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Sally Murphy, Australian author

Teacher Tuesday: My Shadow

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Welcome to the second edition of Teacher Tuesday for 2023.

Last week I shared a unit of work for teaching Worse Things in upper primary classrooms. This week  I wanted to share a favourite poem that you can share with classes of any age.

Choosing poetry for the classroom doesn’t have to be hard. There are lots and lots of wonderful collections and anthologies. But there are also a lot of poems in the public domain including one of my favourites: My Shadow, by Robert Louis Stevenson.

First, listen to it read, with pictures of my shadow enjoying my local beach.

Feel free to use this video in your classroom – I’d love to know what your students think of the poem, my reading – and my amazing beach.

If you’d like a copy of the words, here they are:

My Shadow

by Robert Louis Stevenson

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow—
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,
And he sometimes gets so little that there’s none of him at all.

He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close beside me, he’s a coward you can see;
I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

What can you do with this poem? Lots of things! Read it aloud to your students – from the early years right through. It is a beautiful poem to read aloud, and fun to learn to recite, too.

But, after you’ve read it, why not link the poem to a science lesson – experimenting with the way that shadows are made by different light sources.  Find out why shadows are sometimes bigger or smaller than the person or object.  The Science Sparks website has some excellent ideas for classroom activities here.

Or, perhaps you want to use the poem as the inspiration for an art lesson. Have students draw around each other’s shadows, for a life size self-portrait.  Use a lamp to make shadows of different sized objects and draw around them. Or, go outside and search for shadows.

If you want more poems and poetry ideas, you might find these older posts of mine useful:

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If you’ve used My Shadow, or have another wonderful poem or poetry idea, feel free to tell me about it in the comments.  Otherwise, I’ll see you next Tuesday.

Readalong Post #5: 10 Things You Can Do With Pearl Verses the World

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Welcome to the fifth post in my Readalong, and the final post focussing on Pearl Verses the World. When I planned this Readalong, I planned to dedicate a post to classroom ideas. But then the Pandemic happened, and classrooms changed (for now, at least), and I also realised that there are already lots of great teacher notes available here and here and here.

So,l I thought I’d instead give ten quick ideas for things you can do with Pearl – at home, with an online class, or in a classroom or library. So here goes: 10 things you can do with Pearl Verses the World.

  1. Read it. Yes I know that’s stating the obvious, because it is a book, after all. But what I mean is JUST read it. No need to analyse, to come up with twenty comprehension questions, or fifty different worksheets. In a classroom, or library, or at home, sometimes (lots of the time! MOST of the time!) books should just be read and digested.
  2. Gift it. Let someone else read it. Books make wonderful birthday, Easter, Christmas, Name Day, just because presents. And I know, because people have told me, that Pearl has been given to recipients of all ages.
  3. Write a poem about your family. On page 33 Pearl describes her family:

Me

My Mum

And my Granny…

Who is in your family? What’s it like to be part of such a big family, or such a small family? Is there a metaphor for what your family is like?

  1. Write a limerick. Pearl says she doesn’t like poems that rhyme, but when her teachers insists on poems, Pearl writes limericks. Here’s one:

There was a young lady called Pearl

Who was not a rhyming type girl

She said “I’ve no time

For poems that rhyme”

Which made her poor teacher go hurl.

You can write a limerick about yourself, your cat, your dog, an imaginary person – anyone! There’s some great tips on how to write a limerick here.

  1. Design a new cover for Pearl Verses the World. Have a look at the two covers it has had – the Australian one and the UK one (you can see them here). Which parts of each do you like? Now imagine YOU are the cover designer – what image would you use? What font? Any other details?
  2. Now imagine there is going to be a sequel – Pearl Verses the Universe. What cover would THAT book have? What would happen to Pearl? Write that story, or part of it.
  3. Write a review. A book review is a reader’s opinion of a book. You can see some examples of reviews of Pearl here and here and here and a quick guide to writing a review here. Write your own review of the book and share  it with someone who hasn’t read the book yet.
  4. In the book we only hear Pearl’s voice. So, although we meet other characters, we don’t really know what they are thinking. Write a poem, from the point of view of Mitchell Mason, or Prudence Jones, or Miss Bruff.
  5. There are some wonderful illustrations in Pearl Verses the World, but not every page has a picture. Find a page with no illustration and reread it, then draw the picture you think could go with that page.
  6. Ask the author a question about the book! Whether you have read the book, are going to read the book, or even if you don’t think you ever will, I’d love to hear your questions. And if you post them here on my blog (in the comments) or on my Facebook author page here, I will answer them.

Thanks again for joining in on this Readalong. Tomorrow starts week 2, and I’ll be sharing a reading from Toppling. See you then.

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.

 

 

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.

Teacher Tuesday: Looking Up Ideas for Year 3 Classrooms

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In a new feature I’m planning on running regularly here on my website, I am  matching my books with curriculum links. Each week I will feature one of my books, with curriculum links for a particular year group  and ideas for how that book can be used to address them.  If there’s a particular book or year group or curriculum area you’d like to see covered, drop me a line and I will see what I can do. First up, I’m featuring one of my newest books, Looking Up. Here goes:

Using Looking Up in a  Year Three Classroom

Looking Up, by Sally Murphy, with illustrations by Aska Looking Up

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.

 

Blurb: Pete is hoping – desperately hoping – for a telescope. There’s nothing he wants more for his birthday. But when a mysterious card arrives in the mall, what Pete wants is turned upside down.

Sample Chapter HERE

Publisher’s Teacher Notes HERE

Sally’s Recommended Grade Levels: Year 2-6, but these suggestions focus on Year 3

Themes/Topics:

  • Grandparents
  • Family
  • Stars
  • Astronomy
  • Telescopes
  • Family
  • Forgiveness
  • Friendship
  • Empathy
  • Mysteries
  • Birthdays

Curriculum Links:

Year 3 English

  1. Understand how different types of texts vary in use of language choices, depending on their purpose and context (for example, tense and types of sentences) (ACELA1478)
  2. Understand that verbs represent different processes, for example doing, thinking, saying, and relating and that these processes are anchored in time through tense (ACELA1482 )

Chapter Two 

In groups, identify the verbs used in this chapter. Use different colours to identify each of doing, thinking, saying and relating.  As class brainstorm to build a word bank of verbs – for example ‘Listening”’ (p. ) could lead to ‘hearing’.  In groups, or individually, have students change selected verbs to past tense and/or future tense.

Writing: Rewrite a scene in present tense. How did the language change? Which did students prefer?

Rewrite the same scene as a news report. How did the language change? Was it more formal? Did it require additional information? Were some parts of the scene left out?

Compare the language and sentence structure of the original scene with that of a news report. Look at differences in sentence complexity, language choice etc.

 

  1. Draw connections between personal experiences and the worlds of texts, and share responses with others (ACELT1596)

Before reading, discussion questions can focus on children’s experiences with grandparents or great-grandparents, as well as on birthdays, wishlists and receiving mail.:

  • How many grandparents do you have?
  • Do any of them live far away?
  • Do you have grandparents you have never met?
  • What is your favourite memory with a grandparent?
  • What’s the favourite birthday/Christmas/other present you have received?
  • What kind of letters does the postman/postwoman deliver?
  • Have you ever received a letter addressed to you?

During reading

Chapter Two –p. 11 stop and have students guess what might be in the envelope

p. 14 After he removes the card, but before we find out who it is from, have students’ make predictions.

After Reading the Chapter:

Discuss: Why might Pete not know he has a grandfather?

Chapter 9

  • p. 58  Stop at the arrow. Make predictions. Will Pete get the telescope? Why/why not.

After the chapter:

  • How do students feel about Pete not getting the telescope – and his reaction?
  • Have they ever not got something that they really wanted?

Writing suggestions:

  • Write  a recount of a visit to a grandparent, or a favourite birthday memory.
  • Write a wishlist of things students would like to receive for their next birthday/Christmas. Then use the internet or catalogues to work out how much their list might cost.
  1. Develop criteria for establishing personal preferences for literature (ACELT1598)

Before reading: Looking at the cover, have students predict whether or not they will enjoy this book. Why/why not? In writing books, have them write their predictions regarding enjoyment of the text

During Reading:  After each reading session, discuss students’ reactions to the text. Are they enjoying it? DO they think that what happened is interesting/scary/boring? Are they keen to know what will happen next? How do they feel about Pete? Mum? Grandad?

After Reading: Discuss students’ reactions to the ending. In writing books, write about their responses to the book and how these differ from their feelings before.

Extension: Write a book review. (For examples, see www.aussiereviews.com)

  1. Identify the point of view in a text and suggest alternative points of view (ACELY1675)

During reading:

  • After Chapters 4, 6 and 8, discuss Pete’s reactions to these events, and how Mum would be feeling.  Draw a picture of Mum (or teacher can provide) with thought bubbles for what Mum might be thinking but not saying.
  • After Chapter 5, discuss how it might be for Grandad to meet Pete for the first time. What is he thinking and feeling?

Writing: Rewrite one of these scenes from the point of view of the other character.

 

Other suggestions for using Looking Up in your classroom include:

Make birthday/Christmas cards

Make origami stars – instructions here.

Make a Constellation Projector like this one here. 

Email the author (that’s me!) Your students can write to me through this website, and share their responses or ask questions.

Related Books

Featuring Grandparents

Pearl Verses the World, by Sally Murphy

Grandpa and Thomas, by Pamela Allen

Granny Grommet and Me, by Dianne Wolfer and Karen Blair

Love From Grandma, by Jane Tanner

 

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 have fun with Looking Up!

 

I’d love to know if you found these notes useful, or if you have any other suggestions, or if there’s a different book you’d love to see featured in this way. Leave a comment!

 

sallymurphy.com.au