Curriculum Support
- Bridie's Fire
- Becoming Billy Dare
- A Prayer for Blue Delaney
- The Secret Life of Maeve Lee Kwong
- Market Blues
- Tough Stuff
- Vulture's Gate
- Walking Home with Marie Claire
- Zarconi's Magic Flying Fish
- Making Tracks: A Penny to Remember & The Red Camel
Following is information on how my books are used in schools, including PDF's of teacher's notes that you are very welcome to download and use, as well as links to useful resources.
If you are using any of my books with your students, I'd love to hear from you. I'm always interested in how my work is received by my readers, both adult and child. CS Lewis once wrote that a bad children's book is a children's book that is enjoyed only by children. I aspire to write stories for the universal child that exists in each of us. I hope my books appeal to the child in you as much as the teacher.
If there is any information or teaching resources that you would like to see on this website, or if you have any comments or suggestions about the site, please drop me a line at kirsty@kirstymurray.com
Bridie's Fire in Schools
Bridie’s Fire vividly recreates the era of Ireland during the potato famine and early Colonial Victoria.
Michelle Prawer, a dynamic and gifted English teacher, wrote an in-depth set of teacher’s notes for Bridie’s Fire. She commented:
Because this story brings history to life, it would make a valuable contribution to both the SOSE and English classroom. In a school where SOSE and English are taught by the same teacher and are dealt with under the one umbrella, this book would be ideal.
Click here to download a PDF of Bridie’s Fire teacher’s notes
Comments from teachers about Bridie’s Fire in the classroom:
This is a well researched and exquisitely written novel that has all the elements of a great saga, written in a language that is both accessible and eloquent. There are great possibilities for using this book in the classroom at the middle years level. It is a wonderful way to introduce a little history (English, Irish and Australian) into the classroom and, given our own Irish heritage, this is a most appropriate area for study. It is also a story with well defined characters that would lend itself well to more intense character study or an exploration of the themes of survival, family, friendship, courage and even a look at child labour.
Kate Schneider, Healesville High School, VIC
Bridie’s Fire would be a valuable tool for students looking at developing personal futures and setting goals. Bridie’s self determination gives her the ability to set her own goals against all hardships. With each of these goals she is able to build relationships with others that lead to each small success. Using the novel to reflect on each goal and the associated choices Bridie made, could highlight how one can manage their own identity.
Leanne Banfield, Hartz Support Service, TAS
Junior History students would gain a lot from reading this novel, as it would give them a chance to immerse themselves in the period.
Janet Evans, Wynnum State High School, QLD
Jabberwocky Top TenTitles suited for Years 7 & 8
http://english.unitecnology.ac.nz/jabberwocky/april04.html
Becoming Billy Dare in Schools
Becoming Billy Dare encompasses an important and sometimes neglected era in Australian history. The decade preceding Federation was instrumental in establishing Australia's identity as a nation. Henry Lawson was in the prime of his working life, William Lane and other unionists were dreaming of a worker's utopia, and Australian popular culture was developing its own proud, distinctive flavour.
Hamish Curry is the City Campus Co-ordinator of Eltham College of Education, Melbourne and wrote compelling teacher's notes on the applications in the classroom of Becoming Billy Dare .
Thematically, this [Paddy's personal journey] echoes Australia transforming from a small colony into a unified, organised nation - and this would allow some good inter-disciplinary activities with Humanities. The novel also uses many facts and historical references and a variety of Australian locations and intertwines these with examples of famous poets and stage play. Throughout Becoming Billy Dare, there are many references to real people, places and events. These could form part of a study of Irish and Australian history through the lens of literature.
Click here to download a PDF of Becoming Billy Dare teacher's notes
Comments from teachers about Becoming Billy Dare in the classroom:
Murray's meticulous research is the basis of accurate and detailed descriptions of setting and character . 'Becoming Billy Dare' is, above all, an entertaining book. The easy prose style and dialogue readily invite readers into each of the 36 short chapters. The episodic structure makes this book a useful read-aloud, or reading-circle text, for upper primary-lower secondary students. Its 1890s setting, from the Depression era leading into Australia's Federation, has obvious appeal for students of Australian history. Paddy/Billy's optimism, willingness to work hard, and empathy for those around him, provide inspiration for all young adolescent readers.
Jill Swann, St Peter's College, SA
A Prayer for Blue Delaney in Schools
A Prayer For Blue Delaney is a vivid recreation of Australia in the 1950s and the post-WWII child migration schemes that changed our history. In Germany, hundreds of thousands of German students study excerpts from the novel in their English language textbooks. In 2010, an abridged English language edition will be published in Germany to extend student’s study of Australian history and culture.
Troy Martin and Amelia McBride wrote comprehensive teacher’s notes for ‘A Prayer for Blue Delaney’. Along with a thorough analysis of the story, they also tease out themes of identity and belonging, immigration, and the history and politics of the 1950s.
Click here to download a PDF of A Prayer for Blue Delaney teacher’s notes
The Secret Life of Maeve Lee Kwong in Schools
The Secret Life of Maeve Lee Kwong is frequently featured on international reading lists advocating cross-cultural literature and fiction with biracial protagonists, including Star Reads (UK - an initiative of the National Literacy Trust). It was also highly recommended by the School Library Journal (USA).
It’s a firm favourite in Year 8 reading circles in Australia and is a set text at Year 8 in many girls’ schools.
Troy Martin and Amelia McBride teacher’s notes explore the themes of friendship, family relationships, and coping with tragedy.
Click here to download a PDF of The Secret Life of Maeve Lee Kwong teacher’s notes
Market Blues in Schools
Market Blues is used in many schools around Australia from upper primary through to Year 9. It is particularly popular with students and teachers in Year 7 and 8 and has applications across the curriculum.
Eltham College in Melbourne have used Market Blues as a set text for several years. Hamish Curry, City Campus Co-ordinator commented:
'Market Blues' is a compelling story set in two contrasting time periods that perfectly complements our City Program which looks at the history and growth of Melbourne. It is an easily accessible novel for our Year 9 students, broken into manageable chapters, which also form the basis for our short story unit. The characters in the novel face realistic and sometimes painful decisions about families, money, and moral issues, allowing students to evaluate the choices characters like Sam Sullivan make. 'Market Blues' has been an ideal text for providing a realistic and relevant study of people, places, and the changes that arise from them.
There are two sets of teacher's notes for Market Blues plus a fabulous integrated webquest site created by PLC.
The following teacher's notes were written by Suzanne Thwaites, a dynamic teacher-librarian at Ivanhoe Girls Grammar in Victoria. They are particularly well suited for use in upper primary.
Click here to download
a PDF of these notes
Federation 100 was a government initiative to promote the celebration of the centenary of federation. They picked Market Blues as their favoured text to introduce federation to both upper primary and secondary students and promote the study of Australian history. They produced a great set of teacher's notes. I particularly like some of the suggested activities that involve looking at urban landscapes then and now. You can find these teacher's notes at:
www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/sose/history/fed100/pmbintro.htm
Di Wilson, a teacher librarian at Presbyterian Ladies College, Melbourne collaborated with three other teachers; J. Mitchell M. Reid and C. Bradbeer to develop this exceptional online integrated learning area unit based on Market Blues. I was both astonished and deeply impressed at the complexity of the site and the number of interesting images and activities that Di and her team had come up with. A terrific teaching resource.
www.kirstymurray.com/mktblues/index.htm
If your school is situated anywhere near Melbourne, a visit to the Queen Victoria Markets is a must. The Queen Victoria Market administration organise a range of different tours of the market including an historical tour.
Contact Natasa Palamiotis at Visitor Services on 03 9320 5835
or by email: ANAPAL@melbourne.vic.gov.au
Teachers notes can also be downloaded from the Allen & Unwin website at:
http://www.allenandunwin.com/Teaching/trmarket.asp
Tough Stuff in Schools
The NSW Board of Studies have listed Tough Stuff as a recommended English text for years 7 - 10. Many schools I have visited use Tough Stuff from Grade 5 upwards.
The stories in Tough Stuff cover a range of themes and can introduce students to the study of human rights, world history and many issues such as the Holocaust (Survivors), the stolen generation (Ruby Hunter's story) and child labour (Battlers).
Tough Stuff is a particularly useful text for ESL students from upper primary through all levels of secondary. Every story is self contained and of a length that allows the student to encompass the information in a modest amount of time. Each story has enough depth to be enjoyed by mature readers as well as younger students and the stories have applications in SOSE as well as English. The children featured in the stories are from countries around the world.
Click here for an excellent set of teacher's notes written by Eve Recht
Vulture's Gate in Schools
Vulture's Gate is rich with layers of complex ideas about law and order, the future, science, reproductive technology and gender relations. Students in Year 9 and 10 will find philosophical and political challenges lie beneath the action and drama of the story.
Judith Way, a teacher-librarian with a Graduate Diploma of Children's Literature and a Master of Arts, has prepared an insightful set of teacher’s notes.
Click here to download a PDF of Vulture's Gate teacher’s notes
Walking Home with Marie-Claire in Schools
Walking Home with Marie-Claire is a text that is well suited for exploring relationships and ethical issues, particularly for girls. Some schools have used it in their study of Health and Human Relations.
Click here to download PDF teachers notes
for Walking Home With Marie-Claire
Zarconi's Magic Flying Fish in schools
Zarconi's Magic Flying Fish has application across the curriculum and is used as a set text in both primary and secondary schools.
Edenhope Primary School, a small country school in rural Victoria, used Zarconi's Magic Flying Fish with students in Grades 3 to 6 for an entire term of integrated activities including teaching Australian history and geography, circus skills, clowning activities and transforming their classrooms with circus-style decoration.
Niddrie Secondary College in Melbourne use Zarconi's Magic Flying Fish as a set text for Year 7 students. Over the past few years, English teacher Michelle Crofts and her colleagues have created an in-depth integrated unit of work (Maths, Science, ICT and English & Performance Arts). This unit has been designed to cover the new DET, VELS, POLT and assessment guidelines.
Click here to download PDF of Zarconi's Magic Flying Fish support materials:
A Penny To Remember
The Red Camel
Making Tracks
Both titles that I wrote for the National Museum’s Making Track series have terrific resources and materials available on the National Museum’s website. If you explore the site, you’ll find classroom activities, downloads and interactive webpages for every title in the Making Tracks series.