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Sally Murphy, Australian author

Simple Ways to Prepare for ANZAC Day

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School is back for term two, and ANZAC Day is only days away. If you are a teacher here are some simple things you can do in your classroom to prepare for the day:

  1. Talk about the significance of the date and the meaning of the word ANZAC. You’ll find a good explanation here.
  2. Read books about war to your students, and have a classroom display of such books that they can pick up in their own time. There are a plethora of such books available, so you are sure to find something age appropriate,  and publishers websites often have teachers notes.
  3. Talk about why we remember the day. Encourage students to share stories from their family history, and to listen to stories available from their community. Your local RSL may be able to help you with this information.
  4. Simple activities can often help children feel involved. Make a red poppy to lay at an ANZAC ceremony, write a poem, paint a picture, bake ANZAC biscuits.

Thank you for all you do in educating children about the significance of this important day.

More On ANZAC Day

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Have been up since 5 o’clock this morning, having struggled out of bed to attend the ANZAC day dawn service on the hill behind my house. Worth the struggle, to spend the time reflecting on what the brave soldiers from our past (and present) have done.

Back at home, my beloved cooked me bacon and eggs and we spent a lazy couple of hours before it was my turn to cook and I whipped up a batch of ANZAC biscuits, one of my favourite treats on any day of the year.

After lunch we watched the broadcast of the service from Villers-Bretonneux and were rewarded with a glimpse of Murphlet 3 laying a wreath. Tonight we saw him again in news footage. He seemed suddenly grown up, especially when he was being interviewed by the reporter from GWN.

Proud mum moments aside, I also did a little work today. I finished adding a stack of new reviews to Aussiereviews, including reviews of two picture books especially relevant to the day – Simpson and His Donkey, by West Aussies Mark Greenwood & Frane Lesac, and Lofty’s Mission, by Krista Bell & David Miller.

And, quite unplanned in my list of things to do today, I wrote the first draft of a new picture book which has been niggling at me the past few days. The idea had been there, but as I tried to get to sleep last night the words started to come, and I knew I had to give it priority. Only a first draft, but I’m pleased with where it’s going.

Quite a day.

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