KS1 and KS2 A Dragon's Tale: extension activities and resources

Extension activities: fearsome and hybrid creatures

Look at other fearsome and fantastic creatures - for example: Pegasus, a griffon, Pan, a centaur, a minotaur, a chimera, a zeedonk. Can children identify the different parts which come from other animals or creatures? Point out that the zeedonk is a real animal.

Read descriptions of other characters and creatures in books and films. Can the children recognise who they are?

Example 1: 'From the waist upwards he was like a man, but his legs were shaped like a goat's (the hair on them was glossy black) and instead of feet he had goat's hoofs. He also had a tail... He had a strange but pleasant little face, with a short pointed beard and curly hair, and out of the hair there stuck two horns, one on each side of his forehead... He was a Faun.' From CS Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950).

This description tells us what the creature looks like. Does anyone know his name? It's Mr Tumnus. What else would we need to know to judge what a faun is like? Do you think Mr Tumnus is friendly? How do you know? What other information would you need to decide?

Example 2: What do you call a creature who is half-woman, half-fish? Children may recognise mermaids from Disney's adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's story The Little Mermaid. What would it be like to live in the ocean, as the Little Mermaid does? Would you like to be a mermaid? If yes, why? If no, why not?

Related resources you can find on our website

Other books and poems

Prefabulous Animiles by James Reeves
Flanimals by Ricky Gervais
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by JK Rowling
Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll