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Dear Parent/Carer
Thank you for taking the time to support your child with their learning. This booklet is
designed to inspire and support your child to develop skills and confidence in speaking,
listening, reading and writing.

Through the world of Pippety Skycap, your child will be invited to explore a number of
engaging, fun and purposeful activities. They are planned in a series of mini-activities so
that learning is broken down into bite-size chunks.
Each activity is explained by Pippety Skycap and they are designed to be shared activities in
which you will support your child with shared reading, discussion and writing. At the end of
the booklet, please support your child to rate and comment on how they got on with
learning through this booklet and please add your comments, too!
The activities in this booklet are:

• Story of Pippety Skycap, a mischievous pixie

• Talk activity about the story
• Other books to share
• Reading response activities
• Who said what?
• Quiz Time
• Exploring words together
• Design a warning poster
• Pixie Fact-files
• Poem – In the pixie’s pocket
• Read together
• Riddles
• Draw and Write
• Pippety’s Treasure Hunt; write a recount
• Using recipe instructions to make Pippety’s playdough
• Exploring words to describe the playdough
• Measuring activity using pixie templates
• Complete a table to show measurements
• Writing sentences about the results

• Poem – If I Had Wings by Pie Corbett

• Read, discuss and perform
• Writing our own poem
• Making a pixie paper plane

ENJOY!

© Talk for Writing 2

 Let’s read our story now …
You can listen to an audio version of the story here
https://soundcloud.com/talkforwriting/pippety

Pippety Skycap - A tale of mischief!

Once upon a time, there was a pixie called Pippety Skycap who lived in the corner
cupboard in a room just like yours. Pippety loved to have fun and loved to giggle,
but most of all he loved to play tricks.

One cloudy morning, he woke up feeling full of mischief. So, he put on his best
blue jacket, squeezed into his spotty boots and set off to find some fun - hoppity
skip, hoppity skip, hoppity skip.

Soon, he came to the old stone bridge where a grumpy troll was sleeping. “Now
for some fun!” giggled Pippety and he pulled a soft feather from his pocket.
Nearer and nearer he crept to the troll until he could tickle his warty nose with
the feather. “A-A-A-CHOO!” The poor old troll woke up with a huge sneeze and
tried to grab the tricky pixie. Luckily, Pippety was a tiny pixie, a teeny pixie and
he slipped through the troll’s fat fingers. Off he sped - hoppity skip, hoppity
skip, hoppity skip.

Next, he came to a prickly bush where a ginger cat was watching the birds. “Now
for some fun!” giggled Pippety and he snapped off a sharp thorn from the bush.
Nearer and nearer he crept to the cat until he could prick her tail with the thorn.
“OUCH! OUCH! OUCH!” The poor cat spun round with a yowl and a howl and swiped
at the tricky pixie. Luckily, Pippety was a tiny pixie, a teeny pixie and he dodged
the long, sharp claws. Off he sped, hoppity skip, hoppity skip, hoppity skip.

Soon, he came to riverbank where an old toad was dozing on a shiny lily pad. “Now
for some fun!” giggled Pippety and he pulled a bright blue balloon from his pocket.
Nearer and nearer he crept to the toad until he was right beside his ear. He blew
and he blew and he blew until – BANG! “My poor ears!” croaked the toad and he
wibbled and wobbled and finally fell into the river with a gigantic splash.

© Talk for Writing 3

Unfortunately, Pippety had not seen that on the next lily pad was the King
Toad. It looked at him with mean, beady eyes, flicked out an enormous tongue
and covered him in a thick, sticky goo! “YUCK!” cried Pippety and he ran off,
squishing and squelching and squelching and squishing all the way home.
That evening, Pippety Skycap had a long, hot bath, snuggled up with a mug of
hot chocolate and thought about his day. He remembered the sticky, oozy goo
that had covered him head to foot and frowned. “I’ll just have to be a careful
tricky pixie tomorrow,” he mumbled and settled down to plan some more
mischief!

© Talk for Writing 4

 « Talk together about the story.
« Then fill in Pippety’s sticky notes.

I liked … What parts

of the story
did you like
the most?

I was surprised by…

Did anything
about the
story
surprise you?

I was wondering …

Do you
have any
questions?

© Talk for Writing 5

Here are some other
books about
characters that love
mischief just like me!
You might like to
read these too.

© Talk for Writing 6

 Read the story together again.
Can you remember who said what?

OUCH!
OUCH!
Now for
OUCH!
some fun!

My poor I’ll just have to

ears! be a careful
tricky pixie
tomorrow.

A-A-ACHOO!

YUCK!

© Talk for Writing 7

 Quiz Time
The special challenge is to see if you can answer
in sentences.

1. Where does Pippety Skycap live?

Pippety Skycap lives …

2. What does Pippety love to do?

3. What is his favourite thing to do?

4. What happened to the troll?

5. What happened to the cat?

6. What happened to the old toad?

7. What did the King Toad do to Pippety?

8. Do you think Pippety will be a good pixie from

now on? How do you know?

© Talk for Writing 8

 Here are some words
from the story – share
them with a helper and
talk about what they
mean.

What action could How many sounds can

you do for ‘soft’? you hear in the word?

soft
Something that is soft
feels nice to touch. It
is not rough or hard.

Can you think of four things that are soft?

© Talk for Writing 9

What action could How many sounds can
you do for ‘sharp’? you hear in the word?

sharp
Something that is sharp
usually has a pointy end
and can cut or make
holes in things easily.

Can you think of four things that are sharp?

What action could How many sounds can

you do for ‘shiny’? you hear in the word?

shiny
Something that is shiny
is very bright. You can
see your face in a shiny
surface.

Can you think of four things that are shiny?

© Talk for Writing 10

Can you design a poster that would warn everyone to watch out for
Pippety’s tricks? Remember to:
« draw Pippety so that everyone will know what he looks like
« describe some of the tricks he likes to play
« tell everyone what they should do if they see Pippety
« offer a reward.

WATCH OUT!

© Talk for Writing 11

 PIXIE
FACTFILE

Name: Pippety Skycap

Age: 103 pixie years
Address: The Blue Box
The Corner Cupboard
Y.O.U.R. Home
PI XIE

Favourite things
• colourful wool or string
• blue buttons
• shiny coins
• bright green leaves

© Talk for Writing 12

 Can you find a box
and fill it with
things you think I
would like?

I found:

© Talk for Writing 13

 MY PIXIE
FACTFILE

Name:
Age:
Address:

Favourite things
•
•
•
•

© Talk for Writing 14

 I love collecting things in
my pocket. Read my
poem and find out what
is in there today.

In the pixie’s pocket I found …

A drop of morning dew.

Three hairs from a rabbit’s tail.
A cup of sunbeams.
Two peppermint creams.
Four strawberry toffees.
A blue balloon.
An old whoopee cushion.
Six wriggling worms.
An invisible coin from the Wizard Bank.
The curly tip of a rat’s whisker.

© Talk for Writing 15

 Now that you
have read the
poem, can you
solve my riddles?

You can only find me

glistening when you first
wake up. What am I?

If you sit on me, I will

make a rude noise!
What am I?

I’m usually underground

in the garden.
What am I?

I am chewy and fruity.

What am I?

I can buy things if

you can find me!
What am I?

I popped up in the story of

Pippety Skycap.
What am I?

© Talk for Writing 16

 I wonder what
you would find in
a giant’s pocket.
Can you draw it?

© Talk for Writing 17

In the giant’s pocket I found …

© Talk for Writing 18

 The Blue Box
The Corner Cupboard
Y.O.U.R. Home
PI XIE

Dear Friend

Yesterday afternoon, I was sitting in my garden enjoying the

sunshine when, suddenly, a big black cloud came over and it
started to rain. Guess what? The next moment, a beautiful
rainbow appeared in the sky. It was gorgeous! All those
fabulous colours! I was so disappointed when it began to
disappear, but then I had an idea. Could you make a rainbow
memory for me by collecting something for each colour (like
wool, grass, a piece of paper, a bottle top) and sticking them
on to a piece of card? You will need to find something for these
seven colours:

red
orange
yellow
green
blue
indigo
violet

Have fun!

© Talk for Writing 19

From your tricky pixie friend Pippety
 Hope you had fun on
your rainbow treasure
hunt. Can you write
about the things you
found?

Today, I went on a rainbow treasure hunt.

First, I found

Next, I found

After that, I found

Then, I found

Next, I found

Then, I found

Finally, I found

I had a great time!

© Talk for Writing 20
 I love playing with
playdough. but it has
to be blue and
sparkly. Have a go at
making my playdough.

Sparkly Playdough Recipe

Have you ever been bored at home? Do you like squidgy, squashy things? Then
follow these instructions and your day will be filled with fun.

What you need

• A mixing bowl
• 2 cups of plain flour
• ½ cup of salt
• 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar
• 2 tablespoons of baby oil (It makes it smell great!)
• 1-1½ cups of boiling water (YOU NEED AN ADULT FOR THIS)
• A wooden spoon
• A few drops of gel blue food colouring
• A few drops of glycerine
• 1 cup of glitter

What you do

First, mix the flour, salt, cream of tartar and baby oil in the mixing bowl.
Next, ask an adult to add the boiling water.
After that, keep stirring the mixture until it makes a sticky dough.
Then, add the glycerine and blue food colouring.
Next, let the dough cool down and then knead it until all the stickiness has gone.
Finally, add the glitter and knead it well to mix it into the dough.
Now, get rolling and squeezing into your very own playdough shapes!

© Talk for Writing 21

 Take a picture of your
playdough and stick it on
this page. Can you fill in
my clouds with words to
describe your playdough?

© Talk for Writing 22

 I’m a very nosy pixie
and I’d like to find
out about your family.
Can you use my pixie
shapes to measure
people in your family?

© Talk for Writing 23

 So, what did you find out?
Can you fill in my table
and then use the words
to write some sentences?

Name How many

pixies?

© Talk for Writing 24

longer than shorter than

longest shortest

© Talk for Writing 25

 This is one of my favourite
poems written by
Pie Corbett.
Enjoy reading it with a
helper, then try a
performance!

If I Had Wings

If I had wings, I would touch

the frail fingertips of clouds.

If I had wings, I would taste

a chunk of the sun, as hot as peppered curry.

If I had wings, I would listen

to the cloud’s soft breath.

If I had wings I would smell

the scent of raindrops.

If I had wings, I would gaze

at the people who cling to the earth’s crust.

If I had wings, I would dream

of swimming the deserts
And walking the seas.

© Talk for Writing 26

 Of course, I’m lucky
because I already have
wings! What would you
do if you had wings?

If I Had Wings

If I had wings, I would touch

If I had wings, I would taste

If I had wings, I would listen

If I had wings, I would smell

If I had wings, I would gaze

If I had wings, I would dream

© Talk for Writing 27

 Oh dear! I’m not a happy
pixie! Last night, I went
out flying in the rain and my
wings got wet. So, I cannot
fly for a while.
Can you make a pixie paper
plane? Nice and colourful
please!

Try following the step by step film here:

https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Simple-Paper-
Airplane

© Talk for Writing 28

 I hope you had a
great time learning
with me. Don’t
forget to write a
message on the
next page.

© Talk for Writing 29

 So, how did you
get on? Draw a
circle round one of
the faces.

The activities I liked best were

My helper thinks:

© Talk for Writing 30

© Jane Ralphs for Talk for Writing

Jane Ralphs works with Talk for Writing to help schools develop the approach.

Edited and designed by Julia Strong

Prepared for online distribution by Nick Batty
Thanks to Jon Ralphs for the cartoons: jonralphs.com

To find out more about Talk for Writing, visit www.talk4writing.com.

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resources are copyright to Jane Ralphs & Talk for Writing. They are to be used to
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© Talk for Writing 31