Spotlight on Learning Wallaby Pod

Discovering New Adventures in Wallaby Pod with Bogtrotter

In Wallaby Pod this week, our students have been excitedly exploring the story Bogtrotter by Margaret Wild. This special story is about a creature called Bogtrotter who runs the same path over a bog every single day. But one day, Bogtrotter decides to stop, pick a flower, and begin a new adventure by exploring beyond the path they always follow. This story is filled with important messages about being brave, trying new things, and understanding that wonderful new experiences can happen when we step outside our comfort zones.

Our students have been learning many lessons from this story. They focused on the main ideas the themes of courage, curiosity, and discovery and talked about the character’s feelings. With teacher support, they explored new vocabulary words like hopeful, which means feeling positive about something good, and gloomy, which means feeling sad or dark. These words helped students think more deeply about the story and how Bogtrotter might have felt during the adventure.

One of the most exciting parts of this learning was the lively classroom discussions. Students shared their favourite parts of the story and explained why those parts made them happy or interested. For example, many students enjoyed when Bogtrotter stopped running and noticed the flower, because it showed that trying something new can be rewarding. These conversations gave students a chance to express their ideas and listen carefully to their classmates.

We also practised an important writing skill; learning about the word because. Students learned that because is a conjunction. Using because helped students make their writing clearer and more interesting.

Building on this understanding, students wrote their own short persuasive sentences. They chose a part of Bogtrotter they enjoyed and wrote about why they enjoyed it, trying to convince others to feel the same way. This writing practice encouraged students to think carefully and explain their opinions with reasons.

Learning about Bogtrotter didn’t stop in English lessons! In Visual Arts, students created their own Bogtrotter-inspired artwork. Using pencils, they practised different shading and colouring techniques, such as feathering, a method where short, soft lines are drawn to create texture. They experimented with warm colours (like reds and yellows) and cool colours (like blues and greens) to make their drawings look like they were covered in soft hair, just like Bogtrotter in the story.

Next week, students will use their beautiful artwork to help with their next writing step: publishing their persuasive texts. 

We are very proud of how our Wallaby Pod students have improved their writing skills this year, and how well they are engaging with a variety of texts during English Lessons.