Who is the Oz Lit Teacher? (Part 1)
I grew up in Bendigo with 3 brothers, 2 sisters and numerous pets. Having three older brothers, I started going in to school as soon as I was born. Mum …
Oz Lit Teacher
Writers and their notebooks: Lian Tanner
Earlier this year I launched the Writer’s Notebook Series. This series of posts is focused on learning how published authors use their writer’s notebooks so that teachers can implement these …
New Zoom security features every teacher needs to know about
I’m on the Zoom train. I’ve been on it for the past 3 years and I have no plans of getting off any time soon. Now, I need to start …
Tips for preparing student work during school closures
Australian teachers and schools have the ‘benefit’ (if you can call it that) of entering this challenging time a few weeks after many other countries. We therefore have the opportunity …
Writers and their notebooks: Trace Balla
One question I get asked a lot is “how should we use writer’s notebooks with students?” I am all about authenticity so I thought it would make sense to ask …
Interview with children’s author Stef Gemmill
I was recently lucky enough to interview Australian children’s author Stef Gemmill. Stef’s recently published book, “A Home for Luna’ was featured in last week’s Oz Lit Teacher reviews. (Download …
Classroom Libraries: All Your Questions Answered (Part 2)
In last week’s post we looked at the research behind classroom libraries, the number and types of books they should contain and the need for diversity on our shelves. This …
Classroom libraries: All your questions answered (Part 1)
It’s early days in the school year and you want to make sure you are setting your students up for absolute success in all things literacy this year. You’ve got …
Anchor charts- the what, why and how
Think about your classroom. What do your walls say about the instruction that occurs in your classroom? What is valued? What is not? What is the current instructional focus (according to the walls)?
What are anchor charts and why and how should you use them?
5 alternatives to the dreaded “write about your holidays” prompt.
I once had a neighbour ask me about orienteering as she said she thought her son might like it. I gave her all the information about our next event and …