Blog
NAPLAN results show we could do better with Indigenous students
For anyone interested in education in Australia, the release of the latest National Assessment Program, Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) results on the My School Website and the launch of the corresponding report by Schools Minister Peter Garrett last week will be met with mixed feelings. On the one hand, the overall reading results of Indigenous…
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Learning to read under water! Reading is COOL!
Today we had great fun beating the heat by reading in the swimming pool – under water! Diving for words. Not only did I keep cool getting splashed as the children rushed to ‘retrieve’ the words but it was exctiting to see the ‘lesson’ being so effective! For the beginner readers they just retrieve one word…
Read MoreAustralian Curriculum – Teachers’ Tools
We have added links to the new Australian Curriculum (English Strands, Foundation) to help early years teachers in their planning for this year. We will be adding more. We hope you enjoy using the HARs in your program, and that you and your students have lots of fun! We would love to hear from you with…
Read MoreHoney Ant Readers on ACER
More great news! The Honey Ant Readers are now available from the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) Website. https://shop.acer.edu.au/acer-shop/group/HON/X ACER is a not-for-profit organisation, independent of government that aims to create and promote research-based knowledge, products and services that can be used to improve learning across the life span. A significant research body in…
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The 2011 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Conference (NATSIEC): Strong Start, Bright Future
Photos from the 2011 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Conference (NATSIEC) , Strong Start, Bright Future held in Darwin, 17-20 October 2011 are now up on their website, providing a good opportunity to reflect on the conference, its themes and the way forward in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education. The conference was…
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The Honey Ant Readers go west into real honey ant country!
This week ‘nana honey ant’ went west into Australia’s most remote community, to visit the wonderful children and teachers who live in real ‘honey ant’ country and are using the HARs in schools, libraries and communities! This photgraph are taken in Warburton school library working with teacher Gary Hopkins. The Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku in WA…
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Elders talk ‘Colours’
Amelia Turner, Benedict Stevens and Matthew Palmer enjoy reading the new book ‘Colours’, the first book in the ‘Speaking’ series, written in Standard English for parents to read with their children. Their collaboration and feedback is invaluable to make sure that the Honey Ant Readers are relevant, appropriate and engaging for their kids. Amelia said, “This…
Read MoreA visit to Clyde Fenton Primary School in Katherine, Northern Territory
Clyde Fenton Primary School in Katherine, NT, hosted Honey Ant Readers (HAR) author Margaret at a morning staff information session on Thursday. She delivered a ppt presentation about the rationale behind the HAR, during which the staff sung ‘Kami tjawani’ (‘Nana dig’ in Luritja) to experience first-hand the value of singing as tool in learning…
Read MoreAboriginal English in Education
Ian Malcom, honorary emeritus professor of applied linguistics at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia, and long-time Honey Ant Readers friend, gave a terrific interview about Aboriginal English on Radio National’s Lingua Franca show with Maria Zijlstra last week. Ian has long been advocating the need for recognition of Aboriginal English as a dialect of English…
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