Search results

Video

The Buyungurra who didn't listen

Listen as Bianca McNeair shares the story of "The Buyungurra who didn't listen". This is a traditional story that Bianca's mother told her when she was growing up. Bianca uses words from the Malgana language, which is spoken in the area around Shark Bay in Western Australia.

Video

Creating character 'trade marks'

Leigh Hobbs says that his character Old Tom's black eye, fish bone and comb are visual devices - Tom's trade marks. What do you think he means by this? Can you think of other fictional characters with trade marks or something that encapsulates who they are?

Video

Story development and plot holes with Andy Griffiths

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 ...

Video

ABC Open: Learn to count in Kaurna!

Presenter Taylor Power-Smith helps us learn to count to ten in Kaurna, the Indigenous language of the Kaurna people of Adelaide and the Adelaide Plains. 

Video

Why is it useful to have a big bad wolf character in stories?

Watch this clip to hear Andy Griffiths explain why it's good to have villains in stories. How can the "big bad wolf" character help to move the story along? Think about some of the stories you've read lately. Which characters were the "big bad wolf" characters and what did they add to the stories? 

Video

Creating characters with Sally Rippin

Listen as Sally Rippin talks about how her characters come to life. What does she say about the link between the writer and the characters they create? Why does she say that imagination is like a muscle?

Video

What inspires you to write

If you love to write, have you wondered why? Reflect on some reasons why you (or anyone else) might love writing, then watch Lili Wilkinson describe why she loves to write. How important is curiosity to her? How is that curiosity linked to empathy and why is that important to being a good writer?

Video

How to make a story interesting

To make a good story, author Tony Wilson says you need your characters to either make difficult decisions or do something difficult. Can you think of any good stories you've read where neither of these things happen? It's very difficult! Think about a tricky decision you've had to make or perhaps it's a tricky thing you've ...

Video

Andy Griffiths on writing songs and stories

What's the difference between writing song lyrics and writing a story? Andy Griffiths thinks they are quite similar. Why does he think this? How important is rhythm in Andy's stories? Next time you write a story, try reading it out loud and listen for the rhythm of the words. Can you make your story's rhythm sound even better?

Video

Sculpting ideas into stories with Andy Griffiths

Watch this clip to learn how Andy Griffiths turns his ideas into stories. In particular, listen to the way Andy describes how his collaboration with illustrator Terry Denton works. Now team up with a friend or family member and take on the roles of author and illustrator. What ideas can you come up with by working together? ...

Video

Andy Griffiths' tips for starting your story

Get some tips from Andy Griffiths on what to think about when you start to write a story. What does he say about plot? Why not take Andy's advice and start a story by thinking about something that has happened to you and then exaggerate it somehow. Concentrate on writing a short, dramatic moment by using lots of detail ...

Video

Andy Griffiths' tips for writing funny stories

Watch this video and learn how to write funny stories with tips from Andy Griffiths! What does he say is a good starting point? Why don't you try writing a story about a time something embarrassing happened to you? What does Andy say is the key to getting readers to enjoy your story and have a laugh?

Video

Storyline Online: How I learned Geogrpahy by Uri Shulevitz

Having fled from war in their troubled homeland, a boy and his family are living in poverty in a strange country. Food is scarce, so when the boy’s father brings home a map instead of bread for supper, at first the boy is furious. But when the map is hung on the wall, it floods their cheerless room with color. As the boy ...

Text

BBC Bitesize: use of punctuation - worksheet

This is a brief, printable worksheet where students insert the correct punctuation into gaps in sentences. The punctuation marks required include full stops, question marks and speech marks. This resource is one of a series of online resources from the BBC's Bitesize collection.

Video

A school's history of sustainability

Discover the history of sustainability at a local primary school as two generations of past students reflect on their time at the school. View this clip called 'The past of our present', created by young reporters from North Fitzroy Primary School, Victoria. The clip was developed as part of the ABC Splash Live 'Making ...

Video

Story starting points

Do you sometimes have trouble finding an idea to write about? Watch this clip to learn how author Tony Wilson developed the idea for his book 'Stuff Happens: Jack'. Is there a dramatic moment from your life that might inspire a story? Remember what Tony says about building a fictional world around this real starting point, ...

Video

MathXplosion, Ep 48: The most important thing when solving word problems

It's very important to read problems carefully so you can determine the important facts and understand the questions you are being asked to solve. You may find an answer using pictures and numbers, but if you didn’t answer the right question, what seems right can actually be wrong.

Video

Sally Rippin on authors and illustrators

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?

Video

Cleaning verbs

When you tell someone you're cleaning, you're giving them a general idea of what you're doing. Some of the verbs mentioned in this video are more specific and can help you describe what you're doing in more detail. What are some other verbs that describe more generally what you are doing, and what are some verbs that can ...

Video

Describing household chores

There are several different types of verbs. In this video, most of the verbs are transitive verbs, which means they are action verbs with direct objects that receive the action. Identify the transitive verbs and the direct objects in the examples provided in the video.