What Was New in June 2017?

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We're halfway through 2017! I'm a little amazed at how quickly the last 6 months has gone - I'm pretty sure we only just got through Christmas!

So what happened in June 2017?

 
What was new at Galarious Goods in June 2017
 

June was all about law making in Australia - where do the ideas for them come from and how are they passed through Parliament and applied? As well as the two mini units, there's a lesson excerpt (perfect if you just want to concentrate on the passage of a bill through parliament), a mini-unit bundle, word wall and posters and assessment resources, as well as a complete bundle. It was a real learning experience putting these together - I never thought I'd read a parliamentary handbook before this!

 
Galarious Goods Creating Laws (Year 6 Civics and Citizenship)
 

I also updated the Ranger's Apprentice resources - comprehension and vocabulary, research tasks, character tasks and whole novel activities - as well as the US Bundle and the UK Bundle. These are so much more comprehensive, with a greater range of activities for the classroom. It's also been a great excuse to dip back into the Ranger's Apprentice books.

 
Ranger's Apprentice Novel Study by Galarious Goods
 

Another update was the Classroom Library Explorations Activities. These three activities now have new options, task cards and a cleaner look as well as a US Letter Paper option.

 
 

In the blogging world, I've looked at activities which allow you to explore Nim's Island out of the classroom, 9 books to read if you like Nim's Island, 3 ways to investigate stereotypes using the Nim's Island movie, and I've shared a post about Galarious Goods' first birthday and celebrating learning in the classroom. I've also created my first video talking about fitting in celebrations in the library - I shared it on the Galarious Goods facebook page first, then uploaded it onto YouTube - so it's easy to find! I'm really looking forward to making more videos in the future.

 
 

 

Behind the Scenes

We're enjoying school holidays here at the moment - with park visits and lots of library time. We're also planning for a 5 year old birthday party early next month - with a Go-Jetters, all around the world theme!

I've been working on a book study for Mem Fox's I'm Australian Too - it's a picture book, but there's a huge amount for middle grade students to explore. It also connects nicely with Australian and Global citizenship - the next Year 6 civics and citizenship unit.

Keep an eye on Instagram for more updates!

 
 

Hope you have had a great June and you've got a great July on the way!

 
 

What Was New in May 2017?

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A new month! New things! New resources! But first let's take a look back at May.

 
What was new in May 2017 at Galarious Goods? A look at new resources, blog posts and behind the scenes
 

May was the month I delved deep into Australian political and electoral systems to produce some Year 6 resources. I started by looking at the three levels of government in Australia - local, state and federal - and their responsibilities. Because all that can be a little fuzzy (roads is just one area where everyone gets involved!) I also looked at how the three levels of government work together. (I loved putting case studies together for this. I feel very informed about the amazing Murray-Darling Basin now!). There are also assessment and word wall and poster resources to support the mini-units or you can get them all in one bundle.

This was followed up with resources covering the responsibilities of voters and elected representatives in Australia, which is a real mouthful, but at the key of our democratic responsibilities. I was especially interested in the potential conflicts between serving a political party, serving a local area and serving a state or Australia - that's a lot of balancing to do! Again, these are available with word wall and posters and assessment pieces and as a complete bundle.

 
 

Finally, I released a Nim's Island Sample Pack freebie. This is a great way to have a look at the Nim's Island novel study resources for free.

 
 

I've also been busy blogging. I started off the month collaborating with some other great teacher-authors to produce a blog post about the TeachersPayTeachers sales. I dug deeper into ideas around getting involved by looking at five inspirational young people who've set out to make a change in the world. I also looked at some of the places where students can find information to help them get involved. Finally I introduced Nim's Island as a novel study resource and had a look at some of the ways it can be used in the classroom.

Behind the Scenes

 It's getting cold in Queensland! Well, cold on the Queensland scale! We've been enjoying the beautiful blue skies with trips to see family, park visits and plans to adventure to the city in the coming school holidays. 

I've been working hard on updating some of my old resources, beginning with my Ruins of Gorlan novel study resources. I'm so, so excited about this - my Instagram feed has been getting some sneak peeks. There'll be updated pages, new task cards and totally new activities. The price will go up when the updated resources are released, so it's worth grabbing it now - you'll get the current version at the current price and be able to download the new version when it's released.

 
 

While I've been doing this, I've been looking at other possible novel studies. Do you have any requests? Leave a comment and it might become a real thing!

 
 

What Was New in April 2017?

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Welcome to a new type of post at the Galarious Goods blog! Each month I'll give a little round up of what's been going on as well as a little peek behind the scenes. 

 
What was new in April 2017 at Galarious Goods
 

 

The Getting Involved lessons and bundle were unveiled in early April. There are eight lessons in this series, each one examining how students can get involved with local and global issues which matter to them.

The first two lessons - Personal Values and Collecting Information focused on personal reflection and knowledge. Students think about what matters to them - and why - and how they can find out more about those issues. The next three lessons - Why We Share, Sharing Information in the Real World and Sharing Information Online - look at ways of getting other people informed and involved with the issues students care about. The final three lessons - Local Action, Actions in Writing and Protest Action - looks at what students can do to make changes in their community and beyond.

One thing I'm really excited about is the inclusion of presentation files in these resources. These are PDF files which can be expanded to full screen and used with projectors or devices in the classroom. This allows for more flexibility within the resources - especially when you have tight photocopy budgets!

You can find the full Getting Involved Bundle here.

The other collection of resources released in April were centred around the verse novel Pearl Verses the World by Sally Murphy. This wonderful book takes a look at Pearl, whose teacher wants her to write poetry with rhymes at a time when she doesn't have much rhyme in her life. 

The resources available include a Comprehension and Vocabulary resource, which allows students to look at the novel in a chronological order or by themes; a Whole Novel resource which looks at retelling the novel, reacting to the novel and exploring the characters in the novel among other things; and a Poetry Activities resource which examines the poetry in Pearl Verses the World and other poetry related to it. 

As well as these activities focused on the novel, Galarious Goods released a series of poems written around a school theme. These poems are available in different formats for different classroom uses. 

All four of these resources are available as a Pearl Verses the World Novel Study Bundle.  

Behind the Scenes

It's been a busy April here at the Galarious Goods house! We've had lots of excitement with Easter this month, as well as thoughtful reflection for ANZAC Day and my daughter's first birthday. I drew a sketch of a dog's face for her birthday party cake and was immediately thankful for the amazing clip artists! (I am definitely not an artist!)

Things should calm down moving into May, but I'm excited to be getting back into some Year 6 Government resources in the coming month as well as some new resources to celebrate learning in the classroom. 

A great way to have a peek behind the scenes at Galarious Goods is through the Galarious Goods instagram account. Follow along for product announcements, quotes, blog post announcements, photos and occasional really bad sketches!

My kids had a brilliant time at their Book Week parade this morning- a great opportunity to celebrate some fabulous books which we adore #bookweek2022 #bookweek #rainbowbear #thebadguys
Book club has come through for me today! #jackiefrench #earthquake #brucewhatley #picturebooks #australianchildrensbooks
A new book study is outlined - time to work on some art work and drafting #behindthescenes #bookstudy #australianbooks #teachingresources
What a week! We spent the weekend under a rain bomb, a lot of it outside trying to keep the rain outside (we succeeded!). Then school was cancelled Monday, back Tuesday and Wednesday and cancelled partway through today and for tomorrow! At least my
That lovely feeling of updating a resource - I'm really proud of this one! #grammarandpunctuation #teacherspayteachers #teachersresources