A Mini Library from Geelong to Malaysia – Grovedale West PS
A school with a strong focus on Literacy and Numeracy, Grovedale West PS wanted to allow teachers more creativity and students more learning opportunities. Using a High Impact Teaching Strategy, Grades 1 & 2 teachers designed an authentic and rich project around one student’s dream of building a mini-library for the Malaysian community he was returning to, after beginning his education at Grovedale West PS. The teachers designed learning experiences for their students, helping them collect books, write persuasive letters to publishers, design and write their own stories, and organise fundraisers to pay for shipping over 600 books to Kuala Lumpur. Parents were involved, responding to comments and provocations on the class blog, while students communicated and persuaded different audiences to contribute. A mini-library has now been set up in Kuala Lumpur. There are negotiations underway with Malaysian education authorities to create a mobile library that can take the books out to suburban children. Grovedale West students are able to articulate how their actions have made a difference to their lives and the lives of others.
“I felt I had made a difference…” – Student