Library Matters
Term 3 Week 4
WELCOME
Please email via the link on this site, any questions, comments or suggestions.
Regards
Filia
LITERATURE LINKS
Applying Alison Lester's picture books to the Australian Curriculum in Prep
Literature and Context:
Recognise that texts are created by authors who tell stories and share experiences that may be similar or different to students’ own experiences. (ACELT 1575)
Elaborations:
- recognising that there are storytellers in all cultures
- viewing stories by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storytellers from online sources
- comparing experiences depicted in stories with students’ own
- engaging with texts that reflect the social and cultural groups to which students belong
- Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo
- Rosie Sips Spiders
- Clive Eats Alligators
- Celeste Sails to Spain
- Tessa Snaps Snakes
- When Frank was Four
All six texts feature characters of approximately their age engaged in the same kinds of activities they get involved in, who live similar domestic routines but who also dream grand dreams inspired by the romance of traditional literature.
(Literature Base, Vol. 23, Issue 4, October 2012)
Authorial style
Responding to Literature:
Analyse and evaluate similarities and differences in texts on similar topics, themes or plots (ACELT1614)
Elaborations:
- exploring texts on a similar topic by authors with very different styles, for example comparing fantasy quest novels or realistic novels on a specific theme, identifying differences in the use of narrator, narrative structure and voice and language style and register
Refugees
- The Little Refugee
- Soraya the Storyteller
- Refugees
- The Island
- Dancing the Boom-Cha-Cha Boogie
Mystery and Detective Novels
- The Pirates of Pompeii
- South by South East
- Ruby Redfort, Look into my Eyes
Fantasy Quest Novels
- The Hobbit
- Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Historical Non-Fiction / Biography
- Lost! A True Tale from the Bush
- Simpson and His Donkey
- Ethel and Ernest
Contact me for more information on how these texts can be further explored.
Reference: The Literature Base, Volume 23, Issue 2, May 2012.
CURRICULUM CORNER
Building Comprehension Strategies (Alison Davis)
TR 428.4071 DAV
TR 371.26 WIL
If we want our students to thrive in the impossibly complex, unpredictable world of the 21st century, we must concentrate on increasing educational achievement by increasing the quality of the teachers in our schools. In this book Dylan Wiliam argues that quality of teachers is the single most important factor in the education system. He outlines the many possible ways in which we could seek to develop the practice of serving teachers and concludes that of these, formative assessment has the biggest impact on student outcomes. He looks at some of the popular initiatives that aim to increase student achievement, such as learning styles, and presents research that shows formative assessment practices have a much greater impact on educational achievement than most other reforms.
TR 304.20994 CRA
This book has been written specifically for students in Year 5. The activity book is arranged into two sections.
1. Influences: Human and Environmental
2. Climate, Savannahs and Bushfires
Both sections are closely linked to the Australian National Curriculum. The influence of climate on human activities will be explored from multiple perspectives through tasks designed to develop thinking skills. Information is supported by ample illustrations, photograph studies and map data.
TECHNOLOGY TOOLKIT ... ICLT tools to support and enhance teaching and learning
Each week, in this section, I will introduce a new online tool that you may find useful and add examples of how it is being used in the classroom.
Padlet is an Internet application that allows people to express their thoughts on a common topic easily. It works like an online sheet of paper or bulletin board where users can pose open-ended questions and elicit multiple student responses. Below are two examples of how Padlet can be used in the classroom.
Example 1: Year 3B contributed to this Padlet to brainstorm language features used by Colin Thiele in the text "Pannikin and Pinta". (Click on the image)
Example 2: Year 4 contributed to this Padlet in response to the question, "Was Justice Served?" as part of their History inquiry. (Click on the image)
AN APPLE A DAY ... MACBOOK TIPS & TRICKS
Keyboard Shortcuts
Captures an image of the screen (screenshot) and drops it on to the desktop as an image file.
#2 Command - Shift - 4
Allows you to capture a selection of the screen. Select required portion of the screen by dragging the cursor. This is saved to your desktop.
#3 Command - Space bar
Show or hide the Spotlight search field (magnifying glass) located in the top right corner of the screen. The Spotlight allows you to search for any files or applications on your computer.
#4 Command F3
Shows the Desktop. Repeat shortcut to return to previous screen (Note the F or Function keys are located along the top of the keyboard).
#5 Command + (plus)
Increase the size of the screen.
#6 Command - (minus)
Decrease the size of the screen.
#7 Command 0 (zero)
Reverts back to original size.
#8 Command A
Highlights every item in a document or window, or all characters in a text field.
#9 Command C
Copies the selected data.
#10 Command V
Pastes the copied data.
THE DAILY GOOGLE ... Tips for using Google applications in the classroom
Google Drive is a cloud storage service that allows you to store your documents, photos, videos, and more online in one place. From Drive, you can also access Google Docs, a free cloud-based suite of tools for creating documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more from anywhere while online.
BCE staff need to create their own Google accounts but all BCE students have access to a Google Drive account via the BCE Student Portal. You will find a list of student logins on the Staff Portal.
Year 4 students have been using their Google Drive accounts to safely create and store files which they are able to access anywhere, anytime, on any device both online and offline. No excuses for losing files saved on USB drives or on the hard drive of one computer.
See event details below if you would like to learn more about using Google Drive in your classroom.
Watch the videos below for more information on this cloud storage service.