Belinda Murrell: Bringing Australian History To Life | Page 11
CLASSROOM NOTES
This journal from Darwin during World War II was a great
help to Belinda when she was writing The Forgotten Pearl.
important to them? As
a class, create a diorama
that is a scene from one of
Belinda’s books.
Your area
Imagine you could travel back in time
to any period. Which would you choose
and why? What information do you have
about that time period? Carry out some
research and keep your findings in a
scrapbook.
Write a short time-slip story. Explore
the fun side of it – how did you travel
back in time? What did you see? What
happens – is it funny, scary, dangerous?
Do you have an adventure? How do you
get back home? How do you feel when
you’re safely home?
Now vs then
For the time-slip book you’ve chosen,
discuss how life is different now
compared to then. What things did
people have around the house? Did they
have electricity? How did they store
food? Did they go to school? What was
their health like? What did they do for
work? What social things did they do?
What clothes did they wear? What was
Investigate how your area
has changed over time.
Try to find before and after
photos, gather drawings,
ask people who have lived
in the area for a while,
search libraries and online.
As a class, visit the local
aged-care facility and ask
the retirees what they
remember about the area.
Place yourself in the
action
Pretend you are a character in one of
Belinda’s timeslip books and write a letter
explaining what you have experienced.
How do you feel? How has your life
changed? How can you make your letter
as interesting as possible for your reader?
WE’D LOVE
TO HEAR
FROM YOU!
Read on to discover more ways
to use Belinda’s books in the
classroom. If your school has used
Belinda’s books, we would love
to hear from you. Please contact
[email protected].
randomhouse.com.au/teachers 11