Tag Archives: lessons

Something for Fleur by Catherine Pelosi and Caitlin Murray

Posted on by
4

Have you ever waited and waited for your birthday?

Have you been left to wonder and guess what gifts you might receive from your friends?

Something for Fleur by Catherine Pelosi and Caitlin Murray is a sweet story about Fleur the flamingo and a special plan her best friend has for her birthday.

We had a wonderful time reading this story. The illustrations are full of life and the story is so sweet.

Younger readers revelled in thinking about the clues offered in each letter Fleur the Flamingo received. They loved looking through the illustrations to see what the different characters were up to each day.

This book is a great way to introduce the use of adjectives and the skill of writing a letter to someone.

This is what we got up to in the classroom:

We wrote letters to someone we thought needed cheering up or someone we had never met – a child in detention or a child in hospital. It was really lovely to see what students wrote in these letters.

I also invited students to choose to write clues – which was aimed at the more competent learners as writing clues can be quite difficult.

What have you done with this story?

Advertisements

The coral Kingdom by Laura Knowles and Jennie Webber

Posted on by
1

The time is now, the chance is brief!

Stand up and save the coral reef!

Amazing pictures lie deep within this great Australian Geographic picture book, alongside a rhyming story that will teach young readers all about the coral reef and the creatures that live there.

As you journey below the water line you will see how the coral reef is created, how animals interact with it and how human behaviour is causing damage.

The bleaching of the coral reef is touched upon – not dwelled upon – which is important for young readers. Instead, easy tips and suggestions are offered within the story and at the end with a page full of suggestions.

The illustrations are spellbinding and add so much to the short story – giving you the parent or teacher to talk about that creature and how they live in the water with the reef.

Teaching children about the coral reef is a really important issue right now due to the damage that has been done. This book is a great way to start to teach your children about the small things that they can do to make a difference in the future of the planet (and hopefully their small steps will be followed by their parents bigger steps!)

The coral Kingdom by Laura Knowles and Jennie Webber is an excellent book for children of all ages, and one which links in nicely with science, geography and sustainability.

So what else can you do with this book

SCIENCE/SUSTAINABILITY

  • Visit the end pages of this and choose an animal you would like to research further.
  • Seek out the suggestions at the end of the story as to how you can save the GBR.
  • Find newspaper articles about the GBR and what is happening to it. Seek out both positive and negative stories.
  • Sign or create a petition about the GBR urging the government to stop coal mining and dredging of the land and sea near the reef.

LITERACY

  • Link up all the rhyming words used. Find more words that rhyme with these words and try to create a few lines that you could add to this story about the coral reef.

NUMERACY

  • How much of the GBR has been bleached?
  • How many different types of animals live in the GBR?
  • If the GBR was destroyed how many less tourists might come to Australia?

BUY NOW FROM FISHPOND

 The Coral Kingdom

JOIN MY FACEBOOK GROUP FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS WHERE WE EXPLORE BIG ISSUES AND HOW TO BEST TALK ABOUT THEM WITH KIDS.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/362368594250457/

The trouble in tune town by Maura Pierlot

Posted on by
Reply

Practice should never be a fight.

If you’re having fun, then you’re playing all right!

It’s day 6 on the Just write for kids Books on tour and I can’t wait to share this award winning picture book with you!

The trouble in tune town by Maura Pierlot is a must read for any student who is learning an instrument – or any child who wants to learn one!

Meg, the best musician in tune town but she is having a lot of trouble getting the notes to sound right. She tries different instruments but still doesn’t feel the rhythm, the beat or the tune. So the notes ……. escape!

The notes move through different places where they can be played in different ways by different people on different instruments. They mosh and mash, shimmy and shuffle in their quest to find a place where someone can feel them and enjoy them – not worry too much about being perfect.

Maura has cleverly created this rhyming picture book to show children that playing music is all about having fun and feeling the notes in all their splendour. Throughout the story we are shown different notes, where they live on the stave and the different ways music can be played.

Different instruments are shown throughout the story as well as different styles of music. The reader can see that notes can be used in so many different ways and can be used to have lots of fun too.

Practise can be hard work when your having difficulty with reading the notes, understanding the beat or feeling the tune – but Maura Pierlot shows us that when we relax and let the music find us, we can have the most wonderful time!

Sophie Norsa’s illustrations are full of colour and life. We can see how the different notes feel as they glide through the different styles of music and different types of musicians. The colour adds to the vibrancy of the story and show all that there is when you pick up an instrument!

You can visit Maura Pierlot’s website here: http://maurapierlot.com to purchase a copy or to find out more about her creations!

Or buy your own copy through fish pond here:  The Trouble in Tune Town

And don’t forget to join in with the Book blog tour on these websites too!

Design

LOTS. The diversity of life on Earth by Nicola Davies.

Posted on by
2

LOTS. The diversity of life on Earth by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Emily Sutton is a creative, eye catching non -fiction picture book that conveys the message of the amazing diversity of life we have on our planet Earth.

IMG_5204

Nicola Davies invites us to look everywhere and when we do we will find so many different types of life.  Through magical storytelling the reader finds out small facts about different creatures, how they live, how many species there are and where they hide. Emily Sutton illustrates with care, bringing the natural world into focus and helping us to se the intricate details of each animal, plant and insect.

LOTS is a great book to ignite your child’s interest in animals and perhaps a future in animal and habitat conservation.

LOTS is a gentle way to teach children about the importance of all life forms and how we all play a role in caring for them.

An informative and entertaining book, LOTS is one for the science lesson, literacy lesson and just the quiet book before bed.

So what can you do with this book? 

Before you read – write down three things you know about life on earth.

After you read – write down two facts you learnt. Write down two things you would like to know more about. Write down two ways you are going to help make sure no more animals become extinct.

Animal conservation

  •  read about an animal in this book who has become extinct. Work out why they became extinct and actions that may have saved them.
  • List and group all of the different animals in this story. How many groups of animals are there?
  • Look at the page on food/life cycles – can you investigate other animals and how they link in with each other for food and life?
  • Donate money to an organisation or do some volunteer work that would help restore habitats for animals.

Use this book as a springboard to help your child to be aware that everything they do makes an impact. Every piece of rubbish, every flick of a light switch and every trip in the car impacts another.

How can you make a difference as a family? 

 

IMG_5216

May – focus on sustainability and storytelling

Posted on by
Reply

During the month of May my intention is to help parents and teachers build awareness of how we can act more sustainability and how education in this area can be part of their daily routine.

grass-tree-circuit-01

The world we live in now needs more people to start reflecting on how we are living and how that living is effecting the way others live now and how are future generations are going to be able to live.

Through picture books, small activities and short discussions we can all start to raise awareness in ourselves and our children.

Have you ever read a book about our underground farmers?

Do your children know why earthworms exist and how what we spray on our backyards can drastically effect their health? Try reading Yucky Worms to inspire your own backyard warrior!

Have you ever stopped to look at the detail of a tree?

Many children do have a short attention span but ask them to touch the tree and give you an adjective about how it feels, looks and smells like. You will be amazed! Inspire yourself and your child to appreciate trees and perhaps plant some extra in your own yard or during a community event such as Plant a Tree day.

Try reading Last Tree in the city also – an inspiring read about the power of determination to make a difference.

How about inspiring your child to be more sustainable in order to save an endangered species?

Many adults and children are oblivious to the animals that we effect by the chemicals we pour down the drain, water we waste, plastic waste we throw out and land clearing for housing, farms and business. Try reading a story that inspires someone to tread a little more carefully. The Hairy Nosed Wombats Find a New Home is a very inspiring story as is Phasmid!

Join me in May on instagram and Facebook as I learn how I can make my life more sustainable so someone else in the world has a better chance and so that my children live in a better world.

 

Wendall the Narwhal by Emily Dove

Posted on by
1

This book was the find of the year. My three year old son loves Whales and therefore had a great interest in Narwhals and then we saw the name of the narwhal: WENDELL!! Wendell rhymes with our surname – who would have thought?!?!

AND it is a fantastic book!

IMG_5032

Wendall is a Narwhal who lives in the ocean with many other noisy sea creatures. As Wendell listens to the sounds the talented creatures make, the reader is able to experience the beauty of onomatopoeia.

Pop, Pop, Pop, Wubba, Wubba Wub, Tweeeeeedly Dee, Whoosh, Clap, clap Clap! 

And then there is Narwhal who can’t make a sound….luckily he has friends who are kind and think of a way that he too can join in with the undersea orchestra!

Wendell the Narwhal is a great way to introduce musical sounds to your young reader and also bring awareness to the amazing creatures that live in our oceans.

The illustrations are cute and add depth to the onomatopoeia. Emily Dove’s illustrations really personify each sea creature as they play their sound and feel different emotions. .

We spent some time after reading the book looking at videos of Narwhals, clams and whales. Perhaps you can too!

So what can you do at home or in the classroom?

Conservation and sustainability.

  1. Research why Narwhal’s have tusks – you will be intrigued! Try to draw your own conclusions as it seems that scientists still haven’t worked it out.
  2. Where do all of these sea creatures live? Do they live side by side in reality?
  3. Are any of these creatures at risk due to human behaviour?

Language

  1. Explore the onomatopoeia words and think of some more!

Music

  1. Create your own piece of undersea music or even change the location to amongst the trees or sand dunes? Use words instead of instruments – just like the undersea orchestra in this story!

I’m Australian too by Mem Fox and Ronojoy Ghosh

Posted on by
4

Australia Fair is ours to share, where broken hearts can mend. 

BUY HERE THROUGH FISHPOND – FREE DELIVERY!

 I’m Australian Too
I'm Australian Too

I’m Australian too by Mem Fox and Ronojoy Ghosh is a marvellous picture book which highlights the amazing multicultural country Australia is.


Throughout the story we hear about families from Ireland, Italy, China and Syria. We meet the ancestors of  the first people of Australia and also the refugees who are still waiting to be a part of Australia.

Mem Fox celebrates the diversity of Australia and the friendliness of the community through children’s eyes. Rhyme is used along with the thought provoking repetitive question:

How about you? 

Ronojoy Ghosh’s illustrations tell us more about each child, how they live and the different dynamics of the family unit.

As we read this story as a class the children were bubbling with excitement about the fact that they had a story to tell about where their parents came from. As I read it to my own two children we were able to talk about the different people who live here and perhaps who had a story similiar to ours.

We all have a story to tell and all stories should be told. By reading this book to your own child or a whole group of children, all voices can be heard and appreciated!

Links for your child, your students and you. 

Families – Find or draw a family picture and underneath write about where you all come from. Children always love to know where their parents and grandparents came from and perhaps even before that! Create your own rhyming paragraph just like in the story.

Geography – Using a world map, find out where the children are from in this story. How far have they or their parents travelled? Why did they all move here?
Thinking – Who is an Australian? What makes you belong to a country? Is there a checklist? Is there a feeling you must have? Explore what makes us belong to a country – how do we feel we belong and how do others decide if we belong? How does this feeling of who belongs create problems in the world
Punctuation – what sort of word is I’m? Look for other contractions within the story and discuss why we use them and what they ‘stretch’ out to become.

What is a question mark? How many are used within this story? Create your own questions about this book to share with each other. Make your own question marks out of different materials (such as a long piece of grass!)  IMG_4637

JOIN MY CLOSED FACEBOOK GROUP FOR SOME GREAT TEACHING TIPS TO EDUCATE AND EMPOWER YOUR CHILD.

Growing globally conscious children

https://www.facebook.com/groups/362368594250457/about/