Reading   

We will be reading the novel Tom Appleby: Convict Boy about a young English boy sent to Australia as a convict in the late 1700’s. 

We will be looking at the world of early colonial Australia through his eyes as he adapts to his new life, vastly different to the one he left in London. 

We will also explore how the events of the late 18th century affected the First Nations People and the personal impact of being sent far away from friends and family.

As a historical fiction text, this book will expand our students’ existing knowledge of colonisation and migration in Australia, as explored in the Term 2 Knowledge Rich Curriculum unit and migration stories from Waves. 

We also will be reading The Grandest Bookshop in the World, a novel about a fantasy world where the main characters need to solve challenges in a race against time. 

This story weaves magical elements into the real world setting of 19th Century Melbourne and explores themes of family love, the power of imagination and the importance of optimism in dark times. 

For both texts, we will explore how the author’s choice of vocabulary impacts the reader through adding complexity and depth to ideas. We will also continue to improve our oral reading accuracy and fluency through opportunities to read aloud to a partner and during whole-class shared reading