Module 2: Using community voices in your classroom

Section 1: Investigating stories

1.     Developing pupils’ research skills

We all tell stories, about our daily lives or about the past. There are many traditions around storytelling and many lessons to be learned from stories. Activity 1 explores what researching is, how it is done, and how results can be analysed. As you work alongside the class on the task, you will learn what your pupils are capable of.

We suggest that you read Key Resource: Researching in the classroom  before starting. If you would like to read about other people’s research, Resource 1: Traditional fables is also interesting. It reports on a workshop, held in Qunu in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, where parents, teachers and pupils discussed the questions you are researching.

2.     Thinking about the purpose of a story

Once you have your research results, they need interpreting so that you can use the information. In this case, this means helping your pupils use this information to understand stories more. Activity 2 helps you to explore meanings in stories as a follow-up to the investigation.

Case Study 2 introduces the important idea of getting pupils to raise their own questions and to try to find answers to them. Being able to raise their own questions in small groups builds independent thought and develops pupils’ ability to think creatively and critically.

3.     Writing stories

Research suggests that people learn best when what is being taught is relevant to them. As a teacher, you constantly need to make sure that your pupils are gaining knowledge that will help them make sense of their world.

You and your class have researched why people tell stories, and looked at the meanings of particular stories. Now we look at how you can help your pupils apply storytelling to real-life situations and difficulties.

Resource 1: Traditional fables

 Background information / subject knowledge for teacher

Resource 2: Why people tell stories

 Teacher resource for planning or adapting to use with pupils

Mrs Rashe’s chalkboard

Resource 3: Questions about stories

 Pupil use

This resource is suitable for use with older pupils. For younger pupils, you may want to choose one or two of these questions for your pupils to investigate.

Resource 4:How Mrs Abdullahi found her story

 Background information / subject knowledge for teacher

Fatima Abdullahi tried to think of a story that was not well known. She remembered an idiom that was based on a story. The idiom said: ‘There is no jackal bigger than another, all jackals are equal in size.’ She remembered that the story was about a master and his servant travelling on horseback, and that the servant told his master about a jackal that was the size of a calf or an ox. She also remembered that there were rivers to cross, and one of them was called ‘the river that drowns all liars’.

Since she was not sure of what actually happened, she asked her sister-in-law Zainab about the story. Zainab said that the servant in the story was a habitual liar. Once, he even told a story of a bug, likening it to something so big, the story could not possibly be true. They were still short of details, so they went to Mr Guga, who had been a teacher of Hausa, now an inspector of schools. He could not remember the story, but remembered that a version of it was in a particular reader.

One day, Fatima was speaking to Miss Habiba Mohammed, a maths teacher, and found that she knew the message behind the story. She said that the master used a certain technique to stop the servant from lying. He didn’t want to accuse him directly of lying. Miss Mohammed said that the technique worked, as the servant repented and told the truth before they reached the river. But she also couldn’t remember the details of the story.

Fatima then went to Mr Stephen Kume, an attorney. He also knew the idiom and the message behind the story. He thought it had arisen because a community was sick and tired of the lying of a particular man. They decided to put him to a vigorous test, and teach him a lesson. Mr Kume’s version of the story is at Resource 5: The river that swept away liars.

Taken from: Umthamo 2, University of Fort Hare Distance Education Project

Resource 5: The river that swept away liars

 Teacher resource for planning or adapting to use with pupils

(There is a traditional question and answer pattern that precedes all Nigerian stories. The storyteller begins with: ‘Story, story’. ‘My story has come to an end’ ends them.)

Story, story.

A certain master was on a journey with his servant. It was a long journey on horseback. As they were travelling across the country, the master saw a jackal crossing their path.

The master remarked, ‘That jackal is quite big.’ The servant replied, ‘Oh, Master, this is nothing compared to the one I saw yesterday.’ ‘Is that so?’ responded the master. ‘Oh yes. It was very, very big. In fact, it was as big as an ox!’ ‘As big as an ox?’ questioned the master. ‘Yes, as big as an ox,’ answered the servant. The master answered again, ‘You say “as big as an ox”?’ ‘Yes, really, as big as an ox,’ said the servant. The master did not utter a word and they continued on their way, without talking to each other, for about an hour.

The servant noticed that his master was not happy and he didn’t know what was worrying him. So he asked the master what the matter was. The master told him that they would have to cross four rivers before they reached their destination. The last river was the biggest and the most dangerous of all the rivers. This river was allergic to liars, and no liar could escape its anger. It swept liars there and then down to the deep blue sea. It never missed a liar, even if they were to invoke ‘Ifa’ to bring them luck (people invoked Ifa to bring them luck, and to give them power to conquer evil spirits).

When the servant heard this, he was quite shocked because he knew how powerful Ifa was. If this river would not yield to Ifa, then he knew it must be a VERY powerful river. As they travelled, he became more and more uneasy. The master also became sadder and sadder the further they rode. And as his master grew sadder, the servant grew more and more panic-stricken.

As they neared each river, the size of the jackal changed. When they reached the first river, the servant said, ‘My Lord, the jackal was not exactly as big as an ox. It was a little bit smaller than an ox.’ The master said nothing.

When they reached the second river, the servant said, ‘The jackal was not even nearly the size of an ox. It was as big as a calf.’ But again, the master said nothing. When they had crossed this second river, the master just explained his concerns about the last dangerous river, and said no more.

As they approached the third river, the servant said to his master, ‘The jackal was not even as big as a calf. It was as big as a goat.’

Just before they reached the last river, the jackal was the same size as other jackals, which are common everywhere.

My story has come to an end.

That is why there is an idiom which says, ‘Don’t try to be important among your colleagues. Everybody has something to share. You don’t need to exaggerate things in order to be important.’

Taken: from: Umthamo 2, University of Fort Hare Distance Education Project

Resource 6: Assessing your story

 Background information / subject knowledge for teacher

Section 2: Ways to collect and perform stories

1.     Sharing stories from the community

Community knowledge of stories is a valuable resource for listening and speaking activities outside and inside the classroom. It is important that your pupils learn to respect and love the wisdom and heritage of their home language and culture. By strengthening their speaking and listening skills in the home language in an enjoyable way, the pupils will grow in confidence too.

Because the art of storytelling is no longer so deeply valued in some communities, people may have forgotten some of the richness and detail of stories. A way of building language resources for your class is to uncover older and more authentic versions of stories. You can do this by talking to other people in the community.

2.     Inviting visitors into school

Inviting community members into the classroom will help to motivate pupils and build their storytelling expertise in the home language. You can also ask your visitors to offer their knowledge of stories, to make sure that the stories the pupils tell are as complete and authentic as possible. This will mean that these stories become a rich resource for learning.

If you have a large class, this kind of community support is particularly helpful. Asking for support from your head teacher and colleagues may make it easier to get some members of the community involved on a regular basis.

3. Performing for an audience

It is important that every pupil is able to communicate effectively and is given the opportunity to be imaginative. Group story performances can give even quiet pupils the chance to speak, sing, act, dance, etc. without too much pressure. Each pupil in a story-performing group can play a role: a character in the story, a narrator or part of a chorus. Pupils with specific talents can create ‘props’ and ‘costumes’ with objects such as pieces of cloth or paper or a few twigs from a tree.

In classes where pupils do not all speak the same home language, working with fellow speakers of the same language in order to prepare a performance in this language can be very positive.

This next part provides you with ways to develop pupils’ confidence and skills in speaking their home language. These ways can also be used to improve skills in a lingua franca or an additional language.

Resource 1: Sample invitation letter

 Teacher resource for planning or adapting to use with pupils

Dear …………………

Our class, Primary ……… is learning about local stories and the art of storytelling. We have heard about your expertise and we would like to invite you to come and help us work on how to develop our storytelling skills and to help us learn the stories well.

We would like you to come on …………………………………. Please let us know if this is convenient. ………………………………… from our class will meet you at the school gate at

am.

With many thanks

Primary 5

LEA Primary School Makurdi

Resource 2: Assessing group story performances

 Pupil use

Section 3: Using local games for learning

1.     Informal learning

Children do not only learn in the classroom; they also learn while they are playing. They learn from one another, by watching what others do. They learn by talking, singing, chanting and interacting. By can use play to make your classroom learning more effective and close the gap between what happens in the classroom and outside.

In Activity 1, your pupils act as researchers, going out into the playground (or beyond) to record what they think children are learning there. When they come back into the classroom, they will talk about what they found out: you will be able to listen to their talk and see what you think they have learned.

2.     Learning from games

All sorts of games can be used for learning and you need to think creatively about how to use them in the classroom (see Activity 2). It helps if you can work together with colleagues and friends, and also with your pupils, creating new ideas that can make the learning in your classroom more fun and effective.

In this part, you and your class extend your research investigations by asking older members of the community about games that they played when they were young.

3.     Using reflection to improve teaching

‘Reflection’ is thinking over what happened and seeing how you could do it better next time. After you have tried new activities, it is really helpful to reflect on what was successful and what needs improvement. Make the process of ‘Plan-Act-Record-Reflect’ a part of your daily practice (see Resource 1).

Now that you have a good collection of games, you can use them as the basis for learning activities, and as a basis for reflection and growth. (This can, of course, be done with stories as well.)

Resource 3: Word games has some word games you can try with your pupils.

Resource 1: Action-reflection cycle

 Background information / subject knowledge for teacher

The diagram shows the following steps in the action-reflection cycle:

• Plan an activity.
• Act by putting the plan into practice, and observe how it goes.
• Record what you observe.
• Reflect on what happened.
• Revise your plan, or make a new plan.
• Put the revised or new plan into action, and observe again.
• Record and reflect again.
• And so on, and so on …

Everything you do as a teacher can become part of an action-reflection cycle.

(See also Key Resource: Researching in the classroom.)

Resource 2: Research on local games in the curriculum

 Background information / subject knowledge for teacher

Nonhlanhla Shange is involved in research towards her master’s degree at the Nelson Mandela Unit for Rural Schooling at the University of Fort Hare in South Africa. She is researching the use of local games in the classroom, working at four rural schools.

The pupils and their teachers are carrying out action research into local games.

Teachers listen attentively and make notes of the games that are brought by pupils to class. They try to develop lessons based on the games. They keep journals, in which they reflect on how successful these lessons are, and try to improve on them with future attempts.

Descriptions of two games that were played as part of the research are below.

1. Circle game

Preparations for the game involve drawing a diagram like the one below on the ground.

How is the game played?

This game is played by small groups of five or six pupils. One pupil jumps inside the spaces, turning from side to side, while the other pupils sing a short song or rhyme, first in the local language, and then in English.

What learning activities were based on this game?

This game was developed to show how using repetition, in the children’s own language and in English, can aid learning. By using a different short song or rhyme, the game was also used to teach and practise pupils’ counting.

2. Stone game

Preparations for the game involve drawing a circle on the ground and putting a number of stones in the circle. (The circle should be no more than a metre in diameter.)

How is the game played?

Pupils are put into small groups of five or six. Each group has its own circle on the ground with stones inside it.

A player throws one stone up; before it falls to the ground, they must try to pick up other stones from within the circle.

Every pupil in each group should assign themselves a number (below 10). This number is the number of stones that the player has to try and pick up.

One player goes first. If the player picks up the required number of stones from the circle, they say the multiplication table of this number (for example, the 3 times table, stopping at 30 – this could be lower for younger pupils).

If a player fails to pick up the required number of stones from the circle, they have to multiply the number of stones they have picked up by the number of stones they were supposed to pick up, and come up with a correct answer. For example, if they were supposed to pick up 5 stones, but only picked up 3, they would have to give the correct answer to the sum 5 x 3.

The other players will judge whether they are giving the right or wrong answer.

What learning activities were based on this game?

This game was used to practise pupils’ skills at multiplication.

Taken from original source: Shange, N., Nelson Mandela Foundation’s Unit for Rural Schooling and Development [unpublished research]

Resource 3: Word games

 Teacher resource for planning or adapting to use with pupils

These games can be played in any language and with any age, provided pupils are moderately competent in literacy skills.

Game 1: Bingo

Read the pupils a story they enjoy and ask them to choose two words they like.

Ask a number of pupils for their words and write the key words on the chalkboard where everyone can see.

Divide the class into groups of six and ask each group to choose 12 words for their group. These can be different for each group.

Each pupil makes a bingo sheet by drawing a big square divided into nine small squares (see example below).

Tell each pupil to choose any nine words from their list of 12 and copy these into the bingo sheet, one word in each square. Pupils’ sheets will be different, because they can only choose nine out of the 12 words.

The teacher writes in 12 words on a master sheet and gives this to one pupil. The pupil calls the words out in random order. As a word is called out, each pupil who has the word must cross it out from the bingo sheet. The first to cross out all their words shouts ‘Bingo’ and has won.

Let each group play again with each pupil taking a turn at calling out the words.

If you want to use the bingo sheets more than once, ask the pupils to cover the words with stones or counters as the words are called out.

Did the pupils learn new words? How do you know this?

Sample list of words for Bingo:

Beans

Cabbage

Carrots

Cauliflower

Corn

Mangoes

Maize

Oranges

Paw paws

Peas

Spinach

Sweet potatoes

Two examples of bingo cards:

Game 2: Word soup

Make a list of nine words from the same word family, e.g. parts of the body, rooms in a house, or vegetables. Put this list on the board (next to pictures illustrating the words if you can).

Give each pupil a sheet of squared paper. Tell them to enter the key words into the squared paper, one letter per square. Tell them that words can go from left to right, or top to bottom, or diagonally. Tell pupils to fill the extra squares with any letters of the alphabet. (See example below.)

When every pupil has done this, collect the sheets and mix them up. Now distribute them randomly, and ask pupils to circle all the key words they can find. Each pupil knows there must be nine. The first to finish is the winner.

The pupils can then choose their own subject or area and a word soup from this to give to a friend to play.

Example of word soup

Words to find in this word soup:

Goat                          Camel

Lion                           Giraffe

Snake                        Monkey

Tiger                         Horse

You can make this more interesting by giving ten words and asking them ‘Which word is NOT included in the soup?’ You can use this game for lots of different words and in different subjects.

A blank template for word soup is below. You can add more squares or make it smaller to make the game harder or easier depending on the age and ability of your pupils.

Resource 4: Skipping song

 Teacher resource for planning or adapting to use with pupils

Igbo skipping song

Ikuku buru gi

Zamiriza

Buru gi buru nwa nnegi

Zamiriza

Nwa nnegi idobere na ukwu osisi kporonku

Chọ ya ịhuyi ya (2x)

English translation

Let the wind blow you

Zamiriza

Blow you and your little sister

Zamiriza

The little sister you left under a tree that shed all its leaves

Look for her, you cannot find her (2x)

Section 4: Using story and poetry

1.     Using poems to stimulate writing activities

If pupils listen to and read poems or stories that they enjoy, they are more likely to be interested in developing their own reading and writing skills in their home language or in the language of the classroom.

In order to become successful writers, pupils need several ‘tools’. Firstly, they need something to write about. In Activity 1, you will use examples of name or praise poems or stories to give pupils ideas. Then you will guide them in writing the first draftof a name or praise poem or story. It is important for pupils to understand that writers ‘craft’ their poems and stories. This means writing several draft versions, to which they make improvements, until they are satisfied that their poem or story is the best they can make it.

2.     Working in groups to write life stories

Some of the first stories children hear are likely to be stories about the life experiences of family or community members. The life stories (biographies) of famous people are frequently published in magazines and newspapers and even in comic form, so, whether from listening or from reading, many pupils are likely to be familiar with life stories. This is a good starting point to stimulate interest in reading and writing.

In the classroom, pupils need support from their teacher and from one another when they are learning to speak, read and write – particularly if this is in an additional language. Case Study 2 and Activity 2 show how you can give pupils opportunities to read, talk, work together in small groups and write the first drafts of the life stories of people they are interested in. Pupils need examples to guide their development as writers. The articles they read can help them organise their writing and help with sentence structure and vocabulary.

Younger pupils will need you to work with them, guiding their writing and gradually extending their vocabulary.

3.     Focus on the writing process

When we write something, it is important to make it clear what we are trying to say. We need to plan. Next, we start writing and then stop and read what we’ve written. We may decide to change the order of some words, to add or take away some information or change it around. Finally, we check for incorrect spelling, punctuation or grammar. The final piece of writing may look quite different from our first draft. We have ‘crafted’ our writing.

In the classroom, one piece of writing would be completed (i.e. crafted) before another one is begun. Case Study 3 and the Key Activity show you how to prepare for lessons in which pupils are to craft their writing.

Resource 1:Preparing lessons on name or praise poems

 Background information / subject knowledge for teacher

Decide whether you wish to choose name or praise poems/stories to work on with your pupils.

Choose one or more examples from Resources 2 or 3 OR from other resources that you have OR write your own poem or story.

Write the poem(s)/story(ies) on large sheets of paper or cardboard so that when you use them in class pupils will be able to read the large print with you and then refer to the poems and stories when they are writing their own. If you don’t have large sheets of paper, write on your chalkboard.

Prepare some questions to ask pupils about the poem(s)/story(ies). Obviously, the kind of question will depend on what you have chosen.

For example, if you chose Tade’s or Thabo’s poem, you could begin with:

• ‘What do you notice about the way this poem is written?’
• (Answer: Each line begins with one letter in Tade’s or Thabo’s name).
• If you chose Hugh Lewin’s praise story about Jafta’s mother, you could ask:
• ‘Would you like to have a mother like Jafta’s? Give me a reason for your answer.’

When you have completed this preparation, you are ready to teach lessons about name and praise poems and stories. When pupils begin writing, move around the class to help anyone who finds it difficult to get started. Some may need help with ideas, others with vocabulary.

Resources 2 and 3 are all name or praise poems, songs or stories but the language is much more difficult in some than in others.

Resource 2: Name poems and stories

 Teacher resource for planning or adapting to use with pupils

A name poem written by a teacher in Nigeria

Thoughts about the letters of my name by Tade

T – tough and strong

A – ambitious in all things

D – determined

E – endurance is the key to success

That’s my name!

A name poem written by a teacher in South Africa

Thoughts about the letters of my name by Thabo X

T stands for tough – I’m a man of steel

H is for happy – the way I feel

A is for ambition to be the…

Best

One of a kind – that’s me!

A name story written by a teacher in South Africa

A naming story that was told to me by Mbhevula Ntuli

A long time ago, in the middle of summer, my grandfather, then named Mavuvu, went to the river to fulfil some ritual ceremonies. There he came across a full-grown buffalo that had come to drink. The animal charged him and they fought. He killed the massive beast and immediately ran home to tell his father about his amazing feat. His father, Muraai, sent a message round the village and people rushed to the river. It was true – there lay the dead buffalo!

From that day Mavuvu received great respect from whoever knew what he had done. Men and women, young and old, honoured him. Some people started to give him the nickname ‘Mbhevula’. The whispered name reached the ears of his father Muraai who decided to call the tribe together for a name-changing ceremony. Officially, Mavuvu became Mbhevula, meaning ‘buffalo’ in the Ndebele language.

When I was born, in the middle of the 20^th century, I was named after my grandfather. It is a name that I associate with the courage and strength of my ancestor and I am proud of it.

Resource 3:Praise poems and stories

 Teacher resource for planning or adapting to use with pupils

A Yoruba poem in praise of the python

Some praise poetry praises animals or objects rather than people. Here is a poem from the Yoruba people. Explanation of some of the language is provided after the poem.

Python

1      Swaggering prince

Giant among snakes.

They say python has no house.

I heard it a long time ago

5      And I laughed and laughed and laughed.

For who owns the ground under the lemon grass?

Who owns the ground under the elephant grass?

Who owns the swamp – father of rivers?

Who owns the stagnant pool – father of waters?

10     Because they never walk hand in hand

People say that snakes walk only singly.

But just imagine

Suppose the viper walks in front

The green mamba follows

15     And the python creeps rumbling behind

Who will be brave enough

To wait for them?

Notes

To walk with a swagger is to walk proudly – thinking you are the best, showing off. In Line 1, the poem describes the python as a swaggering prince.

The questions in Lines 6 to 9 suggest that the python has many houses – both on the ground and in water.

In verse two, the poem suggests that other animals and people would be too frightened to walk next to the snakes – that is why snakes ‘walk’ singly (by themselves).

Original sources:Python taken from English Matters, Grade 7 Anthology, compiled by Lloyd, G. & Montgomery, K.

Resource 4: Preparing lessons on life stories

 Background information / subject knowledge for teacher

1. Collect the resources that you will need. This may take some time, but the newspapers, magazines and comics that you collect could be used for many different kinds of language lessons in addition to those on reading and writing life stories. Some pupils may be able to bring newspapers and magazines from home, so ask them to ask their families for permission to do so. Ask your colleagues and friends to contribute newspapers and magazines that they have finished with. In some countries, newspaper and magazine publishers may be prepared to donate copies to your school. Some NGOs also have excellent publications. For example, articles about Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s life are available from different Nigerian newspapers and the NGOs ‘Millenium Hope’ and ‘Child Care Trust’ also have useful magazine materials.
   • Before you begin these lessons you must have enough reading material about a range of well-known people for each group of pupils to work with.
2. Copy on to large sheets of paper or cardboard or on to your chalkboard the life story of Oliver de Coque (biography below) OR another life story of your choice that is written in fairly simple language.
3. Make a list of common features of life stories to discuss with your pupils. These include:
   • usually telling the story in a time sequence from early years to later years in the person’s life;
   • highlighting the special achievements of the person’s life;
   • details of something particularly interesting or amusing about the person’s life.
4. Now you are ready to begin the lesson!

Guiding pupils while they write life stories

While pupils are working in their groups, move round the room to check that they understand the task and are able to find articles to use. You could write a ‘checklist’ on the chalkboard to guide pupils in their writing. For example:

• name(s) of the person;
• place of birth;
• family details;
• ‘history’ – school days, first achievements, later achievements
• interesting/sad/amusing things that have happened in the person’s life.

Encourage pupils to think about the order in which to write the information about the person and to use some of their own words. They should not just copy from the articles.

Oliver de Coque’s life story (biography)

Background

Oliver De Coque is a household name in Nigerian music circles. De Coque, who started music 39 years ago with Ekpili at the age of 17, hails from Ezinifite, Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State. His real name is Oliver Sunday Akanite.

In 1976, at the age of 28, Akanite made a remarkable impact with his universally accepted lyrics and rhythms, which he created through Ogene Super Sound of Africa. The albums he has released in the past 26 years to date are hits to the extent that his greatest hit; ‘Ka anyi bili be ndu’ sold two million copies. Following his astounding musical performance, he started receiving awards, and honours from Nigeria and beyond. Ten years ago, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, crowned him the King of Highlife music.

In 1994, in America, he was made an honorary doctor of letters in Music at the University of New Orleans. At home, the highest title in his land, Ikemba, a similar title that was bequeathed to the Biafran warlord, Dim Emeka Ojukwu, was given to Akanite in his town, Ezinifite.

In Highlife music, Akanite has carved a niche for himself with his Ogene brand. His is a highlife that will keep the fans awake as long as he plays. With his training spanning three masters, he can confidently play the guitar and use this to back up any musician.

‘I started first with Igbo music called Ekpili at the age of 17. That was in 1965. We were only two, Alexander Emelumonye and myself. We used to feature every weekend on Channel 4 of the Nigerian Television Authority, Ogbor Hill, Aba. I also learnt shoe trading, while we waited for weekend performances.

In 1970, after the civil war, I travelled back to Aba in search of a job. I met a good friend, Obed Okoroafor, from Mbaise. He is a good congarist. I was a good guitarist and vocalist. I decided to stop local music entirely and look for something bigger than Ekpili music. So, both of us were looking for what to do. We met a musical band, Sunny Agaga and his Lucky Star Band that came from Lagos to play in Aba.

They were about to perform and I approached the bandleader, Sunny Agaga. I told him that we would like to feature with them, and that if possible, he could employ us, (Obed as his congarist and myself, the guitarist). He said he would not answer me but that I should come when they are ready to perform. When it was time we went there. He gave me the guitar, I started backing them up, then as the music changed I followed up and Sunny automatically employed me. Because he had good drummers, he did not want Obed, but I pleaded with him. He agreed to employ him, then after the tour, we proceeded to Lagos. I had never been to Lagos before and when we arrived, I saw electricity everywhere, even on the streets. We went to Alara Street, Onike, Yaba, behind QueensCollege. There was no show for about three weeks. I was worried, until we performed somewhere. I told myself that these people are not businesslike.

I started looking for another band. Luckily, I met Jacob Oluwole and his Friendly Unity Band. I went to them at Oshodi. I was interviewed and got employed. They also got me an accommodation. At that time, they were preparing for a recording with the title, Agbasisi. We recorded it and it became a hit and the talk of the town.

Later, I started noticing that they were not as friendly and united as their name implied. They quarrelled, argued and fought a lot. I do not like people who are quarrelsome, because music does not go with fighting and disunity. As a musician, your duty is to entertain people. I started having a change of heart as to my stay with them. Luckily, I met another musician, Sule Agboola and his Moonlight Star Band. They were preparing for a summer tour of Europe. This was in 1973. They got me an international passport and visa. We left Nigeria on July 13, 1973. We were in London and only performed at the weekends. So I was able to secure a part-time job that I was paid 80 pounds a week. We were in London for four months. I used the money I earned from my job to buy two guitars, two amplifiers, and a set of drums. This was in preparation for my own band. When we returned, I told the bandleader that I had to be on my own, but that if they had any show or recording, they should call me to assist.’

Taken from original source:http://www.onlinenigeria.com/links/coqueadv.asp

Resource 5: Questions for pupils – to think about how to improve (craft) what they have written in their first draft

 Pupil use

Section 5: Turning oral stories, poems and games into books

1.     Showing that you value home languages

Pupils who speak a language at home that is different from the language of the classroom need to know that you value their home language. This is important because a home language is part of who a person is. One way of demonstrating this is to encourage your pupils to tell stories and riddles, recite poems, sing songs and explain games in their home languages and then to write these down, either in their home languages or in another language.

In Activity 1, you help pupils explore the similarities and differences between oral and written texts. You will encourage them to think about what is valuable about the oral tradition, why people write things down and which languages are used in speech and writing.

2.     Turning stories into books

Some kinds of learning, such as learning to play a musical instrument, use a computer or drive a car, require a great deal of practice. As a teacher, you need to give pupils opportunities to repeat and practise what they have tried before so that they can improve on their first efforts. While Activity 2 in this section is similar to the Key Activity in Section 4, the repetition is important. Pupils will learn that writing is a process and that their written stories, poems and instructions for games will give more pleasure to others if they craft them carefully.

Writing, illustrating and reading these books may take several lessons, but as these activities provide many opportunities for language work, the time will be well spent. You can use Resource 2: A checklist for pupils to help pupils assess their work. Case Study 2 suggests how teachers can make books with pupils who are not yet very skilled as writers.

3.     Working in groups on book design

Communication is not just about words. Today’s newspapers carry far more photographs than in the past and modern textbooks include many more illustrations than older ones. Advertisers use images on billboards, in magazines and on television to sell products. Computer screens combine words and images in exciting ways. Pupils need to be able to create and read texts that combine the verbal (words) and the visual (pictures). As the teacher, your responsibilities include:

• keeping up to date with what interests pupils;
• including design activities (for example, designing grocery packages, posters, advertisements) in language and literacy lessons.

This part focuses on designing a cover for the pupils’ books of stories, poems, songs and games.

Resource 1: How stories are made into books

 Background information / subject knowledge for teacher

Making a book for your class alongside their normal reading and writing activities gives pupils an understanding of the importance of being able to read to access information and new stories. This process might encourage your pupils to want to read more by making a book for the class using their pictures and their own words as they become more competent writers.

Stage 1: Books begin with a great idea.

The author writes down a story. Probably, the author will write a few drafts of the story, trying to improve it each time. Authors often do research for their stories to make sure that they spell words right and get their facts straight. Sometimes it takes many weeks for the author to find the right way to tell the story. When the author is satisfied, she’ll type up or write her words into a manuscript, which she will send to her editor at the publishing house.

Stage 2: Editors are very busy people, and they have to read a LOT!

Manuscripts come in every day from authors all over the world. Editors have to sort through all of the manuscripts and decide which stories they think should be published. Editors love being able to tell authors that they want to publish the author’s story. And, of course, the author is thrilled! The editor also decides who should illustrate the manuscript. It’s very odd to think that for some books the author and illustrator never meet each other! Sometimes, the editor helps them communicate back and forth.

Stage 3: The artist's work begins.

Before an artist sits down to illustrate a story, she finds out the size the book is to be, and then she plans out the pages. She makes a ‘dummy’ book, with rough sketches, to show to her editor and the book designer. At this point, the editor might make some changes in the text of the story. Editors are good at helping writers find clearer ways of saying things.

Stage 4: The book designer gets involved.

The designer takes a look at the artist’s dummy book, and he makes suggestions for the art. He also finds the right typeface to use in the book. The style and size of the letters can make a big difference in how the book looks in the end. The designer can also help the artist decide how the words of the story will fit in with the art. Next, the story is sent to a copyeditor so that spelling, grammar, and punctuation can be checked. Then the author has another chance to change any part of the story.

Meanwhile…

Stage 5: The artist gets busy creating the finished artwork!

She uses her dummy book as a guide. The pages must be measured exactly so that she draws the art in the right place. She makes marks in the gutter where the pages will be sewn into the binding, and she marks the trim lines where the pages will be cut.

It’s not easy! She needs to create the art the way it will look in the printed book. It needs to be wonderful. Lines need to be straight, and there needs to be space for the words of the story.

When this is finished, she delivers the art to her editor at the publishing house.

There, the art is checked for mistakes, and the production director estimates how much it will cost to make the book. He determines the printing schedule for the book and orders paper.

Stage 6: The book goes into production!

The designer shows how the words and art will be placed. Then colour proofs are made, and everyone checks to make sure the printed colours match the colours of the artist’s illustrations. That is what everyone is looking at in this picture.

Once everyone is satisfied with how the art looks on the pages, final printing plates are made. The plates will be used on the printing press to print the pages.

Stage 7: Finally! It’s time to print the book!

After months of preparation, the printing takes only a day.

The thin plates (with impressions of the book on them) are wrapped around large cylinders that go in the printing press. Each cylinder prints one of the four colours of the book – first yellow, then blue, then red, then black. The other colours are made from combinations of these four colours.

Special grippers and conveyer belts help move the sheets of paper through the press. It’s VERY noisy in a printing plant!

Stage 8: Hooray! The moment everyone has been waiting for is here!

The book is printed, and it looks wonderful!

Did you know that all of the pages of a book are printed on one BIG sheet of paper? Half of the pages are printed on one side of the press sheet and the other half are printed on the opposite side. After these sheets are printed, they are folded, cut and then bound into a book.

Stage 9: The new books are distributed!

Bound books are taken to the book warehouse, where they stay until they are sold to libraries and bookshops.

How do librarians and booksellers know that a great new book has been published? Other people at the publishing house sell and publicise the book. Sometimes posters and special displays are made. Publicists send out review copies of the book to people in the media. Authors often are interviewed by reporters in the newspaper and on TV.

Lots of people work hard to make sure that one day…

Stage 10: …you read the book!

All of the people you’ve met are thinking about you and whether or not you will like the book. The author and artist think about you when they create the story and illustrations. The editor and designer think about you, too, when they put the book together. And YOU are the reason the big noisy printing press prints the books for you to read.

Happy reading!

Taken from: How a book is made – http://www.harperchildrens.com

Other websites on this topic includehttp://library.thinkquest.org and http://www.factmonster.com

Resource 2: A checklist for pupils – to use when editing their work for a book

 Pupil use

Resource 3: Turning pupils’ stories into a ‘Big Book’

 Teacher resource for planning or adapting to use with pupils

How to make a Big Book

Making books can really motivate children to want to read and write more for themselves. With younger pupils, you may want to do more preparation beforehand, limiting the tasks they are involved with to specific aspects (see below). Older pupils, depending on their experience, will be able to undertake many more of the tasks themselves (as in Activity 2).

1. First of all, read through the whole story carefully and make sure it is complete and properly punctuated.
2. Decide how much text (writing) you want to put on each double-page spread. If you have Primary 1s and it is the beginning of the school year, you may want to make sure that there are no more than two or three sentences on a double-page spread. In some parts of the story you may only want to write a phrase. If you are working with older pupils, you can write more.
3. Think about what illustrations or drawings you need to accompany the text. This will help you to decide how long you think the book will be, and how many pages it will have.
4. Take your sheet of thin card, and fold it in half. This will be the cover of your book. If a book made of newsprint pages has a card cover, it lasts much longer.
5. Write out the whole story on an A4 sheet of lined paper and put the text for each double-page spread on a new line. This will be really helpful when you write out the text on the actual pages.
6. Fold each sheet of newsprint in half. Slip the sheets together and make sure that they are neat, and fit nicely. Don’t fasten the sheets together yet.
7. Now decide where you are going to put the text. Will you put it on the left-hand page of each double-page spread? Or will you write on the right-hand pages? Will you write at the top of the pages? Or will you write at the bottom? Will each double-page spread look a little different? Perhaps you will choose to write right across the double-page spread sometimes? You will have to make decisions about this.
8. Now take the folded newsprint pages. Work at a large table. Use the fat black wax crayon and write neatly the title of the story on the outside of the first sheet. Write the title just as it would look on the very first page in a book that you would buy in a shop. You want your book to look professional.
9. Underneath, in smaller letters, write the names of all the pupils who created the story, or your class. (If this is the whole class, it will be very difficult to fit in 50+ names, so just name the class if you can’t fit in all of the names!)
10. Next, open the first sheet of newsprint. This will be your first double-page spread. Write the first sentence(s) or phrase(s) on this double-page spread, using the fat black wax crayon. You must leave enough space for the illustrations or drawings.
11. When you have written the text for this double-page spread, turn over to the next double-page spread, and write the next sentence(s), or phrase(s), with the black wax crayon. Carry on in this way, until you have written out the whole story.
12. Take the ‘cover’ of your book. You need to decide where you want the title. It’s a good idea to leave space for an illustration. Will you write the title at the top, or at the bottom? When you have decided, write the title lightly in pencil. When you are happy with the way it looks, write over the pencilled words with a felt tip pen.
13. Slip the newsprint pages neatly inside the ‘cover’.
14. Now sew the pages and cover together. There are several ways that you can do this, but the following way works very well:
15. Open out your book so that the cover is at the bottom, and the middle double-page spread is on top. With a big book, it is a good idea to mark two places on the crease in the middle, where you can sew. Mark one place in the top half of the crease, and mark another one in the bottom half. In each place, make three spots. These spots should be about 4 cm apart.
16. Thread your needle with a piece of thin string about 50 cm long. Push the point of the needle through the middle of one of the sets of three spots, right through all the newsprint pages and the cover. Pull the string through firmly, but leave a piece of string about 7 cm hanging and follow the chart.
17. Cut the string attached to the needle, about 7 cm from where it has come through the pages. Now tie the two 7-cm ends together firmly.
18. Repeat the process at the opposite end of the crease.
19. Make a list of the illustrations that you need. Decide if you are going to ask specific children to make the illustrations, or whether you want your whole class to be involved. Pupils can work well in pairs to create the pictures. Plan how to organise the drawings.
20. Choosing the pictures. Read through the whole text with your pupils. Hold the pages open, and read the story aloud. Read the story so that it sounds interesting.
21. Tell your pupils that you want them to make the pictures. As you read through the text a second time, pause on each double-page spread and discuss the picture that it needs. As you and your class decide what is needed on each page, assign each illustration to a specific pupil, or pair of pupils.
22. Give them time to make the pictures carefully. Involve the pupils in sticking them in the book.
23. Even beginner readers can memorise the story, and have a sense of where each picture goes. Underneath each picture, write the name(s) of the pupils who made the picture. Continue in this way until all the pictures have been glued in and labelled.
24. When all the illustrations have been glued in, read the book with your pupils. We are sure that both you and your pupils will feel very proud of their efforts.

Adapted from: Umthamo 2, University of Fort Hare Distance Education Project

Resource 4: Features of good cover design

 Background information / subject knowledge for teacher

1. Eye-catching – a potential reader is attracted to the ‘look’ of the cover.
2. The title is carefully positioned on the page and stands out clearly.
3. The title encourages readers to open the book.
4. The words of the title and the name(s) of the author(s) are easy to read.
5. The use of colours attracts the reader.
6. The use and position of images (drawings or photographs) on the page attracts the reader and these images are ‘connected’ with the book.
7. There is some ‘open space’ on the cover so that the design is not too ‘crowded’.

Adapted from original source: http://www.twbookmark.com/