Learning and Teaching

Blueback

This term in our Year 5 and 6 Learning Community, the students have been studying the novel Blueback by Tim Winton. 

This novel is about family, belonging, and living a life in tune with the environment. The story centres around the bond between a young boy, his mother, and the ocean. Set along the stunning Western Australian coast, the novel follows Abel as he grows up exploring the sea and befriending a magnificent blue groper he names Blueback. 

Through this relationship, students are invited to reflect on themes of environmental responsibility, respect for nature, and the importance of standing up for what we believe in. This engaging text supports rich discussions about conservation and connects strongly to our learning about sustainability and the natural world.

Across the term, the students have studied figurative language, facts and opinions, dialogue, foreshadowing and third person point of view. At different times, they have been asked to write about the story, or write from a character’s point of view. 

At the end of term, all the students will be asked to write a persuasive letter using appropriate language and text structures. 

See below for a sample of some of the writing across the unit.

Next term the Year 5 and 6 Community will be focusing on two books. An information book - Deadly Science: The Solar System and the novel Once by Morris Gleitzman. 

Deborah Courtney

(Director of Learning and Teaching)