When the power goes off, Big Cuz, Nanna, Little J and Old Dog go to the beach. They use bread to catch hermit crabs, which in turn are used to catch a ‘bluebone’ fish. Big Cuz learns how to fish, Nanna makes a fire to cook the fish, and Little J finds a large clam shell to take to school the next day.

Engage - Pose and respond to questions about familiar objects and events

Theme - BEACH

After viewing Little J & Big Cuz, Episode 4 ‘Right Under Your Nose’, discuss with students their experiences of going to the beach.

Using the ‘I See, I Think, I Wonder’ visual thinking strategy, have students view a selection of different beach images (located via Google Images) to identify various features of a beach environment. Ask the class to identify and list as many features as they can, and provide them with a simple outline/beach profile to label and draw where they can find the suggested features on the beach. What is a beach? Features could include sand, sea, shore, waves, shells, seaweed, racks, cliffs, dunes, palm trees, waves, sea creatures, rock pools, etc.

Poll students for the top ten answers for activities they do at the beach. Then, elect two teams of three to play a ‘Family Feud’ style game and reveal the top 10 answers from the class.

Divide the class into groups and have students list the birds, animals, fish, reptiles, insects, etc., that live at or near the beach.

Have students consider whether the beach always looks the same when they visit. Invite students to suggest reasons why the times of the day, and different weather conditions affect the look and feel of the beach. Students could pose and respond to questions about why the beach environment changes, how it changes, and what happens to the animal and bird inhabitants of the beach environment when the beach conditions change dramatically.

Access the Willy Weather website to check the tides, wind direction and strength, and UV strength at the nearest beach. (Optional comparison: examine the beach that is the furthest away, in Australia, from the school site/local area). Invite each student to share their data with the class. Discuss why these features (tides, wind direction and strength, and UV strength) are important to know before going to the beach. 

Invite students to read/view stories about the beach, such as:

• Graham, B.  (1990). Greetings from Sandy Beach.  Melbourne :  Lothian
• Harvey, R.  (2004). At the beach: postcards from Crabby Spit.  Crows Nest, NSW :  Allen & Unwin
• Harvey, R.  (2013). Everything we ever saw: from the beach to the bush and more!.  Sydney :  Allen & Unwin
• Honey, E. (1996). Not a nibble! St. Leonards, NSW, Australia: Allen & Unwin.
• Lester, A. (1992). Magic beach. Allen & Unwin, North Sydney
• Russell, Elaine.  (2004). The shack that dad built.  Surry Hills, NSW :  Little Hare Books
• Saxby, Claire. & Dawson, Janine.  (2015). Christmas at grandma's beach house.  Scoresby, Victoria :  The Five Mile Press Pty Ltde
• Whatley, B.  (1992). Looking for crabs.  Pymble, NSW :  Angus & Robertson
• Wild, M. & Tanner, J.  (1989). There’s a sea in my bedroom.  Camberwell, Victoria :  Puffin Books (kids reading - with English subtitles, animation (Scootle TLF ID R6776)

Have students write and/or illustrate a short story about their favourite visit to the beach and invite students to share their stories with the class.