6-year-old and I decided to make a paper plate story wheel to help re-tell the story.

Discover our Story Stones Ideas Inspired by Picture Books for Kids and find 2 other Julia Donaldson Books Featured.

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Materials for creating a story wheel for The Snail and the Whale

Create a story wheel to help with comprehension and story telling language skills with kids based on the book The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson

a paper plate

colour pens

scissors

white card

split pin

How to make your Snail and the Whale Story Wheel

First, we read the story and decided how many sections we would need. We decided on 5. My 6-year-old carefully divided the plate into sections and started illustrating each one. He included the port where the snail meets the whale, the icebergs, the volcano, the huge waves and the busy beach which throws the whale off course.

Create a story wheel to help with comprehension and story telling language skills with kids based on the book The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson

Whilst he was busy drawing and colouring, I drew the snail and the whale on a piece of card and cut them out. My son coloured them in and stuck the snail on to the tail of the whale.

Create a story wheel to help with comprehension and story telling language skills with kids based on the book The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson

When the different parts were finished, I carefully put a split pin through the whale and the center of the plate. This meant we could move the whale round the world and tell the story in a new way. My 4-year-old loved hearing the story and this was a great way for her to move the snail and whale and remember the story.

Create a story wheel to help with comprehension and story telling language skills with kids based on the book The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson


Jenny has been writing and sharing craft ideas at The Gingerbread House since 2005. You can also find her on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest


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Create a story wheel to help with comprehension and story telling language skills with kids based on the book The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson

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Create a story wheel to help with comprehension and story telling language skills with kids based on the book The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson

Author
Cerys Parker

Cerys is a marine biologist, environmental educator, teacher, mum, and home educator from the UK. She loves getting creative, whether it is with simple and easy crafts and ideas, activities to make learning fun, or delicious recipes that you and your kids can cook together you'll find them all shared here on Rainy Day Mum.

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