Saturday 25 June 2016

New Units

The first weekend of the winter term break and I thought I'd put up some literature units on TPT that I used several years ago and created then but didn't post for one reason or another. They haven't been used this year (although I might use The Railway Children with my grade 3 girl in term 4, I think she'd like it) but have been used in 2012-14

In Michael Panckridge's The Vanishing; Francesca’s sister Carli goes missing and life is turned upside down. Francesca is sent to stay with her neighbours at the Kelly Station while her parents search for their lost daughter. When Francesca becomes involved in her own dangerous search for Carli she becomes caught up in a ghostly world that threatens her very existence. In Out of the Blue a group of inquisitive kids a wondering if they have stumbled upon a genuine UFO of something more sinister close to home. Michael is a prolific writer of quality kids books from primary to secondary so you are guaranteed to be entertained by him. he is also a teacher....so his success gives us all hope!!
I also included some photos I have taken of rural Victoria which can be used by whoever purchases the unit from TPT


Letter to me from the author:





E.Nesbit (Edith) was able to write some good stories (Five Children and It and The Railway Children) but she also wrote a lot of rubbish. She wrote like 'Mother' in The Railway Children to keep her dysfunctional family from starvation. She was an intelligent crafts person determined as the sole breadwinner to maintain a household and lifestyle and indulge in her Fabian passions. For that she deserves our respect.
Interestingly Nesbit had a lot in common with her immediate successor as prolific writer of children’s literature. They lost their fathers from their lives when youths. Absent or dead fathers feature frequently in their work. Both had unfortunate first marriages and had better luck the second time round. Blyton however died very rich while Nesbit sadly died destitute.


 
 
The Nicholas books are written in an episodic style, not unlike Mary Poppins. Every chapter is more or less a self-contained story. In that way it is easy to read the book as a serial in whatever order you like. I took a different approach to using this book in the classroom. I  read one chapter at a time and allowed children to respond through research, creative writing and craft (higher order thinking activities) to what they’ve listened too. Some responses took a while to complete while others can be started and finished in a day.
 I gave the children some choice as to what response they choose but also included a few remembering and comprehending activities for when the book was finished. There will be a strong emphasis on using digital resources (PCs, flip cameras, iPads, digital cameras and the internet.) to complete their tasks. Their creative skills and ability to freely utilise our available technology was the main focus of evaluation in this unit.
There are some excellent online resources for these books but they’re mostly in French. (Maybe this book could be used to support French LOTE - languages other Than English?)This unit should take 2 weeks but more time may be needed to complete some creative tasks. There is plenty of scope to add additional material to this unit while or after using it. I will re-visit it myself maybe next year.
 

 

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