This adorable craft has been designed to accompany a whole class reading of the picture book The Speedy Sloth by Rebecca Young. Students will love creating their very own Spike the Sloth, holding her favourite spaghetti dinner - just like in the story!

Perfect for early years classrooms, this hands-on activity combines creativity with text-to-self connections, as students reflect on Spike’s love of spaghetti and bring the character to life through craft. It’s a wonderful way to extend comprehension activities into the arts and create a memorable display that celebrates the story and its characters.

This is a low-prep, high-impact activity that’s easy to set up and fun for students to complete. With a range of templates included and simple instructions, you’ll be able to print and go. Students can colour, cut, and paste the sloth and spaghetti pieces or take it even further by adding fun textures and 3D elements using wool, pom poms, or tissue paper.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• ✅ Respond to a text through visual art
• ✅ Strengthen fine motor skills through cutting, pasting, and assembling
• ✅ Make text-to-self and text-to-character connections
• ✅ Engage in imaginative and creative play
• ✅ Follow step-by-step instructions to complete a multi-part task

What’s Included:

• Detailed teacher instructions with photo example
• Backing page template
• Cut-and-paste pieces for Spike the Sloth and her spaghetti
• Ready-to-go worksheets for easy implementation

Materials Needed:

• Printed templates (on paper or card)
• Scissors and glue
• Crayons, pencils or markers for decorating
• Optional: yellow wool, pom poms, tissue paper or other craft items for 3D embellishments
• Optional: A3 paper to enlarge pieces for younger students

How to Use:

1. Read The Speedy Sloth with your class, focusing on Spike’s love of spaghetti.
2. Introduce the craft and display a finished example to inspire students.
3. Have students colour and cut the pieces, then assemble them onto the backing page.
4. Encourage creativity by adding 3D elements like wool for spaghetti or tissue paper for confetti.
5. Display the finished sloths alongside a banner or in your class reading corner.

Ideas for Classroom Use:

• 💡 Use as a Book Week or author study craft activity
• 💡 Pair with a writing task where students describe their favourite dinner
• 💡 Include as part of an art and literacy integration session
• 💡 Use in small groups with an adult helper to support cutting and assembly
• 💡 Turn into a collaborative class display for parent visits or open day

Top Teacher Tips:

• 💛 Enlarge templates to A3 for Foundation students or to make cutting easier
• 💛 Add real texture with yellow yarn spaghetti and red pom pom meatballs
• 💛 Laminate completed crafts for a long-lasting, durable display
• 💛 Use coloured paper for printing to save colouring time and boost visual appeal

To create a colourful display of students’ completed crafts, print our The Speedy Sloth Banner and place the sloths all around it!

Check out more amazing resources related to The Speedy Sloth in our The Speedy Sloth Book PACKAGE.