Erika Rimes

M/Teach (Primary)Weekend Mode

9th June 2007

English Integrated Unit Stage 3

‘Flytrap’ By Meme McDonald & Boori Monty Pryor

‘Big rain coming’By Katrina Germein and Illustrated by Bronwyn

Bancroft

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Contents

Part 1: Situational Analysis pp 3

Part 2: Rationale for my unit pp 4

Part 3: Overview of outcomes and indicators & teaching & learning experiences pp 5

Part 4: Reflection pp 16

Part 5: References pp 17

Appendix pp 18

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Part 1: Situation Analysis

Beverly Hills North Public School is situated in Sydney’s South west region and the

population is usually 600 students and includes approximately 80% children from non-

English speaking backgrounds (NESB), the majority of who are of Chinese origin.

The 20% of students range from Indian, Arabic, and Pacific Islander, African, Greek

and English origin.

Information in Acknowledgment of Country and Working with Aboriginal communities will

help you provide a supportive environment for all students learning about Aboriginal

culture and perspectives, and Aboriginal students in your class. Selected sections from

these documents could be shared with your class.

As indicated in Working with Aboriginal communities, and also the Aboriginal education

K–12 resource guide, the word ‘Aboriginal’ is more appropriate to use than ‘Aborigine’

when referring to Aboriginal people and their culture. Note also that the NSW

Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) requests the use of ‘Aboriginal’ rather

than ‘Indigenous’ when talking about Aboriginal people.

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Part 2: A rationale for my unit;

2.1 Choice of text as relevant to theme and topic

”Flytrap” – Meme McDonald & Boori Monty Prypor

“Big Rain Coming” – Katrina Germein & Illustrations by Bronwyn Bancroft

I choose ‘Flytrap’ and ‘Big Rain Coming’ because they share similar themes and topics inregard to the environment and Australian identity. Both narratives look at the humanrelationships with the environment and Aboriginal themes and culture.

2.2 Theoretical basis for action as relevant to stage 3

The COGS Unit – The Environment is part of the Stage 3 Scope and Sequence. This Unitcovers Creative Arts, PDHPE & HSIE in the KLA. Currently the school is integrating theCOGS units,

Aims of unit:

• Understand and discuss elements in a story (Narrative, orientations, setting &character development)

• Understand and discuss the purpose of language and structure in a narrative text

• Connect themes and language

• Understand and look at diversity in Australian culture and language

• Address explicit teaching of grammar

• Increase the students involvement in class discussions

Text Type FocusNarrative

Grammar FocusAdverbial phrases, imagery and symbolism, noun groups, sensing verbs, opinionadjectives, and the linguistically feature.

2.3 Duration and hours per week

9 weeks – 1 ½ hour lessons – split into two 45 minute lessons

2.4 Integrations of literacy with KLA

Activities: • Create their own picture book about a story of their own (Visual Arts)• Act out an aboriginal dream time story (Drama)

• Research Environment Issues and what we can do to protect our environment fromharm (HSIE)

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Part 3: Overview of outcomes and indicators & teaching and learning experiences

3.1 Outcomes and indicators

English – Stage 3 Outcomes and Indicators RS3.7 Critically analyses techniques used by writers to create certain effects, to

use language creatively, to position the reader in various ways and to construct

different interpretations of experience.

*discusses the similarities and differences between spoken and written language*Recognises the structure of a text is related to its purpose

RS3.8 Identifies the text structure of a wider range of more complex test types

and discusses how the characteristic grammatical features work to influence

readers’ and viewers’ understanding of texts.

*Identifies how noun groups are useful resource for condensing information aboutpeoples, places, things and ideas.*identifies figurative language such as a simile, metaphor and personification in textsand discusses the effect.

T3.1 Communicates effectively for a range of purposes and with a variety of

audiences to express well-developed, well organised ideas dealing with more

challenging topics.

*engages in discussions involving more than one point of view about characters andevents*Explores ideas and topics in a group set up by teacher or peer

TS3.3 Discusses ways in which spoken language differs from written language and

how spoken language varies according to different contexts.

*Talks about and identifies and interprets ideas, themes and issues in literary texts.*recognises that written texts, as they will be read by people distant in time and space,are written with an expected response in the author’s mind.

3.2 Assessments

Ongoing alternative assessment Focused Assessment tasks

Weeks 1, 2 , 5, 6, 9 Ongoing alternative assessment

Anecdotal notes – Notes about studentsprogress, interesting observationsOngoing o bservations – Observingindividual and group questions andresponses to tasks

1. Week 3 Lesson 6 – ‘Flytrap’

2. Week 4 Lesson 8 – ‘Big rain coming’

3. Week 8 lesson 15/16 – Tall tale

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3.3 Teaching and learning experiences

Week 1 – “Flytrap”

Lesson 1 & 2 – “Flytrap”:

Introduction: – Orientation to the text

Look at the cover of ‘Flytrap’. Question & discuss what a Venus Flytrap is – what is it? What does it do? Has anyone seen avenus flytrap? Look at the girl on the coverQuestions: What do you think happens in the story? Who is the story about?

Note: Think about what Nancy might be feeling, describe using similes

Read the blurb from the back of “Flytrap” and show the little illustrations on the back andinside the book. Questions:

Student:Using the cover illustration and illustrations in the book1. Write a description of the girl and the flytrap (Question: What is she thinking?)Questions: Where might she live? Where is the story set? Does she have a family?2. Write a scene, one paragraph describing the event taking place as they imagine it.

Teacher:Use page 8 and 9 “‘Very good Nancy’. Miss Susan smiled back and Nancy felt as if the sunhad rise over the horizon just to shine on her…. Nancy watched, her sunflower-face liftedtowards her teacher….’ to help students develop their descriptions and scenes using simile abig bubble-gum of worry balloons out ready to burst, to stick all over someone, usingadverbial phrases ‘Nancy rolls her eyes towards the sky’, ‘tears spurt out in all directions’,‘…her mum says vaguely, tapping away at the keyboard’.

Display the quotes and ask students to think about what they want to express. Ask them touse the same grammatical features as McDonald and Pryor.Ask the class to share some of their ideas, write them up.

adverbial phrases & simile “A grammar companion” Beverly Derewianka“Flytrap” pages 10, 11 & 13

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Week 2 – “Flytrap”

Lesson 3 “Flytrap”:

Ask students to record as many different types of English that they can recall finding inbooks, movies or on television.

As a class look at Examples; Examples: Cockney English – The bill (TV) Aboriginal English –Message stick (TV) Indian English – a Bollywood movie, or Apu in The Simpsons (TV)

Discuss with students how cultural practices are expressed through language. Questions: How do you talk to your friends? What words do you use express emotions? Whatwords are considered ‘slang’?

Questions: Do you talk another language at home? Do your parents/grandparents tellstories? Can you remember stories from when you were younger?

In groups students record sources and make a presentation to the class about

• the different types of English used in Australia;• important values from stories and cultures in Australia

Lesson 4 “Flytrap”:Jointly construct a list of similarities or differences between the two cultures

Teacher & Students:Compare these two statements

1. Gee’s story: He didn’t want to share nothing. In our lore it’s important that youshare things.

2. Nancy’s Mum’s story: My heart was pounding, thumping ready to burst. A lamb allof my own.

Jointly construct a list of similarities or differences between the two cultures. Read Gee’sstory about the echidna. Listen to and read Nancy’s Mum’s story about ‘lambo’. Use BLM 1

Appendix 1.1 to record differences and similarities.

As a class, discuss the differences between home language and school language. Questions: Why are they different? How do they reflect cultural practices? Discuss howspeakers make language choices based on both the cultural context and the situation inwhich they are speaking.

Create a word bank, which shows the difference between home language and school language.Depending on the cultural backgrounds of students, this list may contain recognisable Englishwords, some with different meanings, colloquialisms and, words from another language.

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Example:

Home School

See YaCiao (Italian

Goodbye

Fully sick(Colloquial)Deadly(Aboriginal English)

Wonderful

Cultural DiversityFrom lesson 3 and 4 discuss the role of story telling both written and spoken, across allcultures and times.Questions: What are the differences you noticed? What are the similarities? Do you thinkstories and language are important in Australian Cultures? Why?

Week 3 - “Flytrap”Lesson 5 “Flytrap”

Character development

Student:Use the storyboard and develop the characters and their relationships with one another.

Use BLM 2 Appendix 1.2

Teacher:Point out to the students that the events are not what constitutes the story; it is also aboutthe development of feelings both the readers’ and the characters’.Students can read a particular chapter/pages and concentrate on one character, forinstance;• Gee • Nancy’s Mum• Nancy

Follow the story board through with the chosen characterIf you fill in the whole story board….. Questions: Do any questions arise that you can’t answer? Does the story flow smoothly? (Note to students: Think about the importance/relevance of each characters story’s oractions)

Look at Nancy’s Mum story on pages 30 – 31;Questions: What do we understand about Nancy’s Mum? What do the descriptions expressabout Nancy’s Mum? How does Nancy react to her mum’s story?Nancy’s Mum remembers certain feelings from talking and listening to Nancy. Nancy’s mumcontinues to talk about her past from pages 32 – 38. The descriptions evoke sensing verbs(feeling and thinking)

“Flytrap” Page 30 – 31‘Yuck!’ Her mum looks up. ‘That smell was so bad, wasn’t it?’ She can’t help giggling. ‘Theyprobably smell it from across the other side of Melbourne!’‘Further!’ Nancy squeals, clapping her hands, thrilled that she’s lured her mum away from thecomputer again. The Sound of her mum’s laughter is sweet as raspberry spider on a hot day.’Nancy Drinks it in. ‘ Flies flow for days to get here…form…maybe from….’

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Nancy’s Mum squirms, remembering the feeling of flies squatting on the back of her sweat-soaked shirt, in the corner of her eye, up her nose, on the edge of her mouth, sucking themoisture. The feeling carries Nancy’s Mum back to when she was a kid mustering sheep……

Lesson 6 – “Flytrap”

Character Relationships

Ask questions about the text. Use the questions in BLM 3 Appendix 1.3 to promptdiscussions on whom and what is valued and the relationship between people in the book.

(These questions were derived from Leonie Rowan's approach of transformative analysisoutlined in ‘Write me in’).

Student and Teacher: ASSESSMENT TASKUse the text as a starting point to discuss identity. Focus on the character of Nancy andjointly develop a sociogram (‘Flytrap” Bookrap 22 May 2006), which shows who she interactswith and what she does or says in those interactions.

Refer to these scenes: Miss Susan p.8‘Very good, Nancy.’ Miss Susan smiled back and Nancy felt as if the sun had risen over thehorizon just to shine on herGee p.18He brings all kinds of things home in plastic bags. Mainly birds…..Mum p.39By the time Nancy’s mum noticed, it was covered in flies… ‘That’s one-two-three business toclean up,’ she grumbled.Gran pp.58-59Next time she goes to her Gran’s place, she’s going to spin enough wool to make her ownbeanie……Nanna p.54, p.59Story of the two yams

Student:Use BLM 4 Appendix 1.4 to record the sociogram and ask students to independently addinformation about how Nancy’s interactions with others make her feel.

Week 4 – “Big Rain Coming”Lesson 7 – “Big Rain Coming” - Before reading the book

Visual literacy

Orientation to the textShow students the cover, tittle, author and illustrator.Questions: Who/what do you think the story is about? What happens in the story?

“Big rain coming”Show Page 11 and 12 where two dogs are keeping cool“The panting dogs at Roberta’s camp dug themselves dusty holes to keep cool.”Ask the students about the demand, salience, realism, vectors and framing of the pictures.

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Questions: Demand –What is the text and image trying to do? Informing? Pursuades?Salience – What stands out in the picture? What did you notice first?Realism – What can you tell from the illustration? Is it real, Why? Is it symbolic, why? Tothe characters interact with one another?

Model reading: Read “Big rain coming” to the class

After reading through the book (maybe more than once) ask the students some questions toget them discussing the story, characters, setting, themes etc…Questions handed out to class BLM 4 Appendix 1.4

Questions: How long did it take the story to happen? Where did the story happen?Which character interested you the most? Who was telling – who was narrating – the story?Did we ever know what the characters were thinking about?

Discuss the answers as a class and always refer back to the book to help the classunderstand the story, characters and themes etc…

Theme: Direct students to the illustrations;Who are the characters? Direct students to how the sun, clouds and rain are represented,through use of human features (faces), but not on every page.Question: How do you know there is an Aboriginal theme in the illustrations?What particular thing/object/character is on every page?

Briefly discuss the story of the “Rainbow serpent”.Questions: Does anyone know about the rainbow serpent? What happens in that story that is related to “Big rain coming”?What happens to the rainbow serpent in “big rain coming” when the rain finally comes? Is old Stephen predicting ‘big rain coming’ from the sky or from the rainbow serpent?Can the people and animals see the rainbow serpent? Why? Why not?

Lesson 8 – “Big rain coming”Teacher:Discuss with the students as a class what feelings were evokes when reading the story(Suspenseful, expectation, disappointment…)Questions: What words or phrases affected they way you felt?What pictures affected they way you felt?

Students:CharactersGet students to go through the story in pairs/groups and answer questions about thecharacters in “Big rain coming”Questions:• Who is the most important character in “Big rain coming”, why?• Can you find a page that shows the importance of this character? If not, why?Example: The rain – everyone and everything is relying on the rain and this is representedthrough predictions of when the rain is coming, the animals and children trying to keep coolwaiting for the rain etc…..

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Students may get different answers but may be able to support their opinion.Discuss their answers as a class.

Students: ASSESSMENT TASKThe EnvironmentAs a class complete BLM 5 Appendix 1.5 showing the relationships between all thecharacters in the bookUse the story outline BLM 6 Appendix 1.6 and the book to complete the sociogramQuestions: How do the characters interact with one another? Is there one character that other characters are all dependant on?

As a class discuss and compare the way the way people interact with the land in ‘Big RainComing’ and ‘Flytrap.

‘Flytrap’ ‘Big rain coming’

• Echidnae story• Nancy’s necklace • ‘Lambo’ story• Gee’s gift to Nancy – The Two Yams

story• Elders passing on stories

• The rain

• The environment e.g. billabong, dirt,leaky tap

• ‘Rainbow serpent’• Old Stephen informing the children of

the weather

Week 5 - “Flytrap”

Lesson 9 – “Flytrap”Language and Culture

Teacher:Question: Why is language and story so important to culture and identity? Discuss the different stories told in Flytrap by the various characters and the reasons fortelling them.

Students:The response should be at least three paragraphs long and should address the first twoparts of the question in separate paragraphs.

Ask students to think about stories from their own families or cultural backgrounds. Discusshow emotion is developed in spoken texts by a speaker using pause and repetition for effector tone, volume, intonation and body language to emphasise a point or build tension. Askstudents to consider these aspects of the text when listening to the telling of this story.

Encourage students to share their stories with the class and ask for positive feedback frompeers relating to these aspects of the presentation.

Play Gee’s story: ‘Long time ago this one fulla was really greedy. …strung together withbeautiful red seeds.”

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Lesson 10 – “Flytrap”

Discuss the importance of language in creating and maintaining culture. Question: Ask students to think of a story they know that depicts and shares cultural valuesin a community, e.g. Noah’s ark in Genesis, Shrek, Beauty and the beast, Toy story, or afamily story or saying.

Teacher:Ask students to think about how these stories have been shared over time. Remind students that many stories have been passed down orally and finally written down.Ask students to share their stories with the class. Record the names of the stories anddisplay in the classroom.

As a class, discuss why stories and language are so culturally important. Illustrate youranswer by referring to the stories told in “Flytrap”.

Jointly construct a class answer to; How is traditional Aboriginal life and modern Australiarepresented in Flytrap through the stories told by its characters? Discuss how Aboriginaland non-Aboriginal readers might react to these stories in different ways.Question: Do you understand words? Find words you don’t understand – how is it used?

Week 6 - “Flytrap” & “Big Rain Coming”

Lesson 11 & 12 “Flytrap”

Character Nanna

Ask students how and where they think Nanna might have learnt the skills necessary tohandle the echidna carcass and to make the jewellery. Point out to students how Gee islearning these skills and passing them on to Nancy.

Ask some of the questions suggested by Aidan Chambers in “Tell me more”. Examples:

• the story of Flytrap is told in the third person. Who is this person? • were there any words or language in this story that you liked or disliked? • who was your favourite character? Why?

Read Nanna’s story (pp.19-23). Jointly construct a description of Nanna. Use these questionsto support students:

• How does she speak? (p.19) • What is she like? (p.21 & p.45) • What experiences has she had in life?(p.20) • What is she good at? (p.19 & p.45)

How does Nanna’s story reflect the story of the two yams? (pp.55-57).

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Week 7 - “Flytrap”Lesson 13 – Character Profile

Write a character profile including the following information.Name, age, and family details – names of family members, occupations, and peculiar charactertraits.• Appearance – Height, hair colour, eye colour, build• Behavioural Traits• Character traits• Job/Hobby• Where living and why• What type of transport – describe how they get around car, train, horse• Favourite things and why they are enjoyedAny other personal background relevant to the story

Teacher:With the whole class do a joint construction character profile, encourage students to writeas well as offer their suggestions orally. Then ask students to attempt their own work.Opinion adjectives pg.35 “A grammar companion” Beverly Derewianka

Lesson 14 – “Flytrap” and “Big rain coming” Get into the head of the characters

“Flytrap”Questions:

• How does your character get information? – By using direct questions, actions,intuition/feeling

• How does your character work things out?- by thinking and feeling• How does your character relate to other characters in the book? By being protective of

others, don’t take much notice of others, spiritual connection, caring, understanding,guidance of others…

“Flytrap” and “Big rain coming”

Teacher: Use paragraph to see the different relationships people have with the land in “Flytrap” and“Big rain coming”

“Flytrap”Gee’s story: He didn’t want to share nothing. In our lore it’s important that you sharethings.Nancy’s Mum’s story: My heart was pounding, thumping ready to burst. A lamb all of myown.

“Big rain coming”“On Sunday afternoon Old Stephen nodded to the dark clouds spreading in the south”“The children swam in the billabong after school.”“The fat green frogs huddled around the leaky tap on the rain-water tank.”

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Week 8 -“Flytrap” Lesson 15

Tall Tale

Teacher:Ask students to read Nancy’s tall tale (“Flytrap” pp.10-11) and Nancy’s Mum’s tall tale(“Flytrap” pp.13-15). Ask students to consider the different reasons that Nancy and her Mum were telling talltales. Read the tall tale on p.59 (“Flytrap”) about Nancy’s Mum swallowing flies. Questions: Who do you believe told this tale first: Nancy, her Mum or her Grandfather?Why was it told?

Student: ASSESSMENT TASKAsk students to share a tall tale they have heard or told themselves. As each student sharestheir tale ask them to think why it was told to them or why they told it. Tall tales are alwaysmeant to entertain an audience but ask students to consider if their tale is meant to amuse,frighten, comfort, tease or please the audience.

Student:Ask students to choose their favourite tale in Flytrap and write a response which includes ajustification of their choice.

Teacher and Student: ASSESSMENT TASKJointly construct a class answer to BLM 7 Appendix 1.7

Questions: Who told this story? Why was this story told? To whom was it told? What is thestory about? What is the most unbelievable part of the story? Is it a true story?How does this story make you feel?

Ask students to contribute what they found out about their favourite tale and its realmeaning.

Lesson 16 “Flytrap”What is a tall tale? While this book has fun telling tall tales, there are deeper messages and

themes. What are they? Explain how you came up with your answers.

Theme “Flytrap”The use of stories, language and culture which influences the way we tell stories and thevalue of stories.Gee gives the story to Nancy. Nancy must follow rules, Nancy’s mums story of ‘Lamb of GodNanna passing on how to make, Nancy herself tells the two Yam’s story...MotifThe importance of family, culture and truth.Throughout the whole story Nancy tries to make up stories herself about not having aflytrap. Nancy continues to come back to ‘making up a story’ about her flytrap throughoutlistening to her mum’s stories of her childhood, throughout listening and doing things withGee. Nancy receives a necklace from her Nanna and Gee ‘brings her a story’ and she re-tellsthe story of the two yams to the class. Her mum even tells her (pp. 45) to tell the truth.

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Week 9 – “Flytrap” and “Big rain coming”

Lesson 17 & 18

“Flytrap” & “Big rain coming”

As a class reflect, discuss and put together a table showing the overall language, themes, andcharacters in ‘flytrap’ and ‘Big rain coming’ Questions: What is the language like in Flytrap and Big Rain Coming? What were the mostimportant points in the stories? What did the stories tell us about culture, language?

Flytrap Big Rain Coming

Language &Illustrations

Descriptive language;Nancy’s Mum ‘Lambo’ story

Written in first person - Nancy

Colloquial language;Gee’s story

Suspense; What will happen atschool when Nancy won’t have theflytrap.

Climatic/important moment: Thetwo yams, telling the story to theclass, and telling the truth

p.p. 24,25 Aboriginal Illustration –Echidnae story

Repetition -“On Monday there was no rain”

“On Tuesday there was no rain…”

“On Wednesday there was still norain….”

This creates suspense and creates aclimax.

Climatic/important moment: Whenthe rain comes.

Rainbow serpent – Aboriginalillustrations throughout the story

Characters Characters are part of Nancy’sfamily and her school.

The characters are connected withmain character Nancy

Characters are not all humans andanimals but also the environment(e.g. the rain, the clouds….)

The characters in the book are allconnected through the rain andwhere they live

Themes ”Flytrap” shows us how differentcultures can define the use oflanguage and stories and identity.

Identity – Aboriginal culture;passing stories /skills fromgeneration to generation

“Big rain coming” shows us howpeople and animals relate to theenvironment and how people/animalsrelate to the environment indifferent/similar ways.

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Part 4: Reflection on professional experience context with comments on how you

would need to amend your lessons, considering the school’s organisation of Literacy

and English.

• The stage 3 curriculum planning for Literacy and English is focused through out the

week, giving English 55 percent of the time. This would not affect my lessons too

much; however parts of the unit may take too long to cover in the term and may

need some changes.

• The students would need to look specifically at the use of Aboriginal language to

understand some of the words used in the book. The students at Beverly Hills North

Public School come from a variety of backgrounds; however I feel that the students

in Stage 3 would not find it very difficult.

• Overall I don’t feel that there would be any problems with the focus of this unit

with Stage 3 students at Beverly Hills North. I feel that they would thoroughly

enjoy the use of visual text and connecting it with grammar, character development

and relationships.

• Students from Beverly Hills North Public School would also enjoy the content of

‘Big rain coming’ and ‘Flytrap’ even though many students come from different

backgrounds. A lot of the themes are universal but also unique as part of the

Aboriginal culture.

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Part 5: References

Rushton, K., Strategies for working with a narrative text “Blueback: By Tim Winton,2002

Collaborative project of the School Libraries and Information Literacy team, theAboriginal Education and Training Directorate (AETD) and the English team, CurriculumK–12 Directorate., Flytrap bookrap, 22 May 2006

P. Derewianka, Beverly, A grammar Companion, Primary English Teaching Association,1998

Chambers, Aidan, Tell me more: children, reading and talk, Primary English TeachingAssociation, 1993

K-6 Board of Studies Website, http://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/, 1998

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Appendix

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BLM 1 Appendix 1.1

Similarities and differences

Gee’s Story p.g. 24 – 28 Mum’s story about‘lambo’ pp.35-38

Who told this story?

To whom was it told?

Why was this storytold?

Is it a true story?

Does it have a moralor a deeper meaning?

Does it explain ourrelationship to nature?

Does it give advice onhow to behave?

What else does thestory tell you?

How does this storymake you feel?

NSW Department of Education and Training, 2006. Flytrap rap

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BLM 2 Appendix 1.2

Storyboard ‘Flytrap’

By Meme McDonald & Boori Monty Pryor

1. Nancy tells the teacher she has a VenusFlytrap

2. Nancy goes home with her mum fromschool

3. Gee arrives home 4. Gee tells the story of the Echidna

5. Nancy makes up excuses for not having aflytrap

6. Nancy’s mum talks about her childhood

7. Nancy gets a package from Nanna 8. Gee gives Nancy the story of the twoyams

9. Nancy tells her teacher about not havinga flytrap

10. Nancy tells her yam story to the class

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BLM 3 Appendix 1.3

Asking questions

Questions Answers

What type of story is Flytrap?

Who is included in this story?

Who is excluded?

Who gets to do what?

What is presented as natural and

normal?

Who and what is valued?

How do you know this?

Find evidence in the text.

What language in this story is

very important to its impact?

Find evidence in the text.

How is this story different from

others you have read?

NSW Department of Education and Training, 2006. Flytrap rap

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BLM 4 Appendix 4.1

Flytrap: SociogramJoin the characters with arrows that show how they relate to each other.Write the feelings on the arrows that lead from one character to another

Miss Susan (p.18) Gee (p.18)

Nancy

Mum (p. 39) Gran (p.58-59) Nanna (p.54,p.59)

NSW Department of Education and Training, 2006. Flytrap rap

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BLM 5 Appendix 1.5

‘Big Rain Coming’

As a group of 3 and a copy of ‘Big Rain Coming’ answer the following questions;

1. How long did it take the story to happen?Think about: the order in which the events happened______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Where did the story happen?Think about: did you think about the place as you were reading it, are there passagesespecially about the place where the story is set?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Which character interested you the most? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Is the character/s important in the story? Why? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Who was telling – who was narrating – the story? Do we know? And how do we know?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. Did we ever know what the characters were thinking about? Note: Were we ever told what they were feeling? Or was the story told from the timefrom outside the characters, watching what they did and hearing what they said?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Discuss your answers with the a class

Questions from Aidan Chambers, Tell me more: children, reading and talk

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BLM 5 Appendix 5.1

‘Big Rain Coming’: SociogramJoin the characters with arrows that show how they relate to each other.

Write the feelings or quotes from the book on the arrows that lead from one character toanother

Rosie’s kids Panting dogs

The Rain

Fat green frogs OldStephen

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BLM 6 Appendix 1.6

Outline of Big Rain Coming

By Katrina Germein and Illustrated by Bronwyn Bancroft

Page 1 & 2On Sunday afternoon Old Stephen nodded to the dark clouds spreading in the south.

Page 3 & 4 ‘Big rain coming’, he said

Page 5 &6But on Monday there was no rain.

Page 7 & 8The night was so warm Rosie’s kids dragged their beds outside to maybe feel somebreeze while they slept.

Page 9& 10On Tuesday, there was still no rain

Page 11 & 12The panting dogs at Roberta’s camp dug themselves dusty holes to keep cool.

Page 13 & 14Wednesday came, and still no rain.

Page 15 & 16The children swam in the billabong after school. The water was warm and still.

Page 17 & 18By Thursday night there was still no rain.

Page 19 & 20 The fat green frogs huddled around the leaky tap on the rain-water tank.

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BLM 7 Appendix 1.7

Tall tales

Tall tales Nancy’s talltalepp.10-11

Nancy’s Mum’stall tale pp.13-15

Nancy’s Mum’stall tale(swallowingflies) p.59

Who told thisstory?

Why was thisstory told?

To whom was ittold?

What is the storyabout?

What is the mostunbelievable partof the story?

Is it a true story?How does thisstory make youfeel?(sad, happy,puzzled,

NSW Department of Education and Training, 2006. Flytrap rap

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