Writing Activities: Year 5

Harvest mouse

Harvest mice live in tussocks (areas of grass that are longer or thicker than the grass growing around them). Their diets mainly consist of fruit, seeds and insects. Harvest mice have white bellies and pale, ginger or yellow fur. They have long tails, which are nearly as long as their bodies. The harvest mouse is the only British mammal to have a prehensile tail – a tail that can be used like a fifth limb (like a monkey that uses its tail to swing through trees).

In this clip, we will see a harvest mouse climbing to the top of a plant to get a tasty treat.

Literacy Idea

Imagine you are the mouse in the clip. Write a diary entry about your escapade.

You should talk about…

• The important events that happened to you throughout the day leading up to the moment in the clip
• Your feelings as you climb the long grass
• Why you climbed to the very top of the canopy
• How you felt when you saw the barn owl and how you escaped from it
• What you hope your day will be like tomorrow

Remember to begin your diary entry with ‘Dear Diary’, and to write in the past tense.

Wider Curriculum Idea

Using this information from wildlifetrusts.org, create a fact file on harvest mice. Draw images to make your fact file as professional as possible!