Follow up your participation in Read for Australia by talking more about the books and the authors.
General activities
Research the authors
The authors of the two books selected for Read for Australia books, Mem Fox and Shaun Tan are well known. Either before or after the mass read encourage students to explore these authors and a selection of their books. Both have excellent websites that will be a useful starting point for the research.
Mem Fox and/or Shaun Tan Book Clubs
For both books organise Book Clubs for same or mixed ages. The groups could discuss the books Whoever You Are or Eric. Alternatively organise your Book Clubs around the authors Mem Fox and/or Shaun Tan. Both have written a long list of titles. Book Club members could choose any title by the chosen author and come to the Book Club to discuss not only the story but the author’s craft.
Go to the authors’ websites for a list of their books.
Write for Others
Invite students to respond to either of these texts in writing. Both have themes that offer a range of possibilities around the theme of difference.
Organise a whole school writing competition where each student writes about what makes him or her unique or special. The principal and teachers might also participate.
Reader’s Theatre
Create scripts for each of the stories and have students create a Reader’s Theatre to perform to the class or whole school.
Digital Stories
View the digital story for Whoever You Are (and the other books). Refer to the information provided on getting started with digital stories and make your own interpretation of the book. Make one for Eric and share it with us!
Activities for Whoever You Are
The theme of the Mem Fox book celebrates the differences between children everywhere. It is a perfect place to begin discussions that celebrate diversity. In whole class or small groups encourage discussion around the differences that exist between people on the outside but on the inside how they are just the same.
Before the discussions students could interview 5 or 6 students in the classroom or the playground and come together to share their findings. Put together the interview questions as a joint construction. Guide the development of questions around the games they like to play, sports, interests, music, food they eat, family members and so forth.
Alternatively students could interview family and close family friends.
After the interviews display the results and discuss.
Other questions to guide discussion:
- What are some of the things that make you special and different?
- What are some of the things that make you happy/sad/laugh/cry?
Organise a cultural day
Invite parents and community members and dress up in costumes of the world. If possible invite students, parents or community members to discuss growing up in other countries. Focus the discussion afterwards on the similarities and differences. As part of the cultural day, students could research greetings from around the world.
Activities for Eric
Eric appears in The Lost Thing which contains fifteen illustrated stories about the mysteries that lurk below the surface of suburban life. Eric is an intriguing story about a tiny exchange student which is accompanied by delightfully unusual illustrations. It picks up on the theme of respecting difference. As Mum says in the book, “It must be a cultural thing”.
Aside from his writing, Shaun Tan is an award winning artist. This year he won an Academy Award in the Animated Short Film category for the film based on The Lost Thing. The film is about a Melbourne boy who finds a strange creature on a beach, and decides to find a home for it in a world where everyone believes there are far more important things to worry about.
Explore the Art
Visit the State Library of Victoria website to hear Shaun Tan discuss his style and the influences on his work. In the first clip, Shaun also discusses how he develops a style that suits each of his stories.
In the next clip Shaun Tan talks about how he creates his books and what influences him as well as his Oscar nomination. Shaun also discusses the role of literacy and belonging in people's lives, and how he portrays these themes in his books.
The last clip is a 48 minute lecture that will interest older students. Shaun Tan begins by introducing himself through illustrations! Shaun Tan takes you through the pages of his sketchbooks and explains how simple images might develop into complex stories like The Arrival and The Lost Thing. The end of the clip shows a section from the Oscar winning film.
Have your students collect several Shaun Tan books and discuss the illustration styles in relation to the information learned via the video clips. Suggest they present their findings as a digital story.
Design an Interview
Have pairs or small groups design interview questions for Shaun Tan. Listen to the Colin Simpson memorial lecture given by Shaun Tan in 2009 and see how many of the questions are answered. Unanswered questions can be researched.
Write a Review
This unique illustrated story is certain to be enjoyed by children and adults alike. The theme and illustrations suggest it would be a great book for students to review. The reviews should be shared among the students and discussed as there are sure to be a range of interpretations and opinions.