Mr Wobbly and the Floating Boy

Learning intention:  

I am learning to compose a story using everyday objects to solve a challenge experienced by a character so that I can think creatively about ways characters can solve problems.  

Success criteria: 

• Students select a challenge for Mr. Wobbly to overcome 
• Students choose objects for Mr. Wobbly to use when solving the problem 
• Students compose a brief story about Mr. Wobbly where he uses everyday items to fix a problem 

Prior to the lesson, gather together a variety of everyday objects. Ideas include: a key, a leaf, a pencil, some coins, a rubber band, a padlock. Additional ideas that could add interest include:  

• a sandwich bag labelled with ‘Magic sneezing powder’ 
• a cardboard box with the label ‘Fragile, magic toadstools inside’  
• an envelope with ‘secret instructions on how to take over the world’ written on the front 

Place these items to one side for now.  

Read the story, ‘Mr. Wobbly and the Floating Boy’. Discuss challenges the character Adam encounters. Sample answers include:  

• he keeps sinking instead of floating 
• the floating becomes out of control with Adam unable to stop it 
• Adam nearly floats in front of an oncoming train 
• Adam enjoys himself so much that he doesn’t want to come down resulting in him floating off over the open sea 

Discuss how Mr. Wobbly’s attempts to resolve each of these challenges (using items he finds in his pockets). Identify which items he uses (Floating Powder, a ball of string which he uses as a lasso, the antidote and the ‘How to’ book).  

Display the following list of challenges:  

• An evil genius trying to take over the world 
• A fairy who has forgotten how to fly  
• A cat who keeps growing until it becomes a giant 

Select one of these challenges, for example a fairy who has forgotten how to fly.  

Show students the range of items prepared earlier. Tell students that they will need to select a few items from the class selection to solve the problem they have chosen.  

Discuss ideas for solving the challenge using the items available. Compose a brief oral presentation of a story outlining how the challenge might be overcome. A sample response is provided below:  

The poor little fairy was sobbing uncontrollably. It turned out she had forgotten how to fly. Mr. Wobbly found a rubber band in his pocket and attempted to sling shot her into the air, sure it would remind her how to use her wings. Unfortunately she became stuck in the branches of a tree causing her to become even more upset. Afraid she’d fall out of the tree, Mr. Wobbly took a padlock from his pocket and locked her to the branches for her own safety while he could decide what to do. Searching through his pockets once more he found the magic toadstools he’d been saving for later. He clambered up the tree and shook the dust from the toadstool over the fairy’s head. At once, her wings lifted and began to flap. Within moments she was rising into the air. Mr. Wobbly was just quick enough to remove the padlock. The fairy flapped away, pausing to look back and wave goodbye, a wide smile across her face.   

Place students in pairs. Instruct them to select a challenge for Mr. Wobbly to overcome, either from the list or one they think of themselves. Tell students to select a few items for Mr. Wobbly to use to resolve the problem. Instruct students to create a brief story where a Mr. Wobbly uses everyday items to solve a challenge. Students can choose to write their story out in full or to a printable storyboardungroup when composing.