Countdown Issue 9 – October 2021 Learning Resource

Night Flight

Poem by Laura Mucha | illustrated by Gabriel Evans

EN2-4A | ACELY1680

Design an illustration for ‘Night Flight’ using contextual clues.

Note: It is important that students do not view the illustration for ‘Night Flight’ until the end of the activity.

Read the first stanza. Ask students the following questions:

• Who might the narrator be? (bird)

• What clue tells us this? (feathers)

• Where might they be jumping from? (building, tree branch etc)

• What time of the day is this set? (night)

• What kind of bird flies at night? (owl – although the argument might be made that this is a smaller bird due to the inclusion of ‘short feathers’)

Read the second stanza. Ask students the following questions:

• What kind of place is this poem set in? (city)

• What shape do the lights make from above? (starfish – to give students a better idea, do a Google Image search of ‘city night aerial view’)

Read the third stanza. Ask students the following questions:

• What is the weather like? (cloudy, windy)

• What clue tells us it’s only slightly cloudy? (use of the word ‘whisper’ suggests a small amount of cloud, as to whisper is to use a small voice – explain this is a metaphor)

• What clue tells us it’s only slightly windy? (use of the phrase ‘current lifts me like a leaf’ – rather than being buffeted or swept away, the bird is being ‘lifted’, which suggests a gentle movement. Tell students a comparison using the word ‘like’ is a simile.)

Countdown Issue 9 – October 2021 The School Magazine – Learning Resource

Read the poem to the end. Ask students the following questions:

• Is the night literally on fire? (no)

• So why does the narrator say the plane and the meteorite ‘set the sky alight’? (they are lights in the sky)

• Why does the narrator include themselves in that line about being alight? Think about how the narrator might be feeling. (they are feeling ‘alight’ with joy, freedom, happiness etc)

Using what they now know, instruct students to design their own illustration for the poem. They may search online for pictures of birds and city views to assist their drawings. Students should consider the following points:

• The bird is small

• The bird is in flight

• It is night

• There is a city with lights spread out in the shape of a starfish below

• There may be a plane or a meteorite going past

• There are a few clouds about

Countdown Issue 9 – October 2021 The School Magazine – Learning Resource

Clara the Curious Cow

Story by Stephanie Owen Reeder | illustrated by Tohby Riddle

EN2-2A | ACELT1601

Create a short comic strip based on a section of the story.

Read the story. Ask students to identify the four major points of the plot. Write their ideas on the board. It should look something like the list below.

1. Clara was washed away in a deluge.

2. Clara was picked up by a skipper and made trouble on an island.

3. Clara lived in a town and made trouble in a showground.

4. Clara was put in a paddock with other cows and a bull next door.

Explain that students will choose their favourite section of the story to turn into a comic strip. Examples of comic strips can be found in this issue of Countdown on pages 2, 35 and 36. Ask students to identify the main elements of a comic strip. Answers may include: visual representation of the plot, different sized pictures, speech bubbles, thought bubbles, sound effects. A useful list of terminology can be found on Read Write Think’s Comic Vocabulary Definitions and Examples.

Before starting, students can practise drawing a cow. A good YouTube tutorial is How to Draw a Cow.

Websites for comic strip templates include Media Loot’s list of Free, Printable Comic Strip Templates and Printable Paper’s Comic Pages.

Students should sketch a quick draft of their comic before starting a good copy. Encourage them to think about perspective, distance and angle when planning their panels. For example, if they’re drawing Clara being washed away, do they want to draw the scene from a far distance to show how small she is in the deluge, or do they want to have a close up of her face to portray her expression? Adding to that, ask students how Clara might be feeling at that point – scared, excited, curious?

Countdown Issue 9 – October 2021 The School Magazine – Learning Resource

To assist with drawing expressions, tell students to make a surprised face and turn to their neighbour. What do their eyebrows look like (raised, arching)? What is the shape of their mouth (small circle)? Do the same with scared, angry, interested and any other expression that might be drawn for this activity. Then students may begin.

Success criteria:

• Accurately retells a portion of the story in comic form

• Uses speech bubbles, thought bubbles and/or narration boxes

• Is able to explain their choices of angle, distance and perspective

COUNTDOWN

Know your cow! Refer to ‘Clara the Curious Cow’ to answer the following questions.

1. Describe Clara's personality.

2. What's one thing that Clara dislikes?

3. What did Fisherman Fred mean when he said, 'but this island's too small for the likes of you.'?

4. Why wasn't Clara welcome in the town?

5. Is Clara the type of cow you'd want as a pet? Why or why not?

6. Why did Clara have her winning trophy taken off her?

7. Do you think Farmer Phil was angry with Clara? Why or why not?

8. See if you can find the meaning of the following words:

deluge

pandemonium

winched

Countdown Issue 9 – October 2021 The School Magazine – Learning Resource

Magical Mud

Poem by Kate Hart | illustrated by Queenie Chan

EN2-8B |ACELT1600

Invent words that could be used as onomatopoeia.

Before reading the poem, view Mindy Bauer’s YouTube video Onomatopoeia. Ask students to work out the definition of onomatopoeia from the video. Once they have correctly recognised that onomatopoeic words sound like what they are describing, create a mind map on the board with as many onomatopoeic words as students can think of (e.g. boom, oink, crash, clatter).

Read ‘Magical Mud’ aloud. In pairs, students note the onomatopoeic words. Below are the answers.

squelchy, drippy, drizzle, gloopy, gloppy, sloppy, oozing, squashed, scrape, whoosh, splat, aargh.

Note: Arguments can be made for words such as ‘sludge’ and ‘shimmer’ – allow students to think about whether these count as ‘sound words’.

Play the following sound clips and ask students to invent words for what they hear. Ensure students don’t see the title of the sound clip to allow them to be creative with their answers. This activity can be done as a class or in pairs.

1. Horse gallop (example: flupterflup)

2. Balloon air (example: fffffthwip)

3. Flood (example: whrickerwhrickerwricker)

4. Throw away trash (example: fliflo)

5. Metal bin (example: drrrilldrilldril)

Feel free to include more sound clips on the Find Sounds search page.

Countdown Issue 9 – October 2021 The School Magazine – Learning Resource

Tell students to use items around the classroom (or, circumstances permitting, in the playground) to make noise. This might be the tap of a pencil against the bin, the clatter of a stick against a fence, the scrunch of paper into a ball, or even a sound they make with their mouths. They are to invent a new word to describe that sound, as they were doing with the sound clips.

Students are to write a sentence with their new sound on a strip of paper.

Example:

Jesse thwapped his paper plane across the room.

They should include an illustration to accompany the sentence.

Countdown Issue 9 – October 2021 The School Magazine – Learning Resource

Wild Style!

Article by Louise Molloy | illustrated by Michel Streich | photos by Alamy

EN2-9B | ACELA1479

Predict the contents of a paragraph using the topic sentence and identify the main idea of each paragraph.

Before reading the article, display it to the class and ask them to predict whether it will be a fiction or non-fiction text. Point out the columns, headings, sub-headings and photographs. These give us hints that it will be a non-fiction text. Remind students that non-fiction texts tell us factual information. Ask students to predict what the article might be about based on the photographs and title.

Read the orange text at the beginning and explain to students this is called a standfirst. Now read aloud the first subheading, ‘Killer hair gel’ and the topic sentence of the paragraph. Ask students what the rest of the paragraph might contain. Answers will vary and probably won’t be correct, but the focus should be that this paragraph is solely on the African maned rat and not the other animals, and that it will talk about its hair or fur. After a short discussion, read the rest of the paragraph. Ask students to identify the main idea of the paragraph. Answers should be something along the lines of how the African maned rat uses poison in its hair to scare off predators.

Do the same with the second paragraph – read the subheading and topic sentence and ask students to predict what the rest of the paragraph will contain. Students can use the photograph of the yeti crab to assist with their answers. Once there have been enough predictions, read the paragraph, discuss then identify the main idea.

Repeat the activity with the third paragraph, but this time have students write their predictions individually. After they have done this, read the paragraph, discuss then identify the main idea.

Countdown Issue 9 – October 2021 The School Magazine – Learning Resource

For the last paragraph, repeat as above, but this time students are to also write their answer for what they think the main idea of the paragraph is.

To finish off, students write a single sentence explain the main idea of the whole article. Answers should be something along the lines of:

The strange styles and uses of hair on different animals.

COUNTDOWN

Know your styleRead the article ‘Wild Style!’ and answer the following questions.

Question Answer

1. Which animalgoes to great lengthsto protect itself frompredators?

2. Where do yeti crabs live?

3. Why would acassowary need abuilt-in airconditioner?

4. Apart from longfringes, highland cattlehave a double coat ofhair. Why might this be?

5. Name an animal thathas a zany-lookingcrest.

6. How powerfulis the African manedrat's hair gel?

7. What can be found on the hair of the yeti crab?

8. Use three words tobest describe theAfrican maned rat.

9. Can you think of anyother animals with wildstyles?

Countdown Issue 9 – October 2021 The School Magazine – Learning Resource

Summer’s in the Air

Poem by Amy Dunjey | illustrated by Christopher Nielsen

EN2-8B | ACELT1599

Create a story based on the setting descriptions in ‘Summer’s in the Air.’

Read through the poem as a class or if you have a digital subscription watch the YouTube clip for this poem. Ask students when the poem is set. Remind students that setting can be:

• Season (summer) • Place (beach) • Time (day)

Students write down all the descriptions they can find that tell us about the poem’s setting. Answers below.

• Sunbeams

• Seaweed

• Sand

• Waves

• Tiny shells

• Breeze/salty ocean smells

• Sandcastles

• Sailing boats

• Sand dunes

• In the sun beside the sea

Countdown Issue 9 – October 2021 The School Magazine – Learning Resource

Students are to use these setting descriptions to write a short narrative. They need to brainstorm a simple problem that could be set at the beach.

For example:

a child has lost her dog, a dolphin has been beached, a bully has arrived to ruin the main character’s sandcastle.

Once they have chosen their problem, they should give at least three possible solutions to this problem. This will be the plot of their story.

Explain that students will start their story with the setting. Ask which setting details from the poem they could begin with and model an example on the board. For example:

Lily squinted her eyes against the sun, watching the sailing boats on the

waves.

Here, the setting details of sun, sailing boats and waves have been used to describe the scene. Brainstorm ways the other descriptions could be inserted into a narrative. For example:

• Lily lifted her face to the salty breeze. • The sand was soft and hot between her toes. • Fido raced through the seaweed strewn along the shore, his tongue lolling

joyfully. • Lily gathered tiny seashells to add to her sandcastle.

As well as using details from the poem, encourage students to come up with their own beach setting descriptions using different senses e.g. gulls squawking, cold water, dripping chocolate ice cream. They can use the accompanying illustration to ‘Summer’s in the Air’ for ideas.

Success criteria:

• Completes a short story with a problem and solution • Uses setting descriptions from ‘Summer’s in the Air’ • Includes own setting details, utilising different senses

Countdown Issue 9 – October 2021 The School Magazine – Learning Resource

The Nitpicky Picnickers

Story by Bill Nagelkerke | illustrated by Cheryl Orsini EN2-2A | ACELY1682

Create a brochure using an acronym.

Read the story as a class. Tell students to find the word ‘acronym’ in the text (p. 17) and ask if anyone can define it. Ensure students understand it is an abbreviation using the initial letters of words, and is said as a word. Ask if students know of other acronyms (e.g. ANZAC – Australian and New Zealand Army Corps). Tell students to identify what acronyms are used in the text (PIC-NIC – Place in Countryside – Numerous Insects Common; WALK – Wander and Look Keen). Explain that the joke is in the misunderstanding of the tour guide, Alpha, about what these words mean. They are not really acronyms, but Alpha doesn’t realise that.

Display a brochure-making website such as Venngage’s 21 Brochure Templates and Design Tips to Promote Your Business. Ask students if they have ever seen a brochure before (such as in the front office of the school, or at a travel agency) and ask what the purpose of a brochure is. Students should understand that brochures promote and give information about a company and services provided. It needs to have clear information, pictures and/or illustrations and is folded, often in a trifold.

Students are to imagine they are promoting the aliens’ Study Tour from ‘The Nitpicky Picnickers’. They are to design a brochure advertising a trip to Earth to view humans in their natural habitat. The brochure should have a trifold (a short YouTube video can be found on WikiHow’s How to Fold Paper for Tri Fold Brochures). It needs to have information about what will be involved in the tour (e.g. viewing Earthlings, studying the area), rules (e.g. look but don’t touch, don’t be seen), details about the guide, Alpha (such as likes and dislikes), and illustrations relevant to the tour.

Students must also use a word from the text to turn into a misunderstood acronym to use in their information section. (Point out to the students that while PIC-NIC and WALK aren’t really acronyms, their abbreviated versions still give a general idea of their definitions. For example, people do wander and look keen during a walk. That’s

Countdown Issue 9 – October 2021 The School Magazine – Learning Resource

why the joke in the story works.) Suggested words students can use as acronyms: CLASSROOM, HOLIDAYS, TAKEAWAY etc. Students can use a dictionary to help them find suitable words.

An example sentence for the brochure:

Come see children outside the CLASSROOM (Creative Learning As Students Seem Rude Or Otherwise Mean)!

Success criteria:

• Brochure is folded • Brochure has information on the aliens’ study tour • Brochure has relevant illustrations • Brochure incorporates an acronym from the original text

COUNTDOWN

So many syllables!

Three syllable words

in stru ment

Four syllable words

Five syllable words

Now write a paragraph using some of these multisyllabic words.

There are plenty of multisyllabic words in 'The Nitpicky Picnickers'. Find words with three, four, five syllables andbreak them into their segments below.

Countdown Issue 9 – October 2021 The School Magazine – Learning Resource

Captain Ahab’s Weird Wide World:

Gingerbread City

Article by Anne Renaud | photos by Alamy

EN2-9B | ACELA1482

Write the article from the point of view of archaeologists as if discovering this tradition in the future, using past tense.

Before reading the article, ask if anyone can explain what an archaeologist does. View the YouTube video All About Archaeology to give an introductory idea to the job, then Uncover Life in Pompeii for details about the ancient city of Pompeii and how it’s been persevered. Further viewing on Pompeii can be found at Behind the News’s video Pompeii Discoveries, but as there are mildly upsetting themes and images, be aware that it might not be suitable for your class.

Read the article ‘Gingerbread City’. Explain to students that they will pretend to be a thousand years in the future, reporting on archaeologists uncovering the miniature town in Sentralbadet after a volcanic eruption preserved everything. They are to write an article as if the gingerbread city tradition is a past event.

Ask students if they know how to tell something has been written in past tense. When they have identified verbs are the key, brainstorm present tense verbs on the board, encouraging them to find examples in the text (e.g. build, make, cook, bake, create). Ask students to change these verbs to past tense (e.g. built, made, cooked, baked, created).

Model an introduction to the new article on the board. This could be something like:

Archaeologists have discovered a miniature city made entirely of gingerbread.

This was from an ancient tradition called Pepperkakebyen.

Students are to use the information from Gingerbread City to include in their article.

Success criteria:

• written in past tense • includes information from Gingerbread City • correct punctuation

Countdown Issue 9 – October 2021 The School Magazine – Learning Resource

Wind Power

Play by Anne Morgan | Illustrated by Gaye Chapman

EN2-11D | ACELT1596

Design a renewable energy source from a fairy tale icon.

After reading the play as a class, ask students what they know about wind power. Discuss renewable energy and how it is sustainable. View Kiddle’s webpage on Renewable resource facts for kids. Ensure students understand the basics of solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and biomass energy.

Discuss how the play ‘Wind Power’ uses the iconic wolf’s huffing and puffing from The Three Little Pigs and turned it into wind power. Explain that students are to design their own renewable energy source from a different fairy tale icon.

To start, have the class brainstorm different fairy tales and iconic points from each. For example:

• Cinderella (glass slipper) • The Little Mermaid (her tail) • Hansel and Gretel (the witch’s oven) • Little Red Riding Hood (her red cape/the woodcutter’s axe) • Snow White (apple/magic mirror) • Beauty and the Beast (enchanted rose) • Jack and the Beanstalk (beanstalk)

Students can visit Storyberries for more fairy tales. Once they have chosen their fairy tale, students are to draw a diagram of a renewable power source from the iconic point. Encourage them to look at how the iconic point of the fairy tale links to either solar, wind, hydro, geothermal or biomass energy sources.

Countdown Issue 9 – October 2021 The School Magazine – Learning Resource

Examples:

Solar power – adding solar panels to the glass slipper/magic mirror

Wind power – red cape is tied up and flaps in the breeze

Hydro – once the little mermaid has shed her tail, it’s used to make wave power

Geothermal – the witch’s oven is heated from underground

Biomass – the apple/enchanted rose/beanstalk/sawdust from the woodcutter’s work are burned to make electricity

Diagrams should show the how the energy is harnessed for use. Example diagrams can be found at the following places:

- halfway down the page on Wind Energy for Kids

- Water Energy

- halfway down the page on Solar Energy

- Diagram of a geothermal power plant

- How does biomass energy work?

Please note: Student diagrams do not have to be scientifically accurate. This is an exercise connecting the original text to their own world. The more creative, the better!

Further resources: Sustainable Learning’s Wind energy for kids booklet

Countdown Issue 9 – October 2021 The School Magazine – Learning Resource

Noella’s Christmas Wish

Story by Teena Raffa-Mulligan | illustrated by Anna Bron EN2-6B | ACELY1677

Present a persuasive argument for or against Noella’s father staying home for Christmas.

Read the story as a class. Ask students who Noella’s father was, and why he had to work every Christmas. Discuss whether there was anything else Noella could have done besides wishing on a star to convince her father to stay on Christmas night (e.g. throw a tantrum, talk more to Mum, hide Dad’s “keys”, write Dad a heartfelt letter).

Ask students what points of argument Noella could use to convince her dad to stay for Christmas night. Answers may include:

- He should spend time with family.

- He could train someone else to deliver presents.

- His job is to give every child their wish, and that includes Noella.

- Noella won’t be a child forever and he won’t get that time back.

Now brainstorm what arguments Santa could use to explain why he has to go out on Christmas night. Answers may include:

- Without him working, children wouldn’t get their presents.

- He is home with Noella every other day of the year.

- The family still has a lovely Boxing Day celebration.

Students get into pairs, with one person as ‘A’ and one as ‘B.’ Announce that ‘A’ will be orally presenting a persuasive argument for Santa working on Christmas night and ‘B’ will take the side of Noella, giving a persuasive argument for Santa to stay. Students can write out their arguments to read aloud. Each side needs to have at least three points – either the ones discussed as a class or ones students have come up with on their own – using the terms ‘firstly’, ‘secondly’ and ‘lastly’/’thirdly’.

Countdown Issue 9 – October 2021 The School Magazine – Learning Resource

Encourage students to expand upon each point, perhaps discussing the points in small groups before beginning. Students film their partners presenting their argument. An example transcript is below:

Noella,

I understand how upsetting it must be for you that I work on Christmas night. However, my job is very important and I’m not able to stay home for a number of reasons.

Firstly, without me working on Christmas day, children all over the world won’t get their presents. Some children are poor and only get one special present a year. Do you think it’s fair for them to miss out?

Secondly, (second point).

Thirdly, (last point).

I promise we’ll have a fun celebration on Boxing Day, and please know I love you very much.

Success criteria:

• presents a clear, logical argument • uses firstly, secondly, thirdly/lastly • attempts to expand on each point

COUNTDOWN

Use the text, use your head!Read the story about ‘Noella's Christmas Wish’ and answer the following questions by using the text, or by using your head. Make sure your answers are complete sentences.

Use the text:

1. Why did Noella's father get home late every Christmas Day?

2. On what day did Noella's family normally celebrate Christmas?

3. This year, Noella and her family were going to be doing something together? What?

Use your head:

4. Who do you think Alf might really be?

5. What did Noella mean when she said to her mother, 'This isn't Australia'?

6. Can you think of any other reasons why it would be hard having Santa as a father?