Learning to Read: Reading and viewing texts
RS1.5 Reads a wider range of texts on less familiar topics with increasing independence and understanding, making connections between own knowledge and experience and information in texts.

Indicator: interprets story illustrations

Indicator: types sentences/s without assistance

Learning to write
WS1.9 Plans, reviews and produces a small range of simple literary and factual texts for a variety of purposes on familiar topics for known readers.

Indicator: writes a simple statement

Lesson 1

Provide an overview of the unit and clarify the purpose and content of the rap.

Explain to students how they will discuss and respond to a text with their classmates and students in other schools.

Inform students that they will communicate their ideas to other students by email. Explain rap lingo or terminology to students.

In order for the class to construct an introductory email, clarify the purpose of the introductory email, identifying the audience and discussing the detail required to achieve the purpose. Discuss what is an appropriate greeting and email signature. The email message would include the school’s name; location; size of group and any other interesting features of the school or class. Using correct email and Book rap etiquette (see Book rap FAQs for further details), post the class’ introduction to the rap once the teacher has approved the final message. The address to send this to is included in the Welcome message you received after subscribing; there is also a reminder in the Rap Coordinator’s messages. If you have any problems sending or receiving book rap emails please contact the Book Rap Coordinator at colleen.foley@det.nsw.edu.au or by phone (02) 9886 7488.

Develop a rap map to track the locations of other schools participating in this rap. This will support their understanding of Australian locations. Access, read and discuss the email introductions from other rappers, and then locate these schools on the Rap maps. Students might wish to respond to other rappers’ introductions (remember to post such responses after teacher approval to the rap email address provided in the Welcome message).

Lesson 2: Book orientation

Explain we are looking at the book Granpa by John Burningham. Ask the students if they have previously read any books by this author/illustrator. If applicable discuss how they could tell it is a book by John Birningham-other than the name of the author. (for example, illustrations, similarities of front covers). Discuss the front and back cover to predict; fiction or nonfiction, characters and storyline.

Picture orientation

Begin by examining the illustrations on each double page spread without reading the text. Ask who, where, what, when (season), questions about each illustration. Explain any words that students may be unfamiliar with, for example, greenhouse.

After the picture orientation explain that the story is made up of separate occasions shared by Granpa and his granddaughter.

Discuss with students time they have spent with grandparents. For example:

• Who sees their grandparents?
• How do you spend time with your grandparents?
• What name do you call them?

Record all the names the students provide, including the title of the book and point out the unusual spelling. Prompt students for names of grandparents from other cultures e.g. Nona, Aunty/ Elder for Aboriginal students.

Make a list of activities shared with grandparents. You can include the ones from the book. Students draw an activity they would like to share with a grandparent.

Turn to the page with the text, ‘There would not be room…?’. Explain that the text is a conversation. Ask students what they notice about the text on this page.

Point out:

• punctuation
• each speaker is represented by a different font.

Read the complete text without stopping for discussion. Revisit the pages with no text and discuss. Clarify unfamiliar words like meadow and ark.

Lesson 3: Writing

Use the drawings from Lesson 2 as a stimulus for the writing. Teacher selects a drawing and models how to write a one or two sentence caption related to the drawing. Students write their own sentences to match their picture. At the conclusion of the lesson students read their sentences to the class. Display work around the room and encourage students to read each others work.

If time is available, complete the optional activity:

Investigate biographical backgrounds of the author. Visit the author About the author in Internet sites for background information.

Learning to read: Reading and viewing texts
RS1.5 Reads a wider range of texts on less familiar topics with increasing independence and understanding, making connections between own knowledge and experience and information in texts.

Indicator: assesses role of visual images accompanying written text.

Learning to Talk and Listen- Skills and Strategies
TS1.2 Interacts in more extended ways with less teacher intervention makes increasingly confident oral presentations and generally listens attentively.

Indicator: speaks clearly and conveys meaning to peers.

Learning about reading: Context and text
RS1.7 Understands that texts are constructed by people and identifies ways in which texts differ according to their purpose, audience and subject matter.

Indicator: talks about own interpretation of information provided in images.

Learning to Write- Skills and Strategies
WS1.12 Produces texts using letters of consistent size and slope in NSW Foundation Style and using computer technology.

Indicator: types sentence/s without assistance.

An introduction to the grammar of visual design will also assist the explicit teaching of the elements of visual design.

Preparation for lesson 1

Collect a variety of books on grandparents that have different types of illustrations.

Lesson 1

Reread Granpa and ask students to think about the layout of the book.

Teaching points:

• the print is at the top of the page and is not black
• the brown and white illustrations are on the left hand  
• side and in this book represent the imagined or memories
• colour illustrations are usually on the right hand page
• on some pages there is no background
• the use of two types of font and italics
• there are no words on some pages.

Discussion questions

Who are the characters represented by the different fonts?

Is the girl’s speech always in italics?

Why hasn’t John Burningham coloured the pictures on the left hand side of the page?

Turn to a page where the background is white and discuss what is missing. Ask students to imagine the setting.

Look through other books and compare layouts. For example:

• the position of text on the page
• placement of illustrations
• use of font and font size
• types of illustrations.

Preparation for Lesson 2

Collect a range of pictures from books, cartoons, realistic drawings and photos from magazines.

Lesson 2

Show students a photograph and explain that this is a picture of real people. We call such photographs believable and the technical term is high modality.

Show students a black and white line drawn cartoon. Explain that this is imagined and has a low modality.

Sort the pictures into a cline of colour modality (a line of modality from low to high modality: imagined to lifelike images.) Rap sheet 1 will assist with this activity.

Revisit the book, Granpa, and discuss where the pictures from the book would be placed along the cline. Think about the different modality of images that the author uses. (The left hand black and white line drawings show an imagined image and the right hand images reflect the activity written about in the text.)

Look at a brown and white drawing from the text and discuss with the class who is imagining it. Look at other pages and discuss whether it is always the same person imagining the brown and white drawing. (Sometimes it is the grandfather, sometimes the granddaughter and some are indeterminate.)

Optional activity: Look at other grandparent books and discuss the modality of the images.

Preparation for Lesson 3

Photocopy the page that starts with ‘When I was a boy…’. Cut the text into two separating the two spoken sentences. Repeat this process for other pages.

Lesson 3

Before rereading the book ask students to think of answers to these two questions.

What did you notice about the written text?

Why do you think the author chose to use two different fonts?

Discuss the answers to the questions after the reading.

Show students the page from the book with the text that starts with ‘When I was a boy…’. Using the photocopied pages, the teacher role models reading Granpa’s words and the girl’s response with appropriate voice and intonation. Discuss the importance of speaking loudly and clearly, so the audience can hear and understand. Point out that speakers raise their voices at the end of a question. Reread the sentence with a question to emphasise this.

Choose two students and give each one a strip of text and ask them to read the dialogue to the class. Repeat this several times with different students and text until students demonstrate understanding of turn taking and speaking with clarity and in the role of the character.

Readers theatre

Divide the class into two groups and assign the roles of Granpa and granddaughter. Teacher explains who will read first, while the other group waits quietly. Teacher holds the book and supports each group as they read.

Lesson 4

Ask the class to select a double page spread and brainstorm the features of the page using the heading, layout, font and modality. Record class comments and write up response to post to the rap.

Once the teacher has approved the final response, send the class responses to the rap using the correct email and book rap etiquette. Read and discuss similarities and differences in other schools’ responses. Respond to other rappers’ comments via the rap, if desired.

Learning about reading: Context and text RS1.7 Understands that texts are constructed by people and identifies ways in which texts differ according to their purpose, audience and subject matter.

Indicator: makes inferences and expresses an opinion about a characters action, qualities, characteristics and motives in texts read

Learning to read: Reading and viewing texts
RS1.5 Reads a wider range of texts on less familiar topics with increasing independence and understanding, making connections between own knowledge and experience and information in texts.

Indicator: speculates in the behaviour of characters in stories and discusses own behaviour in similar situations

Learning to write
WS1.9 Plans, reviews and produces a small range of simple literary and factual texts for a variety of purposes on familiar topics for known readers.

Indicator: writes a simple statement or short text

Learning to Talk and Listen - Skills and Strategies
TS1.2 Interacts in more extended ways with less teacher intervention makes increasingly confident oral presentations and generally listens attentively.

Indicator: uses turn taking, questioning and other behaviours related to class activities

Learning About Talking and Listening - Language Structures and Features
TS1.4 Recognises that different types of predictable spoken texts have different organisational patterns and features.

Indicator: talks about turn taking in conversations

Preparation for Lesson 1

Prepare sentence strips from the book, cutting up statements and questions from photocopied pages or write out statements and questions from the text on pieces of card.

Lesson 1

Reread the book Granpa by John Burningham.

Talk to the class about what a conversation is. Explain the ideas of turn taking and short cuts that can be taken when two speakers share a common experience.

Revise students’ knowledge of statements and questions.

Look at the page from Granpa which begins with the text, ‘When I was a boy…’ and discuss the text features pointing out the statement and question and the punctuation used for each.

Place two hoops on the floor and label one statements and the other questions. Place the statement strip from the page of Granpa that you have already discussed into the appropriately labelled hoop. Repeat with the question strip. Hand out a card to pairs of students and get them to place the strip in the appropriate hoop. Ask students to justify their choice.

Repeat this activity until students understand the concepts of statement and question.

Note that this game can be varied to include commands and exclamations.

Return to the book and reread the granddaughter’s question, ‘Were you once a baby as well, Granpa?’ The teacher models a possible answer to this question. Ask students to suggest other answers to this question and encourage expanded responses rather than a simple ‘Yes.’ Ask a student to read the question as others take turns to respond with their answers.

Lesson 2

Refer to the list of activities shared with grandparents from Rap point 1. Choose one of the activities and discuss the setting.

Then the teacher and a confident student role play a conversation between a grandparent and child. Begin with either character asking a question and the other character responding. Show how this question and answer can be expanded into a conversation. Divide the class into pairs and assign the roles of grandparent and child to each pair. Encourage students to invent possible conversations using the question and statement model. You may need to suggest a setting to students who are reluctant to begin. The teacher monitors the pairs of students praising turn taking, clarity of speech and the students’ ability to adopt the role of the character. At the conclusion of the lesson some students share their conversation with the class.

Lesson 3

Revisit the book Granpa and look at the double page spread with the text, ‘That was not a nice thing to say to Granpa.’ You may choose to use Rap sheet 2 during this lesson.

Brainstorm possible settings and scenarios for this scene and list them.

The teacher models writing the missing parts of the conversation which may have preceded or followed this line, using one of the scenarios chosen by the students.

Students discuss a scenario they want to write up and then write their conversations. Teacher guides students as needed. All conversations are shared and the class votes for the best examples using class selected criteria such as:

-makes sense
-is interesting.

The writing is published. Remember to distinguish speakers using either a change in font or different colours and send in the chosen entries.

Optional activity: Provide each student with a blank white page and ask them to paint the background to their scenario.

Paste on cut out copies of Granpa and the little girl and add any additional details with crayons. Attach the published conversation to the artwork and display.

Using correct email and book rap etiquette, post the class response to the rap once the teacher has approved the final response. Read and discuss other rappers’ responses. Students might wish to respond to other rappers’ comments via the rap.

Syllabus outcomes and content

Suggested sequence of teaching activities

Learning about reading: Context and text RS1.7 Understands that texts are constructed by people and identifies ways in which texts differ according to their purpose, audience and subject matter.

Learning to read: Reading and viewing texts
RS1.5 Reads a wider range of texts on less familiar topics with increasing independence and understanding, making connections between own knowledge and experience and information in texts.

Ask students to:

• Respond to Rap point 3: as a class, read and reflect upon descriptions of grandparents written by other rappers. Discuss interesting descriptive language used in expanded sentences.
• Students reflect on their understanding of the book gained by participating in the book rap. Prompt students to discuss the author’s purpose and how he has achieved this through the written text and illustrations.
• Granpa rap reflection sheet could be completed by students on the computer.
• Share insights they have learnt by reading other rappers’ responses and reflecting on their opinions.
• Reflect on what they have enjoyed by participating in this book rap and give reasons.
• Brainstorm what technology skills they have used to complete the book rap. Discuss what students have learnt about reading illustrations.

• Construct a joint response to the Rap wrap up questions and post it to the rap.

As participating teachers you may wish to post to the teacher rap a summary of students’ performance related to the syllabus outcomes focussed on in the rap. The selected syllabus content might be useful in describing students’ demonstrated performance that you have identified during the rap. You might also like to comment on other aspects of the rap and post it to the teacher support rap. Your feedback and suggestions are invaluable for future raps. Thank you for your participation.