KanGARoo’s Dance - Teaching Resources

ENGLISH

Language

Expressing and Developing Ideas

AC9E5LA08

  • Understand how more precise vocabulary adds to meaning. - Think about the meanings of the words in the text and why the author may have used them. How do some of the words make you feel? What do you imagine in your mind? Examine the effect of the following words and discuss the image you picture in your mind with a partner. Think of other words that are close in meaning but weren’t used. Discuss possible reasons why.- carelessly dropped, pillaged, wept, brash, flinched, exhausted, sacred, ghastly, gluttonous.

AC9E4LA10/AC9E5LA07

  • How does the image extend on the ideas in the text? Examine the images and words suggesting dance and movement in the book. List the pages they are found. What do you notice? Identify some of the words on a page in the text. Some pages could be p18, 20, 21. Think about their sound, length and placement within the page. What other choices could you have made? Justify your decisions.

  • Examine pages 4, 14, 19. Explore the different ideas expressed through the text and the illustration.

Literacy

Interacting with others - AC9E4LY02/AC9E5LY02

Examine different perspectives through a class debate - developers, homeless people, homeowners, environmentalists. Put students in groups of four, each member adopts a specific role and create an improvisation expressing the various points of view.

Interpreting, Analysing and Evaluating - AC9E4LY03/AC9E5LY03

Work with a partner to annotate two pages of the text, examining how the text and images work together.

Annotate selected pages of the text to identify author choices and impact on audience.

Use comprehension strategies to develop literal and inferred meaning

Create comprehension questions about the text and discuss ways meaning is extended through inference.

Examine the words that provide more information used in the text: verbs and adverbs, adjectives. Do a word search for different parts of speech. Categorise and record the information.

  • Examine the structure of the text. How do the paragraphs combine and separate ideas? Students work in pairs to analyse two paragraphs and annotate words which build suggestions and connection to later ideas.

  • Find word links further apart that connect ideas.

Phonics and word knowledge - AC9E5LY04

ï read the picture book to a younger child and video the event. Use vocal effects and rhythm to enhance meaning. Encourage the younger person to join in on the more repetitive part of the text. Evaluate your reading by rewatching the video. Seek feedback from two others. Create notes on how to improve your efforts. Do this activity a second time and re-evaluate.

Literature

Literature and Context - AC9E4LE01/AC9E5LE01

  • Describe the society portrayed in KanGARoo’s neighbourhood. How is this neighbourhood different to other neighbourhoods across the world? Work in a group and record your ideas on a vent diagram.

  • List some ways society has changed over time by discussing some of the issues within the text with an older person?

Engaging with and responding to Literature - AC9E4LE02/AC9E5LE02

Students respond to the text, giving examples to support their responses. Students choose a page from the text and explain its effect on the reader (them). Compare and contrast a second page. Use a  concept map to express direct and inferred meaning.

Examining Literature - AC9E4LE04/AC9E5LE04

Understand and identify examples of deliberate word play, including neologisms and imagery. Explore the meaning of ‘fragrantish’. What do you think of when you hear the word? What other words could the author have used? What is meant by the words gluttonous and bilkers? Think about word the words mean, and the hard sound they make in your mouth when you say the words. How does the sound of the word influence the effect the author wants to impart to the reader? Do a word hunt and see if you can find other examples where the sound and rhythm of the words are important in understanding the author’s point of view.

  • Examine literary devices used by the author- rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, repetition, personification, onomatopoeia and metaphor.

Expressing Literature

What does the final line of the text suggest? Justify your response with examples of text and images.

Creating Literature - AC9E4LE05/AC9E4LE05

Create literary texts by developing characters and settings. Write a text which explores Joeyroo’s experience after leaving home. Students imagine what happens to KanGARoo afterwards and write a passage describing this. Students write a factual report on one of the following topics: Urbanisation, Aging, Homelessness, Greed.

HEALTH

Personal, Social and Community Health

Identities and change - AC9HP4P01&P02/AC9HP6P01&P02

Imagine you are one of the following stakeholders in KanGARoo’s neighbourhood. Write three values each may have: homeowner, homeless person, environmentalist, developer. Justify your reasons.

Students examine their own values. Write 10 values you consider important and organise these in order from most important. Articulate how friends, family, home and town have influenced these through a mind map.

Investigate resources and strategies on how to manage changes and transitions.

Create a list of problems Joeyroo may face as he leaves the safety of his mother in this new, changing neighbourhood.

Write a list of problems you may face as you transition toward the end of your primary years. Have a class discussion on strategies that can assist with difficulties that may be experienced.

THE ARTS

VISUAL ARTS - AC9AVA4E01&E02/AC9AVA6E01&E02

Explore ideas used by artists to represent different views, beliefs and opinions.

  • Study the image on the page 11 “ And in her past… Dawn’s white feet”. How has the author hinted of First Nations Peoples in a deeper layer of meaning and what is being expressed?

Investigate common symbols used in Aboriginal art and create a piece using some of these symbols.

 

Investigate common symbols used in Aboriginal art and create a piece using some of these symbols.

Investigate a sustainability issue in your local area. Capture photos and create a montage for display. Use key words to accentuate major ideas.

Plan the display of artwork to enhance their meaning for an audience

Create an artwork for a specific audience on sustainability. Justify how the display is targeted for the chosen audience.

SCIENCE

Biological sciences - AC9S4U01/AC9S5U01

Students investigate a local reserve and create an audit on animals and plants within the reserve. They create a series of diagrams and flowcharts to show interdependence, food chains and other connections.

Students investigate one animal in the reserve and create a labelled diagram highlighting their adaptations to the environment.

RELIGION/ SOCIAL JUSTICE

Students examine what is being done to support homeless people in the local community. Consider local government and non-government organisations.

Students work in groups to consider ways they can promote awareness of the issue in the community and what they can do to address the issue.

CROSS CURRICULUM PRIORITIES

Sustainability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait History and Culture.

Examine page 11- “And in her past lay a midnight trail….Dawn’s white feet”. Discuss the literal meaning and consider what is inferred about First Nations Peoples. How is this suggested through words and images?

  • Look at the image that accompanies the text “bold and brash. Bilkers. Greedy and gluttonous gobbets”. What emotional connotations do these words have which suggest the author’s point of view.  What is the pun suggested through the use of the word gluttonous? Think how the word connects to KanGARoo and also how it connects to developers.

  • Discuss the author’s view of developers and how the theme of sustainability is promoted through the picture book.

Buy the KanGARoo’s Dance book from Amazon or by clicking the below link: