Researching Scottish soldiers

Stage 2 students need to build their field knowledge about Scottish soldiers for a writing activity based on the ending of the picture book, “Billy the Punk” by Jessica Carroll & Craig Smith.


Anzac Day 2013, walking with the bagpipes in Sydney


Massed pipe bands in Sydney on Anzac Day 2012


Funny introduction to Scottish uniform in Halifax Citadel

CBCA Book Week 2017: Escape to Everywhere

BW KF 3F

Here are this year’s class displays to celebrate CBCA Book Week!

Click HERE to view a slideshow.

Jimmy Cook

BW 34M d

BW 3W

We also had a visit from author Bruce Pickworth, a former teacher at our school. He introduced his book The godwits to students in Class 23, and all of Stage 2 and Stage 3.

Godwits

Bruce Pickworth 2

Bruce Pickworth

BW 56N Godwits

And here are some old friends…

Bear and Chook 3

Sainsbury’s Christmas ads

UK department store Sainsbury’s features Judith Kerr’s famous book character, Mog the cat, in an advertisement for the Christmas season. These ads are also excellent examples of persuasive visual texts.


Sainsbury’s official Christmas advert 2015 – Mog’s Christmas calamity


Sainsbury’s official Christmas 2014 ad – 1914

And the current ad is:


Sainsbury’s official Christmas advert 2016 – The greatest gift

Happy Book Week!

It’s Book Week again. I was thrilled to have been invited to last Friday’s Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA)’s Book of the Year Award presentations for 2016 at Teachers Federation House, hosted by CBCA NSW.

Classes at Penrith PS have been busily creating displays for the school library. Every few minutes, another display arrives and we seek out an ideal spot for it. This has been a tradition at the school for many decades.

Apart from the links at Mrs Mac’s website and the Kids & Books blog, here are some useful Youtube clips to help us celebrate “Australia! Story Country”, the 2016 theme:


Story Country – Book Week 2016

Read All Day for Book Week 2016 (Guildford Grammar School)

A Vimeo for Silver, Information: Sticky (Phasmid)


Gold, Early Childhood: Mr Huff by Anna Walker – book trailer (Official)


Gold, Early Childhood: Mr Huff trailer (Unofficial)


Play School – Mr Huff – Benita, Karen, Luke, Andrew, Eddie, Leah, Zindzi and Justine

Book Week displays come rolling in!

Books light up our world by 1S
Books light up our world by 1S

Click HERE for a slideshow of each class display.

UPDATE: The students who created this amazing 3D display for Scary night just heard back from the author, Lesley Gibbes:

Scary night by 36R
Scary night by 3-6R

Lesley wrote, “Thanks so much 3-6R, your display is amazing! Have a wonderful Book Week celebration!” And then, a courier arrived, with free copies of Scary night for the creators!

Make sure to check out out the free Apositive phone app and make the CBCA firefly fly – and read, and wave!
Book Week 2015 poster

The simultaneous Brothers Quibble

Yesterday, our school participated in ALIA’s National Simultaneous Storytime. Each Stage gathered in groups around the school at 11am (simultaneously with schools all over Australia) to share the picture book, The Brothers Quibble by Aaron Blabey!


The Brothers Quibble


The Brothers Quibble [Auslan version]


Aaron Blabey – Picture book maker [Story Box Library]

Our previous links are HERE.

National Simultaneous Storytime: The Brothers Quibble

Each year, our school’s community (K-6, and often the preschool) has participated in the annual ALIA National Simultaneous Storytime. Each Stage gathers in groups around the school and the library to read a specified picture book together at 11am, simultaneously with schools all over Australia.

This year’s book is The Brothers Quibble by Aaron Blabey! The event occurs on Wednesday 27th May.


A message from Aaron Blabey NSS 2015 author


The Brothers Quibble read by author Aaron Blabey [Story Box Library]

Teachers’ notes for My father the great pirate

Presenting My father the great pirate: teachers’ notes, by yours truly, published by Australian Standing Orders & Wilkins Farago, 2014. In support of the picture book by Davide Cali & Maurizio Quarello, and including this digital story on PhotoPeach as an example of a practical learning activity I brainstormed with Stage 2 and Stage 3 students a few months ago:


Nudge nudge, wink wink…