Many Australian schools are heading back for the first term of the school year in the next couple of weeks and I know lots of teachers are putting the finishing touches on their preparation for the coming weeks.
Unfortunately, as everyone in Australia knows, bushfires have been a dominating feature of our summer holidays - and I know some teachers will be covering the topic of bushfires, either directly in a subject or as a topic to talk about with students who have been affected.
After a message from a teacher colleague, I started looking for resources about the bushfires today and found it very hard to find a simple text about the topic. So, I've done the usual thing I do when I can't find something pre-made - and I've written a couple of books on Tar Heel Reader. I then decided I should share them.
The first text is written at a Grade 4 reading level, based on the Readability checker in Microsoft Word. It has more detail, longer sentences and more complex concepts.
The second text is written at a Grade 1 reading level, based on the Readability checker in Microsoft Word. It is written more simply - both in terms of the print and the concepts.
And if you are interested in texts about global warming or climate change to further discuss why we had so many serious bushfires, then here's some resources which are also on Tar Heel Reader:
- A well written book about how global warming is affecting their community by a student from Tuvalu Global Warming by Taukelina
- Global Warming by James Forsythe
- All About Global Warming by AmaCook1
- Global Warming by EthanS
- How to prevent desertification by Britney and Katie
- Climate Change by Jane Farrall (Grade 2 reading level)
Andi Townsend
jane