Language Arts
Author Visit
Author and illustrator Zeno Sworder visited the Year 3-6 students at Milgate Primary School this week. He was here celebrating an early start to Book Week! This year, Book Week will run from the 21st - 25th August, we were just lucky enough to have Zeno come and begin sparking curiosity and engagement into the creative writing process. He shared how personal stories and childhood experiences can be channelled into bookmaking.
Zeno is the author of My Strange Shrinking Parents and This Small Blue Dot. There is another book in the works. We were lucky enough to be the first group of people, outside of his family, to hear the story. Zeno asked our students for feedback, and he was met with a warm round of applause by each year level after reading his new story. Our students applied their critical thinking skills and were open-minded as they were taken into a new world created by Zeno. We are eagerly anticipating its release!
Our students truly enjoyed the sessions spent with Zeno, they connected with his own personal stories of growing up and feeling different, diverse family dynamics and how he was deeply moved by seeing comic book illustrations when he was young. Some of these pivotal moments and core memories in Zeno’s life, formed a strong foundation for storytelling. This experience also demystified the idea of what types of people authors are. We often just see an author’s name printed on a book. Meeting Zeno strengthened and reinforced our students' deeper understanding that authors are people too, just like them! And that becoming an author is a very real possibility for anyone who shares that same dream.
You can find more information about Zeno and his wonderful books and illustrations on his website www.zenosworder.com.
My Strange Shrinking Parents
‘It goes without saying that we all believe our parents to be strange. Mine were unusual for a different reason than most.’
So begins an imaginative account of growing up different, the transformative power of love and the shape that a life can take.
This Small Blue Dot
‘There’s so much I want to tell you, but here’s the really important stuff …’
A young girl describes the fun and weirdness of life on our small blue dot in a series of lessons big and small.
Coming Up!
Our next author visit will be with the colourful and creative Marc Martin!
Marc Martin is a children's author known for his unique blend of storytelling and illustrations that invite young readers to explore imaginative and colourful worlds. His books spark curiosity, creativity and wonder in children. Marc Martin will be working with our Foundation to Year 2 students during Book Week on the 22nd of August. We can’t wait to meet him and for our students to experience a wonderful world of communication through self-expression and creativity.
Year 1 Writing Celebration
Our wonderful, and creative Year 1 students have been learning about informational writing through the concept of Communication. They have been exploring how there are different types of how-to texts. These types of books teach someone, or remind them, how to do something.
Today we celebrated as we had reached the end of this writing unit. Our students shared their incredible books with each other, between classes and with Ms Mancarella, Mr Mander, Ms Williams and Mrs North. As an example, we watched instructional videos that students had made, read students books and learnt how to take care of chickens, make chatterboxes and fly paper planes!
What an amazing exploration into informational writing our students had as they shared their interests and expert knowledge through their writing with the purpose to teach others how to make, create and do different things. We love seeing our students have a voice in the types of writing they make, even when we explore specific genres, they can still express themselves in multiple ways.
We look forward to seeing our students express themselves further in their upcoming transdisciplinary poetry unit. The Central Idea, The Arts provide people with opportunities to communicate in unique ways will be a powerful vehicle for students self-discovery and poetic expression.
