My Girragundji
St Leonards
:
Allen and Unwin
,
1998
Z834922
1998
single work
children's fiction
children's
humour
(taught in 8 units)
'Alive with humour, this is the vivid story of a boy growing up between two worlds. With Girragundji, the little green tree frog, he finds the courage to face the Hairyman, the bullies at school, and also learns the lessons of manhood that his father teaches him.
A young boy growing up in a large family and caught between Koori and white worlds, finds his attachment to a little tree frog gives him the courage to face his fears.' Source: Libraries Australia.
The Return of the Word Spy
Camberwell
:
Viking
,
2010
Z1691647
2010
single work
non-fiction
children's
(taught in 1 units)
'From the beginning of time, the Word Spy has been creeping down hallways, hiding in shadows and journeying through different lands to discover everything there is to know about the English language. In her first book, The Word Spy, she shared with us the secrets she'd learnt about English, from the first alphabet in 4000 BC right up to the tricks of modern texting.
'In The Return of the Word Spy she continues the fascinating journey through language, with chapters on language families, how we learn to speak, grammar and written forms of communication. In an accessible, engaging style, the Word Spy explains the meaning of nouns, verbs, pronouns, "dead" languages, word origins and other wordy wonders.' (From the publisher's website.)
The Peasant Prince
Anne Spudvilas
(illustrator),
Camberwell
:
Viking
,
2007
Z1435037
2007
single work
picture book
children's
(taught in 1 units)
'In a poor village in northern China, a small boy is about to be taken away from everything he's ever known. He is so afraid, but his mother urges him to follow his dreams. For soon he will become a dancer, one of the finest dancers in the world...' (Publisher's blurb)
This unit focuses on the learning and teaching of speaking, listening, writing, reading and viewing appropriate to the later years of primary school. Questions of integration of knowledge and its application in schools and community will be addressed. Preservice teachers will extend their study of a range of relevant literary (e.g. novels), information, media and multi-modal texts appropriate to Years 3-6 and examine ways of using such texts for planning and integrating literacy across their classroom teaching. Knowledge and ability to scaffold children’s learning at more complex levels of reading and writing structures and processes, with a particular focus on scaffolding literacy, will be extended. This knowledge incorporates children’s ability to draw on spelling strategies, word processing and technology to underpin their competence in literacy. Emphasis will be learning how to support children to become effective, analytical and critical writers and readers of a variety of text types for different purposes, appropriate for Years 3-6. The unit will develop the preservice teachers’ understanding of assessment-related issues and the purposes, characteristics, and limitations of various types of assessments.
