Teaching ideas for Book Week 2010: across the story
bridge with Fearless rap
These are ideas to support students and class work in order to answer the rap
points and comment on the blog. Choose as much (or as little) as you wish.
Finding some time to share other students’ responses on the blog, using an IWB,
is valuable. Collaborating with teacher librarian, teacher, ESL or STLA colleagues
makes it even easier!
Introductory task teaching and
programming ideas
Term 3, Week 3: week beginning 2 August, 2010
Introductory activities
As this rap is for several Stages, the first activities in each task will be
suitable for Early Stage 1, Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3 students.
Additional activities in each task are suggested for Stage 2 and Stage 3
students. See Technology tips to prepare for digital activities.
Suggested sequence of teaching strategies
Provide an overview and explain the purpose of the rap.
Explain that students will:
 discuss and respond to the picture book, Fearless, with their
classmates
 discuss and respond to Fearless with students in other schools by
posting messages to a blog
 read and re-read the text many times to become familiar it and find
information about the characters and events from the written text and
illustrations
 watch a Fearless trailer created by the illustrator, Sarah Davis, and use
this reading experience to inform their opinions about the characters’
actions and behaviours
 create a word cloud to visually represent Fearless’s five main character
traits
 view a SMART Notebook story in Story creation about a dog like
Fearless
© 2010 School Libraries and Information Literacy Unit, Curriculum K–12 Directorate. NSW Department of Education and Training.
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explore and then innovate on the text to create their own illustrated
writing sequence about Fearless to share with their classmates and
students in other schools (Early Stage 1 & Stage 1)
view a SMART Notebook story about a dog like Fearless and use this,
or their own creation, to create a book trailer for Fearless (Stage 2 &
Stage 3).
Read Fearless with the students.
Possible activities
1. Pre-reading

Study the cover of the picture book and discuss
o character and predict story, possible complications and
potential solutions (RES1.5) (RS1.5) (RS2.5) (RS3.5).
2. Reading the picture book
It is important for students to have a range of reading experiences, and
to read and re-read texts (RES1.7) (RS1.7) (RS2.7) (RS3.7).
 Read Fearless and then read Fearless again.
 Watch the trailer of Fearless.
 Read Fearless.
3. Posting to the rap blog
Inform students that they will communicate their ideas to other students
by uploading to the Comments section of a blog (also known as a web
log). Explain rap lingo or terminology to students.

In order for the class to construct an introductory comment, clarify the
purpose of the introductory comment, identifying the audience and discussing
the detail required to achieve the purpose. List appropriate voice, modality,
greeting and blog signature, for example. The blog post would include the
school’s name, location, size of group and any other interesting features of
the school or class. Include the students’ feelings about the book, Fearless.
Using correct blog and Book rap etiquette (see FAQs for further details), post
the class introduction to the rap.

Prepare the group response to the Introductory rap point with the class.
Student/s (rap representative) or teacher word process the response, edit
and save (WES1.13) (WS1.13) (WS2.13) (WS3.13).

Teacher facilitates student use of the word processor and blogging
procedures to post the response to the Introductory rap point once the
teacher has approved the final text.
© 2010 School Libraries and Information Literacy Unit, Curriculum K–12 Directorate. NSW Department of Education and Training.
Kindergarten, Year 1 & Year 2 rappers post the response to Welcome
and Introductory rap point.
Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 & Year 6 rappers post the response to
Welcome and Introductory rap point.

Access, read and discuss introductions from other rappers, and locate these
schools on the Rap maps and with Google Earth. Students may wish to
respond to rappers’ introductions on the Fearless Book Week 2010 rap K–2
blog and the Fearless Book Week 2010 rap 3–6 blog.

For further information about this rap contact Cath Keane by email or by
phone (02) 9886 7501.
4. Optional activity

Investigate biographical backgrounds of the author and illustrator. Visit
the author and illustrator internet sites for background information.
(RES1.7) (RS1.7).
To help your students respond to the rap, click on the following links
Syllabus outcomes:
Early Stage 1
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Student task for
Introductory rap point
Ready to rap sheet
Early Stage 1
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Rap maps
Task 1 teaching and programming
ideas
Term 3, Week 4: week beginning 9 August, 2010
Download print version
Possible activities for Rap point 1
Activity 1
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Read Fearless to the class.
Now read it again, taking a closer look at the text.
From the beginning of the story, the author writes about names for
people and dogs. He suggests that names do not always suit a person
© 2010 School Libraries and Information Literacy Unit, Curriculum K–12 Directorate. NSW Department of Education and Training.
or animal.
So sometimes, babies get the wrong name.



Look at the double page spread showing the dogs in the pet shop
window. If possible, enlarge the picture.
Discuss the names and ask the students to suggest more suitable
names for each dog and explain why they chose them. (RES1.5)
(RS1.5)
Stage 2 & Stage 3 students may wish to discuss the babies’ names and
why the author suggests that the Claybourne-Willments should have
been called the Smiths. Stage 2 and Stage 3 may question that the
dogs in the shop window are for sale because they did not live up to
their names. (RS2.5) (RS3.5)
Activity 2
Now that the author has set the scene, we start to learn about Fearless’s
character.
 Discuss this part of the story.
So when the Claybourne-Willments, who should have been called the
Smiths, got Fearless as a little puppy it seemed a good name for him.
Except Fearless wasn’t.
Next, Thompson and Davis provide two examples of Fearless showing
fear.
 Discuss what happens when
o the car backfires
o Fearless sees a kitten. (RES1.7) (RS1.7)
 Ask Stage 2 & Stage 3 students to think about:
Who is telling the story? Often we are told what Fearless is thinking and
how he feels. The author is using evaluative words to give the text a
particular perspective in order to influence how the audience will respond
to the content of the text. The illustrations support this language. (RS2.7)
(RS3.7)
Look closely at the events in the story.
 Does Fearless’s character drive the events or do the events prompt
responses that inform us about Fearless’s character? (Stage 2 & Stage
3)
 Ask students (K–6) to respond to examples in the book:
When ______________
(event)
happens Fearless ________________
© 2010 School Libraries and Information Literacy Unit, Curriculum K–12 Directorate. NSW Department of Education and Training.
(action)
because he is ________________
(feeling/reaction).
Rap sheet 1 & Rap sheet 2 may help with this activity.
Brainstorm & Wordle activity.
 Ask students to each choose one character trait that they think is the
most important for Fearless. Type each response into a Word
document (there should be several repetitions). Use the IWB or a data
projector connected to a computer to enable students to see the
responses. Save the document. (TES1.1) (TS1.1) (TS2.1) (TS3.1)
 Explain to students that these responses will be used to make a word
cloud about Fearless’s character, and that the more times a word is
written, the larger it will be in the word cloud. This reflects class
judgements about the order of importance (Higher-order thinking).
Show example.
www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/2238843/Fearless%27s_character





Go to the Wordle website.
Copy the students’ words from the Word document and paste them
into the box. Use the menu options to change the appearance of the
word cloud. See the Create a word cloud about Fearless instructions.
Discuss the most important words that describe Fearless’s character
and the impact of colour, font and layout. (WES1.9) (WS1.9) (WS2.9)
(WS3.9)
Save the screen grab in a word file and send it to the blog to share
with other rappers, or send the unique URL to the blog.
If you Save to the public gallery a unique URL will be created. This is a
great opportunity to talk about cybersafety with students.
Read Fearless again, focussing on conclusions made about Fearless’s
character.
Optional activities
 Go to illustrator Sarah Davis’s website. Open or download the
© 2010 School Libraries and Information Literacy Unit, Curriculum K–12 Directorate. NSW Department of Education and Training.

Teachers’ notes on Fearless by Colin Thompson, illustrated by Sarah
Davis. Share the synopsis with the students. Note how the character of
Fearless is described.
Stage 2 and Stage 3 students may wish to explore websites about
bulldogs. Discuss bulldog logos/names of football teams. Search for
‘bulldogs’ in clip art and discuss the stereotypical results. Is the
common perception about bulldog character traits similar to their
perceptions? Is this what Thompson is alluding to when he writes –
But people who didn’t know him used to cross the road because they
thought he wanted to bite them, when he was really just smiling hello.
Posting to the rap blog

Prepare the group response to Rap point 1 with the class. Student/s (rap
representative) or teacher word process the response, edit and save.
Remember to sign off with your rap group’s name and school. (WES1.13)
(WS1.13) (WS2.13) (WS3.13)

Teacher facilitates the student/s use of the word processor and blogging
procedures to post the response to Rap point 1 once the teacher has
approved the final text.

Kindergarten, Year 1 & Year 2 rappers post the response to Rap point 1.

Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 & Year 6 rappers post the response to Rap point 1.
To help your students respond to the rap, click on the following links
Syllabus outcomes:
Early Stage 1
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Student Task 1 for Rap
point 1
Rap sheet 1
Rap sheet 2
Task 2 teaching and programming
ideas
Term 3, Week 5: week beginning 16 August, 2010
Download print version
Possible activities for Rap point 2
© 2010 School Libraries and Information Literacy Unit, Curriculum K–12 Directorate. NSW Department of Education and Training.
Read Fearless.
Teaching focus:

Focus strongly on the character of Fearless, as demonstrated by the text and
illustrations.

Note the author’s use of evaluative phrases (except Fearless wasn’t, had a
tiny nervous brain, had a huge heart) to influence the reader’s response to
the content of the text.

Revisit the text and note how Fearless responds to actions/events.

Early Stage 1 & Stage 1: Explain to the students that they are going to create
their own Fearless story.

Stage 2 & Stage 3: Explain to the students that they are going to create their
own Fearless trailer. These students can also create a Fearless story.
Activity 1 Look at the SMART Notebook story model

Open the SMART Notebook called Story model (in Story creation) to share
the story based on Fearless’s character. It’s called Diver makes a
splash.(RES1.5) (RS1.5)

Discuss how the story reflects the character traits, previously
discussed, about Fearless. Here is a synopsis:

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


Diver is happy. He’s enjoying a sail at the beach.
A fast ship tips Diver’s boat. He is trapped under his upturned
boat. How does he feel? (Dogs can dog paddle but they can’t
dive!)
Ollie the octopus and the colourful fish help Diver to the shore.
How does Diver feel?
What has Ollie found? Who does it belong to?
Diver confronts the parrot (rather like Fearless confronting the
burglar) because he is rude.
Birds Eye apologises. How will he make amends? Click on the
treasure box.
Do you think Diver and Birds Eye will become friends? Scroll
down and click the forward button to play the animation.
Activity 2 Create a digital story about Fearless
 Open the SMART Notebook called Character builder (in Story creation) and
complete the activities about the character of Diver and Birds Eye.
 Now create your own story. Open the My story builder library notebook. Here
are the instructions for using this resource. Use Character and place and
Props and other characters to create your digital story.
© 2010 School Libraries and Information Literacy Unit, Curriculum K–12 Directorate. NSW Department of Education and Training.


Jointly construct a digital story by choosing the main characters, place, other
characters and props. Rap sheet 3 may help students to plan for this activity.
Send your SMART Notebook story to the blog Gallery or to the Rap
coordinator for sharing with other rappers. Tell everyone how you feel about
your story.
Activity 3 Create a book trailer

Revisit the Fearless trailer created by Sarah Davis.

Discuss the features of this resource, e.g.
o
purpose/audience
o
format
o
number of slides (about 11)
o
music/ sound effects
o
techniques used, e.g. writing appears and vanishes, left to right
tracking, zoom in and out
o
length (1 min. 15 sec.)

Ask the students how they think Sarah Davis created this trailer. Did she
videorecord pages of the book and use the zooming function?

Jointly plan the creating a book trailer activity. Rap sheet 4 may help you
with the planning.

Discuss which digital tool you will use.
o
Watch Introducing Windows Movie Maker2
<www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/getstarted/possibi
lities.mspx>. Read about the required equipment.
o
Engage with Meeting PowerPoint: cool for school for a step-by-step
guide for using PowerPoint technology at
<www.actden.com/PP/unit1/1_main.htm>.
o
Check slideshow tools, eg Kizoa, Flickr, PhotoPeach for creating the
© 2010 School Libraries and Information Literacy Unit, Curriculum K–12 Directorate. NSW Department of Education and Training.
trailer.

Create your Fearless trailer and share it with rappers from other schools. If
using an online software tool, send its unique URL to the blog or send it to
the Rap coordinator for uploading to the Gallery. Tell everyone how you feel
about your trailer.

Check Technology tips and Resources for more information on using digital
software
Optional activities
1. If you do not have an IWB in your library or classroom, SMART Notebook v
10.6 can be downloaded to school computers at
https://detwww.det.nsw.edu.au/it/software/downloads/smartnotebook/index.
htm for free. The SMART Notebook activity can be accessed on your PC and
displayed on a screen for the class to share, and for joint construction of a
notebook story.
2. Students can paint each page of their Fearless story. Add text to each page.
Use a digital camera to photograph each page. Save the images as JPEGs in a
file. Upload the file to MixBook to create an e-book. See an example of an ebook created by Kindergarten.
3. Students can dramatise their Fearless story. Plan the story, choose a
narrator, organise the characters, add a few props and video the
dramatisation.
4. Stage 2 and Stage 3 students can develop a script for an interview using
Movie Maker. Students could interview the members of the ClaybourneWillments family to discover if they are still happy with their decision to get
Fearless. This higher-order thinking activity would synthesise earlier
discussions about character, how the author positions the reader, and how
readers make critical judgements about characters and events. Interviews
with the famous is a good example of Stage 6 students using Movie maker.
5. Invite parents and caregivers to be part of this online adventure. Some
students will have dogs as pets. Ask parents to help their children take digital
photographs of their dogs in a variety of scenarios at home, e.g. reacting to a
vacuum cleaner, a hair dryer, a broom, a game, etc. The images can be
uploaded to the school computer to create a digital story to share. Make sure
that the school community has the blog address so they can connect with the
students’ learning.
Posting to the rap blog
© 2010 School Libraries and Information Literacy Unit, Curriculum K–12 Directorate. NSW Department of Education and Training.

Prepare the group response to Rap point 2 with the class. Student/s (rap
representative) or teacher word process the response, edit and save.
Remember to sign off with your rap group’s name and school. (WES1.13)
(WS1.13) (WS2.13) (WS3.13)

Teacher facilitates the student/s use of the word processor and blogging
procedures to post the response to Rap point 2 once the teacher has
approved the final text.

Kindergarten, Year 1 & Year 2 rappers post the response to Rap point 2.

Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 & Year 6 rappers post the response to Rap point 2.
To help your students respond to the rap, click on the following links
Syllabus outcomes:
Early Stage 1
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Student Task 2
for Rap point 2
Rap sheet 3
Rap sheet 4
Wrap up task teaching and
programming ideas
Term 3, Week 6: week beginning 23 August, 2010
Download print version
Rap wrap up
This is the final week of the rap. Don’t worry if you haven’t finished your
digital stories and book trailers yet. These activities are meant to be
enjoyable learning opportunities. You still have until the end of the term
to send your digital stories and book trailers to the blog. Remember to
send a comment to the blog about how it is going!
Suggested sequence of teaching strategies
Activity 1
Discuss with students:

What have you enjoyed about participating in this book rap?
© 2010 School Libraries and Information Literacy Unit, Curriculum K–12 Directorate. NSW Department of Education and Training.

What new skills in reading texts and using technology have you
developed?

What was the highlight of this book rap for you?
Activity 2
Print a Rap reflection sheet for each group or student.

Complete the Rap reflection sheet.

Send your final group response to the Rap blog once the teacher
has approved the final message. Thank you for joining our book
rap.
Posting response to Rap wrap up
1. Prepare the group response to the Rap wrap up with the class.
2. Send your final group response to the Rap blog once the teacher has
approved the final message. Thank you for joining our book rap.

Kindergarten, Year 1 & Year 2 rappers post the response to Wrap up point.

Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 & Year 6 rappers post the response to Wrap up point.
Remember, those who read succeed!
Syllabus outcomes:
Early Stage 1
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Wrap up task
Teacher rap
evaluation sheet
Rap reflection sheet:
Early Stage 1
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Thank you for joining our rap.
© 2010 School Libraries and Information Literacy Unit, Curriculum K–12 Directorate. NSW Department of Education and Training.