LESSON PREPARATION
First review the last lesson:
1. What children need more attention? What learning items need repetition, reinforcement?
2. Then think of the lesson itself:
Ideas?
Write out the order of the LESSON items.
Make sure there are moments of concentration followed by moments of relaxations.
REPERTOIRE:
5 COUNTING-OUT RHYMES stress the beat as index-finger moves from one participant to the next participant. NB Beat is not the same as rhythm (see further down).
Tinker, tailer, soldier, sailor; Rich man, poor man, beggar-man, THIEF!
Acker, Backer, Soda Cracker, Acker, Backer BOO; Acker Backer, Soda Cracker, OUT goes YOU!
Jeremiah blow the fire 'Puff, Puff, Puff'. First you blow it gently, then you blow it ROUGH!
One potato, two potatoes, three potatoes, FOUR;Five potatoes, six potatoes, seven potatoes MORE;
So OUT you must go, because the Kind and Queen say SO!
5 PROVERBS
When in Rome do as the Roman do.
A stitch in time saves nine.
The early bird catches the worm.
Barking dogs don't bite.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Let sleeping dogs lie.
Intonation and sentence stress
DO you want to come here tomorrow?
Do YOU want to come here tomorrow?
Do you WANT to come here tomorrow?
Do you want to COME here tomorrow?
Do you want to come HERE tomorrow?
Do you want to come here TOMORROW?
TWO GROUPS: A DIFFERENT STORY IS TOLD TO EACH GROUP - ALL GROUP MEMBERS RETELL THEIR STORY TO ONE PARTNER FROM OTHER GROUP
STORY ONE
As Nasruddin emerged form the mosque after prayers, a beggar sitting on the street solicited alms.
The following conversation followed:
- Are you extravagant? asked Nasruddin.
- Yes Nasruddin. replied the beggar.
- Do you like sitting around drinking coffee and smoking? asked Nasruddin.
- Yes. replied the beggar.
- I suppose you like to go to the baths everyday? asked Nasruddin.
- Yes. replied the beggar.
- ...And maybe amuse yourself, even, by drinking with friends? asked Nasruddin.
- Yes I like all those things. replied the beggar.
- Tut, Tut, said Nasruddin, and gave him a gold piece.
A few yards further on. another beggar who had overheard the conversation begged for alms also.
- Are you extravagant? asked Nasruddin.
- No, Nasruddin replied second beggar.
- Do you like sitting around drinking coffee and smoking? asked Nasruddin.
- No. replied second beggar.
- I suppose you like to go to the baths everyday? asked Nasruddin.
- No. replied second beggar.
- ...And maybe amuse yourself, even, by drinking with friends? asked Nasruddin.
- No, I want to only live meagerly and to pray. replied second beggar.
Whereupon the Nasruddin gave him a small copper coin.
- But why, wailed second beggar, do you give me, an economical and pious man, a penny, when you give that extravagant fellow a sovereign?
- Ah my friend, replied Nasruddin, his needs are greater than yours.
STORY TWO
There was a poor family living in Ireland during the times of the potato famine.
An old man and his wife, who was blind. Their daughter and her husband, who had been waiting for a baby that wouldn't come.
Potatoes was practically all they had tp eat. The young man always went to get some potatoes from the garden every day.
One day, when he came out into the garden there was a strange smell in the air.
- Oh, my God, I hope our potatoes haven't gone bas as well.
When he saw the potatoes they had all gone black and squelchy, stank to high heaven.
In the moment of his despair he herd a little voice behind him. It was one of the 'little people' (a leprechaun).
- What's the matter?
- Look at the potatoes! They've all gone bad. We have nothing to eat!
- Yes, I can see that. But I can give you a wish.
- Only one wish?
- Yes, only one wish this time, I'm afraid.
- Can I first discuss it with my family?
- Of course! I'll be here at the same time tomorrow.
And ffft off he was!
His mother-in-law said:
-Wiah for my eyesight. I want to be able to see again.
His wife said:
-No, don't do that. Wish for our baby!
But the old man said:
- No we must think. We need gold. To buy food with.
The following morning the leprechaun was already there waiting for him.
-Well, have you made up your mind?
- Yes, we have. Only one wish?
- Only one. As I said yesterday.
- Well it is this: My mother-in-law would like to see my wife's baby in a golden cradle!
C. FIRST WRITING BOOK
During the first few months in Class 4 the children copy their 'favourite' verses, rhymes, songs, stories, conversational exchanges, speech exercises, language learning games, circle games, finger plays, the repetitive parts of stories into their 'First Writing Book'.
1. For 15 minutes in every one of their three (!) weekly lessons the children copy WHOLE TEXTS, off the blackboard (whiteboard, flipchart etc.).
2. We don't write single words during this time.
3. We write only texts they know "by heart", have "in their ear"!
4. During this time children will recognize the verses and with a bit of luck will be able to "read", recite or sing them.
5. When the first children have written for two or three weeks we start helping them to "NOTICE" REGULAR SPELLINGS that are "always" pronounced the same way, for example: A, E, O, I, U in short one-syllable words!
6. The word-shape CONSONANT-SHORT VOWEL-CONSONANT can be written more or less as children hear it:
For example: bet, bit, hot
the cat sat on the mat
This is my chin, my chin, my chin
tick tock, the clock
In the word-shape CONSONANT-SHORT VOWEL-CONSONANT the English A (æ) and U (ʌ) may cause confusion.
We try to get the children to discover those two typically English sounds and their spellings as quickly as possible:
rat-tat-tat
Jack
let's get the fishing-net
puff, puff, puff
how much are those buns?
7. SPELLING PRACTICE FOR SHORT VOWELS (later this will be SPELLING RULE 1)
To strengthen the first two steps the children write from hearing.
First begin with words ending in VOICELESS CONSONANTS so as to keep really short vowels:
the cat sat on the mat
let the net get wet
he hit it and it bit
it has not got a lot of dots
cut the nuts into a cup
We could also use the following:
Betty Botter bought a bit of butter
But, she said, the butter’s bitter,
If I put it in my batter,
It will make my batter bitter,
But a bit of better butter,
That would make my batter better.
If the children get the hang of this they will enjoy these "dictations" - many children will get everything right simply by listening and writing accurately! You or some of the pupils can make many more of these "listening exercises" yourselves!
8. DOUBLING OF CONSONANTS AFTER SHORT VOWELS (later this will be SPELLING RULE 2)
Rule: When the short vowels come in words of more than one syllable the consonants need doubling:
For example:
bat - battER
bet - bettER
bit - bittER
but - buttER
bed - beddING
bud - buddING
hap - happY
pig - piggY
sop - soppY
sob - sobbED
9. NOT DOUBLING THE CONSONANTS (later this will be SPELLING RULE 3):
LONG VOWELS come if we do not double the consonants in words of more than one syllable:
patter...later
better...Peter
bitter...biting
Bonnie.. phoning
funny...fuming
10. The LONG VOWEL SOUNDS come when a SILENT E follows the RULE-1 words (later this will be SPELLING RULE 4):
Put the following words side by side by side:
mat... mate
sit ... site
not ...note
fun ...fume (F-YOU-M)
and we "discover" the "rule" that long A, I, O, U appear when a SILENT "E" comes after the short words!
11. The second exercise has words ending in VOICED CONSONANTS which LENGTHEN the short vowel (later this will be SPELLING RULE 5):
the bad lad had bag
she fed the hen in bed
it hid the fig in the bin
the mob nod to the dog and the hog
the cub dug in the mud
12. Also LONG VOWELS become SHORTENED before UNVOICED CONSONANTS (later this will be SPELLING RULE 6)
made mate
feed feet
bide bite
road rote
code coat
hood foot
good put
booed boot
B. WRITING EXERCISES
WRITING EXERCISE ONE
1. The King's Fool was an extremely wise and clever man.
2. One day he met the King, who seemed depressed about something.
3. ‘I can cheer you up, ‘ said the Fool. ‘Did you know that I'm the best liar in the world?’
4. The King said he didn't believe it and added: ‘I'll give you a hundred silver shillings if you tell me a really big lie.’
5. ‘All right, then,’ said the Fool, ‘I'll tell you a really great lie then.’
6. ‘One evening your father and mine were playing cards with a group of friends - this was twelve years ago.
’
7. ‘Your father ran out of money and my father lent him a hundred silver shillings.’
8. ‘The sad thing is he never got his money back.’
9. ‘You liar!’ That's a bloody great lie,’ shouted the King.
10. Why was the King now forced to pay his Fool a hundred silver shillings?
WRITING EXERCISE TWO
Everyone in the class gets a sheet of paper and writes a 7-word question for their desk partner who then writes a corresponding answer and gives back the sheet. The partners then write a follow-on question in 6 words, return the sheet and get an answer which is also in 6 words. This goes on with 5-word questions and answers, 3-word questions and so on. At the end everyone reads out the sheet in front of them.
WRITING EXERCISE THREE
THE CLASS IS DIVIDED INTO GROUPS AND EACH GROUP DICTATE SINGLE WORDS FROM A STORY ERYBODY KNOWS. EACH GROUP CHOOSES A "SECRETARY" WHO WRITES THESE WORDS IN COLUMNS ON THE BLACKBOARD.
(The children always know which story the word comes from. Each word is like a mosaic stone from a big picture!)
- READ THROUGH THESE WORDS. CROSS OUT ANY DOUBLES, TRIPLES. (This means the class are reading!)
- DO WE ALL AGREE WITH HOW THESE WORDS ARE SPELT? The question is not "right" or "wrong" but "Can we agree?" (Class reading again!)
- LET'S TAKE THE FIRST WORD. WHAT WAS THE WORD BEFORE IT; OR AFTER IT?
(Grammar in practice!)
- THE SAME FOR AS MANY WORDS ON THE BLACKBOARD.
- WHO CAN REMEMBER HOW EACH OF THE STORIES BEGAN?
- GRADUALLY RECONSTRUCT THE TWO STORIES.
- WRITE OUT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN REMEMBER.
(A writing exercise par excellence!)
- LEARN THEM BY HEART.(Some will do precisely that, others will remember the inner pictures)
- Recite and/or write out story by heart.
Monday, February 06, 2023
Sunday, January 22, 2023
Opening Lecture and Demonstration at Brno Waldorfska Škola Weekend Training Course 13-15 January 2023
The audience (55 attendees) sat in a large circle. The lecture was interpreted by M.J.
We started with an ear and voice exercise listening to and repeating the word BIRD in numerous European languages. This was followed by a short audience discussion between seat neighbours. Then we tried to speak simultaneously (as 6- or 7-year-olds still do) with the lecturer slowly counting one to twelve in English and reciting "Little Jack Horner". To get a taste of the German language this was also done with "Auf der Mauer auf der Lauer".
When the children are a little older they will be able to improvise shifting the stress from word to word as in the following sentence:
DO you want to come here tomorrow?
Do YOU want to come here tomorrow?
Do you WANT to come here tomorrow?
Do you want to COME here tomorrow?
Do you want to come HERE tomorrow?
Do you want to come here TOMORROW?
We have many Language Learning Games. To find out who takes part we use Counting-Out Rhymes. The audience practises one pointing to a different person each with each stressed syllable: Acker, Backer, Soda Cracker, Acker, Backer, Boo; Acker, Backer, Soda Cracker, out goes YOU. Another one would be Eeny, meeny, miny, mo; catch a tiger by is toe, eeny, meeny, niny, MO! Or a German equivalent: Ene, mene, miste; was rappelt in der Kiste? Ene, mene, meck Und du bis WEG!
Then we did a game called One, two. three: heads down! Three people were chosen to come to the front. They call out the command. Every body shuts their eyes (puts down their heads), the three in front creep up to someone and touch them on the head, shoulder or elbow. Then those touched stand up ("Stand up those three") and guess who touched them: "Did you touch my shoulder, Jenny?" to which Jenny answers "Yes, I did" (in which case they exchange places) or "No, I didn't."
In a so-called Conversational Exchange where everyone gets to say things in English the teacher asks "Who stole the cake from the baker's shop?" addressing one of the pupils, who says: "John stole the cake from the baker's shop!"
John replies: "Who me?"
"Yes, you!"
"Not me."
"Then who?"
Whereupon John accuses another pupil and so on till everybody has had a turn.
Next we talked about acquiring a larger vocabulary. Words are more than just a 'bunch of letters' with an equivalent in Czech. We stood in a large circle. With a large wooden cooking spoon words were mimed: a comb, a flute, a cello bow etc. The action, activity or use of the spoon showed what object it had 'turned into'!
This exercise was followed by a 3-minute audience discussion on what this exercise 'did'.
At some time, story telling begins. We hear a story built on a proverb ("Barking dogs don't bite").
In Class 4 we start writing. We first write songs, rhymes, dialogues, Simon Says commands etc.: all things the children have in their ear, know by heart and can 'hear inwardly' while they are copying the text off the blackboard.
Little Jack Horner
Sat in a corner
Eating his Christmas pie
He put in his thumb
An pulled out a plum
And said "What a good boy am I!"
The children get to write things down a quarter of an hour every lesson over a few months. Class 4 are very good at discovering 'rules' so they will notice similarities in spellings (Horner, corner; the U in thumb and plum as well as a second U (!) in put and pulled.
This was, in essence, the introdutory talk for the weekend seminar.
We started with an ear and voice exercise listening to and repeating the word BIRD in numerous European languages. This was followed by a short audience discussion between seat neighbours. Then we tried to speak simultaneously (as 6- or 7-year-olds still do) with the lecturer slowly counting one to twelve in English and reciting "Little Jack Horner". To get a taste of the German language this was also done with "Auf der Mauer auf der Lauer".
When the children are a little older they will be able to improvise shifting the stress from word to word as in the following sentence:
DO you want to come here tomorrow?
Do YOU want to come here tomorrow?
Do you WANT to come here tomorrow?
Do you want to COME here tomorrow?
Do you want to come HERE tomorrow?
Do you want to come here TOMORROW?
We have many Language Learning Games. To find out who takes part we use Counting-Out Rhymes. The audience practises one pointing to a different person each with each stressed syllable: Acker, Backer, Soda Cracker, Acker, Backer, Boo; Acker, Backer, Soda Cracker, out goes YOU. Another one would be Eeny, meeny, miny, mo; catch a tiger by is toe, eeny, meeny, niny, MO! Or a German equivalent: Ene, mene, miste; was rappelt in der Kiste? Ene, mene, meck Und du bis WEG!
Then we did a game called One, two. three: heads down! Three people were chosen to come to the front. They call out the command. Every body shuts their eyes (puts down their heads), the three in front creep up to someone and touch them on the head, shoulder or elbow. Then those touched stand up ("Stand up those three") and guess who touched them: "Did you touch my shoulder, Jenny?" to which Jenny answers "Yes, I did" (in which case they exchange places) or "No, I didn't."
In a so-called Conversational Exchange where everyone gets to say things in English the teacher asks "Who stole the cake from the baker's shop?" addressing one of the pupils, who says: "John stole the cake from the baker's shop!"
John replies: "Who me?"
"Yes, you!"
"Not me."
"Then who?"
Whereupon John accuses another pupil and so on till everybody has had a turn.
Next we talked about acquiring a larger vocabulary. Words are more than just a 'bunch of letters' with an equivalent in Czech. We stood in a large circle. With a large wooden cooking spoon words were mimed: a comb, a flute, a cello bow etc. The action, activity or use of the spoon showed what object it had 'turned into'!
This exercise was followed by a 3-minute audience discussion on what this exercise 'did'.
At some time, story telling begins. We hear a story built on a proverb ("Barking dogs don't bite").
In Class 4 we start writing. We first write songs, rhymes, dialogues, Simon Says commands etc.: all things the children have in their ear, know by heart and can 'hear inwardly' while they are copying the text off the blackboard.
Little Jack Horner
Sat in a corner
Eating his Christmas pie
He put in his thumb
An pulled out a plum
And said "What a good boy am I!"
The children get to write things down a quarter of an hour every lesson over a few months. Class 4 are very good at discovering 'rules' so they will notice similarities in spellings (Horner, corner; the U in thumb and plum as well as a second U (!) in put and pulled.
This was, in essence, the introdutory talk for the weekend seminar.
Saturday, January 21, 2023
Closing Lecture Brno Waldorfska Škola Teachers Training Course 13 - 15.1.2023
(translated by M., who is a part-time teacher at Brno WS for IT)
Most of you here have come for a general introduction to Waldorf Education. The focus this weekend was on Eurythmy with Dana Holečková, Watercolour Painting with Roman Vančura and Foreign Language Teaching. I hope the examples of foreign language teaching methods helped give insights into Waldorf School teaching as a whole.
In the introductory lecture I mentioned that mdern research has shown (but we all feel it) that children are inherently creative, eager learners, healthily curious and learn best without pressure. For most children (and indeed grown-ups, too!) pressure starts when we correct children too often, when we criticize them, when we contradict them, when we say "you are wrong!" en we talk sarcastically (class-four child is late, teacher says "you are early today!"); or when we laugh at them!
I also mentioned children very much need moments of success. This means we teachers must avoid children feeling lost, not able to understand what we are saying. We avoid saying and explaining things but try to help children experience things,
[3-MINUTE EXCHANGE WITH NEIGHBOUR: some best and worst moments in my own schooldays]
[some participants share some rally attrocious experiences of feeling stupid, not-understood, lost and giving up]
Children need to be able to trust their teachers. In the higher classes there's no better way to make them lose trust than to say things like:
- when I was your age ...
- you're not doing this for me ...
- you could've used the break to go to the toilet ...
- I would've expected more from you ...
- everything we've done will come up in the next test ...
- you don't need to play the clown ...
etc.
A teacher needs to be 'de-professionalized', she needs to stimulate and provoke, not just pass on information; a teacher needs to engage the children not teach AT them.
Of course we should know how our pupils are progressing but diagnostic tests should not ne the dominant culture. We facilitate learning, support the learning process. We avoid obstructing it. Otherwise children will lose their creativity, and their interest; and submerge in a culture of compliance.
I said we have four radically different kinds of pupils:
(classes 1-3, classes 4-6, classes 7-9, classes 10-12).
The youngest trust their world to be 'good',
the 10-to-12-year-olds that their world is 'beautiful' (aesthetic);
in puberty, when their world starts to appear as 'logical' the first doubts appear but that's 'thinking' (contradictions, arguing, asking difficult questions starts) and we must never feel offended but take it with a lot of humour and inwardly applaud these first manifestations of thinking!
In 10-12 we try to 'throw the youngsters back on their own resources', allowing them, giving them the freedom to discover things for themselves, to think things out for themselves, alone or in discussion.
Our reactions, our way of teaching, our methods as well as the background content of our curriculum as well as the actual lesson topics all combined may well be the chief determinants of whether our older pupils develop into 'idealists' or 'cynics'. Classes 7-9 are the age in which we must never be dogmatic or try to pass on our private judgements. Youngsters at this age are extremely impressionable as well as critical but they still have to develop their independence.
At this age the youngsters have questions like: Do hospitals only care for the good of the patients or are there financial interests? How free are journalists really to write what they think and see? Is scientific research really free from commercial interests? Do the politicians in the parliaments debating new laws really think about what is best for society? Etc. etc. At the same time these teenagers are often aware of the fact that they might be getting too absorbed by their cell-phones and computers and need to learn how to make really good use of internet media.
And we as parents and teachers ask ourselves: Do government departments and politicians responsible for education really consider what is necessary for the healthy development of the younger generations or are there business-interests here too?
This question was already there in 1919 when the first Waldorf School was founded. And this is why Rudolf Steiner spent a lot of time calling for freedom from state and other interests in the realm of education, the arts, the sciences, medicine etc. Many of his lectures at this time shortly after the end of WWI, the 'peace' negotiations of Versailles and Trianon were about what he called the Social Three- fold Order and Cultural Spiritual Freedom (Freies Geistesleben) was at the centre of the Threefold Order, and the founding of the Waldorf School an essential part of 'Freies Geistesleben'!
One of the central attitudes behind Waldorf Education was prompted by questions such as "Do children choose their parents". Thinking about such questions, living with such questions influence the way we bring up children in a positive manner. Other questions are: Does science explain everything in our lives? Aren't we all in a process of development pur whole lives?
I'd like to finish with a quote from Shakespeare (Hamlet to Horatio): "There is more in heaven and earth, Horatio, than is dreamt of in your philosophy!" philosophy here including what today we call 'science'.
Most of you here have come for a general introduction to Waldorf Education. The focus this weekend was on Eurythmy with Dana Holečková, Watercolour Painting with Roman Vančura and Foreign Language Teaching. I hope the examples of foreign language teaching methods helped give insights into Waldorf School teaching as a whole.
In the introductory lecture I mentioned that mdern research has shown (but we all feel it) that children are inherently creative, eager learners, healthily curious and learn best without pressure. For most children (and indeed grown-ups, too!) pressure starts when we correct children too often, when we criticize them, when we contradict them, when we say "you are wrong!" en we talk sarcastically (class-four child is late, teacher says "you are early today!"); or when we laugh at them!
I also mentioned children very much need moments of success. This means we teachers must avoid children feeling lost, not able to understand what we are saying. We avoid saying and explaining things but try to help children experience things,
[3-MINUTE EXCHANGE WITH NEIGHBOUR: some best and worst moments in my own schooldays]
[some participants share some rally attrocious experiences of feeling stupid, not-understood, lost and giving up]
Children need to be able to trust their teachers. In the higher classes there's no better way to make them lose trust than to say things like:
- when I was your age ...
- you're not doing this for me ...
- you could've used the break to go to the toilet ...
- I would've expected more from you ...
- everything we've done will come up in the next test ...
- you don't need to play the clown ...
etc.
A teacher needs to be 'de-professionalized', she needs to stimulate and provoke, not just pass on information; a teacher needs to engage the children not teach AT them.
Of course we should know how our pupils are progressing but diagnostic tests should not ne the dominant culture. We facilitate learning, support the learning process. We avoid obstructing it. Otherwise children will lose their creativity, and their interest; and submerge in a culture of compliance.
I said we have four radically different kinds of pupils:
(classes 1-3, classes 4-6, classes 7-9, classes 10-12).
The youngest trust their world to be 'good',
the 10-to-12-year-olds that their world is 'beautiful' (aesthetic);
in puberty, when their world starts to appear as 'logical' the first doubts appear but that's 'thinking' (contradictions, arguing, asking difficult questions starts) and we must never feel offended but take it with a lot of humour and inwardly applaud these first manifestations of thinking!
In 10-12 we try to 'throw the youngsters back on their own resources', allowing them, giving them the freedom to discover things for themselves, to think things out for themselves, alone or in discussion.
Our reactions, our way of teaching, our methods as well as the background content of our curriculum as well as the actual lesson topics all combined may well be the chief determinants of whether our older pupils develop into 'idealists' or 'cynics'. Classes 7-9 are the age in which we must never be dogmatic or try to pass on our private judgements. Youngsters at this age are extremely impressionable as well as critical but they still have to develop their independence.
At this age the youngsters have questions like: Do hospitals only care for the good of the patients or are there financial interests? How free are journalists really to write what they think and see? Is scientific research really free from commercial interests? Do the politicians in the parliaments debating new laws really think about what is best for society? Etc. etc. At the same time these teenagers are often aware of the fact that they might be getting too absorbed by their cell-phones and computers and need to learn how to make really good use of internet media.
And we as parents and teachers ask ourselves: Do government departments and politicians responsible for education really consider what is necessary for the healthy development of the younger generations or are there business-interests here too?
This question was already there in 1919 when the first Waldorf School was founded. And this is why Rudolf Steiner spent a lot of time calling for freedom from state and other interests in the realm of education, the arts, the sciences, medicine etc. Many of his lectures at this time shortly after the end of WWI, the 'peace' negotiations of Versailles and Trianon were about what he called the Social Three- fold Order and Cultural Spiritual Freedom (Freies Geistesleben) was at the centre of the Threefold Order, and the founding of the Waldorf School an essential part of 'Freies Geistesleben'!
One of the central attitudes behind Waldorf Education was prompted by questions such as "Do children choose their parents". Thinking about such questions, living with such questions influence the way we bring up children in a positive manner. Other questions are: Does science explain everything in our lives? Aren't we all in a process of development pur whole lives?
I'd like to finish with a quote from Shakespeare (Hamlet to Horatio): "There is more in heaven and earth, Horatio, than is dreamt of in your philosophy!" philosophy here including what today we call 'science'.
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