sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

What I Read in February

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February was a really busy month for me – lots of good stuff happening as well as just general busyness.  So i guess I shouldn’t be surprised to realise that I only managed to read eight books this month, which is my lowest in a very long time. Lucky there were some good ones there. My favourite this month was, I think,  The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone (though it must be said that this book has an inconveniently length name!)  which is great fantasy quest for younger readers (and older ones too!) in sumptuous hard cover with brilliant illustrations by the talented Kelly Canby.

As alwways, links to reviews, or to the book online, are included.  Have a great month!

Children’s Books

Australia’s Great War: 1918, by Libby Gleeson

The Subtle Knife, by Phillip Pulman

The Extremely Inconvenient Adventure of Bronte Mettlestone, by Jaclyn Moriarty

Pepsi the Problem Puppy, by Sandi Parsons

Stories of Life at Sydney Cove, by Susan E. Boyer

How to Feel Awesome Every Day, by Elly Awesome

Adult Fiction

The Hangman, by Jack Heath

Suddenly One Summer, by Fleur McDonald

Poetry Friday Roundup, and Some Terse Verse

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Welcome to Poetry Friday. I am really excited (and also slightly nervous) because, for the first time ever, I am hosting the Poetry Friday round up here on my blog.  What does that mean? It means that other poetry enthusiasts from around the blogosphere will drop in here over the course of today and leave their links  at the end of this post. You can then click through on each link and see ALL the poetry goodness on offer.

I mentioned being nervous about hosting (because I do like to do things right, and this is, as I said, my first time). I was also pretty nervous earlier this week, because I had to go to the dentist and get started on a root canal, something I had not been looking forward to, but which was necessary to get me out of the pain I was in.

The dentist was lovely, and tried hard to keep me calm and as comfortable as was possible while he was needling and drilling and prodding and whatever else he was doing. Me? I decided I would keep my mind busy with thoughts of anything other than what was happening in my mouth.

Maybe I could count backwards from a hundred?  Nope. I kept losing count.

Maybe I could recite a poem in my head?  Nope. My mind was blank.

Maybe I could make up a poem? Noooope. Actually, yes!    But it would have to be a short one.

Haiku? Limerick? Ooooh. I had it! Terse Verse. Seemed to match both my mood (definitely terse) and the length of my concentration. My mind got very busy very quickly and, before I knew it I had  ideas filling my mind (oooh, there’s a dental play on words), and had (almost) forgotten what the dentist was doing to me.

Almost, because unbeknownst to him, he was inspiring the verses. Afterwards, I couldn’t wait to get home and jot down what I’d come up with. So, here you have it, a series of Terse Verse in honour of my dentist:

To the Dentist Asking Me Questions While He Probes My Mouth

Mmmmfff grmmmmmf

 

To the Dentist Telling Me this is Going to Sting

No Joke, Poke

 

To the Dentist Making My Skull Vibrate With the Drill

Drilling’s Killing!

 

To the Dentist Telling Me I’m Doing Reaaaally Well

Why Cry?

 

To the Dentist Telling Me He’ll See Me Next Week for Another Round of Treatment

Great, mate!

(Insert sarcasm in the first word of that one!)

 

Goes to show you can write poetry about anything, anywhere.  There is a form for every occasion, too.

If you are new to Terse Verse, my efforts might give you the idea – but if not, it’s simple. A Terse Verse has a generally quite long title (sometimes posed as a question), and then uses as few as two rhyming words  to sum up the sentiment, or answer the question. Does it have to be as negative as mine? No And, just to prove that here’s a happier one

To the  Snail I Met on My Morning Walk:

Swell shell!

Have you ever tried to write terse verse? Would love to see what you come up with. In the meantime, if you have a poetry post please share it in the Mr Linky below, and, whether you do or not, click through to see what my Poetry Friday friends are up to.

To My Friends on Poetry Friday

Rhyme time!

 

(All verses copyright Sally Murphy, 2018)

 

Teacher Tuesday: Creative Writing Using Looking Up

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It’s Teacher Tuesday. Previous Teacher Tuesday posts have been quite long, offering whole units of work around one my books. But this week, to mix things up a  bit, I am going to try a shorter post with just one activity. But it’s one of my all-time favourite creative writing activities, and it works well as an introduction to reading Looking Up as a class novel.     Looking Up

So, here’s what you do. Before you read the novel, buy or make a set of birthday cards (I buy mine cheaply from discount stores), one for each member of the class, and write one for each student. You could write their name inside (ie Dear Tommy,….) OR, do what I have done in the past, and start each with Dear You, which means they can then be given out randomly.  Also add a short message. When I have done this activity, I have used the same message that is used in Looking Up:

Happy birthday.

May all your dreams come true.

However, if you are feeling really creative, you might decide to write a different message in each card.

The fun bit is deciding who each card is from. The idea is that it is going to be a card from a complete stranger – someone the student has never met. They might be silly, fantastical, or completely random.  Ideally, every student will get a card from someone different. Here are some ideas, which I have used:

The Monster Under Your Bed

Alan the Alien

Your New Next Door Neighbour

Officer Smith

Your Great Great Great Uncle Albert

Mrs Madge Longbottom

The Pot Plant Fairy

The Spider in Your Mailbox

So, a completed card might read:

Dear You,

Happy birthday.

May all your dreams come true.

Love,

Your Worst Nightmare

(Yes, I have used this one – the girl who got it had a lot of fun writing back.)

Now, for the activity.

  1. Explain to the students that they are going to receive a birthday card, imagining that their birthday is coming up. Discuss: who generally sends birthday cards; what kinds of messages might they contain?
  2. Give each student their sealed card. Make them wait to open it.
  3. Before opening it, let them guess who it might be from.
  4. Tell them they can open the envelope and remove the card, but not read it yet. Look at the outside of the card. Is it the sort of card they expected? Does it match their interests? Who might send them a card with a bunch of flowers/a race car/ etc on it?
  5. Lastly, let them read the card, and share with neighbours.
  6. As a class, have some students share their cards. Ask: Why would this person be writing to you? What would you do about it? Would you write back? Get help from a parent? Ignore the card?
  7. Creative Writing. Either: Write a letter back to the sender, thanking them for the card and asking them about themselves. OR Write a scene where you meet the sender of the card.

After this activity, read the first two chapters of Looking Up. Make predictions about who ‘Grandad’ might be. Do students think he is really Pete’s Grandad or is it some kind of trick? What should Pete do about it? Why would his mum lie about Grandad being dead?

This activity can be adapted for students from year two through to year six. If you try it, I would love to hear how it goes.

More ideas for using Looking Up,  can be found here or here.

Looking Up, by Sally Murphy, with illustrations by Aska
Published by Fremantle Press, 2017
ISBN 9781925164572

Format, Paperback 72  pages, RRP $14.99

Available from good bookstores or here. Also available as an ebook.

What I Read in January

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The first month of  2018 has been and gone (gosh, that was quick!), and it’s time to check in with what I read for January.  I only managed one picture book – but it was my favourite read for the month. The Great Rabbit Chase is a delightful offering about, as the title suggests, the quest to capture an escaped rabbit. But perhaps it is the rabbit who is capturing the people – showing them a good time!  Other highlights this month were Clan of Wolves, the second on the Tarin of the Mammoths series and, although it made me cry,  and The Choke, by Sofie Laguna.

As always, if I have reviewed the book, I have linked to the review so you can see what I thought.

Picture Books

The Great Rabbit Chase, by Freya Blackwood   

Younger Readers

Northern Lights, by Phillip Pullman

500 Minutes of Danger, by Jack Heath

The Cursed First Term of  Zelda Stitch, by Nicki Greenberg

Jehan and the Quest of the Lost Dog, by Rosanne Hawke

Clan of Wolves, by Jo Sandhu

Young Adult Readers

A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares, by Krystal Sutherland

The Fifth Room, by A. J. Rushby

Fiction for Adults

The Twentieth Man, by Tony Jones

We That Are Left, by Lisa Bigelow

The Choke, by Sofie Laguna

Non Fiction

The Hate Race, by Maxine Beneba Clarke

The Prosperous Coach, by Steve Chandler & Rich Litvin

 

I’d love to hear what you thought of any of these books – or else, what it is you’ve been reading so far this year.

Teacher Tuesday: Using 1915 in a Year 6 Classroom

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Welcome to my first Teacher Tuesday post for 2018 – and, of course, welcome to the new school year. If you have missed my previous Teacher Tuesday posts, links to those are at the end of this post, offering lots of ideas for using my books in your classroom.   This week, I am sharing suggestions for using Australia’s Great War: 1915 in your year six classroom, though of course the activities could be adapted for an older or younger class as well.

Using 1915 in a Year Six Classroom

Australia’s Great War: 1915, by Sally Murphy 
Published by Scholastic Australia, 2015
ISBN: 9781743622483
Format 208 pp Paperback RRP $16.99  (Also available as an ebook)

Blurb:    When Australia throws its support behind Britain in its fight against Germany, young teacher Stan Moore is one of the first to join up, swapping the classroom for adventure in Europe. But the 11th Battalion is sent with the newly formed Anzac Corp to Gallipoli where Stan is confronted by the hard lessons of war.  Though conditions are dismal and death is everywhere, so is the humour and bravery that is the true spirit of Anzac.

Sally’s Recommended Grade Levels: Year 4 – Lower Secondary, but these suggestions focus on Year 6.

Themes/Topics:

  • Word War 1
  • Gallipoli
  • History
  • Family/Siblings
  • Friendship
  • Letter Writing
  • War Poetry

Curriculum Links and Activities

  1. Identify and explore ideas and viewpoints about events, issues and characters represented in texts drawn from different historical, social and cultural contexts (ACELT1619)
  2. Compare the ways that language and images are used to createcharacter, and to influence emotions and opinions in different types of texts (ACELT1621)
  3. Recognise and analyse the ways that characterisation, events and settings are combined in narratives, and discuss the purposes and appeal of different approaches (ACELT1622)
  • Before Reading: Class or small group work – brainstorm knowledge about World War 1, and, particularly, Gallipoli. Start a class ‘fact’ wall, where facts about WW1 are added progressively during the unit.  Have students verify facts, using internet sources and/or class library, and reference the source on their additions to the ‘fact’ wall. Information to consider: key dates of the war, key dates of Gallipoli campaign, countries involved, numbers of Australian who served, casualties, fatalities etc,  geographic locations, famous people involved etc.  Operation Click (available here) has useful fact sheets and worksheets.
  • Before reading – Examine front cover. Focus on the character pictured – the main character (Stan).  Discuss – what kinds of people served in WW1? What would we expect Stan to be like – age, employment background, any special qualities etc.   Examine rest of cover, including the photos and blurb.  Journal writing, or discussion: From examining the cover, do you anticipate enjoying the book? Why/Why not?  What do you know about Stan from the cover information?  What do you think might happen to Stan in the story? Encourage students to give evidence from the cover and from their knowledge of WW1.
  • Before Reading – Focus on the concept of bravery/courage. What do these words mean? In groups, students to crate posters, providing a definition of bravery, and giving examples of what bravery might look – at war, and in everyday life.
  • During reading, focus on key moments of bravery, including the landing at Gallipoli (chapter five), Stanley helping Colin (pp. 67-68), Simpson (Chapter 9), Miles helping the Turk (Chapter 10), Stanley and others staying aboard the Southland (chapter 17). Encourage students to identify other kinds of courage: returning to Gallipoli after hospitalisation, using humour to get through, writing letters which don’t reflect just how bad things are etc.
  • After Reading: Groups to revisit their bravery posters, and create a second poster identifying instances of bravery from the book. Share posters with whole class, and discuss whether concepts of bravery have changed through reading the book. Use worksheets from Operation Click (here) to explore the concept of the ANZAC legend.
  • After Reading: Compare 1915 with other accounts of Gallipoli. Historic accounts, from newspapers and books can be found on Trove, and elsewhere, Contemporary nonfiction accounts in textbooks or online (here’s one to get you started), and fictional accounts are numerous – including the picture books listed here.  Read and/or view a number of accounts, and have students compare by creating a table, focussing on:  attitude to war, events focussed on, word choice, other aspects.

4.Reflect on ideas and opinions about characters, settings and events in literary texts, identifying areas of agreement and difference with others and justifying a point of view (ACELT1620)

5. Understand how language is used to evaluate texts and how evaluations about a text can be substantiated by reference to the text and other sources (ACELA1782)

  • After reading, discuss reactions to the book. Look back at predictions made about enjoying the book, and discuss whether the book met expectations.
  • Examine sample book reviews, and identify elements. (You can find many book reviews on the Reading Time website. There are also reviews of 1915 here and here).
  • Students to write their own review of 1915.
  • Alternatively, create a Booktalk or Book Trailer for the book. There is a sample Booktalk for 1915 HERE, and a Booktrailer for one of my other books, Toppling, HERE.
  1. Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, selecting aspects of subjectmatter and particular language, visual, and audio features to convey information and ideas (ACELY1725)
  • Reread Stanley’s poems (p. 77 & p. 169). Discuss why Stanley wrote poems, and why Charles Bean decided to put together the ANZAC book. Students to attempt their own poem about either another moment from the book (perhaps Miles’ death, or the landing at Galllipoli) OR about something difficult they have experienced.
  • Letter writing. Reread a selection of Stanley and Elizabeth’s letters. Write e letter from one of the characters after Stanley has left Gallipoli for the last time. OR Discuss how their letters differ from modern communication. Imagine they have mobile phones or email and  write a text or email exchange between the two.

Other suggestions for using 1915 in your classroom include:

  • Make red poppies for ANZAC Day or Remembrance Day. Simple instructions can be found here.
  • Geography/HASS: Create a timeline for the Gallipoli campaign. Using a different colour or font, insert key events from the book.
  • Show students this real photo which features in the opening scene of the book.  
  • Email the author(that’s me!) Your students can write to me through this website, and share their responses or ask questions.

 

Related Books

Mostly, I’d love to remind you that while I love to see my books used in classrooms, I also love to see kids just enjoying them. Reading a book should be pleasurable – whether it’s being used in the classroom or not.  So allow your students to enjoy reading 1915

If you find this useful, or have any suggestions or comments, do leave a comment. And, if there is a particular book or year level or topic that you would like covered in a future edition of Teacher Tuesday, let me know.

Previous Teacher Tuesday posts include:  Pearl Verses the World, Looking Up, Toppling,  Roses are Blue, Do Not Forget Australia, The Sage Cookson Series,  Snowy’s Christmas and The Floatingest Frog.

 

 

Poetry Friday: Back to School

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Here in Australia the long summer holidays are coming to an end, and children and teachers are heading back to the classroom. So, I thought it might be nice to have a school themed post for Poetry Friday. A search through my poetry files found this one, written a few years ago (for the #postitnotepoetry challenge on Twitter), and written at a time when I still had school aged children:

Back to School

Six weeks ago                     Bug

I breathed a sigh

relieved

that school was over for the year.

Today

I sigh once more

relieved the holidays

have ended.

(Copyright Sally Murphy)

This year is the first year in 26 years that I do not have one or more children heading back to school, and so this year my feelings are a bit different. But the feeling  I had every summer when I had school age children was pretty consistent – relieved at the start that the end-of-year scurry was over, and that we would have a break from routine, and time at home, and maybe a holiday somewhere; then, at the end of the holidays, a feeling of relief that we  would all get back into a regular routine again.  Though, if I’m honest, there was another feeling, one that is also here this year: the feeling that time moves just too quickly, and my babies were (are) growing up so fast!

This second one was also written a while back and, I promise, is very tongue-in-cheek,and not autobiographical.

I Hate It!

I hate school!

The kids are mean.

The classroom smells funny.

The lessons are hard

and recess is too noisy

We have to do sport

and the kids laugh

when I drop the ball.

The lunch orders are always cold

or soggy

or both

and the toilets

are leaky

and stinky.

I hate school

and I wish I could stay home

but the principal says

teachers should show up for work.

(Copyright Sally Murphy)

This of course sent me looking to see if I had a more positive poem to share. Surely not all my poems about school are negative? After all, I loved school when I was a child, so much so that I became a teacher and still spend lots of my working life in schools. Luckily, I found this one:

Preschool

We come each dayGnomes

We sing.

We play.

 

We laugh.

We draw.

We laugh some more.

 

We take our turn.

We read.

We learn.

 

We listen.

We read.

We read read read.

 

We have such fun.

We jump.

We run.

 

We clap.

We dance.

And home we prance.

(Copyright Sally Murphy)

Ahhh preschool (or kinder, kindy, or prep, depending where you live!). But what about older kids?  I had to wrack my brains for this, but then I remembered my verse novels and, my friend John (from Toppling) came through with his thoughts:

It’s not great having to head back to school    

after two weeks of holidays

but it’s cool being back with the gang.

Being in a group like ours

is great.

At recess

and lunch

and in class

you always have someone to sit with

or talk to

or just to hang out with.

You always get chosen for a team

during sport

and you have people

who remind you about homework

and notes

and even training after school.

Miss Timms calls us “the gigglers”

because on her first day

we couldn’t stop laughing.

It’s not a cool name

for a group of Year Six boys

but it sounds okay when Miss Timms says it.

(Copyright Sally Murphy)

Here’s to the Miss Timmses of the world, who are going to make kids giggle, and help them learn this year. And here’s to the Johns who can find the good things about school – and here’s too, to the kids, who maybe aren’t looking forward to school. I hope this is the year it gets easier for you! As for me, I’m glad school is going back because soon I will be out visiting schools and spreading a joy of reading and writing. My favourite part of my job!

 

Have a great Friday. The Poetry Friday roundup is being hosted by  Carol at Beyond Literacy Link.