Lower Primary Children Research Articles

PICTURE BOOKS BY JULIA DONALDSON IN THE CONTEXT OF POSITIVE EDUCATION

The paper examines the features of picture books by Julia Donaldson from the point of view of their adequacy and pedagogical value in working with preschool and lower primary children. The first part of the paper presents the most remarkable features of Donaldson’s poetics, points to the importance of using picture books in working with young learners, and emphasises the most important learning outcomes to be achieved in teaching. The second part of the paper identifies the character traits and the elements of plot in Julia Donaldson’s picture books. Through the interpretation of these features children can develop positive emotions, positive qualities and resiliency, which contributes to achieving the essential goal of positive education – empowerment and well-being of a child.

Trying to activate all senses while teaching lower primary children

This article deals with the practical application of the multisensory method in teaching English language to lower primary school children. At the beginning the author briefly explains the essence of the multisensory method, and stresses the importance of the method in working with new vocabulary during foreign language classes. Next, the author presents a sample lesson for pupils of the second class of primary school in connection with using the multisensory method. In addition, the author introduces the detailed observation sheet where it is clearly visible that activating all the senses while working with the youngest children during foreign language lessons brings great results.

Buddy Reading in a Singaporean Primary School

■ Buddy Reading, a peer tutoring programme, is popularly adopted in Singapore schools to increase the reading proficiency of lower primary children who are not reading at age appropriate levels. However, this programme is rarely subjected to systematic evaluation. In view of this, the present study undertakes an evaluation of the programme as it is implemented in a Singaporean primary school. The evaluation brings to the fore some of the shortcomings inherent in the programme and proposes how the training could be enhanced. The final part of the paper evaluates the effects of the newly proposed training programme and concludes with implications for training and research in the area.