English / Year 4 / Literature / Examining literature

• TLF-IDM009353

This 3-minute film clip is from the ABC My Place series and traces the fictional experiences of Charles, a young boy in 1818 in Australia. In this clip, Charles is building a fence on the farm when he encounters Liam, a convict who is on the run. There is an accompanying set of downloadable worksheets. One history-related ...

• TLF-IDM009347

This 3-minute film clip is from the ABC My Place series and tracks the fictional experiences of Davey, a young boy in 1838 in Australia. In this clip, we see the children attempting to crack a whip. The use of whips reflected an economy that was highly dependent on animal labour, such as herding cattle, and driving horses ...

• TLF-IDM009343

This 3-minute film clip is from the ABC My Place series and tracks the experiences of young boys Ben and Leck in 1858 in Australia. This clip shows the boys working together to repair a broken clock. They discuss a racist slur about Chinese people that Ben has heard from an adult. In this clip we see Ben and Leck working ...

• TLF-IDM009332

This 3-minute film clip is from the ABC My Place series. It is about the experiences of young boys Henry and Franklin in 1788 in Australia. In the late 19th century, laws about when and how long children could work were very different to today; this video shows what that working experience might have been like. There is ...

• TLF-IDA005838

This article discusses the power of short-burst writing as part of warming-up a unit. Short burst writing is a process that supports children to think like a writer. It teaches them to bring their writing alive (painting pictures in their heads of their readers) and helps them to understand the craft of description.

• TLF-IDA003722

This unit of work has been written to support the book Deadly D & Justice Jones: Making the Team. The fast-paced narrative of the book incorporates the NRL and Rugby League as key components. It explores themes such as bullying and friendship and emotions such as anger. This unit includes practical ideas for using this ...

• TLF-IDM020131

Watch this clip to learn where Sally Rippin finds inspiration for her writing. What does she say about where story ideas come from? Sally talks about noting down ideas in a notebook and remembering how particular experiences made her feel. What does she say about turning ideas into stories? Why not try keeping a notebook ...

• TLF-IDM019919

Leigh Hobbs writes and draws the pictures in the Old Tom stories. He describes Old Tom as being ‘sneaky' and ‘sly' and ‘naughty'. What words would you use to describe Old Tom? In the video, Leigh talks about what he was like when he was a child. In what ways are Old Tom and Leigh the same?

• TLF-IDM020466

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-IDM020117

There are a million ways to get from the beginning to the end of a story. Watch this entertaining video to learn about different story types and how to move your characters through a story in satisfying ways.