Category: Teaching notes
Old Bertie by Perrella and Osborn is set in a dystopian society where all aspects of life are strictly controlled. In this new teaching activity, students can create their own dystopian society and the main character who lives in it, to help students connect world-building and character. Explore our free teaching notes for more classroom […]
‘I am a Noongar girl and I live by the sea. This is wardan country. It’s a special place for me.’ I Call the Ocean Wardan is a new picture book by Ebony Froome, and illustrated by Dellas Bennell and Korrine Bennell-Yarran. A young Noongar girl reflects on her favourite things about wardan (the ocean […]
Relics from a legendary lost island, or just an elaborate hoax? Whatever the truth is behind the mysterious and legendary crystal skulls featured in The Crystal Skulls by Mark Greenwood, this is a chance for curious students to unleash their imagination. In the first free activity sheet, students can give their skull a name, some […]
Bring geography to life with a treasure hunt! In this free activity inspired by The Unlucky Pirate by Mark Greenwood, students will design their own treasure map to a legendary hidden treasure. Don’t forget to draw landmarks and fill in the map legend! Then, after researching flags and their meanings, design your own pirate flag […]
Join popular Palyku author Helen Milroy as she explores and celebrates the creatures you can see at the beach. From pretty starfish to puffed-up blowfish, this fun and educational early reader picture book is filled with brightly illustrated beach buddies. In this new activity sheet, your young reader can colour in each buddy and write […]
Get to know our worl barna in this free teaching activity sheet! Worl Barna is the third book in a collection of board books by Jayden Boundry and Tyrown Waigana, all about our majestic, native sky creatures. Perfect for little readers, this activity invites them to colour in some winged friends, learn their names in […]
One Day Soon is a new verse novel by Cristy Burne, a powerful and moving insight into a boy’s emotional journey through the diagnosis and loss of an uncle to motor neurone disease, compounded by his father and family’s own 50% risk of inheriting the causative gene. Alex learns to appreciate the smaller, special moments […]
In Annie and Maeve Are Definitely Not Friends by Olivia Muscat, Maeve loves using her fancy-pants dictionary to look up words. In this activity sheet for ages 12+, students solve the clues and then search for words. For more teaching ideas, why not try: Download our free teaching notes for more ideas on how to […]
Rather than focusing on loud or dramatic acts of bravery, Fearless by Kelly Canby explores quieter, everyday moments of courage, such as trying something new or facing uncertainty. In this new, free teaching activity, students can reflect on two things that they fear, and two ways that they can become less fearful of them. Just […]
Bring the special anniversary edition of In Flanders Fields by Norman Jorgensen and Brian Harrison-Lever to life with a hands-on activity that explores how soldiers stayed safe in the trenches. Students will use two empty milk cartons and two small mirrors to create their own periscopes and understand how they work. With free teaching notes […]
Bring the new edition of Lighthouse Girl by Dianne Wolfer (illustrated by Brian Simmonds) to life with a hands-on activity inspired by the way people once communicated across distances: semaphore. In this free activity, students will make their own pair of flags, learn the semaphore alphabet and use it to send messages to a partner. […]
In the picture book Catalpa by Mike Lefroy and Joy Lefroy, a daring rescue mission is set in motion to free a group of Irish political prisoners from Fremantle Prison. Enter the high seas of the 1870s and learn the meaning behind words like ‘scrimshaw’, ‘gaol’ and ‘whaleboat’. Where does each word connect to the […]
Looking for a rich springboard into text types and visual literacy? A New World Rises: Tales of a LEGO® Future is loaded with engaging and interactive text types that invite students to explore how writers shape meaning across different formats. Author Cristy Burne, who wrote the text for A New World Rises based on the […]
A foal is born at midnight, on the homestead side of the river. Coal black. Star ablaze. Moonlight in her eyes … Let imaginations run wild with this new activity sheet based on Midnight by Mark Greenwood and Frané Lessac. Midnight is a unique-looking horse, and students are invited to create their own horse by […]
Bring self-love and reflection into the classroom with a teaching activity inspired by the new edition of I Love Me by Sally Morgan and Ambelin Kwaymullina. In the I Love Me self-portrait, have students draw a picture of themselves and label everything they love about being who they are and what makes them unique. Continue […]
Get kids drawing and giggling with a new hands-on activity inspired by the new picture book The Midnight Chew by Sally Morgan and Karen Blair. This activity will have kids imagining the stinky things dogs like Boofa Boy Jones and Skippy Gillespie might find delightful. Draw the objects, label and colour them, then describe the […]
Dive into breathtaking Ningaloo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to a diverse range of biodiversity. In these teaching activities, inspired by the captivating Ningaloo by Tim Winton and Cindy Lane, invite your students to become marine scientists. Investigate the fascinating creatures that call Ningaloo home, and spark a conversation about conservation and ocean […]
Step into the future and think visually in two new free teaching activities inspired by A New World Rises by Alex Towler, Jackson Harvey and Cristy Burne! In activity one, students can draw their own futuristic scene with bricks and minifigures, complete with an eye-catching headline worthy of the Post-Human Times. In activity two, have […]
Pygmy Possum is so small! All the other animals think she’s too little to go out on her own in Katie Stewart’s new picture book, You’re Too Little. In this new activity, students will research the pygmy possum and other Australian animals, document their sizes, then colour them in. Free teaching notes are also available […]
Chickensaurus is the fourth children’s graphic novel in the S.Tinker Inc. series and available now! The series follows the world’s foremost inventor under twelve, Sally Tinker, as she navigates through some sticky situations with her friends and baby brother by her side. The Escape the Hedge Maze activity sheet is a great resource for improving […]
Could you imagine being stuck underground in a dark, flooded mine? Well, this was the reality for one Bonnie Vale miner in 1907. Trapped! is a true story by Julia Lawrinson, told entirely in verse and through the eyes of the trapped miner’s son, Joe. In this activity based on the book, have students think […]
The Hope Diamond may have brought misfortune to anyone who possessed it, but luckily that isn’t the case with our new activity sheets! Based on the engaging and mysterious tale in The Deadly Diamond by Mark Greenwood, students can put their geography skills to the test and track the diamond’s journey around the world. In […]
In Mark Greenwood’s latest history mystery, The Wonder Horse, delve deep into the legend of the racehorse Phar Lap. In our free teaching activities based on the book, students can create their own poster about some of Phar Lap’s victories and major milestones, then research and draw other legendary animals who deserve a place in […]