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The magic of school libraries

By Belinda Cameron

Issue 115, Term 4 2020

Potter is so engaging that at Maclean High School , it has become a catalyst for an annual connection, involving our school community in a night of literacy, creativity, collaboration, technology and entertainment. Teacher librarians must continue to seek out ways to connect with our school commu

Reading Australia: bringing Australian stories into the classroom

By Adam Suckling

Issue 116, Term 1 2021

lenging literary works for Australian students. To achieve this, we provide quality and insightful resources to support all teachers of English and Literacy in bringing Australia’s unique literature into classrooms. Reading Australia now has over 200 full units of work from Foundation to Senior

Fathers reading week: a case study for the Great School Libraries campaign

By Lucy Chambers, BAHons; DipLib; MSc; MCLIP

Issue 115, Term 4 2020

300, which covered the storyteller and prizes. Everything else was free of cost. Research Research from the Fatherhood Institute and the National Literacy Trust (NLT) reflected school issues. Fathers who are involved in their children’s early education have a significant impact on attainment and

School library spotlight: The King's School Senior Library

By The King's School Library team

Issue 127, Term 4 2023

ool-wide reading culture; readers’ advisory; collaborative lessons covering literature, referencing, research strategies, and information and digital literacy; collection development and management to support the curriculum; building assessment guides and digital collections; developing interactive

The time to read

By Gabrielle Mace, Merrilyn Lean

Issue 117, Term 2 2021

teaching at the time or off class they too will stop and read. This includes our non-teaching staff and Executive members. Books as gifts As the QLiteracy Committee began to design our ‘Just Read’ reading program, we realised putting books into the hands of our staff was critical to its long-ter

Dystopian literature: more than just the end of the world to teens

By Jessica Finden

Issue 123, Term 4 2022

ger-games-dystopian-fiction-appeal-to-teenagers-alex-campbell Crocetti, G., & Barr, B. (2020). Teaching science concepts through story: Scientific literacy is more about the journey than the destination. Literacy Learning: The Middle Years , 28(3), 44–52. Gander, L. (2012). Dystopian novels: h

Interview with Gabrielle Wang, Australian Children's Laureate

By Gabrielle Wang

Issue 122, Term 3 2022

nt tense. Or after the story finishes, students could explain what happened to the character in the following ten years.  I also think using visual literacy is important. A teacher could use works of art, a Frederick McCubbin painting for example, where there is a scene, and without telling the st

1,000 reasons to support Australian book creators

By Jackie French

Issue 97, Term 2 2016

Dear Jackie French, What I have learned from your book is to be wary of anyone who tries to make you angry. Love James James was 14, and Hitler’s Daughter was the first book he had ever read. Yet he had found the truth behind a question I had been hunting for ever since I was ten years old: h

The cathartic experience: understanding grief through the written word

By Nicole Richardson

Issue 106, Term 3 2018

Eliza Henry Jones is well-acquainted with the power of the written word. Her literary work is an achingly beautiful exploration of grief, loss and trauma — themes that she understands are capable of helping readers make sense of their own experiences. Indeed, the writing experience itself has had

Stories that matter

By Helen Stower, Krystal Gagen-Spriggs

Issue 107, Term 4 2018

Contemporary realistic fiction is a trend in the current young adult (YA) book scene. Some of these books provide insight into issues such as gender and sexual identity, mental health, grief, drugs, suicide and violence. These issues present new horizons for those involved in the care and education

Emily Rodda on treasured stories

By Nicole Richardson

Issue 108, Term 1 2019

  Emily Rodda’s life has been a whirlwind of stories. Her family's bond formed not between the pages of books, but between the silences and laughter of their own storytelling. At a young age, Emily taught herself to read by absorbing the words from the books borrowed from her school and municipal

Supporting Australian book creators

By Aaron Blabey

Issue 108, Term 1 2019

When I began writing books professionally in 2006, I had never heard of the Australian Lending Right Schemes. My publisher just handed me a form, which I blithely filled out and promptly forgot all about. Then, after a hair-raising period filled with newborn children, an elephantine mortgage, and

Tonight … I’ll be reading! a novel approach to holiday reading

By Siobhan James

Issue 130, Term 3, 2024

How do you get boys reading in the holidays for fun? Sometimes, you have to take an old classic, and serve it up as something new. Books-to-Go was inspired by initiatives playing on the theme of food delivery services, blended with the idea of a ‘Blind date with a book’. Students place their ‘ord

Exploring time and place through children's literature

By Tania McCartney

Issue 97, Term 2 2016

Books can enrich children’s lives beyond measure. Exposure to other people and cultures, whether directly or indirectly, does extraordinary things to children. It opens their heads and crams wonderful things inside. It relaxes their hearts, softens their emotional boundaries, and enriches their m

Stopping the slide: improving reading rates in the middle school

By Narelle Keen

Issue 99, Term 4 2016

At each end-of-year assembly, I give out our Champion Reader Award to students in the junior college who have borrowed more than 120 books throughout the year, and to students in the middle and senior college who have borrowed more than 50 books. In our junior college, we always have large numbers

Daring to be different: celebrating diversity in literature

By Ruth Devine

Issue 105, Term 2 2018

My favourite memory growing up is of snuggling under the doona while my dad sat on the edge of the bed and read me a story. It was our cosy, nightly ritual. I would drift off to sleep with a head full of shipwrecks and pirates, fairytale castles and magical faraway trees. Often the stories were o

Improving reading outcomes for students with dyslexia

By Anna Boyle

Issue 112, Term 1 2020

What is dyslexia? Dyslexia is a specific learning disorder that involves difficulty in learning to read or in interpreting letters and words. According to the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5, American Psychiatric Association 2013), it is a developmental disorder that

The Information Fluency Framework

By Carmel Grimmett

Issue 123, Term 4 2022

The Information Fluency Framework (IFF) is a new tool for teacher librarians in primary and secondary settings. The IFF is the primary source of information outcomes and processes for teacher librarians in the NSW Department of Education to use together with Information skills in the school as a

The great escape

By Sarah Bakker

Issue 102, Term 3 2017

‘If you truly want to escape this reality all you have to do is open a book and your imagination.’ — Unknown This idea that reading can magically transport you somewhere else is at the heart of this year’s Children’s Book Week theme, Escape to Everywhere. With Book Week fast approaching, w

The DANZ Childrens Book Award

By Kate Foster

Issue 126, Term 3 2023

Understanding the value of inviting and listening to a variety of voices is considered the ultimate path to true acceptance. Slowly but surely, more books are being published which shine a light on diverse characters and communities. Furthermore, educators are recognising the importance of adding t