Library

The MPPS library is fully computerised, and is situated in an air-conditioned purpose-built classroom, with stepped seating forming an amphitheatre for story-telling, and chairs and tables for co-operative group work.  There is an extensive range of high-quality picture story books, junior fiction and non-fiction titles.  The library also holds the Reading Counts collection of 'Lexiled' books, which are used to match readers with texts to suit their reading ability and their interests. 

Foundation

The students in Prep KH and Prep LG have been looking at identifying the characters, settings and events within stories. We have been talking about our favourite characters and parts of stories and making comparisons to other books we have read, such as ‘The Gruffalo' by Julia Donaldson and ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ by Maurice Sendak.

We have been identifying language features in stories such as rhyme and adjectives and have discussed the meanings of words that have featured in books we have read. We have touched on critical thinking with titles such as ‘This is a Ball’ by Beck and Matt Stanton.

Years 1/2

The students in P/1H, 1/2B, 1/2N and 2LG have been exploring books by author/illustrator Kevin Henkes. His books are about loveable mouse characters who express common childhood feelings, fears and fantasies. Students have been evaluating his writing style and comparing characters, settings and themes in some of his books. They have also showed off their reading, writing, artistic and critical thinking in various follow up activities.

Years 3/4

The students in 3/4E, 3/4M and 3/4R have been participating in an author study of Shaun Tan in Term 3. We have read the ‘Rules of Summer’ and discussed some of the symbolism used in the telling of this story and discussed the term ‘surreal’ to describe his illustrations.

We compared the storybook and short animation of ‘The Lost Thing’ and discussed the elements used in story telling for each medium. Next we will watch short interviews with Shaun Tan in his studio discussing how he creates his unique stories and artworks. Students have written their own short stories in response to ‘The Lost Thing’ and have been working on their very own illustrations of surreal Lost Things.

Years 5/6

The students in 5WV, 5/6K, 5/6W and 6CC have been looking at character development over the course of the story, ‘Paper Planes’. Students have been engaged in visualising and creating illustrations whilst listening to a class story, ‘The Iron Man’ by Ted Hughes. For follow up work, they have been looking at a range of metals and creating the perfect three-course menu for the Iron Man. This sequential writing response has included a list of ingredients, how much and method of preparation. 

From the Library Team.