THE WALDORF APPROACH TO WRITING & READING in GRADES 1 & 2 with special reference to teaching children from non-English speaking homes WRITTEN FOR THE EAST AFRICAN WALDORF TEACHER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM BY CATHERINE VAN ALPHEN 2 Open Source This series of manuals has been commissioned by GLS Zukunftsstiftung Entwicklung, to support teacher development in East Africa. The manuals can be used in other training programs, individual or group study, anywhere in the world, provided every page shows the source and the open source registration, as it appears on the bottom of each page. The open source licence under Creative Commons (see www.creativecommons.org) allows the manuals to be downloaded and redistributed only for non-commercial purposes [that means these manuals may never be sold]. In addition, the licence permits the remixing, tweaking, translating or producing new work based on the manuals, provided that all new work based on these manuals will acknowledge the authors and source and carry the same license. This ensures that any derivatives will also be non-commercial in nature. The manuals can be downloaded from www.zukunftsstiftung-entwicklung.de GLS Zukunftsstiftung Entwicklung Christstrasse 9 D-44789 Bochum Germany Tel. +49-234-5797-5257 Fax +49-234-5797-188 Author Catherine van Alphen Editor Peter van Alphen Illustrations Catherine van Alphen Acknowledgements Source: Zukunftsstiftung Entwicklung Open Source: Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 3.0 International Licence; see www.creativecommons.org 3 This manual is indebted to the Waldorf tradition of teaching according to the principles of Rudolf Steiner (1862 – 1925), as developed by many generations of teachers. I would like to make specific mention of two colleagues at Michael Oak Waldorf School, Kenilworth, Cape Town, who have helped to develop the approaches to teaching writing and reading in the early history of the school at which I have been a teacher for many years: Marion Penfold and Sally von Holdt. I wish to appreciate the support and guidance of Peter van Alphen. A big thank you also goes to Beulah Reeler who provided books and notes that were most useful. Catherine van Alphen Source: Zukunftsstiftung Entwicklung Open Source: Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 3.0 International Licence; see www.creativecommons.org 4 The East African Waldorf/Steiner Teacher Development Programme The East African teacher development programme was started by the late Adeline Mlai, a Tanzanian, in Dar-es-Salaam in 1997. Adeline recognised the developmental value of Waldorf education and invited Peter van Alphen and Ann Sharfman, teacher educators with experience working in African settings in Cape Town, South Africa, to start a teacher development programme in Dar-es-Salaam. This programme was set up for teachers from Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. After the first year, difficulties securing the funds for continuing the programme were experienced, and in 1999 the programme was relocated to Nairobi, Kenya, as a more central venue for the three countries. The Rudolf Steiner School in Mbagathi was able to secure funding for its continuation, and in the eleven years that followed an ever-increasing number of teachers from East African countries joined the programme. Our grateful thanks go to GLS Zukunftsstiftung Entwicklung (Bochum, Germany) and Freunde der Erziehungskunst Rudolf Steiners (Berlin, Germany) for their continued support of the programme from 1999. We also wish to thank Sanduko a Ndege (Vejle, Denmark), Internationaal Hulpfonds (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Acacia (Basel, Switserland) and Stichting Helias (Netherlands) for their additional support. About this Manual This manual answers the need for teachers (or student-teachers) to have notes on the modules they attend. This manual is written for Primary School teachers doing Module 3, which follows on the second module of the program in which a detailed study of Rudolf Steiner’s concept of child development was given. Details of curriculum were included, to show how it was developed out of an understanding of the development and needs of the children at each age. This manual is intended to guide teachers through the difficult task of teaching English in Grades 1 and 2. The focus has been placed on classes of non-English speakers who have to learn in English as their main language. However, the manual will also be found to be useful for teachers who have classes that are learning in the home language, but need to learn English as second language. In this case the manual can be used to give ideas for teaching English, ignoring the indications for in which Grades what has to be taught. This manual is intended to be handed out at the end of the module for revision and further study. The suggestion is that participants study together in groups in their respective schools. We trust that the material provided will be useful in Waldorf training programmes in many countries around the world. Comments and suggestions are welcomed, and can be sent to Peter van Alphen on [email protected]. Source: Zukunftsstiftung Entwicklung Open Source: Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 3.0 International Licence; see www.creativecommons.org 5 The Waldorf Approach to Writing and Reading in Grades 1 & 2 with special reference to teaching children from non-English speaking homes Contents Introduction: The Power of Language .................................................................. 7 In the Beginning was the Word ............................................................................. 9 Preparation of Child from Birth to Seven Years ............................................. 12 GRADE 1 The Daily Timetable ............................................................................................... 17 Teaching English to Second Language Speakers ............................................. 21 The First Language Main Lesson Block .............................................................. 32 Dramatisation: Acting out the Story ................................................................. 50 The Waldorf Approach to Writing and Reading .............................................. 53 Teaching the Consonants ....................................................................................... 56 Teaching the Vowels ............................................................................................... 67 Activities to consolidate letters ......................................................................... 83 First Steps in Reading ........................................................................................... 86 GRADE 2 Literacy in Grade 2 ................................................................................................. 96 First 100 Important Words in Learning to Read (Murray/McNally) ...... 110 Vowel digraphs and Word lists ........................................................................... 111 Verses for Vowels ................................................................................................. 112 Consonant Blends at the beginning of a word ................................................ 118 Consonant blends at the end of a word ........................................................... 119 Fairy E (silent e) .................................................................................................... 120 Verses for Consonant Blends ............................................................................. 120 Example Stories for Teaching Consonant Blends .......................................... 123 Example Story for Teaching a Vowel Digraph ............................................... 126 Bibliography ............................................................................................................ 127 Source: Zukunftsstiftung Entwicklung Open Source: Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 3.0 International Licence; see www.creativecommons.org 6 Source: Zukunftsstiftung Entwicklung Open Source: Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 3.0 International Licence; see www.creativecommons.org 7 Introduction: The Power of Language Throughout Africa, and in many places around the world, children are being educated through the medium of a language that is not their mother tongue. To use an example of a Waldorf School in Alexandra, Johannesburg, South Africa, a teacher faces a class of children where there are up to eight different home languages. Which one does s/he choose as her medium of tuition? This is a matter that needs to be discussed between the school and the parents of the children, as the school exists to serve the needs of its community. In most cases the parents demand that their children are taught in English, as this seems the only pathway to financial security in the future. Unfortunately, this is not the best solution for the children. Research has shown that children learn best in their home language, as learning involves complex concepts that children cannot understand in a new language (not until they have learnt the language very fully). Only from about Grade 6 to 8 are they ready to learn in a different language, such as English, if they have been learning this language thoroughly in the years before. This manual seeks to make suggestions for situations in which it is not possible to learn in the home language, a situation that is widespread. It is based on the principle that the child needs to leran to speak and understand