A teaching prograrrrne is described in which trees are used as a unifying theme for developing language skills at the lower primary level

Curror, A

du Toit, L

English

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Sthn. Afr, J, Env. Ed. !io 3 (!iov 1986} 11 USING A TREE THEME TO DEVELOP LANGUAGE SKILLS Anne Curror and Louise du Toit A teaching prograrrrne is described in which trees are used as a unifying theme for developing language skills at the lower primary level. The teacher of any language is primarily concerned with a child's ability to use and to respond to words. From primary level through to high school children need to be given the confidence to use words and to be reassured that their efforts to explore language are valid. Thus the language teacher must, amongst other things, encourage and help children to express themselves effectively both orally and on paper. It is generally accepted that even very young children use all their senses to explore and under-stand the world around them and so it makes sense to use their environment as a context in which to encourage the development of language skills. Working on a specific project/theme in which lang-uage becomes the tool for learning is a way of incorporating many oV the language skills required by most syllabuses and developing new knowledge at the same time. A term project on trees undertaken by the English Std. 1 class at the Mafeking Preparatory School so caught the interest and enthusiasm of the pupils (and their parents) that they willingly attended school on some Saturday mornings to participate in extended experiences which could not be fitted into the ordinary school day. ,v/~ peach tree H~ p,~och tr;Ee /s an~ ;g rriont~s old. trer~ . w;ilt r m~ e ch tree lOSe~ ItS eOV'ff sto s row;n. the ~suJ«ier ~J.r peach tree needs waterJJeot 1dJm tbe sun and fert;/;zer to moke 1t g~w OJafn ~h~· peach .tree male5 Uowers w; 1ch tum 1qto~ochesJ' !aye to eat1 R1eoches because the~ taste ae ICIOUS. c"" FIGURE 1 VucM.pt.i.on o6 a. :tltee Before embarking on a project however, it is help-ful to discover what the children already know about the subject. Talking informally about it provides the children with an opportunity to go beyond the basic level of speech and to both use and hear new words and express new ideas before committing themselves to paper. Most children find it a daunting task to write in a vacuum on topics picked at random. They need to build up a store of images and their observation needs to be sharpened i.e. they must be encouraged to really look at something by touching it, smelling it, listening to it and even tasting it if appropriate. Such exploration coupled with discussion is an important step in helping children to find the words they need to describe their experiences. Each child in the class was asked to choose a real tree to look at and write about. They were to identify it, using reference books if necessary, and to describe it. (See Figure 1). The children were encouraged to note anything of interest about their tree e.g. fruit, pods, flowers, insect and other life as well as possible uses. A walk around the school grounds became more meaningful once the pupils' awareness of trees had been awakened. (See Figure 2). This active learning process provides a firmer base from which to develop vocabulary and language skills, using the tree theme. Drawing trees and making leaf and kl~ went 1nto the schqol ~rdfhn o~J~_eso~~t 1ged ~~~o~mJ: tr~e. Yqd can mrfel all sorts of thmqs With emQ!!S We ,o/s6 sow thhe Ja~arqnda treeJhe one 1n t ~~ 9-,choo/ . 3.rounds is ver~ . ofdh. I hereh fl!e SJI!le po1snnqu~ trees r n t e sc ool ~ro u ndc;/ here are hsome 7eve7c--: yreen tree? m t e ~moo qrpundl an~L olso ,some tree5 that lose _ wew- reaves. FIGURE 2 A wa.l.k .Cn :the •chool. g1Wu.nd6 12 Suider Afr. Tydskr. Omgewingsop. tlr 3 (Nov 1986) bark rubbings are also experiences which help the child to internalise and consolidate what he has gleaned from his observation and his written exp-ression of these observations. Stories (e.g. about Johnny Appleseed and the willow pattern) and poetry read to the class were used as a stimulus for their own story writing, using both the imaginative and descriptive approach and as encouragement to express their feelings in verse. (See Figure 3). While gentle constructive criticism is important in any writing the children do, equally important is the development of vocab-ulary which will give the children the 'tools' (words) they need to express their ideas freely and clearly. Rnc trees are rat.h.r tall. ' 1he~ 111o.ke me feelverH sMII. TJ.e,, branvhel reach inlb the slq, wpMt.lzW4J, 11-e.r recdles are s/,rp and th<:r trunk ~ covered in bark. Even though I S~W no Rest I lil:t~ineM~l kt. FIGURE 3 A poem by a pu.p.U Teacher-made and child-made crosswords (see Figure 4) and collective nouns e.g. orchard, plantation, forest etc. were explored as a means of developing vocabulary. Discussing homonyms and homophones encouraged children to widen their experience of the meaning and use of words such as: trunk = stem of tree season = to mature = elephant•s nose = spice = suitcase = time of year. Vocabulary-building exercises also included diminutives e.g. sapling, rootlet, leaflet; opposites e.g. tall-short, smooth-rough, deciduous -evergreen; and p 1 u ra 1 s such as trees, branches and leaves. Other language exercises involved arranging words in alphabetical order, unscrambling sentences e.g. 'are evergreen conifers called', unscrambling words such as 'gransoe' (oranges), making several words from a multisyllabic word (e.g. mulberry= berry, merry, rye, mule, buy etc.) and learning about new expressions such as 'to branch out', 'cannot see the wood for the trees' and to 'root out'. Because of the children's active· partici-pation in learning about trees and their first-hand knowledge of trees, expressions such as 'the root of' and 'to turn over a new leaf' are more likely to become an integral part of their vocabulary (thus enriching their language) than remaining an 'abstract saying' soon to be forgot-ten. Using the tree theme for the development of langu-age triggered discussions, 'research' and writing about forestry, sawmills, paper and printing, the I. eWrTOWi7~ tips) z. Jot~ t? tn trunK 3. Jmolt bronc es. n ~-3. e body c;f o tree. hotects the tree.f e grew port o b. rs; I'·& -I I 1!1 .. -p -· I'! 1- ·-- -- -L.. FIGURE 4 A child-made CAOoowohd a tree. I I -- --importance of wood, fruit, fossils (petrified wood) and recycled paper. Workcards requiring the children to write information about a variety of tree topics e.e. the giant redwoods, Tsitsikama forest, citrus trees etc. stimulated the develop-ment of basic research techniques using the school resources as well as those of the public library. The tree theme was developed across the curriculum too,for example as story sums in maths and study-ing the trees mentioned in the Bible. Other extended experiences such as planting trees, collecting leaves, doing class reading in the shade of trees, identifying trees in the schoolground and even trying to make their own paper helped children to develop and reinforce language skills as well as broadening their experience of their environment. REFERENCES GEDDIS Maureen. 1982: ChiZd Education. 'Seeing is Writing'. Apri 1. MERRICK 8rian. 1972: 'Language' in: Martin G. & Turner E. (eds) 1972: EnvironmentaZ Studies. Blond Educational.~ Leicester. PEARS Muriel. 1984: 'Write Away!' ChiZd Education. November. YATES Heather. 1979: 'Talking Together'. Child Education. December. 

Using a tree theme to develop language skills

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Using a tree theme to develop language skills

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