Reading Adventures in Term Three

Finally it is here! The most exciting time on the library calendar when we learn what books have been selected on Children’s Book Council short lists and prepare for our favourite event, the annual Cromer school book parade. Excitement is building in the library already.

MS Readathon

Fifty-five Cromer students have been participating in the MS Readathon and have, so far, raised  $2878 for this worthy cause. I am so proud of this effort and the contribution that Cromer students are making towards the search for a cure.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

The Premier’s Reading Challenge closes on August 19^th. Many students have signed up but all reading logs need to be completed by this date.

Book Week

The Book Week theme this year is Australia Story Country. We live in a country that has many stories to tell.

In the library we celebrate the work of our wonderful Australian authors and illustrators who continue to enrich our lives with amazing novels, picture books and information books. This includes the work of our wonderful indigenous story tellers who help us to understand and appreciate their rich history and culture. We continue to celebrate the fact that we all have a story to tell and Cromer students are wonderful story writers.

Visiting Presenters

As part of our book week celebrations two presenters will be visiting the school this August. Steven Herrick is Australia’s most popular poet for young people. His books for children and young adults have received critical acclaim both here and overseas. He will perform for Years 5 and 6 on Wednesday August 17^th.

Sam Derchie is a storyteller from Ghana. He encourages participation from the students by involving them in the singing of traditional folk songs which have been selected to reinforce themes in the stories that he tells. He will perform for students from Kindergarten to Year 4 on Tuesday August 30^th.

Lunch With the Stars

On Tuesday August 30^th I will be taking eight of the library monitors to Lunch with the Stars. This is an annual event held by the Children’s Book Council in the Great Hall at St Patrick’s Manly.

The event is a literary lunch where eight students and the teacher librarian from each participating school will sit at a table with an author for lunch and interesting presentations. We look forward to this event every year and value the opportunity to shake hands with many of our favourite authors.

The Library Program

In term three the students study the books that have been shortlisted or nominated as notable in a number of categories by the Children's Book Council . During the course of their studies the students research the authors and illustrators, examine the texts, discuss the themes and issues presented in the texts, and participate in visual literacy and online activities. The books to be studied are listed below.

K/6J

Bogtrotter by Margaret Wilde and Judith Rossell

Big As You by Sara Acton

Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas by Aaron Blabey

My Dog Bigsy by  Alison Lester

The Cow Tripped Over the Moon by Laura Wood and Troy Wilson

Ollie and the Wind by Ronojoy Ghosh

Why I Love Footy  by Michael Wagner and Tom Jellett

Mr Huff  by Anna Walker

Perfect by Danny Parker and Freya Blackwood

Pig the Fibber by Aaron Blabey

The students will also participate in joint oral reading activities using Sunshine Books Online and related digital activities.

Kindergarten

Mr Huff  by Anna Walker

Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas by Aaron Blabey

Perfect by Danny Parker and Freya Blackwood

My Dog Bigsy by    Alison Lester

The Cow Tripped Over the Moon by Laura Wood and Troy Wilson

Ollie and the Wind by Ronojoy Ghosh

Big As You by Sara Acton

Why I Love Footy  by Michael Wagner and Ton Jellett

Pig the Fibber by Aaron Blabey

Bogtrotter by Margaret Wilde and Judith Rossell

 

Stage One

The Cleo Stories by Libby Gleeson and Freya Blackwood

Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas by Aaron Blabey

Ollie and the Wind by Ronojoy Ghosh

Perfect by Danny Parker and Freya Blackwood

Mr Huff  by Anna Walker

The Cow Tripped Over the Moon by Laura Wood and Troy Wilson

My Dog Bigsy by    Alison Lester

Green Tree Frogs  by Sandra Kendell

Adelaide’s Secret World by Elise Hurst

How the Sun Got to Coco’s House by Bog Graham

Stage Two

Suri’s Wall by Lucy Estela and Matt Ottley

Ride, Ricardo Ride! By Phil Cummins and Shane Devries

One step at a Time by Jane Jolly and Sally Heinrich

And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda by Eric Bogle and Bruce Whatley

Flight Nadia Wheatley and Armin Greder

My Dead Bunny by Sigi Cole and James Foley

My Gallipoli  by Ruth Starke and Robert Hannaford

The White Mouse: the story of Nancy Wake by Peter Gouldthorpe

Bob the Railway Dog by Corinne Fenton and Andrew McLean

Platypus by Sue Whiting and Mark Jackson

Stage Three

Soon by Morris Gleitzman

Star of Deltora: Shadows of the Master by Emily Rodda

Sister Heart by Sally Morgan

Molly and Pim and the Thousands of Stars by    Martine Murray

Run, Pip Run by J C Jones

Lennie the Legend by Stephanie Owen Reeder

The White Mouse: the story of Nancy Wake by Peter Gouldthorpe

Phasmid; Saving the Lord Howe Island Stick Insect  by Rohna Cleave and Coral Tulloch

My Dead Bunny by Sigi Cole and James Foley

 

These are all wonderful books and we should have a great deal of fun studying them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Term Two 2016

National Simultaneous Storytime

The students of Cromer School will participate in National Simultaneous Storytime on Wednesday May 25th.  This event aims to encourage more young Australians to read and enjoy books. The Australian Library and Information Association tells us that:

Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. By facilitating National Simultaneous Storytime, we aim to:

• promote the value of reading and literacy;
• promote the value and fun of books;
• promote an Australian writer and publisher;
• promote storytime activities in public libraries and communities around the country;
• provide opportunities to involve parents, grandparents, the media and others to participate in and enjoy the occasion.
• NSS receives positive media coverage, generates a great deal of community interest and is held annually as part of Library and Information Week.

This year the story that will be read is I Got this Hat  by Jol and Kate Temple. Follow the link above for all the details (All purple text in this post represents a link to more information).

                                                         

 

The Premier’s Reading Challenge

One hundred and forty Cromer students have signed up for the Premier’s Reading Challenge this year. I am so pleased to see the enthusiasm of these young readers for borrowing and enjoying quality literature. It is not too late to begin. We have many books in the library that are on the PRC list.

The Library Program

K/6J

Sunshine Books Online underpins the course of study designed for K/6J. The students will read texts together, engage in related digital activities and complete worksheets related to the texts studied.

Kindergarten

The students in Kindergarten will study the work of author illustrator Bruce Whatley. His work is highly regarded both in Australia and internationally. Whatley has created over 60 picture books and has won many awards. The students always enjoy his humorous stories and vibrant illustrations.

Year One

The students in Year One will undertake a Colin McNaughton author study. The work of this author is a wonderful means by which the students can be introduced to the study of visual literacy.

Visual Literacy involves the skill of interpreting still and moving images, graphs, tables, maps and other graphic representations. It incorporates the understanding and evaluation of the manner in which images and language work together to present ideas.

 

Year Two

John Burningham is an author /illustrator. He has been writing children’s books since the 1960s and his work provides insights into many themes and issues confronting us in modern life. His work has appeal for both children and adults. The students should enjoy studying the wide range of Burningham’s works that have been chosen for this course of study.

Stage Two

The students in stage two will study the work of author/illustrator Colin Thompson. In his work the following themes can be found:

• Happy endings
• Everyone wins
• Non-violent resolution
• Imaginative and creative stories
• Challenging stereotypes
• Faith and hope
• Peace with the environment

The students will also be introduced to Colin Thompson’s amusing series The Floods.

Stage Three

The course of study for Stage Three is based on the ABC television program Bushwhacked. The course of study aims to assist the students to:

• Develop a coherent, dynamic and evolving body of knowledge about the English language and how it works;
• Learn to interpret, appreciate and evaluate film and multimodal texts.
• Apply their English skills and knowledge to read, view, speak, listen to and write a growing repertoire of texts.
• Develop a sense of wonder, curiosity and respect about places, people, cultures and environments throughout the world.
• Gain deep geographical knowledge of their own locality, Australia, the Asia region and the world.
• Acquire the ability to think geographically, using geographical concepts.
• Develop the capacity to be competent, critical and creative users of geographical inquiry methods and skills.
• Become responsible and active citizens who can contribute to the development of an environmentally and economically sustainable and socially just world.

 

It is shaping up to be an interesting and exciting term. Happy reading and researching!

Reading Adventures in 2016

At the start of this brand new year the students at Cromer School are certainly enjoying the library. There are lots of interesting areas to relax and enjoy the many new books that have been purchased in the past year. We have created many more labelled boxes which make it much easier for both the students and teachers to find texts by favourite authors or that provide information on specific subjects.

The students enjoy visiting the library each Monday, Tuesday and Friday morning before school and at lunch time on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Each class attends library lessons for a weekly forty minute lesson. Please endure that your child has a library bag (preferably waterproof) on their designated library day.

This year we welcome Ms Kimberley Lee to the library as library teacher each Friday.

The Premier’s Reading Challenge

The Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge to each student to read, to read more and to read more widely. (NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge Website)

The challenge will open on the 7^th of March and all students are encouraged to participate.

The Library Program

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 related interactive activities using the Panaboard.

Years One and Two

I would like to extend the reading experience of the students by introducing them to the wonderful reading adventures that can be found in junior chapter books. There is a very large collection of junior chapter books in our library and throughout the term we will read a variety of texts from a number of different series that are on offer in the library.  A different set of books has been selected for each grade.

Stage Two (Years 3 and 4)

The students in stage Two will undertake a unit of study that is designed to help with the development of their research skills. We will be using World Book Online as well as film clips and books to research the following topics:

Environmental Pollution

The Human Body

Space Exploration

Feasts and Festivals

At the end of each research unit individual classes will create a challenge using the interactive tools in Smart Notebook. These challenges will be completed by the other classes in Stage Two.

Stage Three (Years 5 and 6)

Visual Literacy involves the skill of interpreting still and moving images, graphs, tables, maps and other graphic representations. It incorporates the understanding and evaluation of the manner in which images and language work together to present ideas.

The students will participate in a visual literacy program which explores the techniques used in the development of multimodal texts. Using the program The Text Files, the students will examine the techniques used in the production of plays, television advertisements, billboards, computer adventure games and comics.

The year is off to a great start and I am looking forward to our reading adventures in 2016.

Books Light Up OUr World In Term Three

Term Three is always our most exciting term as we study the books that have been short listed by the Children’s Book Council of Australia and vote for the texts that we think should be the winners. We also prepare for the major event of the year, the annual book parade. This is always a wonderful celebration of books and reading.

All children are encouraged to participate in the Premier’s Reading Challenge and the MS Readathon. We have been learning about Multiple Sclerosis in our library lessons and have heard the stories of some people who suffer from the disease and have been helped by the MS Society.

As we have a number of teachers and students who have relatives who suffer from MS, we encourage the Cromer community to support this worthy cause.

Our book fair will not take place during book week this year. We look forward to having a wonderful book fair in the hall from the 27^th of October during grandparents’ week.

The Short List

The students study books that have been short listed in a number of categories. The studies involve researching the authors and illustrators, studying the texts, participating in visual literacy activities and participating in online activities that enrich our understanding of themes and issues presented in the books.

The short listed books are:

Book of the Year for Early Childhood

These books will be studied by the students in  K/6B  and Kindergarten

Pig the Pug by Aaron Blabey

Scary Night by Lesley Gibbes and Stephen Michael King

Go to Sleep Jessie by Libby Gleeson and Freya Blackwood

A House of Her Own by Jenny Hughes and Jonathan Bentley

Snail and Turtle are Friends by Stephen Michael King

Noni the Pony by Alison Lester

Picture Book of the Year

These books will be studied by Year Four

Rivertime by Trace Bella

My Two Blankets by Irena Kobald and Freya Blackwood

One Minute’s Silence by David Metzenthen and Michael Camilleri

The Stone Lion by Margaret Wild and Ritva Voutila

Fire by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley

The Eve Pownall Award for Information Books

These books will be studied by Year Three

The A-Z of Convicts in Van Diemen’s Land by Simon Barnard

Mary’s Australia by Pamela Freeman

Emu by Claire Saxby and Graham Byrne

Tea and Sugar Christmas by Jane Jolly and Robert Ingpen

The Crighton Award for New Illustrators

A selection of these books will also be studied by Year Three

Rivertime by Trace Bella

Kick With My Left Foot by Paul Seden and Karen Briggs

One Minute’s Silence by David Metzenthen and Michael Camilleri

Little Dog and the Christmas Wish by Corinne Fenton  Robin Cowcher

Meet Douglas Mawson by Mike Dumbleton and Snip Green

The Lost Girl by Ambelin Kwaymullina and Leanne Tobin

Book of the Year for Younger Readers

These books will be studied by Years Five and Six

Two Wolves by Tristan Banks

The Simple Things by Bill Condon

Figgy in the World by Tamsin Janu

Bleak Boy and Hunter Stand Out in the Rain by Stephen Herrick

Withering-By-Sea: A Stella Montgomery Intrigue by Judith Rossell

Years One and Two and 3/4/5M will study a selection of texts from the above categories.

Start planning those costumes for the book parade and keep reading!

 

 

Fun In The Library In Term Two

The Term Two library program is well underway with many varied literary and research activities for all grades.

Kindergarten

 The library program has been designed to link  with the course of study on weather that is being undertaken in class. We will be looking at eBooks using World Book Online, researching information in factual texts and film clips and learning a range of songs and poems.

K/6B

Sunshine Books Online underpins the course of study designed for K/6B. The students will read texts together, engage in related digital activities and complete worksheets related to the texts studied.

Year One

The students in Year One will undertake a Colin McNaughton author study. They will use their visual literacy skills to analyse the story behind the text in his entertaining books.

Year Two

The students in Year Two will be undertaking a study of fractured fairy tales. In each lesson we will read the original tale and then a fractured version written through the eyes of one of the characters in the story. We will watch film clips of the fairy tales analysing similarities and differences and the elements that make them humorous. The students will plan their own fractured fairy tales to share with the class.

Year Three

Year Three will be journeying into the Dreaming to explore a number of traditional stories both online and in texts.

 

3/4/5 M

 The students in 3/4/5 M will be studying the conversion of story to film based on the work of Paul Jennings and the Round the Twist series. They will analyse such elements as:

• Plot structure and changes that are made due to production demands
• The use of montage
• Point of view
• Satire
• Fantasy and Realism
• Irony and Parody
• Stereotyping
• Conflict and Resoultion

Year Four

The work of Roald Dahl is the focus of the Year Four unit of study. Many of the students have enjoyed his work which is a popular choice for borrowing. Our unit of study will explore the influences on Dahl’s work, his childhood experiences and his journey as an author. We will focus on what we can learn as writers from our research into the life and work of this great author.

Year Five

The unit of study for Year Five is designed to link with their studies of electricity in the classroom. With the use of film clips, e-books and information facts will be gathered and presented in a Smart Notebook using multimedia tools.

Year Six

In Year Six we will be studying classics in graphic novel form. We will use our skills of visual literacy to analyse the graphic presentations and film clips. Books to be studied are:

·         Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

·         The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

·         War of the Worlds by H G Wells

·         20 000 Leagues Under the Sea  by Jules Vernehe Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

National Simultaneous Storytime

The students of Cromer School will again participate in National Simultaneous Storytime on Wednesday May 27^th.  This event aims to encourage more young Australians to read and enjoy books. The Australian Library and Information Association tells us that:

 Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country.

By facilitating National Simultaneous Storytime we aim to;

·         promote the value of reading and literacy;

·         promote the value and fun of books;

·         promote an Australian writer and publisher;

·         promote storytime activities in public libraries and communities around the country;

·         provide opportunities to involve parents, grandparents, the media and others to participate in and enjoy the occasion.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

All students are encouraged to participate in the Premier’s Reading Challenge. There are many books on

 

Welcome To 2015

Life in the library is very busy and the students are enjoying the many activities that are available on Monday, Tuesday and Friday mornings before school and at lunch time on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The term one program is well underway. All units of study have a strong focus on quality literature.

Kindergarten

The students in Kindergarten will study ten picture books that have been shortlisted or won the title of notable books in previous years. One book will be studied each week and many varied activities both digital and creative have been designed to enhance the enjoyment and understanding of these texts.

Year One

Ten notable and shortlisted books have also been chosen for the course of study for Year One.

Year Two

The Year Two students will be introduced to a number of the junior chapter books that are in the library collection. By focusing on quality examples each week it is hoped that the students will be inspired to read more challenging texts. Of course some quality picture books have also been included in the course.

Year Three

The students in Year Three will study the book Nim’s Island by Wendy Orr. We will read chapters from the text  and undertake written tasks related to themes and issues encountered in our reading.

Year Four

A number of texts have been chosen for the development of visual literacy and research skills in the Year Four. All of the books studied are linked to online activities.

Year Three, Four, Five M

The Year Three and Four students will study the Wacky Families series by Jackie French. The Year Five students will choose a Jackie French book to read and will be required to research themes and issues in the text. They will present an advertisement for the book to the class.

Stage Three

Over the years many quality novels have been shortlisted and studied by previous Stage Three students.  I have purchased multiple copies of many of the very popular texts. It is my aim, in this unit of study, to introduce the current generation of Stage Three students to the wonderful novels that are available for loan. Ten books will be presented during the course of the term.

The Premier’s Reading Challenge

The challenge opens on March 2^nd.

The Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge to each student to read, to read more and to read more widely.

The Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC) is available for all NSW students in Kindergarten-Year 9, in government, independent, Catholic and home schools.

 

Happy reading in Term One.

 

 

Term Four

Term three ended with a wonderful celebration of reading. The students thoroughly enjoyed the presentation made by illustrator Sarah Davis. She is an extremely talented artist with a teaching background. She shared many of her artistic techniques with the students and gave them the opportunity to practise being artists themselves. We will all view her books with new eyes in the future.

Our book fair was a wonderful success and we have again received a generous commission in the form of new books for the library.  The library monitors accompanied me to the annual Lunch with the Stars in the great hall of the International School Management in Manly.  It was very exciting to meet so many of our favourite authors.

Finally 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 Term Four Program

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.

Year One

The students will study the work of illustrator Freya Blackwood. They will read books written by various authors that have been illustrated by  Blackwood and will use their visual literacy skills to analyse her inspiring work.

Year Two

The students will work together to study the components of digital stories. They will use a variety of digital tools to collaboratively create stories.

 

Stage Two

The students will undertake a study which has been designed to expand their research skills.  Each class will undertake a research project. They will read the information in the chosen article, locate the key ideas and use these ideas to design question and answer activities for other classes.  These activities will be designed using tools in the interactive multimedia section of the Smart Notebook program.

Stage Three

The students will participate in a visual literacy program which explores the techniques used in the development of multimodal texts. Using the television program The Text Files, the students will examine the techniques used in the production of plays, television advertisements, billboards, computer adventure games and comics.

Stocktake

This year the stocktake will begin in week 8 of the school term. Borrowing will cease in week 6 after which time I will be requesting that all items be returned to the library.