The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch
Book Description…
Every day, Mr Grinling the lighthouse keeper cleans and polishes his light to make sure it shines brightly at night. At lunchtime he tucks into a delicious and well-deserved lunch, prepared by his wife. But Mr Grinling isn’t the only one who enjoys the tasty food. Will Mrs Grinling think of a way to stop the greedy seagulls from stealing the lighthouse keeper’s lunch?
Teaching Ideas…
Literacy- There are lots of interesting words in the story (e.g. brazen, ingenious, consolingly). Can you find any words that you don’t know and write a definition of them?
- Mr Grinling is an ‘industrious’ lighthouse keeper. What does this mean? Can you think of any words that mean the same thing?
- Write a recipe for something that might go into Mr Grinling’s lunch.
- Write a set of instructions that teach someone how to make a delicious sandwich for Mr Grinling’s lunch.
- The lighthouse keeper’s lunch is ‘delicious’. Can you think of any synonyms? Can you think of any antonyms?
- Retell the story from the point of view of one of the seagulls.
- The seagulls are ‘scavenging’. What does this mean?
- The lunch was ‘devoured’ by by the seagulls. Can you make a list of words which show different ways that people can eat their food?
- Write a new story about Fred, Tom and Bert (the seagulls) and an adventure that they might have.
- Role play the different characters in the story (Mr and Mrs Grinling, Hamish the cat, the seagulls). How were they feeling at different points in the story?
- Write a diary from the point of view of Mr Grinling. Use this video to get some ideas for your work:
- Write a sequel for the book, showing how the fisherman in the boat stopped the seagulls from eating his lunch.
- Use these lighthouse tour videos to describe the inside and outside of a lighthouse, as well as the amazing views from the top.
- Find out the weight of different items in your lunch. What is the total weight?
- Choose two types of sandwich and make a Venn diagram to show which children like / don’t like each of them.
- Plan a healthy lunch for the lighthouse keeper.
- Plan and carry out an investigation to find out the strength of different materials. Which would be best to protect the lighthouse keeper’s lunch?
- Explore the forces in action when Mr Grinling rows his boat out to the lighthouse. What forces are in action when his lunch is being carried along the wire?
- The bulb in the lighthouse is a source of light. Can you think of any more?
- Use electrical circuits to power a light. Could you add this to a lighthouse model?
- Use a paint package to decorate the lighthouse PNG image (see Resources below).
- Watch this animated version of the story. Could you make your own similar stop-motion animation?
- Design a device which will stop the seagulls from stealing the lighthouse keeper’s lunch.
- Create a new basket to hold the lighthouse Keeper’s lunch.
- Can you create your own working lighthouse model?
- Create a new design for a lighthouse using the PDF template (see Resources below).
- Design some different outfits that Mr Grinling can wear in the winter and the summer.
- Mr Grinling likes singing sea shanties. Can you sing some of these yourself?
- Use a map / atlas to look for the locations of lighthouses in your local area.
- Find out about cliffs and other coastal features.
- Find out about the history of lighthouses. Why were they built? Where are they located?
