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Waldorf Methods/Reading and Math 1

Introduction

Language is our most important means of mutual understanding and is therefore the primary medium of education. It is also a highly significant formative influence in the child’s psychological and spiritual development and its cultivation is central to the educational tasks of Steiner/Waldorf education. It is the aim of the curriculum to cultivate language skills and awareness in all subjects and teaching settings. Clearly the teaching of the mother tongue has a pivotal role within the whole education.

Mathematics in the Waldorf school is divided into stages. In the first stage, which covers the first five classes, mathematics is developed as an activity intimately connected to the life process of the child, and progresses from the internal towards the external. In the second stage, covering classes 6 to 8, the main emphasis is on the practical.

Course Outlines

Waldorf Methods/Reading and Math 1
Lesson 1: Introduction
Lesson 2: Reading/1st Grade
Lesson 3: Reading/2nd Grade
Lesson 4: Reading/3rd Grade
Lesson 5: Math/1st Grade


Waldorf Methods/Reading and Math 2
Lesson 1: Math/2nd Grade
Lesson 2: Math/3rd Grade
Lesson 3: Reading/4th Grade
Lesson 4: Reading/5th Grade
Lesson 5: Reading/6th Grade


Waldorf Methods/Reading and Math 3
Lesson 1: Math/4th Grade
Lesson 2: Math/5th Grade
Lesson 3: Math/6th Grade
Lesson 4: Reading/7th and 8th Grade
Lesson 5:
Math/7th and 8th Grade
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Tasks and Assignments for Waldorf Methods/Reading and Math 1.4.

Please study and work with the study material provided for this lesson. Then please turn to the following tasks and assignments listed below.

1. Study the material provided and look up other resources as needed and appropriate.
2. Create examples of curriculum that addresses the learning method and content appropriate for the age group in question as follows. Curriculum examples should include outlines and goals, activities, circle/games, stories, and illustrations/drawings:
2.1. Create 2 examples that relate to "Speaking and Listening" for this age group.
2.2. Create 2 examples that relate to "Grammar" for this age group.
2.3.
Create 2 examples that relate to "Writing and Reading" for this age group.
3. Study the checklist for literacy skills in classes 1 to 3, then create an assessment of one child (either with a child that you have access to, or a fictive child) using the checklist; finally report your findings in writing to the faculty chair with your recommendations.
4. Additionally submit comments and questions, if any.


Please send your completed assignment via the online form or via email.

Study Material for Waldorf Methods/Reading and Math Lesson 1.4.

English Language and Literature/Class 3


Speaking and Listening

The children take an important step in their  development during Class 3. This will become very  obvious to the teacher once a good number of them  have completed their ninth year and entered their  tenth. Steiner pointed to the importance of this  step on many occasions:

Now the child begins to differentiate more and  more between himself and his environment. 15

Near the beginning of the main-lesson, simple  nature poems now fit in well with the children's  feeling for life. The children enjoy reciting descriptive poetry, especially if rhythm and  rhyme run smoothly from line to line. They can  also cope with longer poems, and humorous ones  can be included. Texts composed by the teacher,  perhaps in rhymed verse form, can arise out of  the practical subjects of this year, house-building;  preparing mortar; craft work; farming. Small  plays can also be performed which take up some  of these themes."

The stories of the Old Testament provide the  material for the narrative content of the main-  lesson. The creation of the world and of the human  being, to whom God gave the earth as a place to  work, are subjects that turn the children's attention  to created nature. It is up to the teacher to decide  what further material following on from the loss  of paradise is appropriate, also with regard to the  great figures of the Old Testament: Noah, Abraham,  Moses, etc. It is essential to retain the lofty distance  of the Old Testament stories by means of the  powerful language in which they are couched, for  that is where they will retain their reality. In this  way the children will encounter another new style  of language.

There is no real consensus about what stories  might replace those of the Old Testament in  cultures where these may be deemed inappropriate.  Certainly they would have to include the themes  of divine creation, a single Godfather as figure  of authority, the giver of law, the Fall and loss of  innocence, the need for law to structure human  society and the concept of obedience.

Retelling orally parts of the content of stories  and experiences in and out of school is a consistent  part of each day's work and remains so throughout  the school in age-appropriate ways which develop  narrative skills.

Grammar

Steiner brought entirely new impulses to the  subject of grammar, hoping again and again to  see them put into practice. Teachers still stuck in  the old ways of looking at grammar found it quite  difficult to adapt, as is shown in the final teachers'  meeting at which Steiner was able to be present. His  dissatisfaction after listening in to lessons meant  that Steiner-Waldorf education received a legacy  of particularly valuable suggestions. One of these is  recorded in the meeting of February 6,1923, when  Steiner explained the main reason for wanting a  'living grammar: The children should learn to link  a feeling with everything they name; they 'should  get a feeling for what the perfect tense means,  or the present tense'. To achieve this one must  understand the distinct character of the main parts  of speech and realise that we teach grammar not  to correct wrong usage, but to awaken the children  to the living structure of language. Steiner gave  the following example of how grammar should be  introduced.

We make the children aware of the difference  between a statement, a question, and a feeling  sentence, if we let the children speak these  sentences or sentence part (i.e. clause) in  such a way that the feeling sentence is spoken  with a different emphasis than a statement,  if we show the children how a statement is  spoken in a neutral, disinterested way and a  feeling sentence... with a nuance of feeling,  if we work towards this artistic element in  language, and only then, taking this artistic  element as our starting point, develop the  grammar and syntax. 

This theme keeps reappearing in many  variations right up to Class 8 and beyond: develop the whole world of grammatical forms out of the  artistic element, with the help of feeling.

By comparing the feeling sentence with the  other two types of sentence, the knowledge gained  by the children arises entirely from the artistic  element: intonation, emphasis, melody all point to  the grammatical form.

In a second grammar main -lesson the children  are introduced to the three main grammatical  elements: noun (naming word), adjective  (describing word), verb (doing word). The children  should now become aware of their different  character. What is new is the task Steiner set in the  way the class teacher should prepare for this main-  lesson:

In what is expressed by nouns we are made  aware of our independence as individual  human beings. We separate ourselves off  from the world outside when we learn to  name things by nouns ... When we describe  something with an adjective an entirely  different element comes into play. By saying:

The chair is blue - I am expressing something  that links me with the chair. The characteristic  I perceive unites me with the chair ... When  I use a verb: The man is writing - I not only  unite with the entity about whom I am using  the verb, but I also do with my ego the activity  he is doing with his physical body.

This is an unusual approach to the task of  learning about parts of speech. Steiner justified it  by saying:

Now that you know about this ... you will  speak about nouns, adjectives and verbs with  an entirely different inner emphasis than you  would if you knew nothing about it." The reason is as follows: instead of working  towards confining things to a system (that of types  of word) you turn your attention to the human  being. You ask: What is it that language does in  the human being by offering her three main types  of word? How do grammatical structures help  her to become aware of her position in relation to  the outside world? The teacher needs to grasp the  distinct fundamental relationship to the world that  a noun or a verb expresses. This task that Steiner  gave the teachers is, of course, only for them and  not for the children. They only experience the  entirely different emphasis. The teacher creates a  space for the children in which they can experience  that in their language, in what they say, there are  naming words, describing words and doing words  and that each type expresses a different activity.

In Class 3 noun, verb, adjective and adverb are  characterised. Basic sentence structure is analysed  and the correct use of full stops, commas, capital  letters and question marks is taught.

Writing and Reading

Writing

With the introduction of cursive script, the  children's writing begins to become more  individual. Great emphasis, however, is placed on  neat, well formed and above all, legible writing.  The children learn to become aware of the three  zones of writing, the parts of the letters that site  on, above or below the line (even where no line  literally exists). It is also important at this stage  for the teacher to draw the child's attention to the  position and activity of the hand. At the same time  the child has the task of making sure that what is  written looks beautiful. Steiner called this 'drawing  writing' in which the writer 'pays close attention  to his writing' and 'develops a somewhat aesthetic  relationship with it'.21 When they have had sufficient practice the children are taught how to use a school  fountain pen. This provides a further opportunity  to have another good look at the children's posture  while writing, and improving this if necessary. The  reason for writing beautifully is to express respect  for the person who will be expected to read it by  presenting him or her with clear, well formed  letters and word-shapes.

The children are encouraged to write longer,  more complex compositions based on main-  lesson themes and their own experience. Writing  also includes instruction and practice in formal  letters (thank you letters, requests and inquiries)  and diaries as well as simple descriptions of nature  moods. Out of the emergent writing of the children  the teacher takes up issues of grammar and correct  usage, sentence structure, punctuation, spelling,  etc. and provides instruction and guidance as  opportunity presents itself.

The children are encouraged to read aloud and  clear speaking is important for good spelling.

The two skills complement one another ...  By getting into the habit of listening properly  you become inclined to remember the word-  shape on the basis of the inner picture.

Spelling is systematically practised through  guided word recognition, word families, similarities  and letter combinations, e.g. ee, 00, ou, gh, th, st, sh.

Reading

Reading progresses to the differentiation of reading  material and reading for different purposes, i.e.  to understand instructions and tasks, to find  information or read timetables. Children are  encouraged to use reference material and regular  reading lessons are introduced. Reading aloud is practised with an awareness of content and  punctuation. A wide range of printed texts is  made available. As in Class 2, a range of reading  techniques is used including whole class reading,  group reading, and individual reading, paired  reading (child to child, child to adult). Graded  reading schemes may be used in Classes 2 and  3 but the emphasis is on 'real' books and quality  literature. In terms of text understanding the  approach is essentially hermeneutic and contextual.

Checklist for Literacy Skills in Classes 1 to 3

Download Checklist for Literacy Skills in Classes 1 to 3
Most children of normal ability range will be able  to do the following.

​
Writing and reading

Child is able to do the following
  1. recognize sounds, shapes and names of all vowels and consonants in capital letters and most of the lower case letters    
  2. know alphabetical order of letters    
  3. distinguish vowels from consonants  copy sentences accurately    
  4. write their own first name    
  5. spell a very few familiar words, such as 'the;  'in', 'to', 'and; and 'so'    
  6. know that writing is written-down speaking    
  7. know that some letters represent more than  one sound    
  8. know that every word has at least one vowel    
  9. know that writing moves from left to right  and from top to bottom    
  10. read and understand what they have written in the classroom    
  11. be acquainted with digraphs 'th, 'ch' and 'sh'    
  12. make plurals by adding s or es    
 
  1. recognize, write and read printed letters and  cursive script    
  2. be able to read and spell simple consonant  digraphs, vowel digraphs and 2-letter  consonant blends    
  3. be able to read and spell using the soft c rule  and magic e rule    
  4. add -ing or -ly    
  5. spell using 3-letter blends    
  6. read, write and spell correctly days of week,  months, numbers and other familiar topics  and words such as was, were, are, said, their/ there, have    
  7. write short descriptions or accounts of recent events or stories    
  8. can read and spell letter combinations in  common words    
          sh, th, ch, wh, ph, gh    
          ee, oo, ei, ea, ai    
          ow, ew. Aw    
          y as vowel and consonant    
          read with developing enthusiasm    

  1. use the soft g rule    
  2. spell vowel and vowel/consonant digraphs    
  3. spell simple compound words    
  4. recognize common homophones    
  5. write thank-you letters    
  6. write in well-formed cursive script    
  7. read aloud texts containing mainly familiar  words in context    
  8. read simple books aloud and silently    


Grammar


Child is able to do the following
  1. know by hearing when a sentence starts and  stops    
  2. know how to use capital letters, full stop,  recognize questions    
  3. recognize and characterize verb, noun, adjective and adverb e.g. an adjective  describes a noun, an adverb tells us how we    




Speaking and listening


Child is able to do the following
  1. recite in chorus    
  2. speak short verses alone    
  3. listen to the teacher and other children    
  4. follow verbal instructions given by teachers  in all subjects    
  5. speak simple speech exercises and tongue twisters in chorus    
  6. speak multiplication tables in chorus    
  7. recall main points of story told by the teacher    
  8. share news with the class    
  9. recite poem alone    
  10. recall more complex events and stories    
  11. give an explanation of what they are doing to  an inquirer    
  12. perform in short plays    
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