Launching Into 2017

We have had an exciting start to term one in the library.  A large number of students have volunteered to be library monitors and it is wonderful to see such interest in keeping the library running smoothly. I am thrilled to be working with this new group of dedicated monitors.

The library program is well underway and is outlined as follows:

K/6J

The students will read together each week using the digital books in World Book Online Early World of Learning and will follow links to the related film clips, pictures and activities incorporated in the program

Each reading task will be supported with a related fiction or non-fiction text which will be jointly read using the interactive whiteboard.

The students will then complete each lesson with a worksheet related to the theme studied in the lesson.

Author Studies:

Author studies enable teachers to share quality literature with their students. As the students share the excitement of exposure to engaging literature the skills of comprehension and communication emerge. The students gain a deeper attachment to books and critical thinking skills, reading skills and writing skills develop and improve.

Kindergarten

The students will undertake an author study of the work of Pamela Allen. She is an award winning author who has enchanted children for over thirty years. Her books are full of the music of language and are designed to be read aloud and shared.

Year One

The students will undertake an author study of the work of Eric Carle.

Eric Carle is an international bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator of more than seventy books for very young children including his most well-known title The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Year Two

A unit of work has been designed to introduce the students to junior chapter books with a view to encouraging them to borrow from the vast and varied assortment in the library collection.

Developing a love of reading as a recreational activity would be the most important goal of this program.

Making time for exposure to high quality literature enables students to become enthusiastic readers. They are given the opportunity to travel to interesting places, understand other cultures, explore a range emotions and new experiences and broaden their horizons.

Stage Two (Years 3 and 4)

The students will undertake a study of the narrative structure. Narrative structure is the structural framework that underlies the order and manner in which a story is presented to readers, listeners and viewers. The two elements of the narrative structure are the plot and the setting.

The students will read the original Grimm brothers’ version of the story of Hansel and Gretel. They will then read the Anthony Browne version noting similarities and differences in the retelling. Particular attention will be paid to character, setting, plot, point of view and illustrations.

The students will then undertake a study of a digital retelling and analyse such elements as music, sound effects, characterisation, intended audience, salience and cinematic techniques.

Stage Three (Years 5 and 6)

Poetry is an important branch of literature. Poetry provides a gateway to becoming literate as students are given the opportunity to delight and engage while increasing their skills of critical analysis.

 Poems use a variety of techniques -- metaphor, imagery, rhyme and meter -- to convey meaning. As students identify these techniques and analyse the manner in which they function in a poem their analytical and critical skills improve.

Providing students wth the opportunity to write poetry gives them the opportunity to express themselves creatively.

This unit of study is designed in two formats. There is a digital  lesson which can be undertaken in pairs and a formal class lesson. This series of lessons will be undertaken in rotating groups.