Greenling
Why choose this book?
Levi Pinfold’s stylised realistic and detailed paintings provide lots of opportunities for discussion. Set in Australia in the mid-twentieth century, the atmosphere evokes the frontier stories of the American midwest. Like David Grant’s iconic painting, American Gothic, Pinfold’s characters, a farmer and his wife, (the Barleycorns) are depicted against the backdrop of their outback farmhouse, inviting connections with Grant’s painting and the many meanings that have been attributed to it.
Text potential
This diagram gives an overview of the potential for teaching offered in this text. If you teach the entire sequence, you will cover these aspects. We advise teachers to produce their own text potential diagrams as this helps them to get to know the books well. Our Getting Started with Take One Book course for new schools has a module about Text Potential.
Curriculum connections
- Science
- living things and their habitats
Greenling:Half class set
Buy from Best Books for SchoolsGreenling:Class set
Buy from Best Books for SchoolsLessons for this book
Our lessons are organised as meaningful chunks of learning. Most of them will fit a standard 45 minute to 60 minute session. However, some of them are shorter and others will run for a series of linked sessions. It is anticipated that you will not teach all the lessons. Select those that suit the needs of your class and add them to your personalised plans.
Download the full scheme of work
Before Reading
Orientation
Where on Earth?
Establishing the context and setting for the story.
During Reading
First Encounters
Stranger Becomings
Reading and discussing first responses to text and image.
Required reading: Pages 1-18
‘We’ve been living in his all along!’
Using text marking to support close reading.
Required reading: Pages 19-21
‘What will be growing on Barleycorn land?’
Interrogating the text and asking questions.
Required reading: Whole book
Digging Deeper
The Barleycorns – differing viewpoints
Using role-play to explore the point of view of different characters.
Required reading: Whole book
Positive and Negative Language
Investigating positive and negative descriptions of Greenling and relating this to the wider world context.
Required reading: Whole book
Wild – Semantic Mapping
Developing depth of understanding of a high concept word.
Required reading: Whole book
The Language of Bees
Identifying references to bees and considering the word choice and effect.
Required reading: Pages 15-27
After Reading
Review and Reflect
Do We Need Technology?
Probing one of the key themes and posing a text to world question.
Required reading: Whole book
Writing Opportunities
Save Australia’s Wildlife: Fact Files
Creating a class book about Australian wildlife.
Greenling’s Arrival
Writing from a point of view.
Writing an Argument: Should we Reduce Our Use of Technology?
Writing a formal argument.
Wider Learning Opportunities
John Barleycorn – solve the mystery
Reading the lyrics of the Song John Barleycorn and using ‘detective skills to work out the meaning of the song.
Supplementary Books
These books are recommended for wider reading and further research to support this teaching sequence. A supplementary pack is available from our bookselling partner, Best Books for Schools. Books can also be purchased individually.