Year 1 Step Inside the Character 2018

In a previous post Imagine If You Could Step Inside The Character In A Picture Book! I outlined and provided ideas for a series of lessons related to the visible thinking routine Step Inside the Character. Leading up to Children’s Book Week, Year 1 was introduced to the Children’s Book Council of Australia six short list books. After each book was read the students worked with a partner and answered one question related to the Step Inside thinking routine:

  • Who is the main character? Are they human, an animal or an imagined character?
  • What can the character see?
  • What might the character think?
  • What might the character care about?

The responses were collated to form a group summary. Students chose one of the books to respond to by drawing and writing. The use of writing prompt assisted students to respond to the Step Inside questions.

 

 

Book Week Lessons & Ideas 2018

Book Week suitcase!

Each year The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) promotes and celebrates children’s books with the major event of Children’s Book Week during August. The 2018 Book Week theme is Find Your Treasure.

The six CBCA short list book categories offer schools a wealth of opportunities to engage with reading, respond to, and celebrate literature. Exploring the short list books aligns with the Australian Curriculum and provides important opportunities to build students’ literacy skills by incorporating rich, objectively selected, and aesthetically valuable texts.

This Post provides a landing page for a variety of ideas to connect with Book Week this year. A SCIS Connections article I wrote in 2017 Read, respond, celebrate: engaging with the CBCA short list provides some background to the ideas presented below.

Exploring the Short List

Create a book character bunting display

Year K – Read and explore the Early Childhood short list, focus on the main character. Create your book character bunting – students select one book and draw the main character, as an extension write the characters name and book title. Using ribbon arrange and tape the students work – hang for all to enjoy!

Step Inside the Character

Year 1 – Imagine if you could step inside the character in a picture book. Explore the Early Childhood short list using the Visible Thinking Routine – Step Inside the Character. Visit a previous Post for more information.

Exploring story elements

Year 2 – What makes a great picture book? Explore story elements of the short list Early Childhood books to design and create a diorama. Visit a previous Post for work samples, a lesson sequence and templates.

Colour – Symbol – Image

Year 3 – Explore the short list Picture Books to discover what ideas and connections can be identified in picture books. Visit a previous Post for work samples, a lesson sequence and templates.

Visual literacy 

Year 4 – Explore and examine the short list Picture Books to discover and identify visual literacy vocabulary and techniques used by the illustrator. Visit a previous Post Visual Literacy – Some Examples to access the guide and background. Additional information can be found via a Guest Post I wrote in 217 for Softlink.

Celebrating the theme

Library displays

Create a display in the library that promotes the Book Week theme.

Student vote

Create a voting chart for younger students, provide each student with a star to place next to their favourite book. For older students create a Google Form or digital voting chart.

Promotional video

Use the Book Week theme to make a short promotional video that can be used in the school assembly.

Competitions and lunchtime activities

QR Code Treasure Hunt

Back by popular demand, the QR Code Short List Treasure Hunt is sure to engage students. The QR Code Treasure Hunt has a question for each of the CBCA Short List books in the Early Childhood, Picture Book and Younger Readers categories. Full details 2018 QR Code Short List Treasure Hunt.

Missing Book Character poster

Imagine if a book character went missing! Write a Missing Poster so they can be found. Full details including instructions and templates click here.

Postcard from a book

Imagine if you stepped inside a book! Who would you meet, where would you go, and what would you do? Write and draw about your book visit using the Postcard template. Full details of this activity click here.

Design a Book Trailer

Create a book trailer for a book or the Book Week theme Find Your Treasure. Organise a production team, make a plan, get filming! Keep your trailer between 1-2 minutes long that way it is short and sweet! Visit Tristan Bancks webpage How to make a book trailer for a wealth of information and to keep you on the right track.

Read, respond, celebrate: engaging with the CBCA short list

Each year The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) promotes and celebrates children’s books with the major event of Children’s Book Week during August. There are several Posts related to Book Week on this Blog as it is a very special part of the Library program. Recently SCIS Connections published an article I wrote focusing on using the Early Childhood and Picture Book short list books, as well as providing an insight into exploring the Younger Readers chapter books in the F–6 school context. The full article can be found via Read, respond, celebrate: engaging with the CBCA short list

Book Week suitcase

SCIS Connections 102 Read, respond, celebrate article PDF.

 

ANZAC Day library display

“Anzac Day, 25 April, is one of Australia’s most important national occasions. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.”

(Australian War Memorial, 2017)

Information about the Commemoration and Educational resources and activities  are provided by the Australian War Memorial. The Primary English Teaching Association Australia also provides Lest We Forget which comprises six literature-based units of work for PETAA members.

A collection picture books, some with teaching notes are available via my Pinterest collection of ANZAC Day commemoration picture books.

Exploring the CSI Thinking Routine through Picture Books

The Children’s Book Council Shortlist of books provided many possibilities to introduce and explore Thinking Routines. This term I introduced the Harvard Project Zero Visible Thinking  Colour, Symbol, Image Routine CSI to Year 3. The CSI routine was introduced and each week after we had read one of the Shortlist books the students were given a sticky note to write or draw a Colour, Symbol and Image related to the story. After a few goes the activity became easier and the students were able to dig a little deeper. The CBCA Shortlist Picture books led to deep thinking as they covered themes and ideas that were real and at times confronting.

Once we had completed the activity for the six books the students selected one book to examine and respond using the CSI routine in greater detail. A selection of work can be found in this post. Overall I was impressed with the students understanding and their response to the CSI routine, it enabled students to share aspects of the book and touched on the theme, mood and at times character emotions.

This unit of work links to the NSW Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum English and has been used successfully with Year 3. It combines literacy and critical and creative thinking. Students explore the six CBCA Short List Picture Books and apply the Visible Thinking Routine – CSI to each book. For the final piece of work students select one book to extend on.

Key Focus:
Colour – Symbol – Image

  • List ideas (thoughts) that you found interesting or important from the story.
  • Choose one idea, what colour best represents this idea? Why?
  • Choose a symbol to represent this idea or connects with the story. Explain your reason.
  • What image would best represent this idea or connects with the story? What would the image include?

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Updated Links:
CBCA Short List 2018 https://www.cbca.org.au/short-list-2018
Visible Thinking: Colour – Symbol – Image http://www.rcsthinkfromthemiddle.com/csi-color-symbol-image.html

Verbal and visual elements and imagery in literature

The night we Made the FlagDuring Grade 5’s unit on the Australian Gold Rush last year the book The Night we made the Flag by Carole Wilkinson allowed the students to explore and gather details of life in the gold fields. Working in small groups the  students gathered information from the book of both verbal and visual details, they extracted information about women, housing, food, clothing, entertainment, health, demographic right, crime, police, gold licences and immigration. The findings were organised onto a worksheet.
Continue reading →

Relationship between literary elements and verbal/visual details in picturebooks

A Literature Companion for Teachers by Lorraine McDonald released in 2013 by PETAA  has been one of the best teacher resource books providing practical  insights and ready to use ideas linked to the Australian The Red BridgeCurriculum English. Part 1 of Chapter 12 ‘Reading and viewing picture books’ provided a clear explanation and functional ideas that were easily incorporated into two lessons for Grade 3. The book The Red Bridge by Kylie Dunstan allowed for perfect exploration and fitted well into the Grade unit on China. Continue reading →