The Anzac Button School Journal

Level 2, February 2012

by Judy Raymond Year 4

Overview
This is the story of a button that was sewn onto the jacket of a Although the story is straightforward,
First World War soldier. After the war, the soldier returns to New readers need to infer meaning about
Zealand and wears the jacket to annual Anzac Day parades. Many many details. The text provides an
years later, Ella, the soldier’s great-granddaughter, discovers the excellent opportunity to study the use
jacket. She sews the button onto a ribbon and proudly wears it of personification. It also develops the theme of remembrance.
to another Anzac Day parade. The story ends with a factual note Be aware of possible sensitivities around this subject,
about the meaning of Anzac Day. especially for those students who may have personal
experience of war.
Texts related by theme “Poem for Anzac Day” SJ L2 Feb 2012 | “Anzac Biscuits” SJ 2.3.07 |
“The Long, Long Night” SJ 2.1.04

Text characteristics from the year 4 reading standard

some abstract ideas that are clearly some words and phrases that are some compound and
supported by concrete examples in the ambiguous or unfamiliar to the complex sentences,
text or easily linked to the students’ students, the meaning of which is which may consist of
prior knowledge supported by the context or clarified by two or three clauses
photographs, illustrations, diagrams,
and/or written explanations

figurative language, such as

metaphors, similes, or personification

Reading standard: by the end of year 4

Accessed from www.schooljournal.tki.org.nz Teacher support material for “The ANZAC BUTTON”, School Journal, Level 2, February 2012 1
Copyright © New Zealand Ministry of Education 2012
Possible curriculum contexts
Possible reading purposes
Social sciences See Instructional
• To identify how specific items become treasured in families
Level 2 – Social studies: Understand how cultural focus – Reading for
• To follow the journey of a button through generations of a
practices reflect and express people’s customs, illustrations of some of
family
traditions, and values. these reading purposes.
• To make connections between present-day Anzac Day parades
English (Reading) and the past events they commemorate
Level 2 – Ideas: Show some understanding of • To reflect on themes of remembrance and continuity in our lives. See Instructional
ideas within, across, and beyond texts. Possible writing purposes focus – Writing for
• To recount a story about a family member or other important illustrations of some of
English (Writing) person these writing purposes.
Level 2 – Ideas: Select, form, and express ideas
• To tell the story behind an item that has been in a family for a
on a range of topics.
long time.

The New Zealand Curriculum

Text and language challenges

Vocabulary: Possible supporting strategies

• Possible unfamiliar words and concepts, including “khaki”, “pride”, “dodged”, Use the illustrations on pages 2 and 3 to support discussion about soldiers
“battlefield”, “trench”, “mildew”, “pre-dawn”, “wail”, “bugle”, “hanger”, and their uniforms. Introduce the word “khaki” and talk about the items of a
“chest”, “regiment”, “rummaged”, “snipped”, “gleamed”, “pride of place” soldier’s uniform, such as boots and brass buttons.
• Words used with unfamiliar meanings, including “reflected”, “shell”, Prepare a vocabulary list of key words in this text. For each word, write a
“glanced”, “polish”. simple definition and an example sentence. Have the students use this list in
conjunction with pre-reading tasks that focus on building prior knowledge.
Cut up the words, definitions, and example sentences, and ask students who
have some knowledge of the vocabulary to match them.
Offer the students guidance on which words are most important for them
to learn (and which are low frequency and not such a priority). The English
Language Learning Progressions: Introduction, pages 39–46, has useful
information about learning vocabulary.

Specific knowledge required: Possible supporting strategies

• Knowledge of Anzac Day, including the relevance of the date, what it Check for prior knowledge of the reasons we commemorate Anzac Day. Provide
commemorates, the dawn parade, and the use of a bugle and drum extra information, where needed, to help students understand the significance
of references in the story. Refer to the note on page 7 of the Journal. Before
• Experience of handling brass buttons and of using polish to clean metal
reading the text, it may be useful to show photos or video clips of Anzac Day
items
parades.
• Understanding of the passing of time, shown by successive generations in a
Ensure that students who have a first language other than English have
family and by the decay of the jacket
opportunities to explore the topic in this language. Have the students work
• Knowledge of war, specifically trench warfare during the First World War in pairs or small groups to create word maps using words or phrases that
• Knowledge of the ways communities commemorate people and events. describe what they see, for example, people, clothes, and actions. Encourage
the students to make links to and share what they know about other
commemorations, including those from other countries or cultures.

Text features and structure: Possible supporting strategies

• The use of personification on pages 2 and 3, where the button and the jacket are Discuss the use of personification in this story. For example, on page 2, the jacket
referred to as if they are characters in the story “rubbed shoulders with coats and shirts”.
• The straightforward narrative structure, in which a button creates the link through As the students start reading, guide them to use the illustrations to identify the
the different time periods of the story setting. Help them to identify the button and jacket, as well as the unnamed
• Multiple time frames and the associated range of verb forms, for example, “had soldier who wore them, as “characters” in the story.
been”, “was sewn”, “shone”, “was changing”, “look”, “hadn’t been”, “wouldn’t
be”, “would have liked” Encourage students who need support with identifying and understanding the
time frames within the text to use a graphic organiser to record the times and
• Time markers, including “A long time ago”, “Then”, “One April morning”, “Once main events during reading. Use this information to create a timeline that tracks
again”, “The years passed slowly”, “April came and went”, “One day”
the key events in the story.
• Implied meanings, for example, the rituals of Anzac Day parades, the death of the
Discuss with the students how each time period is identified in the text.
old soldier, the red ribbon to display the buttons
• The change in tone and the use of dialogue when the story reaches the
present day
• The way the last line refers to the start of the story to emphasise the themes of
remembrance and continuity
• The additional note on page 7, which provides brief information about Anzac Day.
Sounds and Words
Accessed from www.schooljournal.tki.org.nz Teacher support material for “The ANZAC BUTTON”, School Journal, Level 2, February 2012 2
Copyright © New Zealand Ministry of Education 2012
Instructional focus – Reading
Social Sciences (Level 2 – Social studies: Understand how cultural practices reflect and express people’s customs, traditions, and values.)
English (Level 2 – Ideas: Show some understanding of ideas within, across, and beyond texts.)
Text excerpts from Students Teacher
“The Anzac Button” (what they might do) (possible deliberate acts of teaching)

ask questions to help the students make connections within and beyond the
The button dodged bullets on the The students use information from
text and to use these to make inferences.
battlefield. Buried face-down in a the text, the illustrations, and their
muddy trench, it felt the soldier’s own prior knowledge to infer the • What connections can you make with things you have read about or seen on
heartbeat and sensed his fear. setting and what is happening. TV or in movies, about uniforms and wars? How can the illustrations help
you?
They locate the use of personification
• What can you infer about the setting? What is happening here?
and evaluate its effectiveness in
conveying the key ideas in the story. ask questions to clarify the students’ understanding.

• What does “dodge” mean?

• How can a button dodge bullets?
Explain that the author is using a language feature, personification, to
One April morning each year, Students draw on their prior illustrate what is happening to the soldier.
the soldier took out his jacket. knowledge and make connections
Prompt discussion about the use of this language feature.
He brushed off the dust and with the text to infer that the April
mildew, polished the buttons, morning is Anzac Day and the soldier • I wonder what the author is trying to do here?
and marched silently with is going to a dawn parade. • Think, pair, and share about why the author has used personification in the
other soldiers in the pre-dawn story. Why do you think she did that? Do you think it is successful?
They visualise the actions of the
darkness.
soldier and the state of the jacket as ask questions to support the students to infer.
Once again, the button heard
the soldier prepares for the parade.
the wail of the bugle and the • What is the significance of the April morning? How does the illustration help
slow, sad beat of the drum. The students again notice the use of you work this out?
personification as the button takes on • What is the time setting now? How can you tell that?
the senses and feelings of the soldier.
• What connections can you make between your knowledge of Anzac Day and
They use the words “silently”, the events in the story? What does “pre-dawn” mean? What other words do
“darkness”, “wail”, and “slow, sad you know that start with “pre-”?
beat” to visualise the sombre mood of • What is the mood at the parade? Why do you think there is that mood? How
the occasion. has the author shown this?
Prompt the students to recall any prior knowledge about Anzac Day.

• Consider why the author decided Ella should find a bright red ribbon. What is
the significance of the colour?
Then Ella looked in her mother’s The students make connections
sewing drawer and found a between ideas within, across, • If you had medals or buttons from a relative who had been to war, how
length of bright red ribbon. and beyond the text to infer the would you feel about wearing them on Anzac Day? Discuss with a partner.
Carefully, she sewed the significance of the red ribbon, likening MODEL working out the meaning of “pride of place”.
buttons onto the ribbon, with it to the red Anzac Day poppies.
• I used my understanding of the concept of pride to work out that this button
the scratched and dented neck
Students use their vocabulary means a great deal to Ella – it saved her great-grandfather’s life. She has
button in pride of place in the
knowledge to work out the meaning already realised that if he had died in the war, she wouldn’t be here! So I
centre.
of “pride of place”. think “pride of place” means the best or most important place.
At last, the button would be on
parade again. ask questions to support the students’ understanding of the remembrance
The students locate and integrate
theme.
information and ideas in the last
sentence and at the start of the • Why is it important for the button to be on parade again?
story to understand the theme of • How has the author used the button to represent key ideas in this story?
remembrance and the idea that even
• What is the author implying about the people who have gone before us and
a small, seemingly insignificant item
about the importance of remembering them?
can have an important role.
Give feedback

• I could see you were wondering about how the button would figure in the
Metacognition story, but you kept reading and worked it out.
• What knowledge of your own helped you make connections with this • I noticed you were asking interesting questions about the war the soldier
text? fought in, and making connections with wars you had heard about. That’s
• Tell me about a place in the text where using what you already knew an important strategy to help you make inferences.
helped you to infer meaning.
• What strategies did you use when you weren’t sure what a word or
phrase meant? How effective were these strategies? Reading standard: by the end of year 4
The Literacy Learning Progressions
Assessment Resource Banks

Accessed from www.schooljournal.tki.org.nz Teacher support material for “The ANZAC BUTTON”, School Journal, Level 2, February 2012 3
Copyright © New Zealand Ministry of Education 2012
Instructional focus – Writing
Social Sciences (Level 2 – Social studies: Understand how cultural practices reflect and express people’s customs, traditions, and values.)
English (Level 2 – Ideas: Select, form, and express ideas on a range of topics.)
Text excerpts from Examples of text Teacher
“The Anzac Button” characteristics (possible deliberate acts of teaching)

Ask questions to help the students decide how they will introduce the important ideas in
A long time ago, the Setting the scene their own writing.
button had been Ideas expressed at the start of
important. It was sewn • What are the main ideas and/or feelings you want to communicate to your audience?
a story often indicate an idea
carefully onto a khaki or theme that will continue • Do you want to give them hints or clues early on, or will you reveal your message later?
jacket and polished through the story. Sometimes • Will the ideas you introduce at the start carry right through the story? Why or why not?
until it shone. Its shiny these ideas foreshadow events
• Could the use of figurative language help the reader to understand your ideas?
surface reflected the to come.
soldier’s pride as he Explain that writers don’t need to tell readers everything. Sometimes they show rather than
marched on parade. Personification tell something important.
A writer can communicate MODEL making an inference.
ideas by using figurative
• The writer shows me that the jacket stays in the wardrobe. From this, I infer that the soldier
language such as
has died. I know he was very old, so I think the author has implied his death without “telling”
personification. The use of a
us.
non-human object can help
the reader understand how • Have a look at your writing and identify if there is a place where you could give clues to help
characters feel or what they your readers infer the meaning.
experience.

The years passed IMPLICATION Explain how the writer introduced dialogue to reflect the change in the setting to the present
slowly. The world was day.
The writer needs to give clues
changing. The soldier PROMPT the students, working in pairs, to experiment with establishing mood and mood
to help the readers infer
was now a very old changes in their writing.
information. The writer expects
man. April came and
the reader to make connections • Identify an event or situation that has a particular feeling about it.
went, and the soldier
with their own knowledge
did not come for his • How can you reflect mood in your writing? How can you describe or imply a sombre mood? A
and “read between the lines”
jacket. happy mood?
to understand the implied
One day, the door flew • How does changing the sentence structure (for example, using short, abrupt sentences or
meaning.
open, and light flooded longer, flowing sentences) help you?
into the wardrobe. MOOD
Explain one purpose for which dialogue can be used.
Word choice and sentence
structure help to convey a • Writers can use dialogue as a way of getting a message across to their readers without going
mood in a text. A change into a lot of detail. Dialogue can show exactly what a character is thinking.
in mood can be made even • Review your writing and see if you can find any places where some dialogue would be a
clearer for the reader when the better way of helping your readers to understand your message.
writer makes strong contrasts,
for example, between darkness
and light.

Give feedback
Ella stroked the button. DIALOGUE
“If this button hadn’t • I like the way you’ve dropped a hint here. It makes me want to read on and find out why a
Writers can use the words of
been there, I wouldn’t dead rabbit will be important to the story.
their characters to convey ideas
be here either,” she said. about the theme of a story. • Using words like “grey” and “threatening” helps me feel the atmosphere on the beach. I can
“And nor would I,” When a character reflects on imagine Jacob is getting pretty worried now!
said her mother. an idea, the reader is prompted
“Can I keep the to consider what it means.
buttons?”
“Of course. Your
great-grandad would
have liked that.”

Metacognition
• Why did you choose to use a metaphor here? How
will it help readers understand your ideas?
• When you use implication, what do you assume
your readers will already know? How can you help Writing standard: by the end of year 4
them to “read between the lines”?
The Literacy Learning Progressions

Accessed from www.schooljournal.tki.org.nz Teacher support material for “The ANZAC BUTTON”, School Journal, Level 2, February 2012 4
Copyright © New Zealand Ministry of Education 2012