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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 Australian s

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 get

Reading like a girl

By Bec Kavanagh

Issue 93, Term 2 2015

You've probably seen it, the 'Always' advertisement that sparked the #likeagirl hashtag across social media, and inspired a wave of debate following its viewing at the Superbowl in 2015. For anyone that hasn't, let me just recap.Young women are stood in front of a camera, and asked to do a series of

Building a buzz with book snaps

By Susan Stephenson

Issue 104, Term 1 2018

What is a book snap? Essentially, a book snap is about grabbing a short quote from a book and creating a shareable image about it. Typically, people take a quick snap or screenshot (if the text is digital) of something they are reading. Once it is an image, they add to it other images and text, then

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, al

Promoting reading for pleasure in school libraries

By Emma Suffield

Issue 108, Term 1 2019

I have been a school librarian for five years now and what a journey it has been. The reason I applied for this role was to promote reading for pleasure and share my love of reading with young learners; there is nothing more satisfying than turning a reluctant reader into an avid one. When I started

Stories make us: in conversation with Morris Gleitzman

By Nicole Richardson

Issue 105, Term 2 2018

In February, award-winning children’s author Morris Gleitzman was named the new Australian Children’s Laureate for 2018–19. As laureate, he will join his predecessors, Leigh Hobbs, Jackie French, Alison Lester and Boori Monty Pryor in promoting the importance of reading. Morris kindly shared his tim

To inspire or to instruct

By Ta'afuli Andrew Fiu

Issue 91, Term 4 2014

During May and June this year, I travelled Australia as part of the Positive Schools Initiative to speak and network with teachers and educators. Doing so provided an insightful introduction to what teachers are thinking and drew thousands to Fremantle, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney. The conventio

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: how did Hi

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 lib

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

By Catherine Barnes

Issue 108, Term 1 2019

‘Fortunate’ is a word I use to describe my school. We are fortunate to be in an environment where we have a full-time teacher librarian and library technician. We are fortunate to be located within walking distance of a public library and a university library. We are fortunate that we have adequate

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 a

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

By Josephine Laretive

Issue 102, Term 3 2017

Each year The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) promotes and celebrates children’s books with the major event of Children’s Book Week during August. The five CBCA short list book categories offer schools an abundance of opportunities to engage with reading, responding to, and celebrating l

Dyslexia: can we read with our ears?

By Sarah Asome

Issue 106, Term 3 2018

‘Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities,’ according to the International Dyslexia Association. It is estimated that one in five children in

Supporting Australian book creators

By Aaron Blabey

Issue 108, Term 1 2019

When I began writing books professionally in 2006, I had never heard of the Australian Lending Right Schemes. My publisher just handed me a form, which I blithely filled out and promptly forgot all about. Then, after a hair-raising period filled with newborn children, an elephantine mortgage, and mo

A national celebration of storytime

By Brendan Eichholzer

Issue 105, Term 2 2018

ools, preschools, 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 Cur

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

The appropriateness of age-appropriate reading levels

By Eric Neuman

Issue 108, Term 1 2019

As an educator, especially one who works with books and literacy, it feels taboo to not use or appreciate the value of reading levels, but we have chosen not to apply them in our library. For those not familiar with what they are, reading levels are a measure used by teachers to see how well their s

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

Evidence of change: the just read project

By Gabrielle Mace, Merrilyn Lean

Issue 124, Term 1 2023

Queenwood is an independent, non-denominational Kindergarten to Year 12 girls school. In 2020 we introduced the Just Read program, aiming to  build a reading culture within our school and improve the literacy skills of our students. The Just Read project reflects best practice, its design stemming f