Week 6 Tute

This week, we looked at the language of teaching reading to students. This looked at the meaning of the words and then discussing the purpose of using this in the classrooms.

In the lecture, we began to understand what is reading, and its purpose in life. This looked at a set of text with sections missing. This was then interpreted by each student who wrote down what they thought the word should be in the missing section of the text. This discussed that every person has a unique way of looking at text and that we should cater for that in the classroom.

The lecture then showed a video of someone doing a running record with a child. This helped students begin to understand how a running record goes and the way to interpret the data that the student shows.

 In the tutorial we looked at the language of reading. Language is important for us because it communicates what we need to tell the class. The class in their groups looked at the different words such as orientation, inferential meaning and ellipsis and attempted to find the meaning. In our group, Jamie and I discussed and found that we knew some of the language but knew some meanings that the other did not. This showed that everyone retains different parts that make meaning with themselves. The purpose of this class was to understand the meaning and use of this language so that in future, we can teach this in the classroom.

This has now helped us to understand the use of language and to better understand the power of reading and making meaning from the text.

Benjamin: Picture Books

Graeme Base – The Eleventh Hour: A Curious Mystery

The Eleventh Hour sees the story of Horace planning and celebrating his Eleventh Birthday. The poetic words of Base create a world of excitement and mystery of who ate the feast that Horace made. This gives two levels to the story as those who can appreciate the images whilst others can appreciate the cryptic ways of the story and determine who ate the feast. This picture book is useful for older and younger children though you will need to read this for the younger children. An excellent read

Terry Denton – Home is the Sailor

Home is the Sailor is the adventure of a young boy named Claude and his friend Sparky the Penguin. The journey takes the pair to meet a walrus named Captain Hagar and then visit where he lives. The images that Denton has illustrated are beautiful and share the descriptive story. This can be used to look at families or engage a class on topic for the Antarctic. I found the book very fun to read and recommend this who loves any of Denton’s other works.

Christine Ross – Lily and the Bears

When we see children they don’t seem to be determined to obtain a specific job. In this case, Lily wants to be a Bear because they are strong and brave. The fact is that most adults do not like a child who dresses up like a bear and scare everyone they meet. The story moves to Lily getting accidently locked in a Bear cage with real bears who want to eat her. Lily learns the error of her ways but the next day she is something different. This wonderful story shows the imagination of children and the amount of determination they have. I would share this in a classroom looking at zoo animals or to just share in the fun.

Zoe Krause – I Spy

We have all played the game I Spy but when put you put it in a book and asked to look for objects that begin with a letter; this can lead to some fun. Krause gets readers to find objects in each illustration that relate a section of the alphabet. This story follows a day in the life of Didi the Duck and her search for objects that begin with all the letters of the alphabet. This is an excellent beginning book as it gets readers to look at letters and know their beginning letter to associate with the search.

Joy Crowley and David Cox – The Screaming Mean Machine

The screaming mean machine is the scariest roller coaster that the young girl (she is never named and is always in first person) has ever seen. She is not afraid of any of the other rides and has to wait a whole year more because she is too small. Her experience and the images are shared with the reader who is told the movements of the ride and the emotions that the main protagonist is feeling. I found the imagery very interesting and that it showed the stories actions very clearly. I found this book very good for those who want to thrill seek.

Jane Hissey – Little Bear Lost

For those who remember the television series Old Bear, this brings back memories. In the case of reading this picture book, the toys are in search of Little Bear who has gone missing. The search continues until towards the end where the toys find Little Bears location and the story ends well. The language of the story is from a narrators’ view which allows a teacher to read this to a classroom.

Lowen Clarke - Sam the Tram

Clarke depicts the trams of Melbourne with human features and emotions. This is loosely based on the rise and fall and the return of trams in Melbourne. The story itself is wonderfully depicted and the trams and trains in the story are illustrated and described well through Clarke’s words. This story got me up to read to children at work (I work for my local OSHC) and sharing the history and the importance of maintaining our resources rather than replacing them and putting them in scrap heaps.

A. A. Miline – Some Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

This particular story sees the introduction of Tigger to the Three Acre wood. Miline shares the tale with an individual style that plays with Winnie discover Tigger on his door step for the first time and learning what Tiggers do best. The unique style is easy to read and moves from the story to what the narrator is explaining with ease. A wonderful story that has always been a classic and I highly recommend reading them all.

Benjamin: Chapter Books

Garth Nix – Keys to the Kingdom (Lord Sunday)

This series is directed at children from aged 9 to 12 who enjoy a fantasy novel with a twist. This Seven part series looks at the adventures of Arthur and his rise to fame in another realm of existence to earth. Lord Sunday is the end of the series that ties the whole plot together and leaves readers satisfied. Garth Nix brings a different perspective to how the world works and shows that sometimes not everything is what it seems. This book is not for all but those who love to read series there is six more before this one! Seven days of the week.

Odo Hirsch - Antonio S and the Mystery of Theodore Guzman

This story is beautifully written and allows the readers (aged 8 to 11) to explore the world that Antonio S lives in.  The story explores the world of Antonio and his interest and discovery of who Theodore Guzman is and what his story is. This story relates to children who may want to know about their own relatives who may not know their story. Odo Hirsch plays with the language of the narrative and you feel like you are a part of it, playing along with all the characters. This book I would highly recommend.

Odo Hirsch - Frankel Mouse

Frankel Mouse is a beautiful story in which we delve into the world under London with the mouse named Frankel. His adventures led him to “Baker Street” where there is to be supposedly an entire street of Bakers making delicious food all the time. The adventurous story can be read from as young as 7 and those who can understand the meaning and can read chapter books, I recommend you to read this as you will enjoy the captivating journey of a mouse to his dream.

Odo Hirsch - Darius Bell and the glitter pool

Darius Bell tells a tale of a mystery gift to keep a house that has been in the family for generations. The gift is kept a secret until the end so the reader continues to read until they the very last page, tasking in the splendid style that Hirsch writes. This story led me to read the rest of the series in my spare time and I found that Odo Hirsch is still one of my favorite authors even when I was young.

Andy Griffiths – The Day my Bum Went Psycho

This comic story of how everyone in the world loses their behinds left me laughing at the very idea. The story however, explores the idea that the behind doesn’t like its job and wants to be the face so it can be admired all the time. This leaves an adventure for the main character (sorry, I can’t read my note on the main character) bringing new ideas like specialist bums and using cleaning equipment to disarm a crazed bum. This story I find is not for those who don’t like dirty ideas or anything with bums. I however, enjoyed the book and have also began to buy the series so I can read this to the class.

Belinda Sciacca Blog posts

'Flying High' by Carole More.

 This book was in narrative format and followed the story of a bird that slowly grows his wings and uses them to fly around with the other birds in the sky. The bird starts off young and the book follows his experiences growing up.  The book is a very descriptive and is illustrated with bright, eye catching colours. More’s illustrations are designed to enable the reader to understand the story without having to read all the words. This book contains the theme of fulfilment and empowerment. These themes are evident throughout the storyline and main character. ‘Flying High’ would be suitable for years reception to year two due to its bright illustrations and simple language. This book could be used in the English curriculum framework by asking students to identify the relevance of the books illustrations to the books text.

'Fruit Salad' by Richard Swan.

This book was in an information report format. ‘Fruit Salad’ gives descriptions of different fruit, how they each taste, smell and how they are grown. Swan finishes the book by describing how each of the fruits can be added together to make fruit salad.  Swan uses illustrations to guide the storyline as he uses a minimal amount of text throughout the book. This book would be suitable for year’s reception to year three due to its basic format and simplistic language. This book could be used to aid students in their spelling and ability to recognise fruit.  

 

'The Carrie Diaries' by Candace Bradshaw.

 This novel is a before views look at the Sex and the City television series. ‘The Carrie Diaries’ is a long novel that follows the character Carrie. Bradshaw maintains a biased point of view throughout the novel, this is obvious through her retelling of the books events. The novel is written from a third person perspective and follows a narrative format with an introduction, conflict and resolution. The themes in the novel include adolescence, relationships and coming of age. This novel would be suitable for high school students due to its themes and language. The novel could be used within the English curriculum framework by asking students to analyse the novel and determines its themes.

 ‘Clifford the big red dog’ by Norman Bridwell.

 I chose this book because I remember reading and enjoying it when I was in Primary school ten years ago! This book follows the story of a Dog called Clifford who grows into an enormous dog that is no longer able to fit in his house! Despite his enormous appearance Clifford has a big heart. Clifford’s character is made obvious by Birdwell’s consistent use of similes.  ‘Clifford the big red dog’ is a short narrative story written in third person format. The books themes are friendship and growing up.  This book is suitable for reception to year three due to the simple storyline and language. Bridwell’s book is warm hearted and could be read to students to encourage them in identifying the books themes of friendship and growing up.

‘Grandfathers Journey’ by Allen Say.

 This book was a really nice picture book that depicts a Grandpa telling a story of his journey from Japan to the USA and the trouble he encountered along the way. The Grandpa in the story retells his Grandson about his past and describes each part of his journey in great detail through the use of metaphors and similes. The story withholds themes such as relationships and immigration; these themes are evident through the books storyline and character development. The book is written in narrative format from the third person perspective. The book contains detailed illustrations that aid the books text in telling the story.  I would recommend this book for year’s four to seven because of the books themes and storyline. ‘Grandfathers Journey’ could be used in a Society and Environment unit of immigration and could act as the unit’s introduction.

‘Because of Winn Dixie’ by Kate Di Camillo.

This novel is about a girl with no friends who finds a stray dog that she eventually calls Winn Dixie. The novel goes into the relationship the girl has with other characters and how her new found friend, Winn Dixie has helped change her life. The novels themes involve friendship, relationships and love. Di Camillo writes the story in narrative format from the third person perspective. ‘Because of Winn Dixie’ is a warm hearted novel that could be enjoyed by students from years six to year nine. This novel was also made into a movie which could be incorporated into a English unit. Students could work to determine the books themes and language features.

 ‘Sophie’ by Mem Fox.

Sophie is a lovely book that involves the themes of love, relationships and multiculturalism. The book is an emotional book that relays a really nice message that students would enjoy. Fox writes Sophie from a third person perspective. The illustrations in the book are bright and detailed, inducing the readers in the story. I would recommend the book for years three to possibly seven because of the books previously stated themes. ‘Sophie’ could be used within an English unit of work by asking students to study the books themes and language features. This book could also be used in a Society and Environment unit as it deals with the theme of multiculturalism and could be a great introduction book for the students.

‘My Aussie Mum’ by Yvonne Morrison.

This book is written in poetic form using stereotypical Australian slang. Examples of this slang include dunny, aussie and sanga.  The book is comical and is written from a children’s point of view about their Mum. Morrison’s book contains the themes relationships, identity and stereotypes. ‘My Aussie Mum’ is a light hearted book and would be a great book to read before introducing poetry to students. I would recommend this book for year’s two to five due to its language, bright illustrations, comical feel and themes. This book could be used in an English unit and read to students before beginning a poetry unit.

 

 ‘Follow the Blue’ by Brigid Lowry.

 This novel follows the point of view of a teenage girl called Libby who is in high school and experiencing adolescence. Lowry writes the novel in narrative format from a third person point of view. ‘Follow the Blue’ consistently uses similes to engage readers with the books events.  The novel depicts themes such as relationships, adolescence and depression. The language used throughout the novel is simplistic and easy to follow. I would recommend this novel for year’s seven to nine due to the novels themes and storyline. This novel could be implemented in an English unit by asking students to read the book and study Lowrys language features.

Young Blood by Bob O’Brien

 This novel is an information report format. ‘Young Blood’ is a recount of past real events that occurred in Adelaide, better known as ‘The family murders’. O’Brien writes the book with re telling each event in great detail, taking a biased point of view that the murders were wrong and his suspect, although not completely proven guilty is the murder. ‘Young Blood’ is a great novel that engages readers through the powerful language and detailed re telling of events. This book is only suitable for years eleven and twelve due to its language features and themes. ‘Young Blood’ could be incorporated into the subject of Psychology due to the novels content.

'Belinda' by Carole Peters

‘Belinda’ follows the story of a cow called Belinda that lives on a farm. The farm is filled with animals who befriend Belinda the cow when she expresses loneliness due to being the only cow on the farm. Peters uses the typical narrative format and writes the book from a third person perspective. ‘Belinda’ is full of bright illustrations that aid the text in the book and engage the readers in the story. This book would be suitable for reception to year four due to its simple language and easy to follow storyline. This book could be used as a guide for students in creating their own story book.

'Bear Flies High' by Michael Roson

This picture book follows a Bear and his travels to the beach and describes the people he meets along the way. The book was filled with bright, illustrations and contains more pictures than text and is therefore quite a short book. Roson’s themes include friendship and independence; this is evident through the books storyline. ‘Bear flies High’ is written in narrative format from a third person perspective. This book would be suitable for reception to year two because of its themes and simple language. This book could be incorporated into an English unit by asking students to determine the books themes.

‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ by Eric Carle.

 I’m sure everyone is familiar with this book as it’s a popular one. The story revolves around a caterpillar going through life eating his way through various days and different foods. The story ends with him forming into a butterfly. Carle keeps readers engaged through bright illustrations that override the minimal text on each page.  This was quite a cute book that I would recommend for receptions to year two, due to the simple portrayal of the themes of growth and identity. The book is well illustrated and the language used is repetitive, therefore once again is suitable for reception to years two. This book could be fitted in the English unit by asking students to illustrate their perspective on the book.

‘Green Eggs and Ham’ by Dr Seuss.

 I love this book and I think every child should read it at some stage due to its poetic, relatable nature. Green Eggs and Ham use both repetitive and poetic language which enables the story to be told in a way that’s different to other picture books. The books bright illustrations encourage students to engage with the pictures and understand how they help tell the story. The poetic language feature in this book encourages students to engage with poetry and understand that poetry can help tell a story.  I would recommend this book for years reception to year four due to its simple language, poetic nature and bright illustrations.

 ‘Tuck Everlasting’ by Natalie Babbitt.

 This novel depicts a family who never ages and becomes immortal because they have found a spring of water that turns out to be the fountain of youth. This novel deals with science fiction, relationships, love, life and death. This novel was a good read and I remember studying it in high school many years ago. I would recommend this novel for years eight to ten because of its previously stated themes. ‘Tuck Everlasting ’is also a movie, therefore an educator could use this and the novel in an English unit by asking students to read the novel and watch the movie and determine the differences between the two.

 ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ by Frank Baum.

 I grew up loving the Wizard of Oz film but had never actually read the novel until now. The novel was quite good and it was interesting to compare the two against each other. The novel deals with the same themes as the movie of identity, relationships and friendships  and is written in traditional narrative format from a third person perspective. I would recommend the novel for years six to nine, but older years could also read the novel and possibly connect it to a film study.

Week 8 Books

A Giraffe in the Bath, by Mem Fox & Olivia Raw:

This picture book has a humorous tone to it, focussing on a variety of animals acting like people. It is wonderfully illustrated and only contains a line or two of written text per page, with each double page spread working in isolation as a mini narrative rather than the book as a whole containing one narrative.

This book may be used with early year’s students as it would suite a shared reading experience well for this age group. This is due to the small amount of written text found on each page, and the rhyming nature of most lines, enabling students to become familiar with the written text quickly providing an opportunity for them to join in and finish sentences themselves. The illustrations also provide an aid to help students predict the written text, as they are detailed images of what the written text represents. The illustrations actually provide much more information to the reader than the written text.

Why I Love Australia, by Bronwyn Bancroft:

This picture book represents the Australian landscape, both natural and manmade, from an indigenous perspective using traditional indigenous painting techniques. It contains a line of written text per page, and uses descriptive language very effectively throughout. The illustrations are spectacular and use many vibrant colours and patterns creating loads of interest in each page.

This book may be used with lower primary students, focussing on how language is used to describe the settings in texts. It could also provide a great link to indigenous culture and the use of metaphors in written text.

One Scary Knight, by Jill McDougall & Donna Gynall:

This chapter book is a fantasy story about a little dragon that is not very brave, but is sent on a dangerous mission to make up for failing his bravery exam. It is written as a first person narrative with little Elmur the dragon as the narrator. The coda embedded within this narrative is about the advantages of creative problem solving, and the benefits of confronting your fears.

This book may be used as an independent reading book as it appears to be a story that would likely appeal to many primary level students. It is an appropriate length so as students should be able to complete it relatively quickly, and is a good book for students to practice reading spoken vocabulary, as there is an abundance of this throughout.

Sharayah's Blog

'The Cheerios Counting Book' by Barbara McGrath is a great prior activity for Mathematics- particularly counting for students in a Reception class. It uses simplistic language and mathematics terms which students can identify with. The bright colours draw the students in and is a fun and engaging way to introduce a topic.

Sharayah's Blog

This week I have read 'Hatchet' by Gary Paulsen. This is one of my favorite books that I read when I was younger also and could not resist sharing it. It is about a man who faces the wilderness alone and used his Hatchet to help survive. I think it is so well written and really does feel like you are taken on the adventure to try and survive. Because it is in such suspense the whole way through the book, it keeps a reader drawn in to find out what is about to happen and what obstacle or challenged is about to be faced. I would direct this book at a year 7 class and use it as a book to get the students minds thinking about a suspenseful story they could write. I highly recommend this book because it is so much fun to be involved in an adventure of survival and keeps you in suspense!

Sharayah's Blog

'The Indian in the Cupboard' by Lynne Reid Banks is an incredible story of fantasy with two young boys and toys coming to life. There are several adventures along the way with the boys and their toys that have turned into miniature people. They decide it is too risky to be playing with human life so they do the right thing by turning them back to their original form- plastic. It is such a great novel which can be enjoyed from a range of ages. I would direct this at a year 5 class (relatable to the age of the characters in the novel) and really enjoyed being consumed into this story.

Sharayah's Blog

This week I have read a little library book called Ratatouille which is a Disney movie made into a book. This book is very simplistic and would be a great book for reception to year 1 students to use as an incentive to go see the film. The text has many illustrations which also describe what is happening in the story. The language used is simplistic but also quite large paragraphs on each page. Overall, I think this book would engage an audience becuase of the fun story, the incentive of the film and also the illustrations in it.

Week 5 Lecture and Tutorial (Sharayah)

Digital Storytelling

In the lecture and tutorial, the focus was about digital storytelling. There are various ways of telling a story using multimodal text production and in relation to assignment 3, the emphasis was on narratives with digital story telling. 

In the lecture,  the first example shown was 'Miniscule' which was about snails and their trek to make it to the slippery dip. they got the idea from the children playing during the day and so they continually went down the slippery dip all night. This production had no speaking and only used sound effects. This shows how a narrative can have no dialogue yet still have an effective way of showing a simple story. 

'Tropfest' is a website which people create a digital story and the example looked at in the lecture is 'Photobooth'. This was located in a war zone where it is desolate, isolated and dark. The use of grey scale gives it a sense of mystery and caution. There are three characters (soldiers) with a predominant leader as he is the one leading the way. The tragedy in the end is one of the soldiers dying because he was not in the picture with his family in the photobooth. This digital story follows the narrative structure with the resolution dying. Not all narratives have to have a positive resolution. There are themes of the colour red with it appearing on a car, the photobooth and the blood at the end. 

'The Afghan Girl' is a photo taken by the National Geographic. The photo draws a viewer in with her timid and scared look in her bold, blue eyes. This picture represents digital story telling because a viewer can make many judgements about her just by looking at different aspects of the picture. For example, her clothing, she is dirty, her expression, the year the photo was taken (can see what was going on in the country at the time), her ethnicity and other aspects. 

In the tutorial, we looked at these examples during the lecture and discussed different aspects of each. Points raised were about making a digital narrative. Making the digital story can be influenced by

• Point of view
• Purpose
• Emotional content
• the gift of voice
• written, illustration or visual influence 
• how the story is portrayed to the audience
• starting points (something that matters to the producer) 

Also, different forms of media were discussed which can be used for the narrative which include PowerPoint, Movie Maker, Photostory and Imovie. 

Week 7 Books

I don’t believe in dragons, by Anna Walker:

This picture book was about a little boy who did not believe in dragons until he saw one with his own eyes. The setting was in a childcare centre, with the characters consisting of a group of small children, Miss May the carer, and a large but inconspicuous dragon. The illustrations are quite pleasant, and the narrative rather sweet and enjoyable.

This book could be used with early school children as a shared reading book. Most of the words are relatively simple, and the illustrations compliment the print creating a context to aid word prediction. Throughout the print there are a few examples of digraphs which would provide a good opportunity to develop student understanding of the way these letters sound when put together.

Oliver at the Window, by Elizabeth Shreeve:

This picture book was about a little boy with separated parents starting at a new school. The setting was primarily his new school, with the characters being Oliver, his stuffed lion, Miss BB his teacher, and a nameless new girl toward the end of the story. The narrative began creating feelings of empathy for Oliver and his situation; however, it concluded leaving you feeling happy for Oliver and his new friend.

This book may be used with lower primary students in a way that encourages them to understand how new students to their school/class may be feeling when they first arrive. Students may be asked to compare the way new students are viewed, to the way new students view existing students. The students may also examine how the book effectively tells the story from the perspective of Oliver (language used, how it is illustrated). Or it may be used to emphasise the fact that some children share their living between parents, highlighting the difficulties that may arise from that.

The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me, by Roald Dahl:

This chapter book was about a young boy who wishes to transform an old building into a sweet shop, he becomes friends with a giraffe, pelican, and monkey who are all friends and work as window cleaners. The trio of window cleaners have no work until they are hired by the rich Mayor to clean his mansions windows.  They started this new job and discover a burglar and catch him, the mayor is so happy he employs them indefinitely and gives them a place to live and buys and renovates the building for the boy turning it into a sweet shop. This story was easy to read, and provided an underlying message about the value of difference, and being rewarded for doing good.

This book would be a good addition for an upper primary catalogue of books used for independent reading. This is because the author is well known for his quality work; the cover is visually appealing; the narrative is interesting and and involves a diverse range of characters, adding to the interest of the book.  The language used throughout the book is generally easily read, with the occasional spreading of longer unusual words to test readers’ graphophonic knowledge. There are also illustrations throughout the book which provide readers’ with semantic cues to help make meaning of the print.

Week Seven Tutorial Write Up

This weeks tute we went back to the 'basics' of reading and looked at the four resource model; text user, text analyst, text decoder and text participant. As a class we then went on to connect past reading techniques to the present reading techniques we should practice within our classrooms. Interesting points that were made throughout the lecture include;

• Competent readers show no pattern with how they read and interpret text
• Cueing systems are useful to make predictions within texts - visual, semantic, graphonic, systatic cues
• As teachers we must give students access to the above information (cues, resource model) to enable them to develop their reading skills
• Self monitoring/Self correcting reading equates in the following questions, does it sound right? Does it make sense? Does it look right?
• Performance poetry - meaning with poetry is link to its rhymes, rhythm and punctuation
• Counting of syllables was emphasized to display how rhythm and rhymes from poems can be easily identified and interpreted

The second half of the tute then focused on poetry and our readings and activities within these readings were discussed. Firstly our newspaper articles were compared and our cereal boxes were also compared and discussed.

Finally we watch a clip of a child showing frustration over the gender stereotypes large scale companies inflict on children. She was frustrated at all the pink and blue colors being used and only being able to buy 'girls items' as the 'boys items' were only aimed at boys. 

The questions we were asked to focus on at the end of the lesson for next tute were;

What advice would you give a subject specialist regarding literacy development in SOSE?

What features of factual texts models do they teach explicitly?

• Glossary
• Encyclopedia
• Dictionary
• Altas
• Relevent videos
• You tube Clips

What use would they make of independent reading in their program?

•  Sose related books in silent reading

What features of printed texts in general do very young children/beginning readers need to understand;

• Different forms of text such as Narrative, Information reports and expositions

Week Seven Books

Here are the final books I have read for the blog;

The first picture book I read was 'Flying High' by Carole More. This book was a narrative story about a bird whom slowly grows his wings and uses them to fly around with the other birds in the sky. The book is a very descriptive book and is illustrated with bright, eye catching colors. This book would be suitable for years reception to year two due to its overall themes and simplistic language.

The second picture book I read was 'Fruit Salad' by Richard Swan. This book was more an information story than a narrative. The book gave descriptions of different fruit, what they taste, smell and how they grown and how they each can be added together to make fruit salad. Like the first picture book, this book was illustrated with bright colors and would be suitable for years reception to year three due to its themes and simplistic language.

The final novel I have read is 'The Carrie Diaries' by Candace Bradshaw. This novel is a before view look at the Sex and the City tv series. Despite this the novel would be suitable for high school students as it does revolve around an adolescent teenager, experiencing the stages growing up. The novel was a great read and would be suitable for years ten to twelve.

Sharayah's Blog

"Matilda" by Roald Dahl is an absolute classic which I have read recently. This book can be aimed at students from about year 3 to year 6. The language used in the book is simplistic but has such a captivating story and is relatable to students as Matilda is a young school child. The illustrations allow the mind to develop a picture of the characters also. Other Roald Dahl books which I have enjoyed are Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and James and The Giant Peach.

Sharayah's Blog

'The Little Refugee' by Anh Do and Suzanne Do is a story inspired by personal experiences of Anh Do. He is now a well known comedian but through his children's book, it tells a story of a refugee and about his dangerous journey to make it to Australia. This book would be aimed at about year 4-5 level and can be used to introduce a topic about refugees and asylum seekers. It is an incredible story and a really influential book because Anh Do is a famous comedian now so would engage students to read it.

Sharayah Blog

A children's book aimed at about reception to year 2 which I have read is 'Three Hens and a Peacock' by Lester L. Laminack. It is a fun text about what happens when silly farm animals decide to swap places and have to do someone else's job. Initially the farm animals were at peace doing their own jobs until suddenly a peacock is entered into the story by falling off the back of a truck. This comical story was an amusing read with many exciting aspects. The underlying plot I believe is when we underestimate the value of what other people do and I believe this book addresses the importance of everyone doing what they do best. I think this is a great story to get students engaged with because of the comical aspect. It is extremely important for young people to be exposed to literature and be excited by it so it develops their skills.

Sharayah Blog

This week I have read 'Through My Eyes' by Ruby Bridges. This biography is an incredible story about a six year old who became the first African American student to attend an all-white school in New Orleans, Louisiana. because she was so young (6 years old) she was naive and did not find it unusual that she was the only 'different' looking child in her class at school. This is an incredible story into the life of someone who was in an are where racial discrimination was a constantly occurring problem.
This text would be intended for students year 5 or older. It can introduce multiculturalism in a class and looks at a different perspective of such a controversial topic.

Sharayah Blog

'The Sheep-Pig' by Dick King-Smith is an absolute classic written several years ago but is still a captivating book to read. It is about a pig who is adopted by a sheep dog called Fly who looks after him and tries to teach him how to round up sheep. In unusual circumstances, Babe learns that sheep aren't as stupid as he had been taught and could successfully round up sheep by asking them politely. The sheep-pig went to a sheep dog contest and scores full marks. This children's novel has been turned into a movie also called 'Babe' which was a huge success. This novel would be directed at young children, possibly year 3.

Sharayah Blog

A book which I have read which I believe is part of an incredible series (The Chronicles of Narnia)  is 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' by C.S. Lewis. I recommend this book as I believe it is an incredibly well written and great story of fantasy with 4 siblings who discover a secret world in a Wardrobe where they become kings and queens. This particular book has been made into a film as well as another C.S. Lewis book which is also part of this series. For student's, this could be a great engagement and incentive that once they have completed the book, they are able to watch the movie. Because this book is so captivating, many work ideas can be drawn upon from this. For example, students can write a book review or an author study because it is such an incredible novel to read.

Sharayah Blog

"A Bus Called Heaven" by Bob Graham was a children's book that I read to my class of year 5's during placement. This book engaged students and they had to understand why, in the book, the bus was called heaven. As it did not directly point it out, it is a great way to capture the students and find the clues as to why it is called heaven. From this, students were able to create their own bus by drawing it and displaying their own 'heaven' bus. This book is a great way to lead into different curriculum areas including art.

Sharayah's Blog

I have read 'Counting On Frank' by Rod Clement. This book is about a boy and his dog with interesting  comparisons to measurement brought about in an amusing way. This book would be useful to introduce a topic in Mathematics and develops interesting ideas about measurement which will be useful for students around the age of year 3-4 students who may have the same sorts of questions addressed in this text.

Week Six

Finally I am a contributor, thanks Jamie

This week I have read two novels.

This first novel I have read is called ‘Tuck Everlasting’ by Natalie Babbitt. This novel involves a family whom never ages and becomes immortal because they have found a spring of water that turns out to be the fountain of youth. This novel deals with science fiction, relationships, love, life and death. This novel was a good read, I remember studying it in high school many years ago. I would recommend this novel for years eight to ten. Like the previous novel this was also made into a movie which an educator could use to turn this novel into a unit of work.

The second novel I have read is called ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ by Frank Baum. I grew up loving the Wizard of Oz film but had never actually read the novel until now. The novel was quite good and it was interesting to compare the two against each other. The novel deals with the same themes as the movie and is written in traditional narrative format. I would recommend the novel for years six to nine, but older years could also read the novel and possibly connect it to a film study.

Week 6 Books

Gertrude Chandler Warner and THE BOXCAR CHILDREN, by Mary Ellen Ellsworth:

This chapter book was a biography of Gertrude Chandler Warner who was a teacher and author from Connecticut, New England, in America. Her life spanned over almost ninety years, from 1890 to 1979, so much of what was discussed occurred many years ago. The discussion had to be considered within the appropriate context, both socially and culturally, as both these factors have changed considerably over the years. The roles of women in the early 20^th century, how education was taught in the early to mid-20^th century, and the strong religious influence within the town she lived in, all had to be considered in order to better effectively construct the meaning of the text the way it was intended.

This book could be used by middle primary students to aid in developing an understanding of cohesion within texts. There are many examples throughout the book of the different methods of linking text which can be used to develop cohesion, such as repeated words, related words, pronoun reference, and the use of conjunctions.

Patricia, by Stephen Michael King:

This picture book tells of a small girl’s unsuccessful efforts to get somebody from her family to listen to her thoughts. The illustrations in this book provide a wealth of supplementary information to the reader and really give the narrative depth and interest. The written text appears to represent the basic meaning behind each page, relying on the illustrations to expand on the story telling. The visual representation of some of the text is also used cleverly to help construct meaning of some sentences. This is achieved by enlarging font, and altering text direction creating the illusion of the written text blending with the illustrations.

This book may be used with lower primary students to develop their understanding of clauses containing a subject and verb. This book would work well for this as the clauses are short and clear, making them ideal for using as effective examples.

Little Boy, by Alison McGhee and Peter H. Reynolds:

This picture book looks at the daily events of a little boy, highlighting what is important in his day and the evidence he leaves behind that identifies his actions. The written text is structured as a poem, with a line per page and every sixth line repeating.

This book may be used with lower primary students when investigating poetry. It could be broken down and reformed on one page to clearly demonstrate its overall structure.