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