1. The Arts
1.1. Drama
1.1.1. "Bush Magic" - ask students to stand in a circle and in the middle put an everyday item such as a pencil, hat, a toy, etc. (make sure this item is swapped a few times). The educator will walk around the circle and ask each student - one by one, to go into the middle and pretend to use the item as something else, for example a pencil as a telescope, a hat as a shoe and they are looking for their other shoe. The educator will demonstrate ideas so the students know what the teacher means. (ACADRM028).
1.1.2. Have the students get into groups of two (2), bring up the prior knowledge of 'bush magic' and have the students create and design their own spell and create a story behind the spell, they may use props, for example a little girl wanted to fly so she found a fairy who blessed her with wings but there is a price... (the spell does not have to correlate with the book). Students must present their story and spell, they also must explain their story and why they chose that spell, what it does, etc. (ACADRM029).
2. Science
2.1. Students will be cooking in this activity. With the help of two parent helpers, educator assistants or one of each, the class will be split into three (3) groups. One group will be making ANZAC biscuits, the second group will be making pumpkin scones and the last group will be making lamingtons. Students will be using cooking utensils such as a recipe, measuring cups, etc. for this activity. With the help of the adults, students will be cooking and baking enough food for them to all be able to take home one of each food at the end of the day. After they finish in the kitchen, they will come together and discuss what worked, what did not, did they make the same amount that the recipe said, did they follow the recipe step by step, etc. (ACSIS026).
2.2. Students will use technology to explore the different types of Australian animals - land, aquatic and both, and their environments, students will make a mind map of these different environments, where they are native to and what they eat. Students will then choose one of these animals, create a mind map, etc. and research why they belong in that certain environment and explain why they would not thrive in a different habitat, for example a student chooses a kangaroo and they have created a mind map of where they live, what they eat, etc. and on the other side of the mind map they explain why a kangaroo would not be able to live in Antarctica. (ACSSU211).
3. Humanities and Social Sciences
3.1. Students are to collaborate in groups of two to 3 in a floor book - which they will draw or glue their animals to, and write information on them. Students will use the animals from the book and they will also use technology to research other Australian animals and choose up to 5 non-Australian animals, with their choices they can categorise their animals into what they would like, for example land, aquatic, both or four legs, two legs, no legs, etc. When they have done this, the students can gather into larger groups and present their floor books and explain why they have chosen those animals, that categorisation, etc. (WAHASS21).
3.2. As a class they will discuss the Australian foods/snacks that have been represented in the book. They will then go on to discuss other countries traditional foods, other cultures and the importance of respecting those other cultures, traditional clothing from those countries and cultures. The class will go on to then have a 'Culture Day' - this is when all the students in the class can bring in traditional foods from where they and their family are from and if they are comfortable, they would be allowed to wear their countries/cultures clothing. The teacher would incorporate activities from each culture, for example indigenous sport/warm up games, playing music from other cultures, etc.
4. English
4.1. Language
4.1.1. Students will play a game of charades, the teacher will explain the game. Students will get into group of four (4) and split into teams of two (2). When they have done this, they will pull a scene out of a hat or a bucket, they will then have to explore the different ways of expressing emotions, for example two students pull out a scene where Grandma Poss is upset that she cannot find magic to make Hush visible, so the students will have to use their non-verbal language skills and facial expressions to act out this scene and the other team will have to try and guess what scene they are portraying in a certain amount of time. (ACELA1787).
4.1.2. Students are to re-write a pages from the book, where they can they will replace the adjectives, adverbs and unusual verbs with other adjectives, adverbs and unusual verbs, they can work in groups of two (2) for this activity and in the classroom there will be help such as the teacher, an assistant educator and/or cards on the wall with examples of adjectives, etc. Before they do this activity, the teacher will assess their prior knowledge of adjectives, adverbs and unusual verbs by asking students the definition and examples which will then be written on the whiteboard for extra help. (ACELA1452).
4.1.3. Students will identify the parts of a simple sentence from the book. As a class, they will brainstorm what a simple sentence is, the components and examples made up by the students and then they will brainstorm the surrounding circumstances such as: who or what is involved, what is happening, why can Hush slide down the kangaroo, etc. The educator will write down the brainstorm on the white board. (ACELA1451).
4.1.4. The teacher will split the class into two (2) groups, one group will be with the educator and the other group will be with an assistant educator. In these groups they will be working together to construct a letter to Grandma Poss or Hush - one group will write to Grandma Poss and the other group will write to Hush. The educator and the assistant educator will split their groups apart and they will both have a whiteboard or one will have a whiteboard and the other will have a blackboard. They will brainstorm what they want in that letter and when the group is ready to write the letter, the educator and the assistant educator will write on the other side of the board. With this activity, the educator and the assistant educator will 'forget' to add full stops, question marks or any other type of punctuation that is needed. The students should be able to point out what is missing either as the educator or the assistant educator is writing the sentence or when they re-read the letter as a group. At the end each group will present their letter to the other group. With each new sentence, a different student should read out loud. (ACELA1449)
4.2. Literature
4.2.1. Students will discuss how the animals relate to humans, for example animals that talk, animals that feel the way humans feel, animals eating 'human' food, etc. Students will write their ideas on a piece of paper in groups of two (2). The educator will go around the class asking the students thought provoking questions such as: 'think if you were a possum, what do you think you would eat' (ACELT1581).
4.2.2. Students will discuss the characters from the book and whether they are life-like, for example do the animals talk, do they drive, do they catch the bus, etc. The students will discuss their life experiences and see if they are in any relation to the animals from the book, such as travelling to different parts of Australia. They will compare the characters and their experiences of their own, they can document this with a drawing of themselves in the same or similar situation at the character(s) and describe what is happening in the picture below the drawing. (ACELT1582).
4.2.3. When the students do this activity, they would have read a variety of books from all different authors and types of books, for example with animals or humans. The educator and the students will go to the school library and pick out their favourite book, while they are there they will share what they like most about the book,if there are any books they like that are written by the same author. Each child will have a turn at discussing their book and every one else will be kind and listen to what they have to say and questions will be asked at the end of each speaker. (ACELT1583).
4.2.4. Students will get together in groups of four (4) and they will have a discussion about the book, they will discuss the plot, the characters and the setting(s). With the plot, they will discuss the beginning/introduction to the characters, the the problem is introduced and how it was solved or if it was not solved. (ACELT1584).
4.3. Students are to be places in groups of three (3), in these groups they will pick out a book each and they will go into a quiet area in the classroom and they will read their book out loud to their peers, with this activity they will be experimenting with their voice volume and pace, for example for dramatic purposes a student may stand up and use their arms and voice as an expression of a loud noise and/or character. The other students in the group will be demonstrating their active listening behaviour and they will be respectful towards the presenter by not talking, listening and waiting for their turn and/or thinking of questions to ask the presenter. (ACELY1788).
4.4. Literacy
4.4.1. Students will go on an excursion to UWA to watch a stage performance delivered by Monkey Baa. Students will be actively listening and will use positive body language while the performance is on. At the end of the performance, students will discuss what they liked or did not like about the performance. The educator can ask thought provoking questions such as 'what do you think will happen to Grandma Poss and Hush next?' or 'if they traveled outside of Australia, where do you think they would go next?". (ACELY1656).
4.4.2. Students will create a short imaginative text about the book, they will imagine that Grandma Poss and Hush go on another adventure somewhere or there is another problem with Grandma Poss' bush magic and they have to find a solution to that problem, etc. With this text they will show the emerging use of appropriate text structure, correct grammar, spelling, punctuation and they will also use pictures to add to their story. (ACELY1661).
4.4.3. This activity will link to the precious activity, the educator will choose students or students can volunteer to read their imaginative texts aloud to the class, they will speak clearly and talk with the appropriate volume for the classroom environment. Other students may ask the presenter questions about their story at the end. (ACELY1657).