Teaching and Learning

The Stories of Our Lives

We have been learning quite a lot about one another the past three weeks; our Writing and Reading focus has been upon autobiographies and biographies. Students, and even some teachers, have been planning and drafting autobiographies about their own lives or biographies about the lives of their friends, and sharing them with their classmates.

Below are some extracts from our students’ writing:

My first swimming competition was when I was six years old. When it was time for me to swim, I was terrified. I hopped onto the diving block, the starter pressed the button. BEEEP! I jumped into the air, into the pool, and started to panic! I didn’t know what to do. “Swim! Swim! SWIM!” my coach screamed. So I did! I came third. – Written by Crystal 

I began pre-school when I was four. I was very shy and I couldn’t help but hide. I walked over to the gate to see what things looked like over there. A girl came over to me and said “Hi, I’m Jade”. I looked at her curiously and said “That’s my name!” She laughed. I laughed. We became friends. – Written by Jade S.

One thing that I foolishly did was open the car door while we were driving just so I could see the beautiful sunset in Queensland. It was like a large ball of flaming, beautiful heat. Another of my most memorable memories was seeing my first waterfall; I was so excited seeing the almost aqua water fall down into a large pool. I’m not sure if I had a swim in the pond, but I do remember how beautiful it was. – Written by Jacob W.

Students have been encouraged to reflect on what makes their life story different from other peoples; what do they want the reader to remember most about them?

Noah G: the first time he rode a motorbike, he crashed into the fence and smashed the front wheel! Written by Ryan 

Karli, known as someone that can make a joke out of anything, but can still hold a straight face! – Written by Karli 

“What’s 9x5 Charlie?” “It’s 45” Charlie said. Charlie is known for her smart brain! – Written by Breanna 

It is interesting what people choose to put down on paper about their own lives; the funny little anecdotes, almost forgotten first days at school, and scary moments. We have all enjoyed exploring this type of writing this month and learning more about each other.