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Young children have a natural curiosity about their
physical, social and technological world. They have a
strong desire to make sense of their world...
They construct and review their understandings through
interaction with others, direct and vicarious experiences...
It is important that learning experiences build upon each
child's understandings, skills, values and experiences.
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Children have frequent opportunities
to listen to, view and read a wide variety of stories,
poems, films and other texts for enjoyment.
Teachers read a wide range of texts to students to develop
an understanding of story, conventions of print, imagination
and critical literacy skills. |
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Generally, with students in Early Childhood
it is advisable to begin with the familiar. Discuss children's'
experiences of outings to the beach, their knowledge of marine
animals and any boating/sailing trips they have enjoyed.
©CorelDRAW®9 |
Stimulate children's thinking, listening, speaking, writing,
viewing and artistic skills, and expand their literary experiences
by sharing with them a selection of modern and traditional stories,
poems and rhymes that incorporate the beach or ocean.
- Select the Overarching
Learning Outcomes you want students
to work towards.
- Scan Literature-Based
Learning Ideas
- Browse the list of Focus
Books for Oceans and check what is
available in your library. Choose an approach appropriate
to the interests and abilities of your students.
- Search the CMIS Resource Bank for a complete
list of related stories:
[Use the Early Childhood restrictor
to just see titles appropriate for this phase]
- Explore the Ocean Pathfinder
for nonfiction print and digital resources.
- Develop your literature-based program
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| Students respond to texts
in many different ways. These provide the
means through which students can demonstrate
understanding and interpretation of texts. |
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Students can reflect on their own experiences
of the ocean/beach and compare them to those in
the texts through talking, drawing, role-play, dramatising
and writing thus developing their reading, viewing,
speaking, listening, writing and thinking skills.
For example students can:
- Make a classroom mural using
multi-media, depicting a day at the beach.
- Brainstorm a list of stories
with beach/sea theme. Make a classroom chart.
Write a sentence about their favourite story.
- Write and illustrate their
own story about an unusual or memorable beach
outing, after reading/listening to a
selection of the Focus
Books. Collate their
stories into a class book.
- Conduct a survey of favourite
seaside activities such as swimming, collecting
shells, exploring rock pools, fishing, crabbing,
building sand structures, boogie boarding, snorkelling,
walking and boating. Present results on simple
bar graphs.
- Write a procedure for a common
seaside activity such as fishing, crabbing,
snorkelling, erecting a tent, sailing.
- Present a short talk on
beach safety after reading The
Boy on the Beach and
discussing the role of lifesavers/lifeguards.
- List all the different
fish the family caught in Not
a Nibble! Tally the number of each type
of fish they caught and add them up to find
the total.
- Brainstorm a list of of
marine animals after reading Old
Shell, New Shell and
The
Hidden Forest. In small
groups, categorise the animals into groups.
Provide reasons for their categories.
- Collect information about a sea
creature through reading, listening and observing.
Present findings using the report format under
headings such as description, food, habitat.
Include a labelled drawing of the animal.
- Write a poem about the beach,
sea or a marine animal.
- Plan a visit to The
Aquarium of Western Australia (AQWA)
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ADAMS, Jeanie.
Going
for Oysters
Omnibus, 1993
Picture Book. The members of an Aboriginal family living
at Aurukun on Cape York Peninsula spend an enjoyable day and
a night collecting oysters from their favourite fishing area.
The colourful pictures of a large Aboriginal community will
appeal to children everywhere.
BAKER, Jeannie. The
Hidden Forest
Walker, 2000
Picture Book. Ben's fear and ignorance of the sea and
sealife change dramatically when his friend Sophie gives him
an appreciation of the beautiful underwater kelp forest. Superb
double-page illustrations in glorious hues of colour are irresistible
and provide an art lesson in themselves. Suitable for younger
and older students. Highly recommended.
ALSO AVAILABLE:
BAKER, Jeannie and others. The
Hidden Forest Education Kit
DALY, Niki. The
Boy on the Beach
Bloomsbury, 1999
Picture Book. This delightful family story exudes energy.
Joe and his parents visit the beach one hot summer's day and
spend their time rollicking in the waves. Joe momentarily loses
his confidence when he becomes lost, but the copper-tanned,
'cool as a coke' lifeguard quickly reunites him with his parents
and all is well once more. Expressive pastel wash illustrations
and simple text characterised by descriptive and repetitive
language, effectively tell the story. Younger children will
enjoy relating their own experiences of the beach.
GAY, Marie-Louise. Stella,
Star of the Sea
Allen & Unwin, 1999
Picture Book. Young Sam is full of questions and trepidation
as he stands at the edge of the sea, but conquers his uncertainty
and leaps joyously into the water. Beginning readers will enjoy
this gentle story and the interesting details in the illustrations,
which skilfully enrich the text.
GLEESON, Libby. Skating
on Sand
Puffin, 1995
Early Novel. Hannah is determined to roller-skate properly
and despite being told not to, she takes her skates when the
family goes camping by the beach causing inconvenience to her
parents and twin sisters. Set at Jervis Bay, NSW this gentle
family story explores basic childhood worries such as fear of
animals, sibling rivalry and family relationships.
GRAHAM,
Bob. Greetings
from Sandy Beach
Lothian, 1996
Picture Book. A family's weekend camping holiday is off
to a bad start when Dad can't get the tent up but the Disciples
of Death, members of a bikie gang, come to his rescue. The peace
of the deserted beach is shattered by the arrival of a school
party but the narrator soon finds a friend to play with. Her
laconic commentary on her family's exploits is expanded by colourful
illustrations full of humorous detail. Everyone can identify
with the events so affectionately recounted in this hilarious
story.
CBCA Picture Book of the Year 1991
HONEY, Elizabeth.
Not
a Nibble
Allen & Unwin, 1998
Picture Book. Carefully crafted, this is the delightful
story of a family's beach-camping holiday and a little girl's
determination to catch a fish.
All children will relate to the seaside setting, the common
holiday pleasures portrayed and the believable characters. The
simple, natural, often poetic, language flows well making the
story ideal to read aloud. Expressive wash and line illustrations
complement and enrich the text, perfectly capturing the mood
and location. Highly recommended
CBCA Picture Book of the Year, 1997
HUNECK,
Stephen. Sally
Goes to the Beach
Viking, 2000
Picture Book. Minimal, interesting text and large, expressive,
uncluttered, woodcut print illustrations feature the antics
of Sally, the dog who takes a day trip to the beach. Sequencing
format offers a good model for simple recount writing and retelling
activities. Teachers can build on the story using the children's
own experiences as the basis. Highly recommended.
ISHIGUCHI, Paul.
Crabbing
at High Tide
Magabala, 2001
Picture Book. Set in Derby, WA this simple recount describes
a young boy's crabbing adventures with his dad and uncles. Single
page coloured illustrations are deceptively simple, drawn in
child-like style, yet very detailed. Young children will enjoy
the cross-cultural aspects of the characters, sense of place
and familiar themes presented.
LESTER, Alison. Magic
Beach
Allen & Unwin, 1992
This is a child's view of idyllic family days at the beach where
every wonderful fantasy can come true. Clear and detailed illustrations
of family and friends enjoying their fun-filled sojourn alternate
with fantasy adventures of the imagination. The few lines of
verse on each page are a bonus. This book will have many applications
for language lessons with younger students, including encouraging
them to write stories about their own Magic Beach.
THIELE, Colin. The
Monster Fish
Omnibus, 1999 (Solo)
Early Chapter Book. Ben, his parents and cousin Andy enter
the Big Boomer Fishing Contest. Dad thinks Andy is 'clumsy as
a puppy' and all that he will catch is a cold. Andy, however,
surprises them all. This delightful story for beginning readers
uses simple language and black and white drawings to extend
the text. The characters are colourful and Thiele effectively
builds anticipation and drama through his story-telling style.
WARD, Helen. Old
Shell, New Shell
Koala, 2001
Picture Book. This book takes readers on a journey over
a coral reef as a young hermit crab searches for a new home.
Along the way they are introduced to many sea creatures and
experience a unique environment.
This is a fabulous book with simple text and illustrations that
are true to life. The back of the book features an information
section that uses smaller font and more difficult language.
It explains details about coral reefs and then follows the story,
page by page, giving information about the sea creatures and
coral shown in the illustrations. Highly recommended.
WHATLEY, Bruce.
Looking
for Crabs
HarperCollins, 1992
Picture Book. On a family holiday at the beach, a boy
and his family look for crabs when it is too cold to swim. The
crabs prove very elusive and they can't find a single one. The
attractive illustrations add a humorous twist to this story
showing the crabs hiding away in the rock pools.
WINTON, Tim. The
Deep
Sandcastle, 1999
Picture Book. Every day Alice's Family go swimming in
the sea, but she is the only one who is afraid to swim in the
deep water. Alice is miserable because she misses out on having
fun with her family. One day, a group of playful dolphins help
her to overcome her fear. The wonderfully expressive and richly-coloured
crayon drawings depict the Western Australian coastline and
way of life that is familiar to us. This is a motivating story
to read to a class. Children will enjoy sharing their experiences,
not only their anxieties, but also the joys of jumping off a
jetty and doing 'bombies'.
CBCA Notable Picture Book
Search the CMIS Resource Bank
Ocean
- Fiction
[Use the Early Childhood restrictor to just see titles
appropriate for this phase]
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