Activities
Responding to text
Occupation profile
Class
Instead of creating a character profile
on John Nicol, complete an Occupation Profile – because we learn more
about what he did than what type of person he was. He was a 'cooper', someone
who made barrels, and this job led him to a range of different places,
especially on ships, to work. Include these in your Occupation Profile.
Story map
Small groups
John Nicol spent most of his life trying to get back to his wife and son. Show his travels on a Story Map.
How would a fictional story be different? Explain this by selecting another adventure story and compare the two stories on a PMI Chart. Which type of story has more exciting events? Each group should dramatise an event from The True Adventures of John Nicol and present it to the class.
Critical literacy
Beyond the classroom
Survey the class and community (especially other family members) to see what kinds of readers enjoy this book.
The book is quick to read. The class decides on criteria to use, such as gender, age and types of books usually enjoyed. Graph the results of the survey. Why do you think some types of readers did or didn't enjoy the book? For those who didn't enjoy it, why not?
Class
How could this book be improved? Use a Sunshine Wheel as a brainstorming tool.
Individuals
What information has the illustrator/editor given us that we didn't already know about? What other information would we have enjoyed reading about and seeing? Why? Show your
answers as a KWL Chart.
Other books and literature
Small groups
Two novels are mentioned in The True Adventures of John Nicol – Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe. Discover who wrote these novels. Read about these stories
from simplified versions or picture books. How do you think these books
influenced John Nicol?
Neptune is
mentioned on p 39. Find out about the god Neptune from Roman mythology. What is his name in Greek mythology? In your group, make a model of the god Neptune.
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Responding to images
History in images
Small groups
What period of time in history is shown by the illustrations in this book? Include examples of transport, occupations, clothes and other things. Show your discoveries as a concept map.
Labels
Class
The diagram of the HMS Goliath at the start of the book is particularly helpful because it is labelled. Draw a large-scale diagram of this ship (or another ship) in the classroom. Write the
labels on cardboard (or canvas – in keeping with the shipping theme), and attach these to the correct places.
Small groups
John Nicol was on a whaling ship. Part of a whale is pictured on p 25. Draw a whale and label its parts. You will need to do some research first.
How a cooper makes a barrel
Small groups
Illustrations are used to help explain how a cooper makes a barrel (see pp 84–85). Explain how something else is made, such as a model ship or a kite. Write a procedure, including a list of the materials that are needed. Illustrate the steps.
OR
Write a procedure for making something, then actually make the item and take digital photos to show the steps involved. Display these in your classroom, assembly hall or hallway.
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Research skills
Colonisation of Australia
Beyond the classroom
Read the part in The True Adventures
of John Nicol in which he and Sarah (the convict) sail to Port Jackson.
Find more information about convicts' voyages to Australia, their supplies and
settlement in NSW at Port Jackson. Compile this information as a retrieval
chart.
Collect information and reflections from family and community members about immigration to Australia. First customise the Information Gathering Table to include columns for all the information you will collect. This could include family name, immigrant's
name, date of immigration and transport, among other things. A family tree
could also be included.
Places and maps
Class
John Nicol's voyages took him to many places around the world. Many of these are shown in the maps. Construct an electronic database that lists the countries and cities that John Nicol passed by or stopped at.
Individuals
>Research one place each and add your information to the database. Make sure that you use reliable sources to find your information, such as books by well-known publishers and internet sites
recommended by your teacher.
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Language of history
John Nicol's words
'In The True Adventures of John Nicol [John
Nicol] tells his unforgettable story in his own words.' (back cover)
Class
Draw a large picture of John Nicol and
pin it on the wall.
Individuals
Find words and phrases in the book that
you think John Nicol would actually have said, such as 'I was once more my own
master' (p 77) or 'a sailor like the rest' (p 10). Write these on paper
inside large speech bubbles (or on balloons that are only blown up a little)
and attach them to the picture of John Nicol on the wall as if they are coming
out of his mouth. Remember the words of the illustrator/editor from 'A Note
from the Illustrator' at the start: 'I have edited, condensed and
illustrated John's words to bring this marvellous story to a new and younger
audience.'
Tim Flannery, 2007 Australian of the
Year, has edited The Life and Adventures of John Nicol, Mariner for
adults. If you are interested, you can read an excerpt by entering the keywords
'Tim Flannery John Nicol' into a search engine and following links to his book.
This secondary source may give you more of an idea of John Nicol's
language, but we can't be absolutely certain unless we read the primary source – John Nicol's own memoir.
Glossary
Class
Read the glossary at the end of the book.
What is the purpose of a glossary?
Individuals
List ten words from the glossary that are
not in common usage today. Select three words from your list and explain why
they are not used today.
Small groups
List five words that are still used in a
similar way today. Make up skits about some of them to show their meaning.
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Making connections
Trading and money
Small groups
In The True Adventures of John Nicol,
what items were traded? What items have also been traded:
- in the past;
- in different countries;
- by different groups of people?
Show what you discover as a pictograph.
What type of money is used in John Nicol's time?
Beyond the classroom
Different money is used in different times
and in different countries. Bring in some different samples of money to show
the rest of the class. Coins and notes could be sourced from families,
holidays, private collections and, possibly, banks (especially if ordered in
advance). Don't bring in anything valuable unless it can be kept safe by
adults.
Individuals
>Make some samples of these coins using
modelling clay. Display and label. Fast workers could make extra coins and
design a board game based on buying, selling and trading.
Villains and rogues
Small groups
Some of the characters in the book were
rogues and 'troublesome characters' (pp 36–37). Find several of these
characters and make moveable figures using paper binders (clips that allow
rotation) on the joints. Create a rogues' gallery of them all.
Class
Categorise these as character 'types' in
the present, such as bullies and kidnappers.
Animal protection
Individuals
Find examples from the book where animals
were treated badly. In modern times many countries have laws to protect animals.
Research some of these and compile them in a comparison table. Then
contrast how the animals in the book would be treated today (in countries with
animal protection and conservation laws).
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