Poetry and Landscape

Before Reading

Introduce students to the book:

• Meet 11-year-old Bindi. She’s not really into maths but LOVES art class and playing hockey. Her absolute FAVOURITE thing is adventuring outside with friends or her horse, Nell.

• A new year starts like normal—school, family, hockey, dancing. But this year hasn’t gone to plan! There’s a big art assignment, a drought, a broken wrist AND the biggest bushfires her town has ever seen!

• Bindi is a verse novel. Written ‘for those who plant trees’, Bindi explores climate, bushfires, and healing. Written from the point of view of 11-year-old, Bindi and her friends on Gundungurra Country.

• Have students conduct research online to gather information about Gundungurra country and the 2019/2020 bushfires.

• Read the first poem and introduce the verse novel structure: a novel-length narrative told through a series of poems.

During Reading

Analytical Activities

• Create a classroom display of collected lines from the book that demonstrate Bindi’s relationship to her country, and how she is impacted by the drought and fire. Sort the quotes into the three sections of the text: Seedlings, Cinders, Sprouts.

• Discuss the shape poems: ‘Horse Ride’ P51, and ‘Hockey’ P118-9.

• Why do you think Saunders has created these layouts?

• Evaluate the effectiveness of using text layout to represent these activities.

Creative Activities

• P23 ‘8.2’: Write a poem beginning with the line ‘My favourite part of each day…’

• P51 ‘Horse Ride’ + 118-19 ‘Hockey’: Have a go at creating a shape poem based on your favourite sport, or an activity like meandering through the bushland.

After Reading

Analytical Activities

• In groups, create an interpretation of the garrall/ manatj/black cockatoo as a symbol. Write a paragraph expressing this interpretation and supporting with evidence.

• Write a paragraph or short essay on the question: How is Bindi’s character connected to country? Use evidence collected during reading to support your argument.

Example:

Bindi’s country is very important to her, and she spends time caring for it. For example, in Chapter 8.2 she waters the she-oaks to make sure the garrall (black cockatoos) have food, then dances for them. She narrates, ‘On the weekend we tangara (dance) for our budjan (bird) and I feel strong.’ This shows that caring for her environment makes her feel good.

Creative Activities

• Discuss the significance of the four murals in the book. How do the charcoal illustrations connect with the meaning/s of the poems? Using these as inspiration, combine text with images (digital, photographic, or illustration) to depict four stages or messages related to environment, for example, in the text, the four murals represent Drought, Fire, Emergency, Regrowth. Students could mirror this, or create their own four stages, such as Ballardong Boodja, Colonisation, Agricultural Development, Regeneration. Extension Create poems to accompany each mural or incorporate text into the designs.

Extension

Create poems to accompany each mural or incorporate text into the designs.