Sample page from the book Wombat Stew by Marcia Vaughan

During Grade 1/2, Wombat Stew by Marcia Vaughan was a book that I was read to by my teacher in Primary School. The teacher would wait patiently for us to be quiet whenever they read a page so that we could hear and absorb the text and make associations with the illustrations. There were many opportunities to express what we believed was happening in the text as the story progressed. Additionally, responding to teacher’s questions made the experience an enjoyable one as it gave a clearer description of what each character was doing, the plants used as ingredients which made the stew and even learn about the different types of Australian animals portrayed in the text. The book would go onto be one of my favourite Australian picture books and helped me develop an interest in Australian animals and geography. While on Year 2 Teaching Placement in May 2015 at Cheltenham East Primary School, I was given the opportunity to conduct a Foundation Class picture book reading session and used ‘Buzzing Bees’ written by Rosemary Reuille Irons and Dianne Hill. Many of the literacy strategies that my Grade 1/2 teacher used back in Primary School formed the basis of how I read it to my Foundation Class. However, given the difference between the two year level groups, I ensured that the students were all participating in reading and reflecting upon what was happening after each page as the text was focusing upon subtraction due to the fact that the total numbers of bees would decrease as the story progressed.