The Little Wooden Horse : exploring images

What is Story?

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What is story?

Kitty: Story is some true or mythical information about the past, how the world was created or just your imagination.Story can also help your imagination and the way you see the world.

 Chloe: Stories help us to remember, they can be a tradition and they can inspire us and guide us through our path of life. They also teach us what and what not to do.

Ciaran:  What is story? Story is the passing on memories to future generations. It expands people's imagination until they too, tell the same story. 

Stephanie: I believe that it is important for everyone to have a story to pass on to future generations, show others your story past and present or just to keep memories alive.

 

UPCYCLING

After watching BTN's fabulous presentation on "Upcycling," we began to experiment with some key persuasive devices such as writing a provocative opening sentence, experimenting with rhetorical sentences and using modality to emphasise our opinions.    http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4183196.htm

Here are some of our thoughts!

From Ciaran: 

Do you know the future of rubbish?... you should!! Everyone knows what recycling is, but do you know about the wiser upcycling? 50,000 kids in Australian are using upcycling and absolutely loving it. It puts some good fun and imagination into your life and it seems to be affecting the environment… in  an eco friendly way of course.

What is upcycling ?

Most the time upcycling products can’t be recycled. You take trash and make it into your own clever idea. For example school kids have been using old dirty tooth paste into clever little headbands. You must try this fun,creative,eco friendly idea.

From Elisa: 

So have you ever heard of the word upcycling? Well everybody should know what it means … Upcycling is where you can take trash and turn it into something new without changing its formation.

Well what is the difference whether you recycle or upcycle? When you upcycle the product stays in its original shape but when you recycle it turns into something totally different.

There are 50,000 children in Australia that are in a program where you bring things that can be recycled, then you make anything you want. You can even turn trash into a decoration!

From Brandon P: Rubbish is surely useless right? Am I right? Well actually no! Over 50 Thousand Australian children are doing something called upcycling which is where for example you take a toothpaste tube and make it into something else like a bag. Upcycling is actually nothing like recycling.  Upcycling focuses more on using the actual material to make something but recycling focuses more on breaking things down and using the material again.  Also upcycling uses things you would usually not recycle. I think that upcycling is a very good idea and if you have a little bit of spare time why not try it? You might like it and its good for the environment.So do you think that we should keep uncycling? Instead of throwing things in the trash, we should definitely upcycle.

From Joe:

Recycling has been around for ever but have you heard of the great thing called “Upcycling”?

There is so much rubbish in the world that we will not have enough space for it on earth so let’s Upcycle.

We must Upcycle to save the earth and the people on it or we could be living on smelly tonnes of rubbish when we are older.Upcycling is so easy because you can make so many things out of waste.

Upcycling is when you use the materials that can’t be recycled like toothpaste tubes and candy wrappers. It is absolutely disgraceful if you are wasting these resources that we can upcycle.

It seems to be that not lots of people know about upcycling and we are often only told about recycling and sometimes try recycling things that we can upcycle.

This should be something that everyone does in their day to day life.You should start that trend.

This is possibly one of the world’s biggest problems today and maybe even the worst so you must start doing this to save the world as we know it.So save the world and start a trend so that you can make a difference.Do this please!

LONE PINE

THE LONE PINE

From Tia:

“At last the sky clears.The years pass.The tree weathers many storms…but the Lone Pine still stands proud and strong.”
Lone Pine is a captivating book, which conquered my heart. It really makes me feel a connection to the families now and then. I now truly understand what feels like to have family involved in a war.Susie Brown and Margaret Warner used powerful language to create a heart-stopping story. The strong, sharp sentences make a lovely story.  

From Daniel:
The Lone Pine is a story about WW1 in Gallipoli, Turkey. Three brothers go to war for what they think is going to be an amazing adventure. But the soldiers of Turkey are ready for them and the the fight is short and fierce. Two of the brothers survive but one falls in battle.

The oldest brother finds a pine cone while searching for his younger sibling and posts it to his mother who is back home in Australia. She puts them in a pot and grows three small saplings from the seeds of the pine. two survive and are green and healthy but the last one weathers away and dies. She sends the first one to a place called Inverell. The second went to Canberra to the memorial for the war where it still is today.

From Tom:

You can feel the pain in the story of a lost brother, a lost child, possibly a lost father or husband. You don’t want to take things for granted after  reading this story, knowing that this happens every day, receiving the dreadful news of a loved one, gone forever....a truly beautiful sight for such a horrible battle!

The beauty, although, keeps us remembering them, thanking them, knowing our lives would not be the same because of them.~Lest We Forget~

From Will:

The lone pine is a sad but heart warming true story. The emotions it brings to mind move from the sad moments to the moments that fill your heart with joy. It's a story of remembrance that proves that a mother’s love is very, very strong...a family's bond will never break.

From Gemma: I love the amazing vibrant images and the way the illustrator Sebastian Ciaffaglone captured the story was incredible. This book was stunning. “Lest We Forget.”

From Ava:I feel terrified. Bullets are speeding toward us as we are running to war. Many have fallen in the time that has gone past, but I have survived till the end of the war. Now I am looking for my little brother who I still can not find.  I come across a pine branch that has a one last cone on it. I hold  it  tightly and smell the aroma of it. It reminds me of my mother's garden so very much.

The Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan

TEXT RESPONSE

Jonathan: Rules of Summer has left a lot to the imagination. It is a book that allows you to change or modify the story in your own way. 

Tom : Rules of Summer is a picture book for all ages. A three year old might look at the pictures and get the idea of two boys having lots of adventures together but, there is far greater depth. Shaun Tan has left us to our own imagination...to write our own story.....the illustrations enhance the story ...being an abstract story, you need to pay attention to the pictures which are beautifully created.

Daniel: This book is cleverly written and mysterious. I have some questions! What was the eye for? Where is the story set? How long is the summer? Are the two brothers happy?

Madeline: The words tell one story, but the pictures tell another. The older brother's rules apply to the younger brother, but the younger brother's interpretations are quite different. The start of the story is bright and cheerful and then becomes dark and gloomy. Then the colour regains its liveliness. The colour sends your mind racing.

Corinne: Although the plot might not be seen as a normal story line, I believe the colours and textures throughout the pages were enough to display a change of thought or mood.

Nicholas: This book initially confused me, but after hearing Shaun Tan speak, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHYRc7F0pwQ) the book made sense as to how we could use our imagination to make the two boys whoever we want. I liked how the illustrations are made to make us think and how exaggerated they were. For example, when the rule told the boy not to take the last olive, it showed evil hawks as the guests.

Katherine: The story is about two boys, one older and one younger, following the rules of summer but, of course, your imagination can take you anywhere from hawks in suits to giant red rabbits.

Joe: This story sways your emotions through the use of illustrations and colour. The plot is simple but, it shouts aout exaggeration and humour.

Teacher reflection: I loved the students'  high level of engagement with this story. Much time was spent discussing its mood, purpose and the literary and artistic devices employed.  Viewing Shaun Tan's discussion about his book enhanced their understanding. 

CONCRETE POEMS-taught by Georgia

Concrete poetry—sometimes also called ‘shape poetry’—is poetry whose visual appearance matches the topic of the poem. The words form shapes which illustrate the poem’s subject as a picture, as well as through their literal meaning.

Teacher  Response:Thanks, Georgia. Being the artistic one, I knew this form of poetry would suit you. I love the idea of the flight of the bee. You illustrate exactly what a concrete poem is meant to be. The concrete poems produced by your classmates show they were engaged with the idea. 

I couldn't resist sharing some of the favourite concrete poems I found online!

Today's Poetry Form - QUATRAIN

After Will and Madeline's lessons:

Corinne wrote: ABBA

His big, heavy hooves fell deep in the snow

Shaking away his frosty white hair

His bones ache yet he doesn't care

A long journey worth to see the northern lights glow.

Jamie wrote: AABB
As the leaves start falling down
It's part of the circle of life that's going round and round!
As the cool breeze starts coming on
I can't hear the birds singing their song.

Ivan Chan wrote: AABB
Swaggering along
Singing this song
Eating my chips
Lickin' my lips!

Jonathan wrote: AABB
 Going on a mission
To do some fishin'
Caught one fish
Going on my dish!

Akon wrote:AABB
At the bay
Wanting to stay
Mum said to go
But I said, "No!"

PERSONIFICATION

Experimenting with Personification: look at what we wrote!

Everyone knows what a person is, but do you know what personification is? Personification is when you assign the qualities of a person to something that isn't human or, in some cases, to something that isn't even alive. There are many reasons for using personification. It can be used as a method of describing something so that others can understand. It can be used to emphasize a point. It is a commonly favoured literary tool, and you may in fact use personification without even knowing it.

Today we learnt about personification. We looked at some examples and shared our favourites with the class. We then were able to create our own personification- here are some examples from the class. (Katherine and Mia)

Mia: Happiness shone in my heart!
Katherine: Joy swept through my body until it came rushing out my eyes.
Daniel: The waffle jumped out of the toaster.
Corinne: I held bravery's hand through the cave.
Tessa: As I leapt out the door, I heard the wind calling to me, "Freedom, freedom!"

Jonathan: Death was closing in on me!
Nicholas: Bad luck wouldn't leave me alone!
Will J: When I woke up, joy sprang through my window.
Akon: Bravery followed me as I was fighting for my life!
Isabella: Hunger controlled my stomach when I was in class.

Ava: The moon winked at me through the clouds.
Madison: The rainbow lifted me from my sadness.
Cooper: Bravery told me to stand up.
Will C: Joy hit me in a flash when I found out I had won.
Jacob: Freedom gave me the chance to live.

Connor: Joy struck me as quickly as a flash of light.
Tia: Hunger is nobody's friend.
Jamie: Freedom patted me on the shoulder and set me on my journey.
Madeline: Fear towered over me!
Joe: Bravery was by my side the whole way.

Ivan: Loneliness consumed me as I sat in my cell.
Tom: The tower leered at me nastily.
Natalia: Moonlight danced on the water.
Gemma: When I listen to the song called, "Happy," happiness shines down upon me.

CYBER SMART SLOGANS - Inspired by BTN

BOOK WEEK - "SHELFIES"

What a fantastic Book Week it was! Wednesday's costumes around the theme, "Read Across the Universe," were highly creative. To end the week, the whole school sat and soaked up a wonderful presentation of everyone's "shelfies"-fabulous photos from home of our students with their bookshelves, showing off their favourite books.

Shelfies from ccoffa

BOOK WEEK: BOOK SHARE WITH BUDDIES

Read to Buddies from Marg Yore on Vimeo.

Painting Pictures with Words-Characterization

As our inspiration, we used Roald Dahl's "painting with words" as he introduced Miss Trunchbull. We studied and annotated his text before attempting our own description of a teacher, for better or for worse!




Daniel
Weird, quiet and creepy...that's Mr Bicocca. It has always seemed that he was hiding something. There was always something different and out of place.
Norhan
Sparkling, blue eyes, glossy blonde hair and a delightful comment every time you walked past. Nothing else could explain why butterflies could land on her finger!
Madi
Her misty, minuscule eyes created an immense stare that is the most frightening thing imaginable...her thin, colourless lips spat out random insults. Her long, gnarled fingers were like icicles, cold and irregular in shape...
Mairead
With her naturally bright smile, Miss Edith is the most beautiful and charming teacher by far. She always wears her pretty purply-blue ruffle dress with her bright and cheery red cardigan. Her cute purply-blue glasses clash perfectly with her bright-and-cheery red flats. Joy, kindness and niceness are her forte...
Caitie
In her horrifying face, no beauty is seen. She resembles a gremlin..no-one dares to look into her deadly eyes nor look at her devilish smile that gives children night mares.
Lizzy
The wind was strong and intense. Missy Chatter Chops rushed towards her chaotic classroom tripping and falling right into the closed door. She fell so hard and strenuously that the door fell right off its ancient, rusty hinges. "Oh dear , dear me," her blistery voice cracked and rang in the ears of all in the old, disordered classroom and along the silent, empty hallway.
Carley
If you had to describe her, three words would be enough. Just plain mean!  Mrs Toluga was the master of demons. She could control anyone, anyone at all. Her stare was so frightening you would feel as if a whirlpool was sucking you in.

PREP STORYTIME LED BY STUDENT LEADERS

As part of our buddy relationship, we decided to start storytime for Preps. We decided to start this because we saw all the Preps in the library at lunch trying to read their books but it was really challenging them so they asked us if we could read it to them. Because of that, every Tuesday and Wednesday lunchtime, we select three books and read it to them. They love it and so do we. They give positive feedback all the time. We interact really well now and they aren't too shy to have a little conversation. Madi, Jess and Mairead

Should We Mine the Moon?

An article in the Age last week attracted our attention as we considered travel in space. Listen to our views about the possibility of mining the moon!

"Cosmic quarries: a new frontier for mineral exploration"

Read more: The Age Newspaper Cosmic quarries: a new frontier for mineral exploration

IDIOMS inspired by our Book Week reading of "Two Peas in a Pod!"

An idiom is a group of words which, when used together, have a different meaning from the one suggested by the individual words, eg. it was raining cats and dogs! (see Collins Australian Dictionary)

After discovering a variety of idioms, we selected our favourites! Please add to our list with your favourite idioms and we will discuss their meanings and try and use them in our stories if we have the chance!

-a dime a dozen
-a leopard cannot change its spots
-bend over backwards   
-break a leg             
 -a doubting Thomas