When Foxes Came to Stay & At the Pond Level 21-22

This engaging two-title book pairs the fiction story When Foxes Came to Stay with the non-fiction report At the Pond. In When Foxes Came to Stay, Jenna and Kyle discover a family of foxes living near their home. Determined to protect them, the children face conflict within the household as not everyone agrees. The story combines realistic fiction with factual elements and descriptive writing, offering readers a rich narrative experience supported by an embedded poem. At the Pond introduces readers to the diverse animals and insects that live in and around a pond ecosystem. With clear headings, a food chain diagram, close-up photographs, and labelled captions, this non-fiction text helps students explore biological relationships and habitats in a structured way. The pairing of fiction and non-fiction encourages deeper learning and cross-text analysis. Together, these texts promote critical thinking, environmental awareness, and an appreciation for wildlife and ecosystems.

Educational Benefits:

• Supports the identification and comparison of text features in fiction and non-fiction.
• Encourages inference-making from both narrative and factual content.
• Builds environmental literacy through exploration of real animal habitats.
• Develops skills in locating and synthesising information using visual and written text.

Classroom Ideas:

• Use the food chain diagram from At the Pond to create students' own food webs.
• Compare the emotions and actions of characters in the narrative with the behaviours of real animals.
• Encourage students to write their own animal protection stories or poems.
• Conduct a pond-life research project using information gathered from the non-fiction text.

Safety & Information:

• Suitable for ages 7-9
• Book dimensions: 207mm x 148mm
• No small parts; printed material only
• Safe for classroom and home use