With the festive season closing in and the Australian school year only mere weeks from the finish line, what better time to bring out the sparkles and joy of fun teaching and learning activities to go with a most apt title; Goose on Christmas Eve; Poems for Children by Marg Gibbs and Friends! And, it so happens to be World Teachers’ Day, too! Acknowledging all the wonderful educators for the incredible, tireless work they do to support our kids and communities. xx
This perfect Christmas storybook contains a rich collection of cultural and Aussie-themed poems that encourage a love of language and storytelling, as well as a curiosity for the world around us (and you don’t have to celebrate Christmas to enjoy it!). Let’s share a few of our favourite things to do together!
For ages 5 – 12.
Discussion
Tuning in: Fill a bag (or Santa sack) with various items, including Christmas-themed accessories (like bonbons, baubles, ornaments, gingerbread cookies, pictures, etc), as well as Australian-themed materials (like toy animals, beach items, etc). Ask a student at a time to blindly pick an item out of the bag and either describe it, tell a story about it, or say a poem or song relating to their chosen item.
Alternatively, set up an advent calendar with one item to open each day, and write a short poem about that object. (See Poetry Writing below)
Look at the cover of Goose on Christmas Eve. What do you notice? What does it make you wonder? How does it make you feel? What do you think might be inside this book?
After Reading: Which was your favourite poem/s? Why this one/s?
What did you notice about the illustrations? How were they different to each other? What styles, techniques, media have the illustrators used?
What is an anthology? Discuss and read about the contributors at the back of the book.
What part of our Australian summertime do you enjoy the most?
Activities
Poetry Writing
- Choose a favourite poem from the book to study. Highlight all the rhyming words. Make a list and add your own rhyming words.
- Study the different poetry styles in the book and their rhyming patterns and schemes. Where have the rhyming words been placed in each stanza? Try your own poem with a rhyming pattern of your choice.
- Learn about different types of poems and write one about your favourite time of year. Examples include: verse, haiku, limerick, acrostic, etc.
- Pick a poem from the book to innovate on or write a short story about.
Creating Aussie Christmas / Summer Art
Author-illustrator, Marg Gibbs, captures warmth and texture through her art by painting paper, and cutting and pasting it as a collage. Her grandchildren contributed beautiful pieces of art from pencil and paintwork. Jenny Catalano creates enchanting and whimsical art through line and brush digital media, whilst Zoe Bennett uses stunning watercolours for the Christmas dogs in the book.
- Decide on a technique (or a combination of a few) to create a piece of art to accompany one of your poems from the writing task. How will you capture the mood of the piece?
- Display or gift to someone special.
More Christmas Dogs!
Thanks to Marg Gibbs for providing this delightful FREE downloadable sheet!
*Teaching notes prepared by Romi Sharp. Goose on Christmas Eve; Poems for Children is written by Marg Gibbs and Friends, with illustrations by Jenny Catalano and Zoe Bennett, published by MJ Gibbs.
#literacy #language #visualarts
Find Marg Gibbs and Goose on Christmas Eve at her website: Goose on Christmas Eve – M.J.Gibbs (mjgibbs.com.au)
and on Facebook and Instagram.
Goose on Christmas Eve is available for purchase from M.J. Gibbs.
Join in the festive cheer with M.J. Gibbs and Friends and their delightfully rollicking collection of poems for children, Goose on Christmas Eve, bringing joy to readers across the blogosphere and into every home!
#gooseonchristmaseve #poemsforchildren #australiansummer #family #anthology #justkidslit
For book marketing enquiries please contact info.booksontour@gmail.com
