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Sally Murphy, Australian author

What I Read in November – and Confessions About My To-Be-Read Pile(s)

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December tomorrow? How did that happen?  When I started recording my monthly readings back in January, it seemed like a year of reading was spread out ahead of me  in an endless array of possibilities. Now, there is only one month until it is no longer 2017. How did that happen? That means it’s almost time to tally up how I went for the year. As I look at my bulging to-read pile, I wonder if I can go without sleep for the rest of the year,just to whittle that down to something manageable. But who am I kidding? First, I like sleep almost as much as I like reading. And second, my to-read pile is never-ending. And, in fact, it isn’t a pile at all.

There’s the review pile, which is two shelves in my office,currently home to perhaps books (and, I suspect, likely to grow int he next few days as is wont to happen at the start of a new month). There’s my Borrowbox App on my phone, which has just three unread audio books on it, only because I have a limit of five and I returned two this morning. (if you don’t know about Borrowbox, ask your local librarian. Or ask me.) there’s the pile next to my lounge chair which has perhaps ten books I’ve bought and promised myself don’t need shelving until i have read them. And, in the back bedroom (which I once envisioned becoming my office – ohh how naive is a mother of young adults and a revolving front door), there is a special bookshelf of unread books which I simply must read, and which used to be a pile until it threatened to reach the ceiling and so was designated a bookcase.  And that is just my to-be-read pile of books I’ve actually acquired, because I also have lists (several) of books which I MUST borrow/buy and read as soon as possible.

I guess what all this means is that my to-be-read pile is NEVER going to be something manageable. But, you know what?  I don’t really mind. because that means that I live in a world filled with wonderful books. And that’s a wonderful thing. But, one of my goals for December IS to tackle the review pile, because there are some titles int here that I cannot wait to read – and share with the world.  So, hopefully, my December list, which you’ll have to wait a month for, will be longer than this one. In the meantime, here’s what I read in November.

If you want me, I’ll be curled up with a book, in between all the December madness.

Picture Books

I Just ate My Friend, by Heidi McKinnon

Koala, by Claire Saxby and Julie Vivas

Do not Open This Book Again, by Andy Lee & Heath McKenzie

Rodney Loses It, by Michael Gerard Bauer & Chrissie Krebs

Scarface Claw Hold Tight, by Lynley Dodd

A is for Australian Animals, by Frane Lessac

The Sloth Who Came to Stay, by Margaret Wild & Vivienne To

Children’s Books

The Pink Snowman, by Alan Horsfield

How to be Good(ish), by Karen McCombie

Ivan the Terrible, by Anne Fine

Young Adult Books

Gap Year in Ghost Town, by Michael Pryor

Books for Adults

Abundance Now, by Lisa Nichols

The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs, by Carmine Gallo

Hello, Goodbye, by Emily Brewin

The Next Big Thing, by Anita Brookner

The Gifts of Imperfection, by Brene Brown

The Unmumsy Mum Diary

Succeed With Me, by Selwa Anthony

Teacher Tuesday: Using Meet Mary MacKillop in a Year 4 Classroom

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Welcome to the  eighth edition of Teacher Tuesday, where I match one of my books to a year level, and offer some activities for sharing the book in the classroom. In previous weeks I shared activities for Pearl Verses the World, Looking Up, Toppling,  Roses are Blue, Do Not Forget Australia, Snowy’s Christmas and The Floatingest Frog.

This week, I am focusing on my picture book, Meet Mary MacKillop which can be used to meet objectives in both  both the History and English curriculum areas.

Using Meet Mary MacKillop in a Year Four Classroom

Meet Mary MacKillop, by Sally Murphy, illustrations by Sonia Martinez

Published by Random House, 2013
ISBN: 9781742757216
Format 32page  Hardcover, RRP $19.99

Blurb:  Mary MacKillop, Australia’s first saint, was born in the 1800s and devoted her life to teaching children. Mary believed everyone should have the chance to learn, no matter how rich or poor they are. In 1866 she set up her first school and founded an order of nuns called the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. This book tells the story of that first school.

Sally’s Recommended Grade Levels: Year 1 – Lower Secondary, but these suggestions focus on Year 4.

Themes/Topics:

  • Famous Australians
  • Education/Schools
  • History
  • Women
  • Religious Education
  • Self-belief

Publisher teaching notes available HERE

This unit of work uses Meet Mary as the basis for examining both the life of Mary MacKillop, and examining the roles and significance of other famous Australians.

Curriculum Links:

Year 4 History and English

  1. Pose questions to investigate people, events, places and issues (ACHASSI073)
  2. Sequence information about people’s lives and events (ACHASSI076)
  3. Present ideas, findings and conclusions in texts and modes that incorporate digital and non-digital representations and discipline-specific terms (ACHASSI082)
  4. Plan, rehearse and deliver presentations incorporating learned content and taking into account the particular purposes and audiences (ACELY1689)
  • Before reading: discuss the word ‘famous’. Ask students what it might mean to be famous. Brainstorm a list of famous Australians.
  • Show students the book cover. Ask students who Mary MacKillop was and/or what the cover suggests about her.
  • Read the Story (apart from timeline).
  • After Reading: group work. Groups to complete table identifying words and images which show this book is set in the 1800s. Subheadings: Words/Language Used; Transport; Dress; School Equipment; Other. One column to identify what is portrayed in the book, and a second column to identify how these things might be today.
  • Discuss what a timeline is. Students to compose simple timelines of their lives so far. Share
  • Examine back of book timeline. In groups, students to identify which events are included in the story. Discuss: Why did Sally Murphy choose only part of Mary MacKillop’s life for the story? Can you understand Mary’s life without the addition of the timeline?
  • Students to choose another famous Australian – either from earlier list or from a list fo teacher suggestions, of a particular time period. Using library/class resource collections and/or internet research, students to research their chosen person and compile their own timeline. Additionally, have them answer the following: Why is this person famous? Where were they born? Which part of Australia did they live in? What was their main achievement?  How are they commemorated today (eg are they on a banknote, have buildings or roads named after them, memorialised in stories/songs etc). Why did you choose this person?
  • Students to compile a visual presentation about their chosen Australian: either digitally or as a poster presentation.

 

  1. Createliterary texts by developing storylines, characters and settings (ACELT1794)
  2. Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts containing key information and supporting details for a widening range of audiences, demonstrating increasing control over text structures and language features (ACELY1694)
  3. Re-read and edit for meaning by adding, deleting or moving words or word groups to improve content and structure (ACELY1695)
  4. Use a range of software including wordprocessing programs to construct, edit and publish written text, and select, edit and place visual, print and audio elements (ACELY1697)
  • Read other books in the ‘Meet’ series. If enough available, this could be done in groups, with each group examining a different book in the series. Identify key events in each person’s story, and also explore similarities and differences between the different books (each book has a timeline, for example, but the writing and illustrations styles vary. Some of the books cover a single episode in the person’s life, while others cover more of the person’s lives). Encourage students to elaborate which hones they like, and why.
  • Identify common features in adapting biographies to fiction (the term here is historical fiction): creating characters, use of dialogue, key details, use of details to set scene (time and place).
  • Students to use information from their timelines/presentations to craft a narrative telling their chosen person’s story – either one episode, or an overview of their life. This could be extended to create a picture book version.

 

Other suggestions for using Meet Mary MacKillop in your classroom include:

  • Mary wrote many letters to her mother and to other people throughout her life. Examine the elements of a letter, and draft and write a letter. the theme of letters is also part of my book Looking Up.
  • The work of Mary MacKillop continues through the sisters of St Joseph. There are various museums and centres across Australia and new Zealand which are open for school groups for different excursions.
  • Art: read the interview with the illustrator, Sonia Martinez in the official teaching notes. Create collage art using historical pictures, combined with the students own drawings.
  • 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 Meet Mary MacKillop.

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.

Teacher Tuesday: Using Snowy’s Christmas in a Year 2 Classroom

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Welcome to the fourth edition of Teacher Tuesday, where I match one of my books to a year level, and offer some activities for sharing the book in the classroom. In previous weeks I shared activities for Looking Up, Do Not Forget Australia and The Floatingest Frog.

This week, with Christmas getting ever closer, I’m focusing on a Christmas book: Snowy’s Christmas. And, because this book can be a little hard to get hold of, I am also offering signed copies, posted anywhere in Australia, for $15. You can contact me directly.

Using Snowy’s Christmas in a Year Two ClassroomSnowy's Christmas

Snowy’s Christmas, text by Sally Murphy, illustrations by David Murphy

Published by Random House, 2011
ISBN: 9781921042546 (Paperback)
Format 24 page Picturebook, RRP $14.99

Available directly from me. Contact me HERE.

Blurb: ‘Snowy hopped to the billabong. The face reflected in the water was not rugged and red like the other roos, but soft and white.’  Snowy is feeling left out and doesn’t want to celebrate Christmas with his friends. But then a mysterious stranger arrives by the billabong and suddenly Snowy’s Christmas is looking up.
Sally’s Recommended Grade Levels: Year K-3, but these suggestions focus on Year 2.

Themes/Topics:

  • Christmas
  • Kangaroos
  • Australian animals
  • Mothers
  • Diversity
  • Acceptance

Curriculum Links:

Year 2 English

  1. Identify visual representations of characters’ actions, reactions, speech and thought processes in narratives, and consider how these images add to or contradict or multiply the meaning of accompanying words (ACELA1469)
  2. Identify aspects of different types of literary texts that entertain, and give reasons for personal preferences (ACELT159)
  • Before reading: Look at the front cover. Explain that Sally Murphy is the author and David Murphy is the illustrator (As an aside, because students may ask, David is Sally’s brother-in-law). Discuss: What does an author do? What does an illustrator do? Prompt students to look closely at the illustrations while the story is read, looking for anything that ways the words and pictures show the same things, and ways that the pictures  show something different or extra.
  • During reading: First read-through – read whole story without asking questions. Let students enjoy the story.
  • After first read through: ask students to name any differences/similarities they saw.
  • Re-read, prompting students to look especially at the kangaroo characters and what their various facial and body expressions show about how they are feeling. As students contribute, discuss which expressions reflect the words, and which add to or even contradict what the words are saying.
  • After Reading: Have students divide a sheet of blank paper into four. In each square students draw a picture of Snowy feeling a different emotion: sad/surprised/excited/happy.
  • Reread story, or simply view the pictures, asking students to identify anything happening in the pictures which is NOT part of the story of the kangaroos and Santa. As you read, build a list of the various animal characters shown in the book – koala, wombat, echidna etc. If you have multiple copies of the book, this could be down in groups. If only one copy is available, it can be a whole-class activity.
  • Discuss: Why do illustrators – and in this case, David Murphy – include details in the pictures which are not in the words? Does it add interest? Does it make the story easier to understand?
  • Art: Have students draw/paint animal characters. Alternatively, provide preprinted animal stencils (there are a good range on this site HERE). These could be cut out as classroom decorations.

 

  1. Create events and characters using different media that develop key events and characters from literary texts (ACELT 1593)
  2. Innovate on familiar texts by experimenting with character, setting or plot (ACELT1833)
  3. Discuss different texts on a similar topic, identifying similarities and differences between the texts (ACELY1665)
  • For the following activities, a picture book version of the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is needed.
  • After reading Snowy’s Christmas, share the book of Rudolph
  • Before reading: Ask students to listen carefully to the story, prompting them to consider whether it is similar to another book they have recently heard.
  • After Reading: Discuss – are there similarities between Snowy’s Christmas and  Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? Explain: Sally Murphy wrote Snowy’s Christmas as an attempt to tell an Australian version of  the Rudolph story.
  • In Groups/Pairs: Students to complete a table noting how the two books are similar or different in areas including: Plot – Beginning, Middle, End/Characters/Setting/Illustration Style/Other. Groups to discuss which book they prefer, giving reasons.
  • Report back to class and discuss.
  • Writing: As a class, or in groups, work to rewrite another Christmas story or song into an Australian version. For example, the story of Frosty the Snowman.

Other suggestions for using Snowy’s Christmas your classroom include:

  • Writing:  What happens next? Students write a story about what happens to Snowy after Christmas. Does he go back to live with his mother? How do the other kanagaroos react? Does he have any more adventures?
  • Art: There are many ideas for Christmas and Kangaroo activities available online. For example, make this kangaroo planter as a pre-christmas craft activity.
  • 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 Snowy’s Christmas. And, if you do want a copy of Snowy’s Christmas I am offering signed copies, posted anywhere in Australia, for $15. You can contact me directly.

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.

 

Teacher Tuesday: Do Not Forget Australia for Year 5 Classrooms

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Welcome to the second edition of Teacher Tuesday, where I match one of my books to a year level, and offer some activities for sharing the book in the classroom.

This week I’m focusing on one of my picture books: Do Not Forget Australia, With the centenary of the Battle of Villers-Bretonneux to be marked on ANZAC Day 2018, this is a good time to connect with this book if you haven’t yet, or to revisit it if you have.

Using Do Not Forget Australia in a Year Five Classroom

Do Not Forget Australia, text by Sally Murphy, illustrations Sonia Kretschmar  Do Not Forget Australia

Published by Walker Books, 2012
ISBN: 9781921529863 (Hardcover)/ 9781922077097 (Paperback)
Format 32 page Picturebook, RRP $29.99 (Hardcover)/$16.99 (Papaerback)

Available from good bookstores or here.

Blurb: Henri lives in the French village of Villers-Bretonneux. Billy lives in Melbourne, Australia. These two little boys, who live thousands of miles away from each other, share one story that unites Villers-Bretonneux and Melbourne in history.

Sample Pages HERE
Publisher’s Teacher Notes HERE
Sally’s Recommended Grade Levels: Year 1-10, but these suggestions focus on Year5

Themes/Topics:

  • War
  • ANZAC Day
  • Friendship
  • Family
  • France
  • Australia
  • Victoria
  • Compassion
  • Mail

Curriculum Links:

Year 5 English

  1. Identify aspects of literary texts that convey details or information about particular social, cultural and historical contexts (ACELT1608)
  • Before Reading: Make predictions on time period and setting of the book based on title and front over.
  • During and After Reading: Focus on aspects of text and illustrations which show that the book is set in 1918 – including colour palette, clothing, transport, communication methods.
  • Questions: Why can’t the two boys meet in person?
    What is the connection between Henri and Billy?
  • Use internet sources (such as The Schoolhouse Museum) to compare school life today with that of 1918. Create a table which compares aspects including  classroom setup, size of classes, subjects taught, school attire, school rules, stationery used and more.
  • Writing: Rewrite your existing class rules as if it was 1918
  1. Recognise that ideas in literary texts can be conveyed from different viewpoints, which can lead to different kinds of interpretations and responses (ACELT1610)
  • During Reading (and on rereading): Discuss the changes in viewpoint – from Henri to Billy and back again. What visual cues are there for these shifts?  For example, examine the colour palette used in the illustrations
  • After Reading: Discuss why the author might have chosen to use two viewpoints rather than one?  Why use third person voice rather than first person? Why tell a war story from the viewpoint of children rather than from, say, a soldier, or adult from the village.?
  • In Groups: Each group to work through the text, focussing on how we learn what the adults are feeling. – half the groups to focus on Billy’s Dad, the other groups on Henri’s Mum.  Report back and discuss.
  • Writing: Tell the story from the point of view of one of the adult characters OR in the first person voice of one of the children.
  • Write the postcard that Billy receives from his father. There is a printable stencil for this activity HERE.
  1. Use comprehension strategies to analyse information, integrating and linking ideas from a variety of print and digital sources (ACELY1703)
  2. Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive print and multimodal texts, choosing textstructures, language features, images and sound appropriate to purpose and audience (ACELY1704)
  • Recap: From reading the story, what do students know about the battle of Villers-Bretonneux and the rebuilding of the school?
  • Give students a blank table, or have them create one, with three columns: Story, Back of Book Notes, Video.  Provide some subheadings: Dates, Key Events etc. Have them note what they know about the key events of 1918 from the fictional story. Then read the back of book notes, with students using the second column to note any new facts. In groups, students can then examine the back of book notes themselves and add any facts they may have missed. Lastly, have them watch a video about the events – there are several on Youtube, including this one  , which is made by a young researcher.  Again, have students complete the table.
  • Discuss: Which source provided the most information? Which was the most entertaining? Which one helped them to connect with the people involved?
  • Writing Ideas: Write a recount of the events of  the battle of Viilers-Bretonneux, OR the destruction and rebuilding of the school, using notes.
  • Write two news reports which Billy might have read: One reporting on the Battle, and the other reporting on the reopening of the School

Other suggestions for using Do Not Forget Australia in your classroom include:

  • Explore transport and communication – comparing 1918 to 2017/18 – look at items including time to travel between Australia and France, modes of transport, forms of communication (telephone/email/mail/internet/television/telegram)
  • Life stories: research the story of one Australian soldier in WW1
  • Art:  Experiment with using different colour palette for different moods and time periods.
  • Writing: Tell the story of another historical event through the eyes of a fictional child character
  • 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 Do Not Forget Australia.

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.

Snowy’s Blog Tour: The Rerun Part 4

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On the fourth day of my Christmas blog tour, my friend Claire gave to me… (Come on, sing with me. At the very least you’ll drown me out, which would be a great service to humanity).

Okay, silliness aside, today is day four in my rerun blog tour, where I revisit last year’s blog tour for Snowy’s Christmas, to celebrate its rerelease in paperback. Today, we revisit Claire Saxby’s blog, where she interviewed me about writing a Christmas story. Enjoy – and pop back tomorrow for episode five.