Australia: Country of Colour

Connecting to prior knowledge

Before reading

Predicting text purpose and content organisation

Display a range of images depicting Australian landforms, animals, and plants of varying colours. Tell students that the images are connected to the book they will be reading. Ask them whether they think the book will be fiction or non-fiction. Also predict the purpose (e.g. to recount events that have happened, tell a story with a problem, give an opinion, provide information, or explain how something happens). Record the suggested purposes and track students’ predictions with tally marks. Keep the list to revisit after reading.

Give copies of the images to small groups of students. Ask them to find as many ways as possible to group the images. For example, they might group animals based on their type (e.g. fish, monkeys), habitat, colour, covering (e.g. fur, scales), or movement. Invite the groups to share and explain their choices with the rest of the class.

Display the title Australia: Country of Colour as it appears on the front cover of Jess Racklyeft’s book. Draw attention to variations in the size, font, capitalisation, and colour of the words in the title. Record students’ predictions about how Australian landforms, animals, and plants might be grouped in this book.

Now show students the front and back covers. Ask them to return to their original predictions about the book’s purpose and groupings. Encourage them to justify their thoughts and any changes to their predictions based on evidence from the front and back covers.

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Picture walk

NOTE: For the purpose of tracking page numbers, the first lefthand page after the title page will be considered p. 1.

Take students on a ‘picture walk’ through the book by turning each page and discussing the visuals and layout. Initially think aloud, then ask questions about:

• The colours used in the endpapers
• The focus on colour in the introductory headings (pp. 1–4)
• The focus on colour and nature in the images throughout
• The repetition of vibrant colours
• The changes in colour across different sections of the book
• The range of Australian landforms, animals, and plants
• The organisation, headings, and image patterns across pages

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Exploring the text in context of our community, school, and ‘me’

Reading the text

Display a map of Australia somewhere in the classroom. Mark your school’s location, including the Country on which the school stands (refer to the AIATSIS Map of Indigenous Australia or Gambay First Languages Map).

Revise the purpose and organisation of Australia: Country of Colour. Ask students whether this type of book needs to be read cover-to-cover, or whether readers can dip in and out to explore specific parts. Explain that information books are often read in sections rather than following a continuous storyline.

Start reading the book, beginning with the Acknowledgement of Country opposite the title page. Mark the Country and people acknowledged (the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation) on the class map.

Read to the end of the Red + Pink section. Discuss the structure of the introductory pages (pp. 1–4) and the celebration of Red + Pink in nature (pp. 5–10). Invite students to share connections to what they have read so far. Add Uluru (the landform depicted at the start of the section) to the class map of Australia. Then ask students to:

• Look out the window or explore the playground
• Consider whether reds and pinks are present in their local environment
• Explain why or why not

Also ask students if they have seen any of the red or pink animals/plants in their local area. This may lead to a discussion about different habitats and climates.

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Text connections

Confirm that Australia: Country of Colour is non-fiction, with the purpose of informing readers about Australian landforms, animals, and plants through words and images. Highlight that the book is unusual because Racklyeft also shares her feelings about Australia’s environment through her love of colour. Emphasise that the text both shares facts and celebrates beauty.

Visit your school library to explore other books about Australian landforms, animals, and plants (suggestions can be found under More Resources). Encourage students to make connections between these books and Australia: Country of Colour.

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Rich assessment task

Present the class with a selection of books about Australian landforms, animals, and plants. These can be drawn from the previous experience or completely new. Ask small groups of students to choose a book and predict whether it is fiction or non-fiction. They should also predict its purpose and how it might be organised.

Regroup as a class with the chosen books. Turn through each one and ask the groups to confirm their predictions, paying close attention to how the information is organised. Discuss any similarities and differences to the organisation of Australia: Country of Colour. Record students’ responses throughout this discussion.

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Responding to the text

Ask the author

Invite students to think-pair-share and generate at least one question they could ask Jess Racklyeft about her book. Record the suggestions, then share and discuss three others:

1. What was the stimulus for creating the book?
2. What would you like adults to discuss with children before reading the book?
3. What do you hope the reader takes away after reading the book?

Ask students to predict how Racklyeft might respond to these questions. Also consider whether the predictions answer any of the student-generated questions. Then play this CBCA video to hear Racklyeft’s actual responses. For this first viewing, students can just watch and listen without commenting.

Now allocate a different question to each student by numbering them ‘one’, ‘two’, or ‘three’. Play the video again. This time, students should listen carefully for their allocated question and the response. They can then group up with the students who shared their question and discuss what Racklyeft said. Invite the groups to share their findings with the whole class. Conclude by asking them to reflect on what matters most to the author.

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Colour and meaning

Read the dedication at the back of Australia: Country of Colour (p. 48). Draw attention to Racklyeft’s passion for young readers, artists, writers, and seeing the world through colour. Flick through the book and ask students how each colour makes them feel. Record their responses in a table like the one below.

Reread pp. 3–4 (just before the Red + Pink section), particularly the page about ‘Feeling Colour’. Compare students’ responses with Racklyeft’s descriptions. Add more notes to the table as required. You can revisit and develop any of the responses based on new information. You might ask students if they know what different colours symbolise in different cultures. Ask them to ask their parents if particular colours have significance in their culture, community, or family.

Explain that Racklyeft works primarily with watercolours. These are pigments mixed with water and applied with a brush. Watercolours blend easily and create a sense of lightness and translucence, as seen in Australia: Country of Colour. Discuss how Racklyeft’s illustrations might look different to images in other information books.

Model using watercolours to paint something natural from your school environment. Then provide students with watercolours and paper and ask them to do the same. Encourage them to select colours thoughtfully and be ready to explain how their choices are intended to make a viewer feel.

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Connecting colour, landforms, animals, and plants

Show students some images of Purnululu National Park. Tell them that they are going to see one of these landforms in Australia: Country of Colour (on pp. 11–12). Locate and label Purnululu on your class map, along with its Traditional Owners (the Gija and Jaru people).

Ask students to predict the colour(s) Racklyeft might use to represent Purnululu. Brainstorm possible animals and plants that could be grouped with this colour.

Now read the Brown + Orange section (pp. 11–16). Draw attention to Racklyeft’s reasons for including Purnululu here, i.e. the orange and brown bands, the colours of the earth (rock, sand, dirt, mud).

As with the Pink + Red section, invite students to look out the window or explore the playground. They can decide whether browns and oranges are present in their local environment and explain why or why not. They might use a device to take photos and create a class display. Also ask students if they have seen any of the brown/orange animals or plants in their local area. Discuss reasons for their presence or absence.

This process can be extended across the unit and repeated as you read through the remaining colour sections.

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Rich assessment task

Place students in groups of three. Ask each group to come up with three new questions they could ask Racklyeft, particularly in relation to her illustrations and use of watercolours. Invite the groups to share their questions with the rest of the class. Record these on the board or in a shared document, refining as needed. Make sure you remove any duplicates and combine similar questions to keep the list manageable.

If possible, arrange for Racklyeft to visit your school. Write or print the questions onto slips of paper and distribute them to different students (or pairs/small groups). Allow them to rehearse what they are going to say. Then have each student/pair/group ask Racklyeft their question when she visits, paying close attention to her answers.

NOTE: If you are not in a position to arrange an author visit, consider sending your questions (or a curated selection) to Racklyeft via her website. Share any responses you receive with the class. Alternatively, instead of having students brainstorm, present them with a list of questions from interviews Racklyeft has given (see More Resources for some options). Allow students to choose their favourites, then explore the interviews as a class to find the answers.

Students can reflect on Racklyeft’s responses and record any new thoughts, ideas, or wonderings they may have as a result. They can also note anything that surprised them or that they found particularly interesting.

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Examining text structure and organisation

Colour and structure

Turn through the pages of Australia: Country of Colour again, pointing out headings and subheadings and orally summarising what each page is about. Use ‘see, think, wonder’ statements to draw students’ attention to the text structure. For example:

• I see three double-page spreads with similar colours.
• I think this represents a section of the book.
• I wonder why Jess Racklyeft has organised her book in this way?

Display the endpapers and ask students why they think Racklyeft chose those colours. They might reference the rainbow or a colour wheel. If possible, distribute copies of the book to small groups of students and ask them to look for connections between the colours in the endpapers and the way the book is organised. Guide them to notice the following:

• The pages featuring animals and plants are framed by strips of colour
• Each strip corresponds to the focus colour(s) for that section
• The colours in the endpapers reflect the sequence of the book (reading right to left)

Read aloud the final paragraph on p. 2 (under the beetle). Ask students to think about why Racklyeft has organised her book according to colour. Then, in small groups, have them examine other information books about Australian wildlife. You can find an extensive list under More Resources. Encourage students to identify and discuss any patterns in the way these books are organised.

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Examining grammar and vocabulary

Capitalising proper nouns

Select any double-page spread from Australia: Country of Colour that showcases animals and plants (e.g. pp. 31–32 in the Blue section). Pick one example and label the following features:

• The heading in larger, darker font
• The scientific name in italics and brackets
• The text giving details about the animal/plant
• The watercolour illustration

Draw students’ attention to the headings. Each one contains the specific name of an animal or plant. Explain the difference between proper nouns (specific names for people, places, or things) and common nouns (general or non-specific names for people, places, or things), emphasising that proper nouns always start with a capital letter. Choose a heading from your double-page spread (e.g. Blue-Winged Kookaburra) and ask students to confirm that it is a proper noun by identifying the capital letters. Then ask them what they think the non-specific name for that animal or plant may be (e.g. kookaburra). Record the responses in a table like the one below. Work through some other examples as a class.

Also discuss the fact that many of the specific names in the book include references to colour, reinforcing Racklyeft’s focus on the connection between colour and nature.

To extend students, draw attention to the scientific names under the main headings. Explain that scientific names:

• Have been used for almost 300 years (since the mid-1700s)
• Group plants and animals according to their physical and genetic similarity (not their colours)
• Are written in Latin, a very old language

Point out some of the conventions of scientific names:

• The first word (genus) begins with a capital letter
• The second word (species) begins with a lower-case letter
• Both words are written in italics

Model constructing a table like the one below to record specific and scientific names from the book. Students can work in small groups to add more examples and practise using the correct capitalisation and conventions. There may be an opportunity to research the words for certain animals/plants in your local Aboriginal language.

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Optional activity: descriptive noun groups

Examine the specific names in the headings once again. Many of them contain a noun (e.g. Cassowary) and some words that tell us about the animal or plant’s colour (e.g. Blue), location (e.g. Tasmanian), size (e.g. Pygmy), or another physical feature (e.g. Blue-Ringed). These words are descriptive, but their main job is to help classify the animal or plant into a specific group. For example, the words ‘Pygmy’ and ‘Blue’ tell us that the whale on p. 31 is distinct from other kinds of whales, like Humpback or Minke Whales. Place some examples in a table showing the possibilities of these noun groups:

We can also find descriptive words in the informative text, which provides additional detail about the animals and plants on the page (e.g. that they are ‘shy’ or ‘lethal’). These words are part of a noun group, not a proper noun, so they are not capitalised. Stay on pp. 31–32 of the Blue section and explore some examples together, talking about the different function of words in the text. For example, the pointer refers to the animal or plant in the heading and illustration, while opinion adjectives allow Racklyeft to evaluate or celebrate it.

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Rich assessment task

Choose any page from Australia: Country of Colour that depicts animals and plants. Play a guessing game by inviting one student to complete the stem ‘I’m thinking of …’ with a descriptive noun group. For example:

• I’m thinking of a striped animal.
• I’m thinking of a well-known black and white bird.

The rest of the class has to guess which plant or animal the student has chosen. Play as a whole class or in small groups, allowing the students to take turns.

Afterwards, have students think of their own animal or plant, draw it on a card, and write a sentence on the back that starts with ‘I’m thinking of …’ and finishes with a descriptive noun group. The cards can then be used to play additional guessing games with the class.

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Preparing for writing

Have students use a device to take photos of animals and/or plants around their school, or perhaps take them on an excursion to a local waterway, park, or reserve.

Print and display the photos and group them according to colour. It is not necessary to find a photo for every colour; students can work with the ones most relevant to their environment.

Jointly label each image, focusing on correct capitalisation of proper nouns (i.e. the specific and scientific names). To support students to identify the animals and plants, explore websites such as the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, BirdLife Australia, the Australian Native Plants Society, and others. The books in the More Resources section may also come in handy here.

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Deconstructing a mentor text

Display pp. 25–26 from the Green section. Discuss the feeling Jess Racklyeft is conveying through this colour – perhaps a celebration of nature? Use the Cairns Birdwing and Green Ringtail Possum as mentor ‘texts’. Read each example aloud and make connections between the headings, the descriptions in the text, and the colour choices in the watercolour images.

Revise the capitalisation of the headings, emphasising that the names of specific species are proper nouns (see Examining > Examining Grammar and Vocabulary > Capitalising Proper Nouns).

Highlight the noun group in each example that introduces the animal, and the next noun group that describes one of its features. Remind students that a noun group has a main noun and adjectives. Model recording this information in a table like the one below. Then guide students to complete similar entries for other animals and/or plants. Examples for further modelling or identification in small groups include:

• Bright Oakblue Butterfly (Blue, p. 31)
• Chocolate Lily (Violet + Purple, p. 37).

Reread the mentor texts. Ask students to listen carefully for words that help link the information in the first and second noun groups. Students should hear the words ‘has’ (singular) and ‘have’ (plural). Explain that ‘has’ and ‘have’ are relating verbs. Their function is to link noun groups, helping to build detailed descriptions.

Tell students that when a message has one verb, it is called a clause. Clauses are the building blocks of sentences. For example:

The female has a giant wingspan of up to 15cm.

This is a clause that makes a simple sentence as it provides one complete message and contains a verb (‘has’).

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Joint construction

Select one of the photos students prepared earlier. Model using watercolours to paint a picture of the chosen animal or plant, highlighting how it reflects its identified colour group. Invite students to contribute to this painting.

Display the finished painting and return to the table from the previous activity. Jointly add:

• A proper noun for the heading (i.e. a specific name, correctly capitalised)
• A noun group that introduces the wildlife
• A noun group that describes one of its features

Support students to develop some criteria for constructing a text in Racklyeft’s style. For example:

• The image uses a key colour connected to the wildlife
• The words in the heading begin with capital letters
• The text includes noun groups that describe the wildlife and its features
• The text contains a relating verb (‘has’ or ‘have’)
• The text is a complete message (a clause or simple sentence)

Finally, use the painting, the table, and the agreed criteria to jointly construct a complete message or clause to describe the wildlife. Encourage students to contribute ideas and take turns writing, referring back to the criteria as needed.

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Rich assessment task

Provide students with paper and watercolours. Tell them that they are going to paint and write in Racklyeft’s style to show the wonder of Australian wildlife and how it can be celebrated through colour. Each student will select a photo from the class collection and use watercolours to paint a picture of the chosen animal or plant, ensuring that it reflects its identified colour group.

Students will plan for writing by completing their own table, identifying a heading and two noun groups to describe the wildlife they have painted. They will then draft their own message or clause using the information in their table.

Once they have finished their draft, they should consult with you to ensure they have met the agreed criteria for developing a text like Racklyeft (as above). Allow time for them to apply any feedback before publishing their writing alongside their painting. The finished texts can be grouped according to colour and published as a class book.

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