Looking Towards Term 4

In term three we enjoyed a wonderful celebration of reading. The students thoroughly enjoyed the presentations made by authors Jess Black and Mark Greenwood. They are two extremely talented authors and it was a privilege to meet them and learn about their work. Their books have been very popular in the library ever since their visits to our school.

Our annual book parade concluded a very exciting book week. As usual, the students and teachers went to a great deal of trouble to represent their favourite book characters. This is an event that everyone at Cromer looks forward to with great anticipation. It did not disappoint.

The book fair will arrive at the school on Tuesday October 23rd and will be on display in the hall from Wednesday October 24th until Friday October 26th. This is a great opportunity to make some early purchases for Christmas.

The Term 4 Library Program

Kindergarten

The students will study the difference between fiction and nonfiction books. The pictures, words and elements of both genres and the reason for reading them will be examined.

Teaching the difference between fiction and nonfiction requires students to understand the difference between real and make-believe. Large-group and small-group activities will give the students practice in identifying the different types of books.

Each week examples of both genres will be presented dealing with a particular theme. Interactive digital activities related to the theme will also be included in the program.

Year One

In this unit of work the students will undertake an author study of the work of Hazel Edwards.

By undertaking author studies, students learn to compare and contrast themes, analyse text and illustrations, and make connections between an author's life and his/her work and between the author's work and the reader's own life and work. Author studies also have the advantage of helping to develop reading skills, encourage a deeper attraction to books and provide an enjoyable reading environment.

Year Two

The Year Two library program for Term 4 will focus on adaptations of fairy tales. The students will review the original stories and then examine fairy tales with a twist. They will compare and contrast traditional and fractured fairy tales enabling them to see stories from different points of view. They will identify key elements of the stories such as narrative structure, magical creatures, characters and settings, series of events, problems and resolutions. They will also be provided with the opportunity to engage in stories for enjoyment.

 

Stage Two

 

Sharing Our Stories is a series of books that present studies of indigenous culture. Each book provides an insight into an Indigenous community and shares a traditional story.

The stories in this series instruct us about each community's traditions, cultural practices and beliefs.

In each book the students will:

•Read a traditional story that the community has chosen for sharing.

•Study illustrations contributed by the children of the community.

•Study a series of photographic portraits and interviews.

•Learn a glossary of indigenous words that will add meaning and depth to the stories.

 

Stage Three

The students will study episodes of the Australian Children’s Television Foundation series Double Trouble.

This is a story of different cultures: the white and the black; the city and the bush; traditional ways of life and modern day thinking.

This unity of study provides the students with the opportunity to explore Aboriginal culture and the issue of being exposed to a new and very different culture and having to cope.

The themes of the study are:

 Identity, relationships, family, twins, belonging, ancestry, stereotype, adolescence, growth and development, genre, humour and satire, expectations and decision making.

During the course of this unit the students will undertake a visual literacy study of cinematic techniques used to create mood and tell a story while also analysing the underlying themes mentioned above.

Annual Stocktake

The annual stocktake will begin in week 8 and we request that all books be returned to the library by the end of week 6.

 

 

 

 

 

Find Your Treasure in Term Three

The theme for book week this year is Find Your Treasure. In the library we are studying the books that have been identified as notable or have been shortlisted by the Children’s Book Council of Australia. Every book that we read contains many treasures.

MS Readathon

We will be supporting the MS readathon again this year. The students at Cromer have always risen to the challenge and raised money for this worthy cause. I know that they will again answer the challenge for the twofold reward of extending their reading skills and helping to find a cure for a condition that affects a number of friends and relatives of our school community. Follow the link below:
Cromer Public School Page

The Premier’s Reading Challenge

The challenge will close at the end of August. Please ensure that all reading logs are updated so that the students receive their certificates at the end of the year.

Author Visits

Jess Black is the co-author of the hugely successful Bindi Wildlife Adventure series, the RSPCA Animal Tales and The Caboodle Kid series. The students in Kindergarten, Year One and Year Two are looking forward to her visit on August 14th.

Mark Greenwood is an author with a passion for Australian history. His books have won multiple awards and have been published internationally. He will be sharing his creative writing process with the primary school students. He will present to Years 5 and 6 on August 23rd and to Years 3 and 4 on August 28th.

Book Parade

The annual book parade will take place on August 16^th.  The students at Cromer always look forward to this wonderful celebration of literature and reading.

The library Program

The focus of library lessons in term three is our preparation for book week.

Book week demonstrates that we love to read and promote the value of books. Arielle Van Luyen is a lecturer in Creative writing at James Cook University. She states that:

Reading books on your own improves empathy and theory of mind, the ability to understand that others might think or behave differently to you. Fiction shows characters’ thoughts - and how those thoughts drive or are hidden by characters’ words and actions.

The course of study in term three aims to present examples of the latest quality literature to the students and encourage a love of reading. The books to be studied are listed below.

Kindergarten:

Great Goal Marvelous Mark ! by Katrina Germein

I'm Australian Too by Mem Fox

Nana's Button Tin by Dianne Wolfer

Shapes of Australia by Bronwyn Bancroft

The Cat Wants Cuddles by P Crumble

One Keen Koala  by Margaret Wild

Two Rainbows by Sophie Masson

Can You  Find Me?  by Gordon Winch

Busting  by Aaron Blabey

 The Very Sleepy Bear  by Nick Bland

Stage One

Mopoke by Philip Bunt

Second Sky by Patrick Guest

Boy by Phil Cummings

A Walk In the Bush  by Gwyn Perkins

Guff  by Aaron Blabey

The Very Noisy Bear  by Nick Bland

Archie and the Bear  by Zanni Louise

Pea Pod Lullaby by Glenda Millard

Glitch by Michelle Worthington

Watcha Building? by Andrew Daddo

Stage Two

Ruben By Bruce Whatley

Storm Whale by Sarah Brennan and Jane Tanner

Feathers by Phil Cummings and Phil Lesnie

Grandma Forgets by Paul Russell and Nicky Johnston

The ANZAC Tree by Christina Booth

The Second Sky by Patrick Guest and Johnathan Bentley

Rodney Loses It by Michael Gerard Bauer and Christina Krebs

Florette by Anna Walker

Swan Lake by Anne Spudvilas

Pupa Sky  by Jane Jolly and Sally Heinrich

Stage Three

Blossom by Tamsin Janu

Figgy Takes the Lead by Tamsin Janu

The Rogues; Accidental Heroes by Lian Turner

Jehan and the Quest of the Lost Dog by Rosanne Hawke

Jimmy Cook Discovers X Marks the Spot by Kate and Jol Temple

Lintang and the Pirate Queen by Tamara Moss

Marsh and Me by Martine Murray

Mr Bambuckle's Remarkables by Tim Harris

Mr Bambuckle's Remarkables Fight Back by Tim Harris

Nevermoor The Trails of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

Pip and Houdini by J.C. Jones

The Cursed First Term of Zelda Stitch:

Bad Teacher. Worse Witch. By Nicki Greenberg

The Elephant by Peter Carnavas

The Girl, The Dog and the Write in Rome by Katrina Nannaestad

The Grand Genius Summer of Henry Hobbler by Lisa Shanahan

The Shop at Hoopers Bend by Emily Rodder

Whimsy and Woe by Rebecca McRitchie

We look forward to having a wonderful time exploring the treasures in literature during term three.

Celebrating Reading and Learning in Term 2

National Simultaneous Storytime

On the 23^rd of May at 11am Hickory Dickory Dash by Australian author Tony Wilson and illustrated by Laura Wood will be read simultaneously in libraries, schools, child care centres, book shops and family homes throughout the country as a celebration of the value of reading and literacy. The students of Cromer school will again participate in this exciting event. For more information follow the link to National Simultaneous Storytime.

                                        

The Premier’s Reading Challenge

Many Cromer students are busily participating in the Premier’s Reading Challenge which will close on August 31^st. The challenge aims to encourage students to read for leisure and pleasure.

The Library Program

Kindergarten

The aim of the program for term two is to present the students with a wide range of picture books which will move them, entertain them and widen their horizons. These books have been selected as prime examples of quality literature that has been produced in the last year.

Through the reading of quality picture books we aim to encourage the students to become sophisticated readers of visual texts and develop the ability to think creatively and imaginatively while maintaining good reading habits.

Stage One (Years One and Two)

Jess Black is an Australian children’s author. She has written over thirty junior fiction books and picture books. She is the co-author of the hugely successful Bindi Wildlife Adventure series which is extremely popular in our library.

Jess will be visiting our school as part of our book week celebrations in term three. The Bindi Wildlife series will be the focus of our unit of study this term. This unit of work will also encourage the students to continue to explore the world of chapter books.

Stage Two (Years 3 and 4)

Visual knowledge is understanding how visual elements such as line, colour, shape, texture, space, symbols, pattern and composition create meaning.

The visual literacy program explores a range of text types including examples of spoken, written and visual texts. The focus of this exploration is a study of the linguistic structures and features of a variety of text types. Included in this unit of work is the study of the following:

·      Television Advertisements

·      Billboards

·      Filmed Plays

The aspects of visual literacy studied in the library will be incorporated into the work done with the class teachers in the development of a filmed advertisement for the creature and insect food products that were designed in the term one program.

Year 5

Mark Greenwood is an author who has a passion for Australian history. His award-winning books have been published and honoured both in Australia and internationally. Mark produces historical texts for students which are the result of extensive research. He will be our visiting presenter during our book week celebrations in term three. His works provide inspiring insights into the historical events that are to be examined by Stage 3 during term 2

Other historical writers are Mark Wilson and Claire Saxby. The works of these outstanding Australian authors will, not only enhance the studies of Australian history in term 2, but will also inspire a natural curiosity in the students about the history of our country. The program has been designed to support the history unit that is being undertaken in class.

Year 6

The students will undertake a case study of Indonesia through two geographical inquiry processes. The first requires students to investigate the connection between Australia and Indonesia (eg. trade, aid, tourism, sporting, diplomatic). The second inquiry explores the various perceptions and perspectives that Australian people have about Indonesia. The unit has been designed to complement the geography unit that is being studied in class.

Welcome to the Library in 2018

As usual, the library is a very busy place and is humming with activity all day long. Students visit the library before school on Monday, Tuesday and Friday morning to make the most of the learning space. The library is also open during second half lunch times on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Throughout each day, classes take place in the upper library while the flexible learning space in the lower library is used to enhance learning experiences with a range of technological devices.

Seventeen students have volunteered to be library monitors and they are embracing their duties with dedication and enthusiasm.

The Premier’s Reading Challenge

This year the Premier’s Reading Challenge begins on March 5^th and finishes on August 31^st. All students are encouraged to participate. We have a broad range of books which are available for borrowing and students who participate are permitted to borrow up to six at a time.

The library program is outlined below:

Kindergarten

This term the Kindergarten students will participate in a study of the work of Julia Donaldson. Her most famous book is the very much loved classic The Gruffalo. In our series of lessons we will study The Gruffalo and a number of Donaldson’s other works. The students will participate in a variety of interactive activities using the Panaboard.

Stage One

In Stage One we aim to expose the students to a number of books that have been shortlisted in recent years.   Giving students access to quality literature is extremely important for their overall success. Our goal is to enable the students to develop a passion for reading.  They will be given the opportunity to read and respond to a range of texts thus helping them to appreciate their own and other cultures, develop emotional intelligence and creativity while nurturing their social skills.

Studies in Stages Two and Three

The library program is closely linked to the units of work that are being undertaken in class. For Stage Two students, the library program will supplement the English unit. For Stage Three students the library lessons supplement the studies that are being undertaken in Geography and History.

Each weekly library lesson will introduce concepts that are central to the mainstream unit of study. The students will then use those concepts in the lower library where they will complete tasks using a range of technologies under the guidance of their class teacher.

The Learning Intention For Stage Two Students:

In groups of 3, Design and create an edible product which includes INSECTS. Create a TV advertisement using  a variety of technology and ABOBE Video Spark.

1. Using A3 paper, create a storyboard for your product.

Storyboard must include-

target audience

characters

message of the product (sweet or savory)

setting

music

dialogue

slogans and logos

hyperbole

The Learning Intentions For Stage Three:

In Term one the Year Five students will study a Geography unit and the Year Six students a History unit. They will then alternate in Term Two.

The Geography Unit:

The students will undertake a case study of Indonesia through two geographical inquiry processes. The first requires students to investigate the connection between Australia and Indonesia (eg. trade, aid, tourism, sporting, diplomatic). The second inquiry explores the various perceptions and perspectives that people have about Indonesia.

The History Unit:

The topic of this unit of study is the development of Australia as a nation, particularly after 1901. The students will explore the factors that led to Federation and experiences of citizenship and democracy over time. They will learn about the influence of the Westminster system and its influence on the development of the Australian system of government. They will also learn about the way of life of people who migrated to Australia and the contribution that they have made to our economic and social development.

We are happily reading and learning together in the library in 2018!