CMIS Evaluation Primary Focus

All from the Books : Children and Teenagers pages of the Guardian:

• Well, the first has to be about Lauren Child.  Here’s an interview with her. Can you believe Clarice Bean is 10?

… her name is not Lauren. “That is true,” she admits when I ask about it. Her real name is?

• The Gruffalo is being animated by the Wallace and Gromit people
• An assessment of the work of illustrator Bruce Ingman

For some great ideas for linking the two main learning contexts of children, for increasing mathematical confidence and for suggestions for some engaging parent involvement at school, check out Improving Primary Mathematics.  Don’t be put off by its unappealing black and white, dense text appearance: there are some really good ideas to be found even with a quick skim.  For example:

- Have children create a record book of Mathematical type activities in which they engage at home. Each record would consist of a photo and a detailed caption describing the maths involved.

- Invite parents into the classroom to share a Maths lesson with the children.  This will demonstrate to parents teaching strategies used today.

If you are a fan of the Frog and Toad stories, you will want to read, listen and see how Arnold Lobel’s daughter has created a new collection of ten stories about the amphibian friends.

The sixth UK Children’s Laureate has been named and it’s none other than Anthony Browne. The man who has brought us Willy the Wimp, unforgettable gorillas, Piggybook and surreal takes on fairytales will be an outstanding ambassador for books and reading. Lucky UK children. Here is some of the new Laureate’s work.

Despite the superb job he has done, previous Laureate Michael Rosen knows there is a long way to go. He reflects on the past two years – there are still plenty of brick walls to dismantle:

I am sitting in a room in the House of Commons with Ed Balls and Jim Knight. To my left are several people who haven’t been introduced, who are probably from “the department”. We are talking about books. I say to the ministers that they’ve put in place a compulsory programme to teach children how to read, but there is no policy on reading books. They look at me blankly… I say that what’s going on is discriminatory. Children who come from homes where books are being read get access to the kinds of abstract and complex ideas that you can only get hold of easily through exposure to extended prose. The rest are being fed worksheets.

Ed doesn’t believe me. He tells me that he visited a school where they had a library in the playground. I tell them that I’ve been making a film for BBC4 about a school that wanted me to help them become what I call a book-loving school. Their school library is a couple of alcoves of old books. They have no contact with the public library down the road. Only a handful of children in the school are reading books. Jim seems interested. “What do you want from us?” he says. “A directive asking every local authority and every school to devise its own policy on the reading of books. I’ve got a 20-point outline that you could send out as a guideline for people to adapt.” “Send it to me,” says Jim. “I have already,” I say. “Send it to me again,” he says, “and let’s meet up after the programme goes out.”

Traditional history textbooks take a back seat to this highly creative presentation of the facts in DK’s Take Me Back.  Read Captain Cook’s Blog or Napoleon’s social networking site, not to mention the myriad other formats you will discover in this book, which is thoroughly satisfying in its visual appeal and imagination.  Wonderfully inspiring for graphic arts.  Definitely one for the school library and for the coffee table at home.

Take a trip down memory lane with Lucy Mangan as she browses the Puffin Archive in Rugby, Warwickshire, UK.  The exercise may also trigger some classic purchases for the school library.

We are into day three of National Reconciliation Week.  The theme this year is: “See the person, not the stereotype.”   Check out the website for information and resources.  There is much food for thought and discussion.

A good print resource that throws light on the Aboriginal experience of Maralinga, but which is also relevant for Aboriginal experience elsewhere in Australia, is the recently published book, Maralinga: the Anangu Story.

The northern summer is festival time, and this week it’s Hay, coinciding with the 10th birthday of Julia Donaldson’s Gruffalo. In this interview from the Hay Festival she talks about her lovable monster and sings him a birthday song (or two). She also talks about her collaboration with illustrator Alex Scheffler.

Some of you may have been part of the hundreds who checked out the State Library of Western Australia’s new facility for children, The Place, when it opened yesterday.  I opted for a quieter introduction this morning.

Colour and space are the features that hit you as you walk in through the child-proof gates on the Mezzanine floor.  This space is divided into three areas: two which are big enough for school visits and one which is more intimate and warm in decor.  The latter with its sofas, big cushions, soft toys and handpuppets and delightful “princess” reading chairs would be suitable for shared reading between children, or adults and children.  There is a small collection of books plus a Big Book easel with Big Books.

The middle area currently has a display of the favourite children’s books of some of our well-known Australian identities.  More than 70 of these personalities have completed certificates naming their favourite book and saying why it is their favourite.  So if you want to know what children’s books PM Kevin Rudd, Gov.Gen. Quentin Bryce, Dennis Cometti, Seven’s Kochie and Mel, Rove, Rebecca Gibney, Sony Hartnett, Bindin Irwin, Shaun Tan, Ian Thorpe and John Marsden like, then you will have to pay a visit to The Place.  (Country-dwellers, if you are truly dying of curiosity, contact the State Library or ask us!)

This section also displays Graham Hay’s sculptures, Totem, which is made from “preloved children’s books” and I, eye, which is constructed with over 400 colouring pencils each of which has the name of one of the participants of the 2008-2009 summer holiday program.  Tables and chairs, puzzles, three computers for the reading of e-books, Cat Balloon in his room of balloons, and a ladybird tent for a more private reading space complete this section.

The final section is showcasing original art work of illustrators, Craig Smith, Andrew McLean, Ann James, Terry Denton, Kim Gamble, Julie Vivas, Peter Gouldthorpe, Steven Woolman, Narelle Oliver, Caroline Magol, Wayne Harris, Patricia Mullins and Elizabeth Stanley.

Now it’s up to the public to use this facility and to schools to continue to take advantage of the education programs available.  Our congratulations to SLWA for this cosy city hub for children and their families.

Books for children receive little enough attention in the media, so when the national broadcaster features the Indigenous series Sharing Our Stories it’s worth paying attention.

Here’s an interview about ‘The Frog and the Brolga’, from ABC Radio National Life Matters, and if you follow the links you can view some dreaming stories:

• Turtle Dreaming from Maningrida
• Devil Devil from Jilkminggan in the Central Desert
• Sunbird, a Ngaanyatjarra dreaming from Warburton

‘The Frog and the Brolga’ comes from the Purnululu Aboriginal Community in the East Kimberley.