Now this was an interesting read! This book was selected for the YA Book Club my school runs for its teachers. At first I was very put off by the title and the cover, but I soon came to absolutely love this book. Synopsis: Maggot Moon is based on a dystopian universe that mirrors the…
Author: Krystal Gagen-Spriggs
Why I love YA
I hear a lot of my friends and colleagues often saying either one of two things: I cannot stand Young Adult, it is often poorly written and I just don’t get the point behind some of the stories. I absolutely love Young Adult, it is my guilty pleasure reading for when I want something easy….
Destroying Avalon – McCaffrey
I read this book because we were looking for more books that cover the darker side of the Internet and we had approximately 150 of these in our book hire but they were listed as senior fiction (accessible to years 10 – 12). My goal was to ascertain whether or not this book should remain as…
These Broken stars – Kaufman/Spooner
I cannot even begin to describe how much I enjoyed this book. I read it on the recommendation from one of my students, so naturally at first, I was sceptical. I didn’t find much in the blurb that interested me, however, once I got started I realised that I was unable to put the book…
Separating Collections
During my first year as a Teacher Librarian in a high school, I have come across an interesting problem regarding the inclusion of year 7s in the high school and what this means in terms of our collection. I often find myself thinking about whether or not I want my year 7s to access a…
Final Reflection on Inquiry Learning
As I look back at my own journey throughout this semester I think I have only just begun to realize the full potential of inquiry learning and its place in 21st century learning. Compared to my initial posts, my first reflection, and the journey I have been on I think I have come a long…
Design
I shall now be discussing a recently designed ILA that is considered to be best practice. This unit has been achieved through careful planning and inclusion of the theories and concepts I have been studying this semester. The ILA is called Aboriginal History and Immigration and is designed for year 6 students. The creation of this unit has been…
Analysis
I shall now be analyzing the unit of work according to the following theories and concepts. For the purpose of this analysis, I shall be focusing on using: Blooms Taxonomy GeSTE Windows Level of inquiry Firstly, a quick reminder of the key inquiry questions that this unit is designed to answer: Why and how did…
ILA Description
An ILA is an Independent Learning Activity that is designed to allow students an opportunity to explore their learning independently. The ILA I shall be focusing on for Module 2 is a year 6 history unit that spans 10 weeks and is called Australia as a Nation. WHAT The unit is based on the Australian history…
Reflective Thoughts
Having now finished researching my initial questions, I have a better understanding of inquiry learning. However, true to inquiry learning style, I now have more questions then when I started! Before I discuss my new questions, I will outline my information search and examine it according Carol Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process (ISP). ISP reflection: Initiation: I…