23rd January Starting School

These three books show three different perspectives on starting school and the school stakeholder's expectations.

Mr S  by Monica Arnaldo

It was the first day of school. But even the kindergarteners of room 2B could tell something was seriously wrong. . . . Where was the teacher? Who left this sandwich on the desk. The only clue, written on the chalkboard, was the three simple letters: Mr. S

Mr Ouchy's First Day by B.G. Hennessy and Paul Meisel

Mr. Ouchy is nervous about his first day of school . . . even though he’s the teacher! Will his students like him? Will he be able to find the bathroom? What if he can’t remember his students’ names? Fortunately, his classroom keeps him busy; his students have plenty of their own questions, and the first day of school turns into a great day discussing things like Mr. Ouchy’s funny name, how long a minute really lasts, and what everyone wants to learn in the upcoming year—things like whistling, playing drums and drawing dinosaurs.

School's First Day of School by Adam Rex and Christian Robinson

It's the first day of school at Frederick Douglass Elementary and everyone's just a little bit nervous, especially the school itself. What will the children do once they come? Will they like the school? Will they be nice to him? The school has a rough start, but as the day goes on, he soon recovers when he sees that he's not the only one going through first-day jitters. 

These three books are FUN! They help students laugh away first day jitters. They reassure students that they are not alone. They remind older students what starting school is like. Yet, they will not appear on a list of books for Kindergarten teachers introducing school to their new class. Next week when four new Kindergarten classes go into their new rooms with their new teachers in NSW they are more likely to be following a published English unit which has suggested texts.

The NSW Early Stage 1 English Unit for the start of school looks at Context by looking at the topic Starting School. These three books are not their reading suggestions. I do wonder why? At the school I teach at most of the kindergarteners have done at least two years of preschool on the same campus as their Kindergarten classroom, in a very similar uniform and with older brothers and sisters who are there so they have visited frequently. Even those who haven't, have been to some form of preschool or community long day care. Most have professional parents who value education and do all the right things to ready their child for school, including sharing 'starting school books' from the library.

My other problem is that at my school there are four Kindergarten classes and they all want the same library book as a mentor text on the same day! And if you have four copies they will only be used in those two weeks and then sit on the shelf...not a good use of resources and not good in my context because the library shelves are very full.

I have tried talking about how these texts are suggestions only and how you could still meet the outcomes using other texts. I have also talked about how the suggestions are 'products of their time' and that new books have been published since, that would work or that the library has older out of print texts that also could work. The units are only as good as the unit writers' knowledge of children's books and what is available to them. 

So please embrace the concept of companion texts. What do I mean by a companion text? A book that has a similar theme, context, set of characters, and / or similar Tier 2 vocabulary. It may suit your cohort better because you are teaching a group of more diverse students and you want them to see themselves in the text. It may be less or more complex depending upon your students prior knowledge and school experiences. It may just be an extra book that you read during the week. Please look widely, search out alternatives, speak to your teacher librarian for suggestions, look online at what other teachers have used.

The unit suggests you use these two books:

• Starting School  by Jane Godwin and Anna Walker

• Little Nic's Big Day  by Nic Naitanui and Fatima Anaya

and while both of these books are excellent, these are some companion texts worth looking at:

• The Starting School List by Kitty Black and Cate James

• First Day by Andrew Daddo and Jonathan Bentley

• Mae's First Day at School by Kate Berube

• Jessica's Box  by Peter Carnavas

• My First Day at School  by Meredith Costain and Michelle Mackintosh

• Ozzie Goes to School by Jocelyn Crabb and Danny Snell

and there's other starting school titles here.

The unit then recommends

• Families by Jane Godwin and Yael Frankel

This is a very 'simple' look at families and it may not suit your needs.

If you would like a wider more diverse view of families try these:

• Who's in My Family?  by Robie H. Harris

• Big Book of Families by Catherine and Laurence Anholt

• All About Families  by Felicity Brooks and Mar Ferrero

• Isla's Family Tree  by Katrina McKelvey and Prue Pittock

and then look here.

SDG 4 Quality Education

Goal 4 Ensure inclusive and equitable education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

There is so much we take for granted here in Australia when it comes to schooling and you read all the subgoals for this goal. We complain about dropping scores in global testing, in NAPLAN and lack of enough casual teachers, not the things listed here. Everyone in Australia has access to education that is safe, well-resourced and free so we should take advantage of it.

There are so many good books for this goal. Find some here.

If you just want to show very young children how different school can be from what they experience, read something like Rain School  by James Rumford or Elizabeti's School by Stephanie Stuve- Bodeen.

Here's the blurb:

It is the first day of school in Chad, Africa. Children are filling the road. "Will they give us a notebook?" Thomas asks. "Will they give us a pencil?" "Will I learn to read?" But when he and the other children arrive at the school yard, they find no classroom, no desks. Just a teacher. "We will build our school," she says. "This is our first lesson." James Rumford, who lived in Chad as a Peace Corps volunteer, fills these pages with the vibrant colours of Africa and the spare words of a poet to show how important learning is in a country where only a few children are able to go to school. 

Here's the blurb:

In this Tanzanian story it's the first day of school and Elizabeti can hardly wait. She puts on her new uniform and feels her shiny shoes. School must surely be a very special place!
Shortly after arriving at school, however, Elizabeti begins to miss her family. What if Mama needs help cleaning the rice? What if her baby sister wants to play? What if her little brother wants to go for a walk? But soon Elizabeti is making friends and learning her lessons. Best of all, she shares her experiences with her family that evening - and can apply what she has learned right away.

However, if you want students to know that school is not easily accessed for everyone, think about reading something more biographical, such as a book about Malala Yousafzai, Tererai Trent or Razia Jan.

 

There are three things to do:

Before reading ask:

How would you describe your school to someone who doesn't go to it? What is good about it?

Record the book you read

We read...

Finish this 

I wonder what education is like for ...

23rd May Walk Safely to School Day

Walk Safely to School Day (WSTSD) is an annual, national event when all Primary School children are encouraged to walk and commute safely to school. It is a Community Event seeking to promote Road Safety, Health, Public Transport and the Environment.

As I teach at an independent school, not a local school many of the children I teach come quite long distances to school and would never walk to school. However, yesterday we encouraged parents to park a walkable distance from school so they could join in this national initiative that many of their neighbours experience each day as they walk to their local school.

Well it certainly had novelty value for many of the children who did it. They liked the sticker they received if they did walk. They talked about doing it with friends and how that had been good. The comments reminded me so much of Gillian Bradshaw and David Cox's picture book Shock Monday where the children are initially angry with their mother about having to walk to school, but find themselves enjoying themselves as they undertake what turns out to be quite an adventure. This book is just perfect to share and discuss on such a day. We had fun deciding what Tom and his friend could be saying to each other in the illustration on the cover.

I feel somewhat sorry for children who live in cities and busy towns today. The news today was full of statistics about how sedentary children are and how few were undertaking even an hour of activity per day.
I look back on my idyllic childhood in Bowral, a town in the Southern Highlands, where I walked to school or rode my bike alone or with friends right from Kindergarten to Year 6. On the way home I stopped at the Children's Library and bothered the librarians or at Bradman Oval and played with the neighbourhood children...just as long as I was home before dark. How things have changed!