CBCA Shortlist activities: Granny Grommet and Me by Diane Wolfer and Karen Blair

I’m not really convinced that Granny Grommet and Me is among the best books eligible for the 2014 CBCA shortlist, but, well, there it is, and so I’m reading it to my junior students next week.

So I need a purposeful activity to go with this book, but although I usually find the series really useful, this year’s edition of Activities for Early Childhood by Mary O’Toole and Ruth Moodie hasn’t got an activity for Granny Grommet that I particularly want to do.

So instead, my Year 1 & 2 students are going to browse my collection of books about life underwater, and they’re going to use this research to complete a sunshine wheel about what can be seen underwater with a snorkel.  They’ll need to differentiate between what can be seen in the shallows and rock pools and what can be seen in the open sea.  They’ll then draw and label what they add to the sunshine wheel.

It would be more fun to make a snorkel-eye view with shoeboxes and blue cellophane but alas I don’t have enough time in my library lessons for time intensive activities like that.  And I do like my students to use thinking tools as much as I can.

For copyright reasons I can’t include an image of the book cover on this worksheet.

Granny Grommet and Me

New unit and resources for NAIDOC Week: Indigenous War Service

Last term I developed and trialled a new unit of work about Indigenous War Service for years 5 & 6. It’s based on a resource called Indigenous Service, A Resource for Primary Schools, published by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Shrine of Remembrance, but I adapted it quite a bit.  You can download the unit, and all the supplementary resources from the Goodies to Share menu, Australian Curriculum Literature & Research units for Years 5 & 6

This unit forms part of our whole school plan for the ANZAC Commemorations for 2014-5 (which you can download from the same page).

As it turned out, although I didn’t know this when I decided to develop this unit, the theme for NAIDOC Week 2014 was Serving Country: Centenary & Beyond:.  As it says on the NAIDOC website

This year’s NAIDOC theme honours all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women who have fought in defence of country.

From our warriors in the Frontier Wars to our warriors who have served with honour and pride in Australia’s military conflicts and engagements across the globe.

We proudly highlight and recognise the role they have played in shaping our identity and pause to reflect on their sacrifice. We celebrate and honour their priceless contribution to our nation.

I would be rapt to get some feedback from teachers who download and try out the unit. Please use the comments box below.

 

Activities using shortlisted books for Book Week 2013

I’ve made a couple of simple worksheets linked to the CBCA Book of the Year shortlist, to support VELS Thinking Processes.  Except for the map activity for It’s a Miroocool, they’re suitable for all primary classes (depending on how much time you have):

• Preps: ‘write and draw’
• Juniors: Label and draw
• Middles: Write sentences and draw
• Write paragraphs

Using Thinkers Keys

Too Many Elephants (What if? key)

Peggy (What if? key)

It’s a Miroocool (map)

I have also made one for The Terrible Suitcase but WordPress is being difficult today and won’t load it.  You can request a copy of it using the comment form below, and I’ll email it to you by using the email address that you have to include to make the comment.

Goodnight Mice! wins 2012 Prime Minister’s Literary Award

As I’m sure most readers know by now, the 2012 Prime Minister’s Literary Award was won by Goodnight Mice! by Frances Watts and Judy Watson.

It’s a lovely story, suitable not just for Preps and Juniors, but also for students in Years 3 & 4 who will enjoy the rhyme and can also discuss elements of the text such as the setting as depicted in the illustrations.  When the Australian Curriculum is up and running, this book will also be useful to use to discuss poetry and rhyme.

Skills from the SLAV teacher librarian program that can be taught include:

Prep (Level 1)

• LS 1.2 verbalise sequence of main events in stories
• LS 1.3 identify the main characters from picture story books
• LS 1.4 describe where the story takes place in particular picture story books

Years 1 & 2

• LS 2.3 verbalise sequence of main events in stories
• LS 2.4 identify the main characters from particular picture story books and describe significant physical features
• LS 2.5 describe the setting for a particular picture story book

Years 3 & 4

LS 3.2 distinguish between poetry, prose and drama

• LS 3.4 verbalise sequence of main events in a fiction book and identify the story’s climax
• LS 3.8 predict what the main character will do after the story has ended
• LS 3.9 describe contribution of illustrator and illustrations in developing a particular setting

If you don’t already  have a copy of the SLAV Primary Teacher Librarian program, contact SLAV, because it is excellent and has been the basis of my program ever since I’ve been in the library.

I’ve made a Venn diagram worksheet to compare the ‘bedtime in the mouse house’ with ‘bedtime at home”.  It can be used as  follows:

• Preps: use it as is
• Years 1 & 2: students write a sentence about their favourite part of bedtime at home
• Years 3 & 4: students write a sentence under each section of the Venn diagram comparing the bedtime rituals in the story with bedtime rituals at home.

Download the activity worksheet:  Goodnight Mice Setting Venn Diagram

Availability: Click the link to buy from Fishpond: Goodnight, Mice!

CBCA Book of the Year activity sheets #3

Uploaded today on the CBCA  Book of  the Year shortlist page is another activity sheet:

• Family Forest Y-chart

More to come as I make them…

CBCA Book of the Year activity sheets #2

Uploaded today on the CBCA  Book of  the Year shortlist page are some more activity sheets:

My Uncle’s Donkey by Tohby Riddle

• A C& S thinking tool activity sheet (suitable Y1-4)
• An A4 poster of the Portland Vase with basic background info
• a link to a cloze activity

More to come as I make them…

CBCA Book of the Year activity sheets

Uploaded today on the CBCA  Book of  the Year shortlist page are some nice little activity sheets:

• for Noni the Pony I made a T-chart and a Y-chart
• for It’s Bedtime William, I made a Venn diagram contrasting Real and Pretend

More to come as I make them…