Book samples and information

Award wining books that lead the field in Australian English and literacy education

Drawing on recent and relevant research, our high-quality, classroom-focused publications are grounded in the best pedagogy and quality classroom teaching and learning practice. Many titles are written by teachers and leading academics for teachers, making them suitable as undergraduate textbooks, as well as practical references in classroom practice. Sample pages below include a sample chapter or the introduction for each title. New title information sheets also usually include the table of contents. For a fuller list of PETAA titles go to our sales page, or browse or search all publications (books and papers) on the main publications page.

Publications in print and digital formats address understandings in the Australian Curriculum: English and multiliteracies across other key learning areas and are often supplemented by online material in PETAA Book Extras.

Exploring How Texts Work

Second edition

New Title Info (425 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)

Sample Chapter (.pdf 553 KB)

Educational Publishing Awards Australia 2020 Shortlisted title for the Primary: Reference Resource category

Standing on a Book

Stories from Australian Classrooms

New Title Info (417 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)

Sample pages (.pdf 2.6 MB)

Teaching with Intent 2: Literature-based literacy teaching and learning

By Bronwyn Parkin and Helen Harper

New Title Info (4 MB)
(Adobe PDF File)
Sample Chapter 1 (315 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)

Educational Publishing Awards Australia 2020 Shortlisted title for the Primary: Reference Resource category

Writing the Future

By Kaye Lowe

New title info (290 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)

Download Sample pages (1.5 MB)

The Alphabetic Principle and Beyond: Surveying the landscape

Edited by Robyn Cox, Susan Feez, and Lorraine Beveridge

Download New Title Info (.pdf 680 kB)

Download Sample pages (.pdf 400 kB)

Educational Publishing Awards Australia 2020 winning title in the Primary: Reference Resource category

Tell me Your Story: Confirming Identity and engaging writers in the middle years

By Janet Dutton, Jacqueline D’warte, Joanne Rossbridge and Kathy Rushton

New Title Info (241 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)

Download Sample pages (.pdf 245 kB)

Teaching with Intent 1: Scaffolding Academic Language for Marginalised Students

By Bronwyn Parkin and Helen Harper

New Title Info (490 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)
Sample pages  (.pdf 744 kB)

Talking the Talk: Snapshots from Australian Classrooms

Edited by Pauline Jones, Alyson Simpson and Anne Thwaite

New Title Info (355 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)
Sample pages  (.pdf 2.3 MB)

A Literature Companion for Teachers 2nd Edition

Lorraine McDonald

Sample pages (.pdf 3.5 MB)
New Title Info (378 KB)
(Adobe PDF File)

Becoming a Meaning Maker: Talk and interaction in the dialogic classroom

Christine Edwards-Groves and Christina Davidson

New Title Info (182 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)
Sample pages (.pdf 4 MB)

Inspiring Writing in Primary Schools

Liz Chamberlain

New Title Info (212 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)
Sample Chapter (943 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)

Assessment into Practice: Understanding Assessment Practice to Improve Students’ Literacy Learning

Edited by Heather Fehring

New Title Info (505 KB)
(Adobe PDF File)
Sample chapter (.pdf 2.6 MB)

For the Love of Reading: Supporting struggling readers

Kaye Lowe

New Title Info (523 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)
Sample Chapter (2.2MB)
(Adobe PDF File)

Beyond the Script: Drama in the English and Literacy Classroom

Robyn Ewing and Jennifer Simons

New Title Info (328 KB)
(Adobe PDF File)
Sample Chapter (.pdf 1.7 MB)

A Closer Look at Spelling in the Primary Classroom

Grace Oakley and Janet Fellowes

New Title Info (187 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)
Sample chapter (.pdf 435 kB)

Put it in Writing: Context, Text and Language

Joanne Rossbridge and Kathy Rushton

Published August 2015

New Title Info (201 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)
Sample Chapter (.pdf 357 kB)

Classrooms of possibility: Supporting At-Risk EAL Students

Edited by Jennifer Hammond and Jenny Miller

Published March 2015

New Title Info (172 KB)
(Adobe PDF File)
Sample Chapter (.pdf 133 kB)

Picture Books and Beyond

Edited by Kerry Mallan

Published November 2014

New Title Info (111 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)
Sample Chapter (412 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)

Literacy in the Middle Years: Learning from collaborative classroom research

By Professor Barbara Comber et al

Published March 2014

New Title Info (183 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)
Sample Chapter (182 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)

Writing Like a Writer: Teaching Narrative Writing (New Edition)

By Libby Gleeson

Published July 2014

Sample Chapter (1.6 MB)
(Adobe PDF File)

Classroom Talk: Understanding Dialogue, Pedagogy and Practice

By Michèle Anstey et al

Published November 2013

New Title Info (864 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)
Sample Chapter (138 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)

Thinking Through New Literacies for Primary and Early Years

Edited by Eileen Honan

Published July 2013

New Title Info(80 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)
Sample Chapter (1.1 MB)
(Adobe PDF File)

The Shape of Text to Come: How Image and Text Work

By Jon Callow

Published May 2013

New Title Info (1.2 MB)
(Adobe PDF File)
Sample Chapter (879 kB)
(Adobe PDF File)

Book selection for course readings or public review

Of related academic interest: See also information concerning the PETAA Research Grant