Download the "What Lies Beneath Exhibition - Teachers Resource" for the New Zealand Book Month Event 2013.
An opportunity to discover what has contributed to the creation of children's books by some of your favourite New Zealand authors and illustrators in an exhibition that reveals the inspirations, the crafting and background work that goes into making children's books for NZ children including works by Margaret Mahy and David Elliot, Gavin Bishop, Fifi Colston and David Hill, Maria Gill and Heather Arnold, Melinda Szymanik, Jennifer Beck and Lindy Fisher, Kyle Mewburn and Donovan Bixley, and Joy Cowley and Robyn Belton.
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Kia ora teachers,
I can offer school visits, workshops, and give talks to teachers or writers. Please email me for further information.
Educational Units
I've written teaching resources for the following companies:
Sustainable Living: A Cross Curricular Approach*
Essential Resources
Book 1: Ages 7-10
Book 2: Ages 11-14
Talk It Up: Oral Language activities for the Classroom
Essential Resources
Book 1: Ages 7-10
Book 2: Ages 11-14
Available Term 1, 2013
Non-fiction in the Classroom: Language and Reading Activities to enhance students' ability to engage with Non-fiction
Essential Resources (link will come soon)
Book 1: Ages 7-10
Book 2: Ages 11-14
Available Term 2, 2013
Big Book of School Journals
Curriculum Concepts
2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
2012 (available Term 2)
CSI Chapters
South Pacific Press
CSI Comprehension Strategies Instruction
South Pacific Press
Please feel free to download for FREE teaching resources that go with all my books:
| • | Eruption Teaching Resource - complements Eruption! Discovering New Zealand Volcanoes book |
| • | Famous People in my Community - complements New Zealand Hall of Fame book |
| • | The Call of the Kokako - complements book of same name |
| • | Saving New Zealand's Native Birds - complements The Call of the Kokako, Bird's-eye View, Operation Nest Egg |
| • | Save Our Seas - complements book of same name |
| • | Working Dogs in Our Community - complements Dogs on the Job |
| • | Save the Planet - complements Eco-rangers save the Planet |
| • | Leadership Skills - Sir Peter Blake Trust |
| • | Caring for our Coast - Sir Peter Blake Trust |
| • | 'Caring for Antarctica - Sir Peter Blake Trust |
| • | Caring for South America - Sir Peter Blake Trust |
| • | Organic Gardening - Feed Me Right |
| • | Discovering New Zealand Non-fiction Children's Books |
Keep an eye on this page because I'll be loading more educational units with each of my books.
I hope your class enjoys the units!
Cheers
Teachers' Workshop:
Using Dynamic Non-fiction in the Classroom
This workshop will encourage teachers to incorporate a dynamic non-fiction reading and writing unit in the classroom. In the session I will talk about a reading unit that will encourage children to love reading non-fiction books for pleasure. The unit uses thinking skills to enhance their ability to read non-fiction text and culminates in a non-fiction book ceremony. I will also talk about the characteristics of good non-fiction writing skills showing how to utilise fiction techniques to pep up their non-fiction stories. Teacher workshops can be combined with school author talks for students.
The workshops can be held in your staff room after school or during the school holidays.
If the workshop is tagged onto a day's booking it is free, if onto a half-day author talk or workshop with students - the teachers' workshop is at the special price of $100 per workshop. If you want me to do a Teachers workshop only it is $150 plus travel expenses.
Book your workshop today.
Using Dynamic Non-fiction in the Classroom
This workshop will encourage teachers to incorporate a dynamic non-fiction reading and writing unit in the classroom. In the session I will talk about a reading unit that will encourage children to love reading non-fiction books for pleasure. The unit uses thinking skills to enhance their ability to read non-fiction text and culminates in a non-fiction book ceremony. I will also talk about the characteristics of good non-fiction writing skills showing how to utilise fiction techniques to pep up their non-fiction stories. Teacher workshops can be combined with school author talks for students.
The workshops can be held in your staff room after school or during the school holidays.
If the workshop is tagged onto a day's booking it is free, if onto a half-day author talk or workshop with students - the teachers' workshop is at the special price of $100 per workshop. If you want me to do a Teachers workshop only it is $150 plus travel expenses.
Book your workshop today.
Activities for Books
For selected activities such as comprehension sheets, crosswords or wordfinds to go with the books click on the following to download and print:
Bird's-eye View Activity - PDF 45kb
Operation Nest Egg Activity - PDF 44kb
Interviews with Authors
Derek Landy, author of the 'Skulduggery Pleasant' series
interview. READ MORE
Fleur Beale, author of 'Juno of Taris', interview. READ MORE
Kyle Mewburn, author of 'Old Huhu', interview. READ MORE
Kate de Goldi, author of the '10 PM Question', interview. READ MORE
Lorraine Orman, author of 'Haunted', interview. READ MORE
Michael Morpurgo, author of 'Running Wild' interview. READ MORE
Blog
Teachers, if you're looking for children's or young adult books to recommend to your students - please check out the NZ Kids Books Blog. The site provides links to teaching resources and interviews that go with the book. The reviewers are either teachers or librarians and are also published authors.
If your class or school have been doing good deeds in the environment - please tell me about it so I can include it on the Eco-rangersNZ blogsite.
Maria's books:
Teachers Resources - PDF:
Books for Teachers:
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The Big Book of School Journal Units encourages 6-12 year old students to explore stories, articles, plays and poems found in Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 School Journals (available in schools from Learning Media).
Author: Maria Gill |
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School Visit
"You kept them entertained and informed through your multi-layered presentation of role-plays, readers' theatre and erupting volcano as well as your browse through the many titles you have written. It was very valuable for the children (and the accompanying adults) to make the connection with the many titles they are probably familiar with the person who brought them into being. I'm sure they appreciated some of the background information (and the odd tidbit of gossip) relating to your books and the process for creating them."
...Writing non-fiction books for children in a way that they are interested, inspired and captivated to learn more is a challenge and an art. However, we know that you cannot get the adult readers and life-long learners of tomorrow without enthusing and arousing the interests and imaginations of the children of today. I believe this was done, with great ease on your part, at your visit to Devonport Library. I am so thankful for your willingness to come all this way from Matakana, to participate in this NZ Book Month event, which gave me the opportunity to meet with you also."
June Swasbrook, Senior Librarian, Children's & Youth Services, Devonport Library
...Writing non-fiction books for children in a way that they are interested, inspired and captivated to learn more is a challenge and an art. However, we know that you cannot get the adult readers and life-long learners of tomorrow without enthusing and arousing the interests and imaginations of the children of today. I believe this was done, with great ease on your part, at your visit to Devonport Library. I am so thankful for your willingness to come all this way from Matakana, to participate in this NZ Book Month event, which gave me the opportunity to meet with you also."
June Swasbrook, Senior Librarian, Children's & Youth Services, Devonport Library