The books on this page are some of our favourite books. They can be used to support classroom teaching and learning, learning after an excursion or incursion and learning from home.
Books and activities
A Walk in the Bush
Iggy and grandad love their bushwalks. They listen and watch for birds and trace the trails on scribbly gums. They rest in ferny gullies and photograph scenic views.
- Listen and look for visiting birds. Use the Backyard birds of New South Wales to identify them.
- Take photos of the colours and textures of leaves, flowers and bark. Arrange them using PicCollage.
- Crush and sniff fallen leaves. Collect some to take home for crayon rubbings.
The Curious Garden
Liam is a curious boy who nurtures plants along a disused railway track. He and his neighbours tansform their city into a place of plants, green spaces and beauty.
- Plant micro greens into small pots and harvest within a week or so for a tasty and fresh food treat.
- Sprout garlic cloves in jars, or try carrot tops, onions, bean and wheat seeds.
- Strike cuttings of rosemary and perennial basil in glass jars. Plant them out after roots form.
Big Rain Coming
In Australia’s Top End Old Stephen and the children wait for rain. Whilst he studies the clouds and signs for rain the days get hotter and hotter. And finally it arrives and everyone celebrates.
- Record the weather over a week in a weather diary. Use symbols to describe the weather three times a day.
- Record a storm soundscape using kitchen objects and body percussion – water splashing, wind, thunder, rain.
- Learn local Aboriginal language for weather terms. In Darug Country storm time is marked by yuruka -hot, walan - rain and manga manga - lightning.
Millie Loves Ants
Explore the world of ants with Millie the echidna as she trundles through gardens and bush paths sniffing out ants. Peek into the underground world of queen ants, hunter ants and soldier ants and meet a puggle, a baby echidna.
- Conduct an ant survey in your school, house or garden. How many can you count in each location in 30 seconds?
- Make an ant using modelling clay or scrunched and twisted paper. Give it three body parts. Use sticks or pipe cleaners for legs and attach them to the middle body part.
- Make an echidna using clay and twigs or a lemon and toothpicks. Use iStopMotion to create an animation of Millie looking for ants.
Cooee Mittigar
Warami mittigar - hello friend. Walk on Darug Country and learn the Darug language names for plants, animals, weather and seasonal changes. Look out for reptiles basking in the bunnal - sun - and the calls of garad - black cockatoos.
- Use a five senses chart to describe a local natural place. Use local Aboriginal language to name the features.
- On what Aboriginal Country do you live and work? Locate the Darug nation and your local Country on the AIATSIS Aboriginal nations map.
- How are your local seasons described by your local Aboriginal clan? Create a visual timeline to sequence your local seasons and their features.
Why I Love Australia
The features and colours of Australia's diverse landscapes are represented through colourful shapes and patterns - ‘jewelled necklace’ of city lights, ‘crusted salt pans’ and pounding waves.
- Print a screenshot of a closeup satellite image of your street. Use felt markers to draw over the main outlines. Draw repeating patterns for tiles, trees and other textures.
- Explore landscapes of Australia using StreetView on Google Maps. Virtually visit Uluru, a beach, desert, snowy mountains, a town.
- Download a photograph of a scenic place and use Typorama to create a poster for it.
Little Bird's Day
Journey through a day in nature with Little Bird. Sing ‘the world alive’ at dawn, feast on gum blossoms, fly with the wind, be refreshed by the rain and shelter at dusk.
- Sit still outside and listen for birds. Use a sound map to record their calls. Put a cross in the middle of a page as you and use symbols to record the sounds around.
- What is your favourite place and favourite time of day? Why? Draw a picture of yourself in your favourite place.
- Experiment with spatter painting on black or coloured paper. Use leaves or cut out bird shapes then spatter over.
Stick Man
Stick Man is carried off by a dog playing fetch, is dropped into a river and used in a swan's nest. Desperate to be home, he ends up in a fireplace on Christmas Eve. Thankfully his luck turns and he is home for Christmas.
- Make a stick person and some stick children. Compose a narrative and map it out on a storyboard. Create an animation or narrated slides of your story.
- What else can you make using sticks? Try making a tower of sticks, a mini-shelter, a floatable raft, a birds nest. Add leaf wings and use wool or string to wrap the stick to make a dragonfly or phasmid.
- How is timber used around your house or school? Use a concept map to list its uses.
Sam's Bush Journey
A special place to Nanna, Sam's Nanna teaches him what the bush can provide and the signs to know that they are there. Sam discovers he can find himself food, shelter and water and the bush becomes a special place to Sam too.
- Create a heart map to list your feelings about a special place you visit with a family member or close friend. What makes it special? Why do you like going there?
- Use a Y-chart to describe a special place. What does it look like? What does it sound like? What does it feel like?
- Walk through your local bush or natural area. Use a nature journal to sketch and note what's around you. Learn about local plants and animals from local Aboriginal Peoples.
Here Comes Stinkbug
Stinkbug's biggest talent is to make rally nasty smells. This upsets Stinkbug's bug friends. When he is confronted by a nasty surprise Stinkbug's big stink saves the day.
- Research and write a fact sheet on stinkbug adaptations. Include information on the stinkbug's proboscos and ability to emit an odour. Use the Field of Mars EEC fact sheets as a guide.
- Draw a cartoon of a stinkbug stinking out a spider predator. Add speech bubbles for the bug and spider's thoughts and words.
- Look closely for bugs in the leaves and stems of plants. There may be a stinkbug on your lemon tree. Draw and identify them using the Bugwise invertebrate guide.
Searching for Cicadas
Camping in the local reserve with grandpa and searching for cicadas is a special time each summer. The time is spent looking for Green Grocers, Floury Bakers and Yellow Mondays. But the most prized is the elusive Black Prince.
- Search the trunks of trees for cicada shells. Notice the split in the back of the shell. Look for holes in the ground at the base of the tree trunk.
- Draw and label the life cycle of a cicada. Did you know the cicada shell was the nymph stage?
- Use fallen leaves on the ground to make pictures of the different types and colours of cicadas. Photograph and label them.
Cocoon
Caterpillar Dawn can't wait to grow wings and fly. She weaves a cocoon and fills it with her favourite things but it takes a really long time. Finally she emerges with a new set of wings!
- Look for leaves on the ground with some of their edges missing, munched by caterpillars. Look for chewed leaves on plants. But don't touch caterpillars as they can sting!
- Trace or draw a leaf with a part chewed away. Colour it so it looks exactly the same. Try watercolour pencils.
- Draw and label the life cycle of a silkworm or monarch butterfly. How long does it spend in its cocoon? What happens inside the cocoon?
Sparrow Girl
War is declared on sparrows but young Ming-Li worries for them and other birds. She secretly rescues seven sparrows and after a calamitous locust infestation is rewarded for her wisdom.
- Use systems thinking and construct a cause and effect diagram to represent the impact of upsetting the balance in an ecosystem - bitou bush, cane toads.
- Plant or improve a habitat for local birds - flowering shrubs for nectar feeders, native grasses for seed eaters.
- Learn about sustainable farming practices in Australia such as regenerative agriculture. Record them on a concept map.
Where the Forest Meets the Sea
In a tropical rainforest in North Queensland a boy explores the dense forest. He looks and listens and wonders about its history, Traditional Custodians and future threats.
- Locate the Daintree Rainforest Visitor Centre on Google Maps and use Street View for a 360 view. What are its features? How does it compare to your local area?
- Visit a rainforest or use the 360 view of the Daintree Rainforest and use see-think-wonder or a five senses chart to record your observations.
- Is there a local natural area threatened by development? Create a one minute documentary that explores both sides of the issue.
Using quality literature in HSIE K-10
The guides to using picture books match books to stages, outcomes, concepts and LAC priorities. Included are ready-to-go snaphots of learning activities. Books can be borrowed from the Equity Resource Library.
Catalogue
Black Anzacs
There is an increasing recognition of the contributions of Aboriginal servicemen and women to their country during the First World War and other conflicts in which Australia has been involved. This digital book follows the story of one particular serviceman William Williams.
Containing a range of beautiful images and interactive activities this book is designed by teachers to support the NSW History K-10 syllabus.
Built Environments
This digital book focuses on built environments, sustainability and design.
How do built environments meet the needs of people? What factors influence architectural design? Can sustainable building be achieved? These questions and more are explored in this digital book through beautiful imagery, detailed text and interactive activities.
The book has been built to support the NSW Science and Technology K-6 syllabus.
Energy
This digital book explores renewable and non-renewable energy sources.
Discover where fossil fuels come from, learn how we harness water, sunlight and other renewable energy sources. Investigate how we can reduce our energy use through simple behaviour change or by making informed choices about the products we use.
This digital book is designed by teachers to support the NSW Science and Technology K-6 syllabus. It contains detailed text, interactive games and beautiful images.
Eucalypt Forest
This exciting digital book explores the beautiful natural environment of the Australian eucalyptus forest.
Learn about the interactions between plants and animals in the forest and how people can interact with and care for these special natural areas.
Containing a suite of interactive activities, videos and beautiful images, this book will encourage you to go out and explore your local eucalypt forest.
This book is designed by teachers to support the NSW Geography K-10 syllabus and Science and Technology K-6 syllabus.
Fieldwork K-6
This digital book has been designed from the ground up to support teachers and their students in conducting meaningful geography fieldwork in natural environments.
In primary years fieldwork should be fun, sensory and creative. Each chapter provides an overview of a fieldwork technique and includes an image gallery, procedural descriptions, equipment lists and a video breakdown. This book is designed to support the NSW Geography K-10 syllabus.
Habitat
Habitat is a special digital book that investigates the needs of living things through detailed text, interactive activities, videos and stunning images.
Explore the value of habitats such as trees, shrubs and ground cover plants and non-living habitats such as leaf litter, rocks, logs and water.
Find out how to create and restore habitats that will help animals survive and thrive.
This book supports NSW Science and Technology K-6 syllabus, NSW Geography K-10 syllabus and the Australian Curriculum biological sciences.
Invertebrate Explorer
This digital book explores the incredible world of Australian invertebrates.
Students can use the book to investigate classification, features, adaptations and habitats of a variety of Australian invertebrates through narrated videos, stunning images, interactive activities and detailed text.
This book was designed by teachers to support the NSW Science and Technology K-6 syllabus and NSW English K-10 syllabus.
Content supports living world, Australian animals and class studies on invertebrates.
Learning Outside with iPad
This book provides an overview of the multitude of ways educators can use iPads outside the classroom to enhance authentic learning.
Each chapter has been created by teachers and will provide lesson ideas, resources, recommended apps and potential workflows that support the meaningful use of technology in natural and schoolyard settings.
Learning Outside with iPad is the first volume in a series of books that will explore how technology can be used by students to investigate the world around them and connect with nature.
Mobile Connections
Join the war on waste and explore mobile phone and e-waste recycling. This book explores the life cycle of our mobile phones and how we can take action to ensure we dispose of old phones in a sustainable way.
Containing a suite of interactive activities, videos and beautiful images, this book will help schools and students conduct a Mobile Muster.
This interactive book is designed by teachers to support the NSW Geography K-10 syllabus and the Australian Curriculum.
Mobile Connections is part of a comprehensive teaching and learning program for primary and secondary schools. A simplified ePub version of this book is also available on the Mobile Muster website.
The Needs of Living Things - Animals
This amazing digital book is specifically designed for a younger audience.
Children will learn the things animals need to stay alive through engaging text, stunning images, fun animations and interactives.
Explore and play in this delightful book. Listen to the text read aloud and play videos watching animals feeding, drinking and taking shelter. Spot the animals hiding on the pages. Play quizzes and activities to extend and test your learning.
This book is designed by teachers to support the NSW Science and Technology K-6 syllabus.
Phasmids
Discover the amazing world of phasmids.
This digital book explores the incredible features, adaptations and life cycles of Australian stick and leaf insects.
Learn about phasmids through detailed text, interactive activities, videos and stunning images.
This book supports Australian Curriculum biological sciences, living world and class studies on invertebrates.
Ringtail Possum
This book focuses on an amazing Australian animal, the ringtail possum.
Like many Australian animals ringtail possums have fascinating lives. Find out about their diet, adaptations and how to create a habitat for them. Learn about ringtail possums through detailed text, interactive activities, videos and stunning images.
This book supports teh NSW Science and Technology K-6 syllabus and the Australian Curriculum biological sciences.
Traditional Wiradjuri Culture
This digital book explores the culture and traditions of the Wiradjuri Peoples. The book includes chapters on shelters, bush resources, tools, weapons and traditional art.
Learn about Wiradjuri culture through detailed text, interactive activities, videos and beautiful images.
This book supports Australian Curriculum English, Geography and History.
Traditional Wiradjuri Culture was created by Field of Mars EEC for Riverina EEC using content provided by Riverina EEC.
Trash Talk
Trash talk is a digital book that will help you explore the world of waste. Find out about ways to reduce waste, reuse products and to recycle through detailed text, interactive activities, videos and images.
Trash Talk will help you become a better global citizen.
Wetlands
This digital book has been developed by Central Coast Council to raise awareness of Australia’s amazing wetlands and to encourage positive behaviours to care for them. This book contains beautiful photography, videos and interactive activities.
Wetlands Early Childhood Edition
This digital book has been developed by Central Coast Council to raise awareness of Australia’s amazing wetlands and to encourage positive behaviours to care for them. This book has narrated text, contains beautiful photography, videos and interactive activities.