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ED! SERIAL READING

TEACHER NOTES

Term 2, 2018

Looking Up

By Sally Murphy

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CONTENTS

CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

About the book .......................................................................................................................................................................... 5 About the author ....................................................................................................................................................................... 5

SERIAL READING PROGRAM ................................................................................................................................................................ 6 FREMANTLE PRESS .............................................................................................................................................................................. 6 AUTHOR VISITS .................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 ADDITIONAL CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES LINKED TO ED! ........................................................................................................................ 7 WA CURRICULUM LINKS ...................................................................................................................................................................... 8

WA Curriculum: English v8.1 ...................................................................................................................................................... 8 OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES ................................................................................................................................................................... 9 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ............................................................................................................................................................ 9

Plot ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 Setting ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 9

WEEK 1 .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 10 Chapter One: A Birthday Wish ................................................................................................................................................. 10

WEEK 2 .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 12 Chapter Two: A Card from a Stranger ...................................................................................................................................... 12

© Media Education / The West Australian 2018 WA Curriculum content: © School Curriculum and Standards Authority www.scsa.wa.edu.au Illustrations: courtesy of Fremantle Press, © Aśka www.askaillustration.com

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INTRODUCTION

About the book Pete is hoping – desperately hoping – for a telescope. There’s nothing he wants more for his birthday. But when a mysterious card arrives in the mail, what Pete wants is turned upside down.

About the author Sally Murphy is a mother, wife, teacher, speaker, website manager, reviewer, and author. She was born in Perth and now lives in Dalyellup, Western Australia. In 2001 she decided to dedicate herself to her dream of becoming a children’s author and has now published 28 books. Sally is also a children’s book reviewer who runs the review site aussiereviews.com. Sally is best known for Pearl Verses the World, which won an Indie Book of the Year award in 2009, was made a Children’s Book Council of Australia Honour Book in 2010, and won a Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Award (Best Book for Language Development, Upper Primary) in 2010. Sally’s book Toppling won a Queensland Premier’s Literary Award and a Western Australian Premier’s Book Award in 2010. It was also shortlisted for a Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Award in 2010 and was made a Children’s Book Council of Australia Notable Book in 2011.

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SERIAL READING PROGRAM In ED! Magazine in The West Australian every Tuesday during Term 2 you will find an instalment from the book Looking Up by Sally Murphy. The activities associated with this serialised version of the book are available online to ED! Serial Reading subscriber teachers.

FREMANTLE PRESS The ED! Serial Reading program is run in partnership with Fremantle Press. To find out more about their authors and illustrators, please visit http://www.fremantlepress.com.au/

AUTHOR VISITS Fremantle Press authors are available to visit schools. For information about author bookings visit: https://www.fremantlepress.com.au/book-author or email Claire Miller: cmiller@fremantlepress.com.au Fremantle Press authors charge a minimum fee for their time and preparation.

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ADDITIONAL CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES LINKED TO ED! ED! Magazine is published every Tuesday inside The West Australian during school terms. Each week Media Education develops activities for the classroom based on that week’s feature topic and the News Flash column. Activities can be downloaded for free from our website every Monday afternoon. Also, be sure to check out our listing of upcoming ED! topics and stories for ED! Serial Reading program. For more information, visit education.thewest.com.au or phone 9482 3717

Join The West’s Media Education team in our aim to create a media-savvy generation. Online Media Education activities are designed to enable students to become critical consumers of news. Through completing the activities, students will develop the skills to consider, question, inquire and challenge reported news stories. Media Education encourages students to be informed citizens of global issues, considering multiple perspectives before generating their own ideas and opinions.

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WA CURRICULUM LINKS The purpose of The West Australian ED! Magazine Serial Reading program is to foster an enjoyment of reading while developing an understanding of the ways in which theme, character, setting and plot are reflected in a story. The activities are most suitable for Year 3-6 students, and can be adapted for different ages and abilities.

WA Curriculum: English v8.1 AIM: To ensure students develop interest and skills in inquiring into the aesthetic aspects of texts, and develop an

informed appreciation of literature.

Strand Sub-strand

Lan

guag

e

Language for interaction Language for interaction

How language used for different formal and informal social interactions is influenced by the purpose and audience

Evaluative language

How language is used to express opinions and make evaluative judgments about people, places, things and texts

Text structure and organisation Purpose audience and structures of different types of texts

How texts serve different purposes and how the structures of types of texts vary according to the text purpose

Expressing and developing ideas

Visual language

How images work in texts to communicate meanings, especially in conjunction with other elements such as print and sound

Lite

ratu

re

Responding to literature Personal responses to the ideas, characters and viewpoints in texts

An individual response to the ideas, characters and viewpoints in literary texts, including relating texts to their own experiences

Examining literature Features of literary texts

The key features of literary texts and how they work to construct a literary work, such as plot, setting, characterisation, mood and theme

Language devices in literary texts, including figurative language

Language devices that authors use and how these creative meanings and effects in literary texts, especially devices in poetry

Lite

racy

Interacting with others Listening and speaking interactions

Purposes and contexts through which students engage in listening and speaking interactions

Skills students use when engaging in listening and speaking interactions

Interpreting, analysing, evaluating

Purpose and audience

Recognising and analysing differences between different types of texts

Reading processes

Strategies for using and combining contextual, semantic, grammatical and phonic knowledge to decode texts, including predicting, monitoring, cross-checking, self-correcting, skimming and scanning

Comprehension strategies

Strategies of constructing meaning from texts, including literal and inferential meaning

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OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES Teaching students to become effective readers involves developing students’ reading fluency and extending their ability to comprehend what they read and view from the literal level to the inferential and critical levels. The activities this term provide teachers with a range of strategies for developing comprehension. The strategies support the reading processes of:

using visual information to make meaning

activating, expanding and refining prior knowledge

retrieving information

interpreting texts

reflecting and creating personal knowledge.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Plot

The plot is the literary element that hooks readers and keeps them interested. It consists of an initial conflict, a series of related events and a logical conclusion to the problem. It includes what happened in the story and why. A well-developed plot establishes and builds complications around a major conflict. As the plot progresses towards its resolution it involves turning points that may result in setbacks, challenges, disappointments, discoveries or success for the main characters. The climax, usually the most exciting event in the story, is reached when a character has to choose a way to settle the initial conflict. A resolution is reached and the problem is solved. The story ends by summing up how the characters feel and what they do now the conflict is resolved.

Setting The setting refers to the time(s) and location(s) where the story takes place, and provides the backdrop for the story.

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WEEK 1 Looking Up by Sally Murphy May 1, 2018

Chapter One: A Birthday Wish

Characterisation In the opening chapter, the reader is introduced to the main character, Pete. Under the headings, students to jot down what we find out about him.

Age:

Family:

His passion:

What he really wants:

Language

The stars are described in great detail indicating to the reader that they will play an important part in the story. Students to locate the two similes used to describe the stars.

Simile 1:

Simile 2:

Point of view

The text is written from the 3rd person limited point of view. This means we share one person’s personal thoughts and feelings. This person is Pete. We follow Pete everywhere and do not leave his side. Students to select key quotations from the text that tell us how Pete is thinking and feeling.

Quotation 1:

eg “Money was tight, and the kind of telescope Pete wanted cost a lot of money. No point bugging Mum about it. He’d just

have to wait and see.”

Quotation 2:

Quotation 3:

Quotation 4:

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The problem

Often in fiction texts, a problem is introduced. The problem in this story is hinted at in the opening chapter. Students to complete the table.

Quotation from the text I predict that the problem might be ….

Mum smiled. ‘They’re beautiful, aren’t they? I used to love stargazing when I was

your age. I remember —’ She stopped. Pete saw her face flicker with some unknown memory then close down. Typical Mum.

She didn’t like to talk about her childhood. Pete didn’t know anything about when she

was little.

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WEEK 2 Looking Up by Sally Murphy May 8, 2018

Chapter Two: A Card from a Stranger

Characterisation In this chapter Pete experiences a number of emotions when he discovers he possibly has a grandad. These emotions are listed in the Y chart. Students to find key quotations which show these emotions and add them to the Y chart.

Personal response

In this chapter the writer encourages us to connect to both of the characters by responding to them emotionally. Students to complete the table.

How I feel toward Pete…. How I feel towards Pete’s Mum….

Why I feel this way…. Why I feel this way….

Excited

Worried

Confused

eg “Why would you say he’s dead if he’s not?”

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Retelling

Students to retell this part of the story using the story starters.

Firstly:

Next:

Then:

Lastly: