Where the Forest Meets the Sea: 1

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Creating texts – Create short texts to explore, record and report ideas and events using familiar words and beginning writing knowledge (ACELY1651)

Gorgeous collage illustrations highlight this cautionary tale about a tropical rain forest in North Queensland, Australia. The story features a little boy with a wild imagination who explores the pristine forest as his father fishes. It's a fun story to read aloud and we enjoyed reading it together and pointing at all the interesting details we saw in the picture. Group discussion – Students talk about text and make text-to-self and text-to-world connections [evaluating and understanding] Unusual collage constructions form vibrant New York City panoramas in this modest tale of Light, a white pigeon who flees his rooftop aviary to explore his urban surroundings. Ages 4-7. Continue reading » So yes, while I have generally rather enjoyed (and most definitely academically appreciated) Jeannie Baker’s Where the Forest Meets the Sea and have on an entirely aesthetic and visual level absolutely cherished the detailed and intricate collage like illustrations, in my opinion, Where the Forest Meets the Sea would probably if not even actually work much better as a wordless offering, namely because Baker's artwork is just so much more detailed and intricate than her rather sparse and in my opinion quite majorly unimaginative text (which I also tend to think rather does limit the pictures as a whole, since the fact remains that without the author/illustrator's limited and limiting narrative, there would in my opinion be much more scope for the imagination, for independent storytelling, as well as discussions concerning Australia's rainforests, their grandeur, but also the modern, mostly man-made threats they are currently facing and experiencing). Look at the front cover and ask students if the picture reminds them of anywhere they have been. Point out the boat and ask if anyone has been on a boat before. Ask students to predict the importance of the boat and its occupants, i.e. ‘Do you think the boat will be important to the story? Who do you think the people in the boat are?’

NICOLE TAYLOR has taught for over 20 years in both NSW and ACT schools. She has a Master of Educational Leadership and experience as an Executive Literacy Officer for the ACT Education Directorate. Within this role she has worked in the U Can Read program, helping families that have children who struggle with reading. She has an insatiable appetite for books (especially children’s books) and looks forward to sharing her passion with students and families, ‘hooking’ them into books and the joy of reading. Visit DadsWorksheets.com for extra math practice, multiplication worksheets, fraction calculators, printable charts and free home school resources! Using different coloured markers, highlight the similarities and differences between the coast and the rainforest. Then use different colours to highlight the similarities and differences with their school environment. Good link between English and Geography. Love the idea of children using their imagination and their geographical knowledge to write their own version of the journey. Hopefully it's her idea & not pinched from someone. (I'm always nervous of high profile people who fed on their peers' ideas, energy, and support it's my forever disclaimer. And honestly, if I found out they were the vampire type of people, I'd erase their work from my mind).

Students should be able to portray their point of view and understanding of the text through dramatic portrayal and artistic/multimedia representation, and understand the difference between oral and written narrative. In the evening, we eat at Whet Restaurant in the jungle. The children’s menu has healthy, kid-friendly options and the owner, Michelle, regales us with tales of cassowaries, lightning strikes and wild tropical storms. She points out the enormous webs of the golden orb spiders, a metre in circumference. The kids are captivated by her stories and she promises more next time we visit. By 7am the next morning the kids are up, ready to ‘whet’ their appetites again. Present students with a statement along the lines of: ‘The Daintree Rainforest is a good topic for a children’s book.’ Around the room place four signs that say ‘strongly agree’, ‘strongly disagree’, ‘agree’ and ‘disagree’. Have students stand next to the sign that reflects their opinions most strongly.With our book recommendations, we want to spark an interest in children to discover STEM in their everyday lives. Most books go beyond the obvious STEM connections and can be a great starting point for exploring children’s questions and ideas further.