Primary Matters

Primary Matters November 1997

From Board Bulletin, November 1997

Award-winning literacy kit officially launched

The Aboriginal Emergent Readers Kit, BIG MOB BOOKS for little fullas, was launched at the Museum of Sydney at the end of Term 3. The kit was developed to address the need for an Aboriginal perspective and Aboriginal voices in children's literature. The books include stories from locations such as Kemblawarra, Brewarrina, Dubbo, Redfern, Narrandera, Gorokan, Wilcannia, Tabulam, Inner Sydney and Western Sydney. Personalities such as Cathy Freeman, John Simon and Pauline McLeod are just some of the people who shared their stories. The books are illustrated with the works of Aboriginal photographers and artists. The kit includes 16 big book titles (14 of which are reproduced as small books in sets of four), a Teacher's Handbook, Blackline Masters and an audio cassette. Several of the books include written texts in Aboriginal languages.

BIG MOB BOOKS for little fullas is the result of the collaborative effort of a great number of people. The project, managed by Suzi Williams from the Office of the Board of Studies Aboriginal Curriculum Unit, received significant support from various organisations including the Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Inc, the NSW Department of School Education and various Aboriginal communities in NSW.

BIG MOB BOOKS for little fullas is a very teacher-friendly resource. The Teacher's Handbook provides background information, cultural context and guidelines for effective use of the readers, as well as practical strategies for classroom activities based on best practice for literacy acquisition.

The kit won the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales Whitley Award for ‘Best Children's Series'. One of the books, What Am I?, won the Addison Wesley Longman Award for ‘Best designed book for primary education purposes'. The kit was also shortlisted in the 1997 The Australian Awards for Excellence in Educational Publishing.

The Primary Curriculum – An Overview

The Primary Curriculum -- An Overview (1998) is a reference document that will provide teachers and the community with an overview of the primary curriculum that has been, and is being, developed by the Board of Studies NSW.

To be distributed to schools in Term 4, the booklet brings together a number of Board of Studies policies and statements and provides a general description of the primary curriculum in NSW. It provides information on State syllabus development, current Board syllabuses and future directions for syllabus development in the Key Learning Areas, as well as general information about the primary curriculum in NSW.

The Primary Curriculum -- An Overview will be updated regularly, providing schools and the public with a concise and current description of the Board's primary curriculum documents.