ATL Play and Learn: From animals’ advice to children’s words

It all started with a book. Then came the questions, the ideas and the imagination.

On 9 September, 15 children aged between 5 and 11 took part in the activity “Words at play”, led by the UNESCO Chair of Communication, Media and Information Literacy and Citizenship (ESCS/LIACOM) as part of the Play and Learn programme at the Polytechnic University of Lisbon (UPL), organised by the Centre for Languages and Culture (CLiC) in partnership with the Lisbon School of Education (ESELx).

During the session, we read the book Dança quando chegares ao fim: Bons conselhos de amigos animais (Dance when you get to the end: Good advice by animal friends, in a free translation), published by Planeta Tangerina.

The group began by exploring the messages and images on each page, choosing their favourite pieces of advice while also discovering unfamiliar words and discussing their meanings.

Everyone’s curiosity took the conversation beyond the pages of the book, and opened up space to talk about books more broadly and about the people who create them. The children discussed the names and roles of authors (writer and illustrator), what an editor does, and why a book may have several editions.

Creativity was also an important part of the session. Working in small groups, the participants were challenged to come up with their own pieces of advice and represent them through photographs. “If you want to be happy, give the partridge a kiss, advises the quail” and “Don’t eat too many sweets, they’ll give you a stomach ache, reminds the ant” were two of the pieces of advice created.

This was the second edition of “Words at Play”, following its first edition in 2025. The activity seeks to contribute to the UNESCO Chair’s objectives of promoting media literacy, critical thinking, personal development and responsible civic behaviour across all age groups.