Educational Resources

Coolstop

Are you into sport? Into scooting down hills on a mountain bike or conquering the soccer field? Then get into some cool action here at Coolstop. Six wild stories with games, puzzles and great graphics take you through the thrills and spills of an active lifestyle. Teacher/ parent section as well.

Winner Society of Woman Writers of NSW Inc. Children’s, 2005
Shortlisted for the ATOM (Australian Teachers of Media) Awards 2005.

Wonderstop

You can take the journey with Bodge and Widge, the Wandering Wombats. You can help ward off the evil Boom and Jag who want to steal their magic computer, Lumino, and help them to arrive safe and sound at the Land of Most. The only thing is, you have to get through 8 stops, picking up important environmental messages about things like recycling or threatened species or water conservation. You have to play games and answer a quiz to be able to go on. Teacher/parent section as well.

Winner of the Energy Australia National Trust Award- Education, 2006.
Shortlisted in the ATOM Awards, 2006.

On Course!: Today's English for Young Writers, Parts 3,4,5 and 6

These four graded texts make up a stimulating reading, writing, talking and listening program. Sources of inspiration, character formation, grammar, sentence building and the use of dialogue are among just some of the imaginative activities which introduce students to a range of literary forms.
Publisher - Macmillan

Help for Young Writers

Help for Young Writers does just what it says. From letters to a limerick, from a book review to a biography, this book is arranged in alphabetical order and is designed to help students understand the nuts and bolts of writing. Antonyms and anagrams, colons and commas and their usage, in fact over 90 entries make up this handy, easy-to-read reference book.
Publisher - Nelson

The Libby Hathorn Video (Insight Profile)

Insight Profile takes Libby back to her childhood where she tells how books were cherished in her family. Schooldays and high school days are discussed with visits to the actual schools she attended. Her early days of teaching are shown in a classroom where she reads poems to kids, and a favourite bookshop is visited. In her study, Libby discusses her writing whilst later the camera takes us to the farm whereThunderwithwas written, the beach that inspiredThe Tram to Bondi Beachand the city streets that were the backdrop for books likeFeral KidandWay Home.
Publisher - Macmillan

The Libby Hathorn Video and The Writing Process (Video Australasia)

Both these videos give insight into the way in which a writer chooses to work. Like TheLibby Hathorn Video, this video gives insight into the way in which a writer chooses to work. It discusses her inspiration for poetry and stories, writing habits, character formation, the importance of setting and mood. And it does this by presenting favourite books and characters Libby has created.
Publisher - Video Education, Australia

Weirdstop (online) Preview it

This is a place where you can jump right off into stories of an unusual kind. They are both weird and wonderful. That's not all you can do at Weirdstop! There are really cool games attached to each story which increase in difficulty as you go. If you get through to the end of the story and then try Thinksmart, you can win a Weirdstop certificate. There's a section for teachers and parents as well.
Publisher - Hathorn Enterprises Pty Ltd, 2003

The Wishing Cupboard (online) View it

This online story is begun with the opening of a gorgeous Vietnamese cupboard with its tantalizing drawers and doors. Tan's grandmother shows him the cupboard and explains that in each drawer is an object and a wish. Each object takes the user to a Vietnamese folktale but then back to young Tan. He is longing for his Mum to come back with his cousin from Vietnam but is distracted by the delights of the wishing cupboard. The last space is empty and his grandmother tells him to make a wish. In fact he makes more than one wish. The user must play a game to find out whether Tan's wishes come true.
Publisher - Hathorn Enterprises Pty Ltd, 1997