Seven Magic

Pat's Animoto

2007-12-07T15:26:00.001+11:00

50 ways to tell a story

2007-12-07T13:11:00.000+11:00

The last two posts have shown a couple of different tools for telling stories, but there are plenty more you could use.

PowerPoint is one, and then there are about 50 others...

The Fifty Tools

Another way to present pictures

2007-12-07T09:01:00.001+11:00

Here are some of the other pics. What do you think?

Abstract Style

2007-12-05T14:23:00.000+11:00

| View | Upload your own

Here are some of the great pictures that have been created so far. Thanks to Dane, Jack, Nathan, Shay, Hayden, Tyson, Will, Vieri, Cody and Zac C.

New Harry Potter Character - Student Sketches

2007-10-21T18:06:00.000+10:00

View Upload your own

Wizards and Witches

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J. K. Rowling is a master at inventing characters. Have a look at some of her character profiles at Wizards and Witches from A to Z. Why do you think she has given her characters certain features? For example, Draco Malfoy is very pale in hair, skin and eyes? Many of the names have meanings from other languages. Experiment with Latin and other meanings at Free Online Dictionaries.

Fantasy Writing

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If you want to learn more about writing you could try this free online writing course designed for young writers: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy

Everything Harry

2007-08-09T22:51:00.000+10:00

Do you know Harry Potter's birthday? How could you find out? What clues can you find in the first book?

When too much information about Harry Potter just isn't enough then you need to visit The Harry Potter Lexicon. You will find out all sorts of information about the books (and a bit about the films as well). There are also some excellent original drawings.

Investigate what is on the author's desk at the J. K. Rowling Official Site.

Exploring Fantasy Worlds

2007-07-27T09:56:00.000+10:00

Explore these fantasy series websites:

Quentaris Chronicles

Fighting Fantasy

Ranger's Apprentice by Manly local John Flanagan

Deltora Quest

Rowan of Rin

The Chronicles of Narnia

The Keys to the Kingdom

Make a comment about your favourite fantasy reads.

The Sorting Hat

2007-07-22T20:12:00.000+10:00

Find out what house you might belong to at The Sorting Hat.

Do you think the Sorting Hat is a fair way to classify people? Don't know what it is? It appears in Chapter 7 of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Researching the background to Little Brother

2007-05-30T23:52:00.000+10:00

Here are some links to specific topics:

The Conflict Map
This interactive map shows where wars were fought throughout the 20th Century. You can zoom in on Cambodia for information.

Thai/Cambodian Border Refugee Camps 1975 - 1999
Explore what it must have been like at the refugee camp where Vithy waited, hoping to find Mang.

Angkor - World Heritage Listing
Find out why Angkor is valued as a world heritage site.

Cyclo
What do you think a cyclo looks like?

A few of the best

2007-05-22T21:14:00.000+10:00

A selection of the illustrations students completed reflecting on the novel Little Brother by Allan Baillie. Thanks Patrick, Nathan, Marc, Anik and Daniel.

Cambodia 1965 and 1976

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At the end of the chapter called The Road Vithy walks into Phnom Phen, the capital city of Cambodia. He had been there before in happier times with his family and is shocked by what he finds:

He walked slowly towards the centre of the city, feeling colder with each step. He passed many cars left by the side of the road, smashed, dented, sometimes burnt. A touch of wind whirled paper out of the gutter. Vithy was watching more paper money than he'd ever seen in his life littering the street. Awnings sagged from buildings with shattered windows and stained walls. Shops were bare and open. (From Little Brother by Allan Baillie, Puffin edition, 2004, p.21-22.)

This video shows the city of Phnom Phen in 1965. You can see it was a busy city with many beautiful buildings.

Cambodia Khmer Rouge 1975 to 1979

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This 3 minute film gives a summary of the era of Cambodian history commonly referred to as The Killing Fields.

GAPMINDER WORLD

2007-05-18T09:20:00.000+10:00

Go to GAPMINDER and investigate life expectancy and population changes in Cambodia from 1960 to 2005.

This isn't as big a task as it sounds. Just adjust the vertical axis and horizontal axis by changing the drop down menu, and play the animated chart.

What questions can you ask about Cambodia?

Picture by eszter

Little Brother by Allan Baillie

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Little Brother is a thrilling story of survival set in the forests of Cambodia. Vithy is alone after his brother diverts the attention of the soldiers who are chasing them. Now he must rely on his own judgement to get through this dangerous forest and find Mang again. But there are many frightening adventures on the way. It is time for this little brother to grow up quickly.

Allan Baillie has written many books, including other survival stories. Read about his most recent title: Cat's Mountain. Go to the author's home page to find out more about how he came to write Vithy's story. Little Brother has now been published in many countries besides Australia, including France, Denmark, Britain and the United States.

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