Book Reports

In our classrrom we have been focusing on the concepts of immigration, emigration, refugees and asylum seekers. Students all wrote down individually their initial ideas on these terms, and then in groups of four, came up with a combined definition for each term. They will revisit them at the end of the unit. As part of our literacy focus,  each student has a picture book which focuses on one or more of these concepts. They have received the book and the book reporting proforma. Students will be sharing their book and their report with their classmates. Each student has a folder in which to draft their ideas and then they are to publish their finished report.

We read the book called The Island by Armin Greder using the SmartBoard so students could really appreciate the impact and the symbolism embodied in the bleak illustrations. We also discussed terms such as prejudice, isolation, compassion, fredom, power and difference. We also discussed the characterisation. Five students in the class are currently focusing on this book.

Book report done by one student

Below is another report. This is an A standard.

Our class novel at the moment is Anh Doh's The Happiest Refugee. We also read the picture book version called The Little Refugee. Students are working on a placemat assignments wherein they have to look carefully at four of the following  terms: resilience, persistence, getting along, confidence and organisation. Students had to do some note-taking and research in order to list things Anh and his family did which exemplified these qualities  under the respective  headings.  

We also viewed Anh Does Vietnam which gave the students more insight into the country Anh left behind when he came to Australia, and what the country is like now.

Here is a short discussion of the book Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say

Two students wrote a book report on this book

Hi, my name is Niki, and this is a short disussion about a book called Grandfather's Journey.

My friend and I did a book report. It told us to write a summary, setting, the main characters, main issues, illustrations and my opinion on the book. We needed to read the book to the class and read what we wrote about the book. When I read the book I felt what the characters where feeling. When the grandfather was in one country, he is homesick for the other, when I read that part I new exactly what he was feeling, I was in that situation myself once before.  When I went to England and came back here I felt sad leaving England. This book deals with emigration.

My name is Paul and here are a few comments on the book which is like a graphic novel: The Arrival.

This book deals with the problem of imigration in a very abstract way. The main characters in this book are the man, the people he meets and the strange creature he adopts. I felt that this book's meaning related to the real world, a man leaves his city and stories of survival from strangers. But, what has this to do with the story? You will have to find out for yourself. I felt this book carried the distinct message that if you try hard enough, there will always be even the smallest light at the end of your tunnel. This book also shows how your choices affect others around you. I would recommend this book to ages 11+.

Hi, my name is Sadie. I did a book report on this book Home and Away. This book is based on an  Australian family that has to leave Australia because of war. John Marsden could've based his story on an Asian family but he made it an Australian family. This makes the reader pay more attention and make them imagine us normal, everyday Australians becoming refugees. This book really make you feel like you are amongst the characters, hearing what they say and having the same feelings as they do. It made me feel sorry for the children, losing many relatives and friends. This book made me realise what refugees are really going through in life. I found this book amazing and cleverly written. I recommend this book  to ages 11+. I rate this book 9/10.