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Information and critical literacy on the web

By Kay Oddone

Issue 96, Term 1 2016

be able to educate students in becoming informed, literate, self-directed learners. Mandy Lupton (2014) has found that inquiry skills and information literacy are embedded in the Australian Curriculum in the subject areas of Science, History, Geography, Economics and Business, Civics and Citizenship

Leading whole school literacy from the library

By Dr Margaret Merga

Issue 124, Term 1 2023

Literacy is a general capability to be taught across all learning areas in Australian schools. Students use literacy skills to learn and demonstrate their learning across the curriculum, and they need to learn both cross-disciplinary and discipline-specific literacy skills to achieve their academic

Let's talk about literacy

By John Parsons

Issue 95, Term 4 2015

Search for 'literacy standards' on the web, and your first ten pages will be articles about plunging standards, woeful skills and a slippery slide towards becoming a nation of illiterates. Plough onwards for a bewildering array of cutting-edge initiatives, ambitious policies, and funding demands, a

Lending an ear for literacy

By Leah Sheldon, Janine Sigley

Issue 94, Term 3 2015

The mission of Story Dogs is 'To make reading fun for children, so they become confident lifelong readers. No child should be left behind in literacy.' Earlier this year Connections approached Janine and Leah to share how their organisation is helping to address the issue of literacy in Australi

Promoting literature to students

By Bob Docherty

Issue 94, Term 3 2015

I have always believed that one of the best qualities of human beings is their ability to take an emotion, an experience, a fantasy, or a fact and write it in a way that only real experience can surpass. Taking good literature to students in schools is not only essential but also the best way to ge

Reading like a girl

By Bec Kavanagh

Issue 93, Term 2 2015

widely, by a range of authors in order to see a true representation of the voices that make up our society. We should encourage reading not just for literacy skills, but to increase empathy, critical thinking, and to dare all young people, boys and girls alike, to imagine a future where they can be

Building a buzz with book snaps

By Susan Stephenson

Issue 104, Term 1 2018

come across something they notice, like, or make a judgement about. Book snapping is also an opportunity to integrate technology with literature and literacy. It is much faster than writing a book report, but is still an authentic way to respond to text, be an active reader, and potentially read an

Digital fluency vs. digital literacy

By Clint Lalonde

Issue 111, Term 4 2019

Recently I’ve been doing a bit of research on digital literacy/digital fluency, to find out whether our post-secondary institutions are currently offering any programs and initiatives that will help instructors to use digital tools effectively. Many organisations have identified a lack of digital

1,000 reasons to support Australian book creators

By Jackie French

Issue 97, Term 2 2016

Dear Jackie French, What I have learned from your book is to be wary of anyone who tries to make you angry. Love James James was 14, and Hitler’s Daughter was the first book he had ever read. Yet he had found the truth behind a question I had been hunting for ever since I was ten years old: h

To inspire or to instruct

By Ta'afuli Andrew Fiu

Issue 91, Term 4 2014

provide reading materials that have some bearing on what is happening today. If you are finding it hard to influence reading or to increase student literacy, try something different. Introduce a book that is currently trending amongst the younger generation. There is the Divergent series - Veron

Read, respond, celebrate: engaging with the CBCA short list

By Josephine Laretive

Issue 102, Term 3 2017

celebrating literature. Exploring the short list books aligns with the Australian Curriculum and provides important opportunities to build students’ literacy skills through incorporating rich, objectively selected, and aesthetically valuable texts. This article focuses on using the Early Childhood

Stories make us: in conversation with Morris Gleitzman

By Nicole Richardson

Issue 105, Term 2 2018

ow that library professionals play a significant role here; while stories help children understand the world, library professionals teach the digital literacy skills required to navigate it. According to Morris, ‘most students, at least in a developed world, have some sort of online access; with jud

Supercharge students' digital literacy skills with content curation

By Kay Oddone

Issue 105, Term 2 2018

Digital content curation is a meta-skill, requiring many different facets of information and digital literacy. While articles abound promoting it as a tool for teachers, the rich learning opportunities embedded within this practice also make it a supercharged pedagogical approach for students. As t

A national celebration of storytime

By Brendan Eichholzer

Issue 105, Term 2 2018

ools, childcare centres, family homes, and bookshops. Now in its 18th year, NSS is a fun, vibrant event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy, using an Australian children’s book that explores age-appropriate themes, and addresses key learning areas of the Australian Curriculum for

The cathartic experience: understanding grief through the written word

By Nicole Richardson

Issue 106, Term 3 2018

Eliza Henry Jones is well-acquainted with the power of the written word. Her literary work is an achingly beautiful exploration of grief, loss and trauma — themes that she understands are capable of helping readers make sense of their own experiences. Indeed, the writing experience itself has had

Dyslexia: can we read with our ears?

By Sarah Asome

Issue 106, Term 3 2018

the signs Signs may become apparent in prep or even before students start school that dyslexia may be present. These include: family history of literacy difficulties difficulty with rhyming difficulty picking up letter sounds and the reading process leaving off or inverting sounds in wor

Stories that matter

By Helen Stower, Krystal Gagen-Spriggs

Issue 107, Term 4 2018

Contemporary realistic fiction is a trend in the current young adult (YA) book scene. Some of these books provide insight into issues such as gender and sexual identity, mental health, grief, drugs, suicide and violence. These issues present new horizons for those involved in the care and education

Promoting reading for pleasure in school libraries

By Emma Suffield

Issue 108, Term 1 2019

) into a thriving and busy place, and it has contributed to the dramatic rise in our loan statistics over the last few years. I work closely with our literacy coordinator and vice-principal, who run and support the program. Having a team involved with this scheme really works and benefits the studen

Emily Rodda on treasured stories

By Nicole Richardson

Issue 108, Term 1 2019

  Emily Rodda’s life has been a whirlwind of stories. Her family's bond formed not between the pages of books, but between the silences and laughter of their own storytelling. At a young age, Emily taught herself to read by absorbing the words from the books borrowed from her school and municipal

So, you have established a reading culture: now what?

By Catherine Barnes

Issue 108, Term 1 2019

much good fortune. For this reason, for the past two years, our college has been involved in The Smith Family student2student Reading Program. The literacy foundations built by children during their primary and early secondary years are crucial to their ability to do well at school. Research show