Teaching Notes

Last

By Nicola Davies (Author and illustrator)

Notes By Eva John

Category Picture Books - Non-Fiction

About the Resources

A 13-page illustrated set of Teachers’ Notes.

Designed to encourage close reading of pictures and text to develop empathy, interpretive and thinking skills. Activities provide open-ended opportunities for research and creative expression.

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About the Book

A rhinoceros remembers his life before grey captivity, one full of colour, with familiar smells and sights. He thinks of his mother being slain by poachers. He has searched the zoo but cannot find another like him. He fears he is the last. He describes a joyless life for all the animals with him, before being rescued and brought back home. The colour is brought back into his life when he realises he is not the last.

Last evokes a longing for home from the reader and a sense of hope for the future upon its ending.

In her debut as an illustrator, Nicole Davies effectively and beautifully portrays the differences in mood and surroundings between the rhinoceros’ life before and during captivity through her effective use of colour.

“Graffeg have had the pleasure of working with Eva on a number of projects over the past few years, furnishing us with an added educational resource for many of our books. Work of the highest standard is always completed on time and I would happily recommend Eva to anyone looking for top quality teachers' notes to accompany their texts.”

Matthew Howard | Publishing Director, Graffeg

Comprehensive teachers’ notes designed to develop critical thinking skills and a more sophisticated, considered response to texts and illustrations.

Scroll to list of available notes

The notes provide:

  • open-ended discussion points and activities to encourage the development of pupil independence, collaborative working and problem-solving
  • use of talking and writing partners to build pupil confidence
  • reading comprehension skills – literal, deductive, inferential, analytical, evaluative
  • vocabulary enrichment
  • drama activities
  • evaluation of, and innovation on, author techniques
  • research opportunities
  • stimulating writing and creative activities in response to text and illustrations
  • pupil engagement and creativity at the heart of activities
  • awareness of purpose and audience and selection of appropriate form, style, register and medium of communication.