This week’s Aboriginal Dreaming story for Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 is “The kookaburra who stole the moon”.
The picture book I have usually used for this week’s theme, on the three-year literacy cycle, has not shown up since our move to the new library, so I went looking online. As I said three years ago, there are slim pickings on the story itself, although there are many references to travelling theatre shows and audio productions. This Youtube kookaburra laugh is still useful, though:
In Term 3, our Stage 1 and Early Stage 1 students will be investigating the topic of Winter, and then moving on the Aboriginal Dreaming Stories.
I had promised to share a childhood favourite winter book from my own collection, Snow by Roy McKie & PD Eastman, which is a hard title to find, Down Under, in Dr Suess’s classic Cat in the Hat Beginner Books series. I bought this particular copy during my White Christmas 2012 trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, where, way back in 1984, my penpal had taught me how to make snowmen and snow angels, just like in the book I’d read in 1966!
Next week, we will be comparing this book to the more recent, There was a cold lady who swallowed some snow! by Lucille Colandro & Jared Lee. The school library’s resident artifical snowman is actually a stage prop from my 2006 Stage 1’s assembly item performance of this book. This was also when I learned, via Wikipedia, about the inate and significant differences between British and American snowmen. (Count the bodyparts!)
Snowman built by Mr McLean and his penpal, Ann Arbor MI, USA, January 1984 (Three body parts)
Snowman built by Mr McLean and his class, November 1996 (Two body parts)
The artificial snowman finally experience a real hailstorm, Penrith NSW, December 2010
Penrith PS in December: a white Christmas?
Please click HERE if the music track doesn’t play.
Miniature snowman in Ann Arbor MI, USA, December 2012 (Three body parts)
Even artificial snowmen must do their research! Penrith NSW, December 2010
Our first Aboriginal Dreaming Story, in Week 3, will be about the Rainbow Serpent. Past Kindergarten students, now in Year 3, made some great artwork last cycle and it is preserved in a FlickrSLIDESHOW. We also made good use of a Youtube animation, located HERE.
Stage 1 students are media stars again! The full article by Jessica Aquilina is HERE, courtesy of today’s Penrith City Star newspaper. Above photo courtesy of Gary Warrick, Penrith City Star.
The student book rappers of 1G have created a digital slideshow on Photo Peach to accompany the Aboriginal Dreaming story, “How the whale got a hole in his head”, which we learned last term, but had no book version available in the library:
As part of our literacy cycle, students in Stage 1 and Early Stage 1 investigate Aboriginal dreaming stories in Term Three.
To accompany this week’s dreaming story, “How the whale got a hole in his head”, here is a useful website that shows an old Aboriginal rock shelf engraving of a large sea creature at Tamarama in Sydney.
A closeup of a humpback whale spouting is here:
Humpback whale footage: extreme close up blowhole
Star fish walking, you can actually see his legs.
Zombie starfish – Nature’s weirdest events: series 4 episode 3 preview – BBC Two
In the version of the Dreaming story we use, Whale’s friend, Starfish, offers to help remove “mulas” from Whale’s skin. Here is a Youtube clip explaining about barnacles:
SeaTalk – Barnacles
STOP PRESS:
The student book rappers of 1G created a digital slideshow on Photo Peach to accompany this Aboriginal Dreaming story:
This week’s Dreaming story for Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 is “The kookaburra who stole the moon”.
The picture book I usually use for this week’s theme is packed away while the library is being built, so I went looking online instead. Slim pickings on the story itself, although there is a travelling show that’s been around since NAIDOC Week. If only. However… our Youtube resources include:
We are really enjoying the ease of finding short video clips via Encarta for Kids CD-ROM, and online at Youtube.
As a followup to last week’s Aboriginal Dreaming story, How the kangaroos got their tails, Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 students are investigating facts about kangaroos.
Kangaroo joeys playing:
This amazing footage of newborn joeys in their mothers’ pouches:
A trained(?) boxing kangaroo on TV – not so natural? (Disturbing; perhaps more useful for older students writing persuasive texts?)
