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Video

Sustainability of a historic community garden

Discover the history of a local community garden and find out about some of its new sustainable features. View this clip called 'Sustainability in Edinburgh', created by young reporters from North Fitzroy Primary School, Victoria. The clip was developed as part of the ABC Splash Live 'Making the news!' project, which featured ...

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Hannie Rayson on becoming a writer

Hannie Rayson is a playwright and screenwriter whose plays have been performed around Australia and internationally. Watch as she tells the story of how her writing career began. Try retelling the story from the point of view of her university teacher. How might he have remembered it?

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The Australian cotton story

This is a nine-minute video about cotton cultivation in Australia and cotton's importance for Australians. Intended for a mid to upper primary school audience, it depicts a family sowing, irrigating, spraying and harvesting cotton on their farm at Dalby, Queensland. It also illustrates the life cycle of the cotton plant ...

Video

How to Build Stories, Ch 5: Using language to flavour your story

Language is like the flavour of a story. It helps relate your imagination to readers in a way they'll understand. But you have to add the right flavours; otherwise your story will be like a bad meal. Learn how to write what you want your readers to imagine and feel.

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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

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.

Online

Seeking different results: the Accelerated Literacy program

This is a teacher resource describing the evidence-based Accelerated Literacy strategy successfully implemented by Mayfield East Public School. The strategy improved the literacy, especially reading skills and levels, of its students and the professional competencies of its teachers. The resource is organised in eight sections: ...

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Elliot and the Surfing Scientist: Red cabbage pH experiment

It might sound 'un-sciencey', and have a bad smell, but red cabbage is actually very useful for testing the pH of liquids. Added to well-known liquids like lemonade or vinegar, red cabbage juice changes to 'pretty colours'. In this clip, Surfing Scientist Ruben Meerman explains the colour changes and how red cabbage juice ...

Video

Restoring a native creek habitat

Discover how a primary school is working with local environmental groups to clean up the local creek and promote the return of native animals. View this clip called 'A fishy story!', created by young reporters from Willunga Primary School, South Australia. The clip was developed as part of the ABC Splash Live 'Making the ...

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Testing the 5-second rule

When it comes to dropping food, have you heard of the 5-second rule? Or the 3-second rule? Watch this video to learn what really happens when you drop food. In order to cause disease, what must bacteria do? What circumstances allow bacteria and viruses to contaminate food more successfully?

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BTN: Did you see it? Subliminal advertising

Are you persuaded to purchase products by the advertising you see on TV? If advertising was so subtle that we couldn't distinguish it from the content of the shows we watch, what effect might this have? Watch this clip and find out how some advertisers are using hidden messages to advertise products and influence our purchasing ...

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Feathers, Fur and Fins: Observing a flying fox

Take a close look at the flying mammal called the flying fox, or fruit bat. Watch these furry flyers as they leave their roosts to find food. Discover how and why they climb trees. See how these animals fly like birds but are not birds.

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Feathers, Fur and Fins: Observing a swan

Join Don Spencer as he observes (looks carefully at) a black swan. Discover a surprise under this bird's black outer feathers. Watch how differently the swan moves on land and in water.

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Farmers' market: by locals, for locals

What are food miles, and how can a farmers' market support sustainable farming and supply a community with fresh food? To find out, view this clip called 'To market, to market', created by young reporters from Willunga Primary School, South Australia. The clip was developed as part of the ABC Splash Live 'Making the news!' ...

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For the Juniors: Breathing under the water

What would it be like to breathe under water? See the equipment humans use to help them swim under water. Find out about the special features fish have that help them 'breathe' under water.

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Developing characters with Leigh Hobbs

How can drawings of characters give readers clues about who they are? What are some of the clues Leigh Hobbs gives us about Old Tom's character through his drawings of him? Do you have a character in your head that you've been thinking about for a while? As you draw or write about your character, remember what Leigh says ...

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ABC Open: Australian Children's Laureate, Jackie French

Jackie French is the Australian Children's Laureate for 2014-2015, and the author of the famous Wombat series of books. Watch this video to find out how a wombat inspired and conspired against her literary ambitions! What are your inspirations when you write?

Video

What are microbes?

What are microbes? What are the four major groups that most microbes belong to? Listen as Dr Taghrid Istivan explains where microbes are found. What is the name of the group of microbes she describes as beneficial to our health? Can you explain what happens when people get food poisoning?

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Feathers, Fur and Fins: Observing a kookaburra

Watch a wild kookaburra being fed by hand. Don Spencer handles an injured kookaburra that is being nursed to health. It will be set free once it is well again. See where kookaburras make their homes. Listen to their laughing call.

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Growing an organic edible garden

Find out about the roles that earthworms and other animals play in a sustainable organic garden. View this clip called 'Great pizzas', created by young reporters from Willunga Primary School, South Australia. The clip was developed as part of the ABC Splash Live 'Making the news!' project, which featured local sustainability ...