SWiRL storybooks
A central highlight of the SWiRL program is the creation of community-led storybooks that celebrate the voices, languages and lived experiences of children and families in remote communities.
Discover SWiRL storybooks
Throughout the program, preservice teachers work alongside students, elders and community members to co-create culturally meaningful texts that reflect everyday life, family relationships, local knowledge and connections to Country. Many of these books are written in bilingual formats, supporting children to see their language and culture represented and valued in print.
In the Families as First Teachers (FaFT) space, families play an especially significant role in shaping personalised books for their children. Elders and parents collaborate on texts that feature family stories, photographs and cultural knowledge, ensuring each book carries a deep sense of identity. In Numbulwar, one mother gathered photos from across several communities to contribute to her child’s bilingual family book, returning over several days to help complete it, a reflection of the pride and ownership families felt in the process. These storybooks become treasured resources for children to take home, share, and revisit with their families.
Students from preschool through to Grade 6 help craft their own stories, working with preservice teachers to weave together illustrations, language and ideas. Singing books, colour books and personalised texts are produced, supporting classroom learning while honouring cultural expression. The culmination of this work is a community celebration where children share their completed books and receive certificates recognising their participation. The joy and pride shown by students, families and Elders underscores the powerful impact of creating storybooks grounded in community knowledge and identity.
These community-created storybooks sit within classrooms and early learning spaces across school and communities, continuing to strengthen literacy, language learning and cultural connection long after the program concludes.
SWiRL India
In February 2016, 13 preservice teachers and three academics from the College of Education at Victoria University participated in a SWiRL study tour to Visakhapatnam, India. During this time the VU team worked with school students at Catherine Public School on a range of literacy-based curriculum activities.
Preservice service teachers and mentor teachers also collected artworks and visual representations that were created by the students. These artworks were later shared with teachers and students in Australian schools. School students from St Albans Primary School and Carranballac P-9 College in Melbourne, Victoria have used these artworks to write accompanying short stories.
This publication showcases how children from different parts of the world can come together to create beautiful images and words. The model of story writing – where one student draws an illustration and another student writes the corresponding story – is based on the ‘Words and Pictures’ project, a writing concept from the work of Professor Maureen Ryan and Dr Sarah Tartakover.
Snapshots from SWiRL storybooks
