English / Year 6 / Literacy / Interpreting, analysing, evaluating

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Thomas Keneally likes to put himself in the shoes of figures from history, whether it's as a member of the SS or an Indigenous man treated unjustly, and ask ‘What would I have done?' In this interview he discusses why he was drawn to the Jimmie Governor story and the significance of the looming Federation of Australia.

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According to Gow, his play Away became an Australian classic ‘accidentally'. In this interview, he talks about the way he overlays the context of the Vietnam War and the rise of materialism with the themes of coming of age and accepting the death of a child to create a play that is powerful and complex.

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Have you ever had a song or a jingle that got stuck in your head? This can happen because of the rhythm in the song or the jingle. Rhythm helps us to remember a song, jingle or poem by reminding us of other songs, jingles or poems with the same rhythm. Once you get a rhythm stuck in your head it can be very difficult to ...

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Do all poems have to rhyme? Matt from the Sydney Story Factory explains how rhyme can be used in poetry to achieve certain effects, but sometimes deliberately not rhyming can be just as effective!

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How important do you think it is for writers to represent a diversity of experiences and perspectives in their books? What does Sally Rippin say about the world she represents in her stories? Who are the characters she writes and illustrates?

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Watch this clip to find out about the relationship between authors and illustrators. What role does the publisher play in this relationship? What does Sally Rippin say about the role of illustrations in books for young children?

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When authors write stories involving historical events, they often spend time doing research. Why do you think they might do this? What are some of the primary source documents Gary Crew used to inform his book, Strange Objects?

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Some writers can write a short story in one sitting, whereas for others – like David Malouf – it can sometimes take a bit longer to figure out where a story is going. Watch as David explains that although writing is about an "enthusiastic rush", it is also about patience.  Have you ever written a story that you didn't know ...

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How do you move your characters forward in a story? A trick Andy Griffiths uses is asking a lot of questions. His favourite question to ask is "what's the worst thing that can happen next?" Try asking yourself that question if you get stuck when writing your next story. In this clip Andy also talks about plot holes. What ...

• TLF-IDM020390

It is easy to dismiss poetry as too difficult, but really all you have to do with poetry is read it and then think about how it makes you feel. Yes, there are rules to poetry, but there are rules to most things we enjoy. Watch this video as Matt from the Sydney Story Factory explains how writing poetry is just another way ...