Guest speakers…lunchtime festivals…author workshops…poem in pockets…
These are just a few of the engaging and inspiring events that our school had to offer during Literature Week.
We were so fortunate to have author George Ivanoff speak to us about being an author. Did you know he has written 119 books in total, including take home books for Preps, non fiction books, educational books for teachers and of course ‘You Choose’ novels which the year 4s have been reading in Library.
He was inspired when he was younger by fan fiction such as Dr Who and computer games such as Space Invaders which influenced his early writing.
George told us about how he creates his books. He uses a story map to outline each chapter on a huge whiteboard. He figures out the ending first so he knows where the story is going.
No book is ever published after the first time it is written. Each book goes through approximately 10 drafts before even sending it to a editor.
The process of writing his ‘choose your own adventure’ books was a little more confusing…
George showing us his plan for a Choose your own adventure story
George also read an excerpt from one of his choose your own adventure books, ‘The Night of the Creepy Carnival.’
The students in Year 4 have written their own Choose Your Own Adventure stories. Check out their blogs to see how you survive!
Leave a comment with your favourite part of Literature Week and why.
Together we have been reading our class novel ‘Fish In A Tree’ by Linda Mullaly Hunt. Here is what we think so far:
This book is intriguing. I always want to keep reading because there are always cliff hangers at the end of the chapters. – Mimi and Veda
Some characters are very mean to Ally. – Ava
I find this book inspiring because it makes me want to stand up for myself more. In every paragraph Ally has to make new decisions – Gabby and Raph
All the characters have different personalities just like the many people in our class. – Ophelia and Cooper
This book is based on a quote by Albert Einstein. There is also a character who is very smart called Albert, I am wondering if this was done on purpose. – Susie and Isla.
One of the main messages or moral is to not be scared to tell people how you feel or if something is wrong. – Veda and Ophelia
To show our deep understanding of the text we have been discussing character traits.
What traits do the characters in Fish In A Tree display?
Choose a character from the novel and think about a trait that would describe them. Don’t forget to give evidence from the text from a time when they displayed that trait.
Click this link to open the Padlet into full screen mode.
We have reached the 1/3 marker in our #GRA18Amal book.
So far 4T have enjoyed responding to comments on our own blog and leaving our thoughts about the themes of the book on our buddy class’ blogs from Saskatoon, Canada and Powhatan, Virginia in the United States of America.
Our thoughts so far on what we have read:
- I think it is unfair that Amal’s dad is keeping her away from her education and pursuing her dreams. – Joanna and Max
- Amal is like Malala in some ways, they both want to go to school and learn. – Esther
- Girls are treated unfairly compared to boys. For example, boys get a bigger library and are encouraged to learn more than the girls. – Alex and Morgan
- I think that it is scary how different Amal’s life is to ours. – Tori
- The Khan landlords treat others with disrespect. – Lucas
- I think the author Aisha Saeed has written the book really well because she leaves a cliff hanger at the end of each chapter. – Joanna
This week, we would like you to record yourselves filming a short (20 sec) clip responding to one of the questions in the Padlet below.
Click here to open this Padlet full size.
This term 4T will be participating in the Global Read Aloud (GRA) where classes all over the world connect with each other and discuss their thoughts and predictions about a chosen class novel. Click here to read more about classes that we will be connecting with.
This year, the chosen book is called ‘Amal Unbound’ written by Aisha Seed.
In the first chapter, Amal tells us that she dreams of becoming a teacher when she grows up. Leave a comment below and share your dreams for your future.
For our international visitors, don’t forget to also tell us where you are from in your comment!
