My Two blankets by Irena Kobald:

McDonald, L.(2013). A literature companion for teachers. Marrickville, N.S.W.: Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA), p13 

A. Lead your group in the discussion of the versions they have read: Ask each member of the group to briefly describe what happens in their version ( a focus on the ending is best ). 

Discuss: Who do they think the intended audience is for their version? Which of the 4 descriptions best fits the version they read? 

1. This version was written in 1697. It is thought the intended audience was upper class readers in France. The little girl is punished because she talks to a stranger. 

2. Traditional folk tale – myth to explain the natural word 

3. Probably based on the original version of the story. This version would have been told by storytellers to ordinary people for entertainment. There are some unpleasant and macabre details in the story. The chid of Red Riding Hood is cheerful and independent. 

4. This is a version written by for children with a clear moral lesson. The heroine is given another chance to redeem herself. This version serves as a model of the way children should behave towards their elders. Red Riding Hood is attractive and lovable but does not demonstrate great intelligence. 

B Discuss: What do the different versions of the story tell us about the “tellers” or the editors of the collections that these stories are taken from? 

You may like to think about the ideas about gender that each story presents. Are the women in the story powerful or powerless? What behaviours do the male characters adopt? 

McDonald (2018) conveys that poetry can stimulate reader's imagination, feelings and intelligence. It has the 'power to evoke'  often found through imagination, emotions and complexity. 

There are different forms of poetry which includes ballads, haiku, sonnets, odes, epics, cinquains and limericks. 

2. What are your thoughts of the poem?/ How do you feel?

3. What is the poet trying to convey?

4. Why do you think the poet contrast the size of the whale and the mouse?

5. Why does the poet contrast

5. Why do you think the poet is relating to the dismay of humans?

(Springerlink.com, 2014) https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-6209-875-6_7

- Colour
The ochre colour of the opening endpapers contrasts symbolically with the blue-green of the closing ones. Evoke the disparity between the arid desert and the lush gully, where Dog and Magpie make their first home together.
- Juxtaposition
gives the story richness and power. For example, in the first

sentence ‘clamped’ suggests purposefulness and possible aggression – it looks as though Dog is going to eat Magpie – but then we get ‘big gentle mouth’. This subversion of expectation gives a kick of excitement.

-  Imagery
Richness of the cave shadow surrounding Magpie, (dominated by Fox) the solidity of the rocks and trees around the cave. Creates character, dynamics and The riloneliness of Magpie 

-  Descriptive language
‘And so Dog runs, with Magpie on his back, every day, through summer, through winter’. "runs with Magpie" creates echo and the regularity and continuity of a settled friendship, and at the same time suggest Dog’s dependable nature.

-  Symbolism
After the fire, the land has recovered, as well as Dog and Magpie. In contrast, the vivid red-orange of Fox, who ‘scorches through woodlands’, is symbolic of fire and the terrible damage it visits on nature. He also serves to denote that what we envy in others, we often seek to destroy.
- Metaphor
‘fox with his haunted eyes and rich red coat’ communicates the appearance of the fox. Suggests that the fox is a predator which hunts small and weak animals, as well as the ostentatious outer appearance.

Loyalty might be tested when interesting strangers enter your life.
Relying on others can help anyone overcome physical disabilities or other obstacles.
True friends will forgive you if you make a mistake
Those who are jealous of friendships can try to harm 

This provides a way of developing that character.

Personification: Cummings uses personification to help set the mood by helping the reader visualise the scene and relate to it.

Symbols: Symbols are used within the book to help create a more meaningful story.

Juxtaposition of Colour: The use of colour is an extremely important aspect of the text as it helps to further communicate the authors ideas and contrast the two stories being told simultaneously. 

Illustrating text:
Provide each student with a passage of text from the book, e.g. "The solider lay still in his cold bed. He saw stars and heard singing", and ask them to draw an image corresponding to the text. All images to be shared with collaborative learning groups and hung around the class with the complementing text.

Creating Colour Palettes:
Students are to be provided with a range of coloured pencils and two pieces of paper. Using the text as a starting point, students will chose 5 colours they think are common in each of the environments explored within the story. Students will create 2 colour palettes to share with the class - one for the warm colours they think could be used to represent Rachel's kitchen, and one to represent the colours that could be used to demonstrate the soldiers environment.

Example palettes shown below.

Blight. J (n.d.) Death of a whale