What a truly beautiful book – from the vocabulary right through to the incredible illustrations. Read it for pleasure with children of any age group or use it to explore Stage 3 geography.
You might like to research natural disasters and the impact they can have on people as well as the environment. A great discussion topic would be ‘Why do people return to live in areas devastated by natural disasters? What is this strong connection between people and country?’
A great thinking routine to complete with this text is ‘Colour Symbol Image (CSI)’.
Having read and explored the text ask the children to:
- Choose a color that they feel best represents or captures the essence of the story.
- Choose a symbol that they feel best represents or captures the essence of the story.
- Choose an image that they feel best represents or captures the essence of the story.
Asking the students to justify each choice made will prompt them to consider their thoughts. tat is, they will be required to think about their thinking.
The sample below was created as an introduction to a lesson considering the relevance of Australia Day.
This is the worksheet I use – you are welcome to download and use it.
Seal Child not only provides the opportunity to explore visual art, emotions and rich vocabulary, it also opens up an opportunity to consider how music could be used to represent elements within this story.
The websites I use most frequently in my teaching are:
Ben Sound (Link: Ben Sound Website)
Purple Planet (Link: Purple Planet Website )
