Product Overview
After reading the iconic book by Alison Lester, nine children and a dog find themselves on the titular Magic Beach. They explore caves, build giant sandcastles, poke around rock pools and converse with sea creatures. This is where their animated imaginations begin … James dives with horses in the waves, castles are built and destroyed in terrible wars, pirates smuggle treasure and Dreamtime serpents fly through the sky and shed their scales. The dreams of these children are limitless and reflect the uninhibited nature of being a child at the beach. The children awake from their animated imaginations to find themselves back in real life, but the beach will be in their heart forever.
Curriculum Links:
The curriculum-based activities in this study guide are aimed at students in Years 2–3, but can also be adapted for students in Years 1–5. Teaching of Magic Beach would be relevant to students in the learning areas of:
- The Arts (Media Arts, Visual Arts, Music, Drama)
- English (Literature)
- Science (Biological Sciences)
- HASS (History)
- Health and Physical Education (Personal, Social and Community Health)
It can also be linked to the General Capabilities of:
- Critical and Creative Thinking
- Personal and Social Capability
In addition to the Cross-cultural Priorities of:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures
- Sustainability
Key topics/themes explored:
- Responding to and creating various forms of animation
- Visual arts in animation
- Music as support to animation and live action
- Drama, humour and imagination
- Storytelling and sharing stories in various forms
- First Nations’ cultural and spiritual connections to the beach
- Pirates and treasure
- Sandcastles and seashells
- Sea creatures and other animals on the beach
- Sustainability and care for beaches
- Conflict resolution and friendship in children
- Building, inventing and creating on the beach
- Sensory exploration of beaches
- Significance of special places for individuals, groups and families
