Académique Documents
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PEDAGOGICK FAKULTA
IN
PRIMARY CLASSES
Diploma thesis
Brno 2006
1
I declare that I worked on my thesis on my own and that I used the sources mentioned
in the bibliography.
2
I would like to thank Mgr. Svtlana Hanuov, Ph.D for her kind help and valuable
3
Content:
Introduction 5
I Part one
1.1 Literature
1.1.1 Literature for children..7
1.1.2 Literature in ELT approaches9
1.1.3 Literature across curriculum ..14
1.1.4 Literature at primary stage..17
II Part two
2.1 Activity book 32
2.2 Listening via audiocassettes 42
2.3 James and the Giant Peach across curriculum 48
Conclusion .. 59
Bibliography 61
Summary.. 66
Appendix ..I XI
4
Introduction
I have chosen literature as a subject of study to find out how it benefits children
if of primary age utilizes literary texts that are suitable for their age. Suitable for the
precise age means that children of 10-11 years do not work with texts that are for 6-7
years old (as I saw in some basic schools in the Czech Republic). It is obvious that an
eleven year-old boy is not interested in picture books about the very hungry caterpillar
or the little puppy Spot but he wants to follow Harry Potter throughout exciting and
humorous adventures. Exploring new texts comes closer to the students personal
experience and to their personal life. Some criteria should be followed while choosing
the suitable book. I studied several handbooks for teachers and read instructions how to
choose the best book. The most challenging part was the level of readers.
learning skills influences teachers preparation and work that should be covered in
lessons. For the English language teachers the difference in the level of English amongst
children in any one class is even more remarkable. Many teachers still think that
literature cannot be used in English classes because it is thought to be too difficult for
pupils but they do not think about the variety of work and many ways of using stories in
ELT.
I have found literature as a rich source for English language teaching. Literature
can be used in classes of English according to the age, the language level, the cultural
The practical part of my diploma thesis is based on Roald Dahl s book James
and The Giant Peach and activities related to this marvellous book for children.
5
Otherwise, this book from the 1960s contains examples of modern problems
miserable and lonely children seeking relationships and that are the strongest idea of
Dahls book. On the other hand there is a cultural background that underlines Dahls
stories (such as facts about New York, the Queen Mary ship), as well as social and
moral values that belong to a common tradition, which bridge the natural differences
between countries.
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1.1 Literature in learning process
loved. Each reader, in the process of experiencing a literary work, both brings meaning
There is a wide range of available books for children. Since the 1990s, literature for
children has become an industry. There are specialist guides, specialist reviewers,
publishers, and theories that offer a wide range of literature for children.
It was a long way from John Newberry; a bookseller who issued a variety of
illustrated works in 18th century, to J.K.Rowling, the well-known author of the Harry
Potter books. The 18th century was famous for its verse, nursery rhymes, and ballads.
From this point, the number of publications for children increased and lasts until
summary of genres and a history of childrens literature. In this book nursery rhyme,
fables, folk tales, fairy tales, picture books, nonsense literature etc. are described
from various points of view and are supplemented with extracts from discussed
books.
1999) does not use the term childrens literature or literature for children but
childrens books. There is a brief history of books specifically for children from the
18th century until the 20th century with genres such as school stories, fairy tales,
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animal stories, adventure stories, detective stories, and childrens verse. At the end
here is a list of authors that have become enormously popular and have what is
almost a cult following such as J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S.Lewis, R.Dahl, R.Briggs, and
others. There is also a paragraph contributed to few prize awards for example: the
Pokrivkov divides literature for children simply into four groups: childrens
stories (both old and more recent stories that amuse the listener), traditional
European tales (contains adaptations of classic stories), modern stories (new fairy
tales with an aspect of fantasy), and fairy stories (traditional magical characters).
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1.1.2 Approaches to using literature in ELT
Literature has been a subject of study in many countries at different levels, but
until recently has not been given much emphasis in the EFL classroom. The use of
literary texts in foreign language teaching has greatly increased over the last few years.
The problem of using literature in English classes dates back to the early years of the
last century when literature was thought of high prestige in language study ( Clandfield,
2005 ) The literature class consisted often of an enthusiastic teacher orator and passive
students being too busy writing in translations of unfamiliar words to respond to the
Slater and Collie think that there was a decisive swing against literature in
English as a foreign language not many years ago. Literature was supposed to be a static
kind of language and that was why modern linguistics (appreciating more spoken
language) distrusts a written form of English language. Besides, they found literature as
The role of literature in the language classroom was interrogated during the
period 1960 1980. The 1970`s and early 1980`s approaches were communicative and
emphasised on practical functions of English language. During the 1980`s there was a
contributors suggested that literature should be involved in classes of English for non-
arid business unless there is a response, and even negative responses can create an
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In addition to reawakening of literature in ELT, there was also a boom in
publishing books. For example Language for Literature (1983) by R. Walker, Reading
between the lines (1984) by J. Mc Ray and R. Boardman, and many others.
According to the aims of the previously mentioned books, emphasis has been
given on students language development than on their literary development. Collie and
Slater (1987) ask four basic questions: Why? What? And how? They give four reasons
feelings, customs, and other features of life of the country where English
is spoken.
learners to change their attention from language system to the story itself.
Sometimes the readers are drawn into the development of the plot." The
What kind of literature to use? Texts should be chosen according to students' needs,
interests, cultural background, and language level. Selected books must be relevant to
the life experiences, emotions, or dreams of learners. Collie and Slater suggest choosing
a work that is not much above the student's reading proficiency." Interest, appeal, and
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How can the teacher and the students work with literature? In this part, some
commonly used approaches are described. They want to refresh the conventional
approaches and to stimulate learners' desire to read. The next following aims are
mentioned to characterise Collie and Slater's approach (Collie, Slater, 1987: 8):
supplementing the printed page. They call a printed page as a fairly cold,
tapping the resources of knowledge and experience with the group. Groups can
in a group help each other with difficulties that occur on a page of literary text.
groups
using target language by means that help to express their response either non-
Long and Carter (1992) describe the main arguments for using literature as three
models: the cultural model, the language model and the personal growth model.
The cultural model views a literary text as a product. Literature enables students
to understand and appreciate cultures different from their own. Literature keeps
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The language model. Students are supposed to develop their language through
some of the varied creative uses of the literature language. The approach may
end up with demotivating learners because the readers' responses are ignored. It
language is used. The main aims are based more on learners and activities.
The personal growth model is based on students' engagement with literary texts.
Students learn via literature how to appreciate and evaluate cultural artefacts. It
Carter and Long believe that literature should be a source of pleasure and a stimulus to
personal development.
Duff and Maley provide many interesting activities, which are addressed to
teacher trainers, practising teachers, and teachers who are interested in using literary
texts in ELT. The primary aim of Maley's approach is "to use literary texts as a resource
for stimulating language activities." (Duff, Maley, 1992) They are interested in
involving students in the text, in the group and in the tasks concerning literary texts. The
o Texts are not the only part in the activity but they should be preceded by pre-
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The whys and the wherefores for using literary texts are set in three levels:
linguistic (texts are full of new styles, register, and types of text at all levels of
On contrary, David A. Hill represents his approach in three stages that are summed
much more sensitive and help them understand the text accompanied by
interesting activities.
interaction.
To sum up the previous models there are some important reasons for using literature
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1.1.3 Literature across the curriculum
Like a great journey, literature can show you things you have never seen before
Now more and more teachers of young learners use stories from the wide range
of children's literature. The recent interest in using stories with lower level learners is
to tell a story and listen to is the best indication of how much they like and enjoy it. The
o motivation
Apart from these reasons, there is a great need to use and create activities, which lead to
According to Vandergrift (1995), one of the keys preparing young people for
successful lives in the 21st century is to integrate literature across the curriculum. The
schooling.
Integrating English into the curriculum has become a present problem of ELT.
This teaching approach aims not only to teach English language as a subject, but also to
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use the target language as a method for learning subjects. They use English as a medium
for teaching other school subjects such as maths, biology, history, and P.E.
Combining English and other academic subjects has many advantages. First, the
acquisition of any language is based on input that is easy to understand and meaningful
to most of learners. This goes hand in hand with growth of students interests with
themes and it provides meaningful basis for understanding and acquiring new language
structures and patterns. Second, language, cognition, and social skills develop
concurrently among young learners. Language is a crucial medium that social and
obtain core concepts and develop social skills. Third, the integration of English and
content instruction emphasizes the specificity of functional language use. (Chien, 2003)
B., 2002). This systematic approach is particularly beneficial to young ELL ages three
through eight because it provides background knowledge and cultural information along
with opportunities to hear, speak, and interact with carefully crafted language in
thematic and story contexts. It also develops literacy in an engaging and playful context
(Ghosn, 2002).
According to Ghosn, books suitable for use in classes should be selected after
consideration of few questions. Teachers should find out if the book helps meet
curricular objectives and thematic units that cover the topic or if the content is
appropriate to learnersinteligence and age. On the other hand, the question of language
level, the amount of text and clear illustrations is considered important as well.
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Traditional curricular topics have emphasized basic communicative skills such
as talking about food, sports, music, and family. However, in past few years, the
demands on learners academic language have risen and learners get in touch for
example with the food pyramid, animals, and insects in the field of science. On contrary
their attention is also focused on more social problems such as cultural diversity of the
neighbourhood, as is said above literature can develop social skills. (Smallwood B.,
instructs actual life experiences. With literature teachers, build emotional, social, and
First, they should integrate English language into other subjects, into learners everyday
school life. This way of non-violent in-put helps learners accept English literature as a
part of other school subjects such as history, geography, and biology. The world of
literature can bridge the gap between school, family life, relations etc. Teachers can
show objects of learners interests in other world, in the world of literature. Both
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1.1.4 Literature in primary classes
Children like stories of everyday life, stories full of fantasy and magic. Every
single day of a childs life is a kind of story. Children were born as atabula rasa. As
they grow up, go to school, play with parents, or other children; young children keep the
good and the bad experiences in their little heads, the life story is written and hidden or
from the first class. For young learners the word literature brings to mind books with
unknown words piled in the library. They have no idea about what is it but they consider
literature something very strange and unknown. The problem is not in learners because
they do not know what it (literature) is about, the problem is in teachers. Some teachers
think that literature is for advanced university students or other higher-level students.
However, primary teachers can benefit from the wide range of childrens literature using
various activities.
The educational value of using literary texts and stories in primary classes is a
well-known feature of good teaching practice for children. Literature is a unique way of
many language activities. Ellis (1991) suggests that teachers recognize the true value of
ideal learning conditions by providing enjoyable and memorable contexts for acquiring
It is all very well to point out the advantages of teaching literature but the key
to success in using literature in the ESL classroom depends primarily on the works
selected. (OSullivan, 1991). Ellis advices that at the primary level teachers can choose
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from a wide range of illustrated books. Learners get to know storybooks through
listening to stories read aloud by the teacher and then by recognising the words on the
pages. However, there is a specific gap between the primary stage and the secondary
stage. Teachers can bridge this space by carefully selected books. Moving to secondary
school learners start with more independent reading and involvement. The level of
vocabulary and language is as important as the length of the story. Too long and
complicated stories can be overwhelming for young learners. Ewoyn Brown advices
less than 75% - 80% of the vocabulary, they may lose confidence in their ability to
understand the story. To get the real atmosphere in classes with literary texts teachers
Lesson planning plays a very important role in successful classes. Brown says
that teachers should think of their objective, consider time management, and then create
a lesson plan, which they will use as a lead for their further lessons. Ellis gives clear
guidelines for planning story-based lessons. He suggests useful writing out a detailed
lesson-plan, thinking about types of activities and the classroom language as well as
preparing materials ( flash cards, OHP, etc.). Some teachers may have to work through
syllabus, so they may have worked with the book only a couple of lessons or a couple of
minutes in each class. Spending time with the book is very important. In order for
young students to fully absorb an English language book, they must interact with it
Ellis discussed whether teachers should use the mother tongue within using
more you would use English and the more your pupils get better at and more familiar
with the language, the less you will need to use the mother tongue. (Ellis, 1991)
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However, teachers should think of when and why they would use their mother tongue.
Some situations need to use the mother tongue (according to Ellis, p.23):
Setting the scene by drawing upon the childrens experience related to the story.
Working with a text written in English with unknown words can be a hard work
for pupils. If the teacher ensures pupils that their understanding is supported in several
aesthetically, emotionally, and with most of their senses. This can be provided by a
variety of activities based on learners own work such as making their own worksheets,
drawing illustrations, making puppets, and tasting samples of food chosen according to
the topic.
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1.2 Literature and skills
The aims of language teaching are commonly defined in terms of four skills:
listening, speaking, writing, and reading. Speaking and listening are said to relate to
language expressed through the aural medium and reading and writing are said to relate
to language expressed through the visual medium. (Widdowson, 1990) Speaking and
writing are often referred to as productive (active) skills. Listening and reading, on the
other hand, are called receptive (passive) skills. All four skills are used within working
with literary texts. It is reading books, but also listening to stories, role-playing, writing
characterisations, dramatising etc. A story can be the starting point for various
activities; for example, reading, writing, drama, handwork, etc. (Dunn, 1991)
1.2.1 Listening
Listening is considered the first skill that children acquire. The first person that
they listen to is the mother. It goes on within family life, among friends, at school, at
work listening for a purpose with certain expectations, the ability to predict what is
going to be said, an immediate feedback to what they hear, etc. The most heard
discourse is more spontaneous, lacks formal words, and contains taboo words and other
The next point about listening is that it is a reciprocal skill. It is said that
listening cannot be practised in the same way as speaking. Listening involves a variety
elements: the spoken signals have to be identified, the speech has to be segmented into
understood, the speakers and listeners knowledge of syntax and grammar is needed.
Due to these listening skills, we can say that they do not occur separately but happen at
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Listening is a very necessary skill for students real life communication.
Listening purposes might be principally social. The social purpose will include listening
to a stranger, replying in a formal way, judging the situation. In this case is extremely
helpful a kind of visual backup. Another type of listening that pupils are familiar with is
recorded speech and reading written texts loud. However, this is not so good for
improving listening skills because it keeps their attention to the text and they must split
should train this form while talking to each other or in better case while talking to a
lecturer.
etc.
not understand what they hear, they worry about it and cannot concentrate on what
follows. They need training in important points, for example in listening to a story.
Before reading the story loud, a few questions should be given that concentrate on the
main points of the story. Listening to stories develops the childs listening and
concentrating skills via visual clues, their prior knowledge of how language works and
better to choose a cassette below their usual level. Cassettes bring the story to life, often
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Cassettes can be used to accompany the text. It is more challenging when cassettes are
To sum up listening skills can be used in various ways during the literature
1.2.2 Speaking
and occurs as a part of a dialogue or another verbal exchange. But when learners speak
in an everyday conversation, they do not only use their vocal organs. The act of
speaking involves not only the production of sounds but also the use of gesture, the
movements of the muscles of the face, and indeed the whole body. (Widdowson, 1990)
All these expressions help learners to speak and communicate. Speaking the mother
different from that of the mother tongue, by means of a game imitation, supported from
time to time by reflection, but with the same desire to be understood. (Brewster, 1992)
adventure. It is well known that children need a strong motivation to learn and express
themselves. If children are to maintain this initial motivation, they need to be given
do not need to know any grammar rules or do not have strong vocabulary background as
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Bygate suggests. Their English is based on patterns which they memorized and which
allow them to talk with a minimum of English (such language consists of greeting
having a go with the language and not being afraid of making mistakes. Wright thinks
that children learn better when they have nothing to fear about and teachers should give
more importance to learners achievements than to the mistakes. Stories offer a perfect
diet for the buildup of fluency in all four skills. (Wright, 1997)
Role-plays after reading are very useful speaking activities such as interviews
with characters, a guess game when one student pretends to be a character from the
story and the others have to guess who ask yes/no questions or full dramatization of part
of the story. There are some more activities based on literature concerning speaking:
asking comprehension questions, ask questions that encourage learners to use their
imaginations, retelling the story, speculations on what the characters do after the end of
the story.
1.2.3 Writing
Many learners and teachers deal with the problems of writing in English. Writing
is detached from the wide range of expressive possibilities in speech. A writer is unable
to exploit all the devices available to a speaker: body movement, facial expression,
stress and tone of voice. A speaker can revise ideas as listeners question or disagree.
(Hedge, 1991)
Writing is a process, from gathering ideas through to checking what has been
composing starts with planning, and goes on with constant reviewing, revising and
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editing the work. The writing process involves also communicating (with a reader in
mind a friend, an institution) and therefore is the content and style influenced by
audience. Learners can revise and edit their own work that helps them improve the
writing process. According to Hancock and McDonald, the writing product is a text with
a purpose (to inform, to thank, to request). The functions and forms of written texts
differ from one another. The accuracy (grammar, vocabulary, spelling, capitalization)
and the appropriacy of the content (logically organized, original, and interesting) are
Children acquire the ability of writing during primary stage at the age of
6-7 years. Young learners have to cope with many difficulties of the writing process
such as handwriting, spelling, punctuation, and layout. It is said that young learners do
not automatically transfer their skill in writing from what they know how to do in their
mother tongue. That is why teachers should be very sensitive to their writing demands.
Writing is a way in which children can express their plans, imagination and ideas.
Students often perceive writing as the being-tested skill. Writing is usually relegated to
homework and then handed in to be marked: "[writing] allows students to see how they
are progressing and to get feedback from the teacher, and it allows teachers to monitor
Stories help children become more aware of the general feel and sound of the
foreign language. Stories also introduce children to language items and sentence
All kinds of writing can came from using literary texts for example writing a
letter to the author of the book, or a letter from one character to another character.
Children can make a wanted poster for a character, or a word puzzle of characters. They
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can draw a picture and write captions for it. Worksheets provide a wide range of
1.2.4 Reading
Reading and writing are two activities associated with written language. A
reader will receive what has been written reading is called a receptive skill.
Widdowson (1990) considers reading as the ability to recognize sentences and their
uses the term comprehending to define the ability to recognize sentences through visual
Dawson suggests learners who read widely, achieve greater fluency in English, and gain
The current experience of all teachers of young teenagers is that their students
rarely read in their mother tongue in free time. Teachers should motivate and interest
their learners by choosing the right text or book and do appropriate pre-tasks. Children
are interested in many things that teachers can get them excited about reading.
On the other hand, many language learners lack confidence. They have a very
negative self-image of themselves as successful learners. They fail to learn because they
think that they are not capable of learning. Reading English texts can give these learners
more confidence that will be more valuable than all new words or structures, which they
may learn. Successful reading makes successful readers: the more students read the
better they get at it. And better they are at it the more they read (Prowse, 1999)
Stephen Krashen (1993) comes with a new approach to reading at schools Free
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comprehensible input in a low anxiety situation. This is precisely what free voluntary
Krashen, reading is one of the most powerful tools we have in language education.
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1.3 Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was born in Llandaff in 1916. His parents were from Norway but
were living in Britain because of work. Dahls father died when he was four years old.
He had one brother and five sisters. When he was seven, he went to boarding schools in
famous public school where my headmaster was Geoffrey Fischer, later Archbishop
Canterbury. (Dahl, R., 1972) He left school in 1933 and turned down his mothers offer
of going to Oxford. He wanted to visit faraway places and so joined the Eastern Staff of
At the age of twenty Dahl was sent to Tanzania. In 1939, he joined the Royal
Air Force in Nairobi and trained to be a pilot. Dahls first action ended by his 1940
crash in Libyan Desert. He spent six months in hospital and after convalescence he
rejoined the squadron. However, his wounds caught up with him and he came back to
In 1942, he was posted to the United States as assistant air attach. It was here
that he started writing stories. His first story appeared anonymously under the title
Shot Down Over Libya. Then he wrote a story called The Gremlins (1943). As Dahl
invented. Even Walt Disney decided to animate but in the end it was published as a
picture book and named Walt Disney: The Gremlins (A Royal Air Force Story by Flight
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In 1952, Dahl was introduced to an American actor, Patricia Neal. They got
married in following year and returned to England to live at Gypsy House in the village
of Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire. There he wrote his famous books and stories for
children. He started writing books for children because he had his own children. Had I
not had children of my own, I would have never written books for children, nor would I
have been capable of doing so, said Dahl in his autobiography. They had five children
Olivia, Tessa, Theo, Ophelia, and Lucy. In the early 60s Dahls family was hit by
tragedy Olivia died of measles, Theo was in danger of life and Patricia suffered a
series of strokes while she was pregnant. Otherwise Dahl did not give up and published
James and the Giant Peach (1961) and Charlie and the Chocolate factory (1964).
In 1970s, Dahl met Quentin Blake. In 1983, Patricia Neal and Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl is an author that children love to read repeatedly. His books are on
the top of the polls as the most read stories among young readers. Dahls work includes
picture books; storybooks, poetry and autobiography and some of his books have been
adapted for theatre, radio shows, and the cinema. Millions of young readers devour his
grotesque stories every year and Dahl is accounted for eight of the ten best-selling titles
In 1943, Dahl wrote his first children s story, The Gremlins, for Walt Disney
that was never produced. After The Gremlins, Dahl abandoned children s literature
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However, when he began to have difficulty coming up with new plots, Dahl
decided to return to writing childrens books. During his blackest period of his life, Dahl
wrote two of his best-loved and most widely much-admired books, James and the
Giant Peach, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. These books contain a frequent
Roald Dahl led an extraordinary life full of experiences that enabled him to create such
imaginative stories. [] His delight in the sweet shop and in chocolate bars, his
fascination with flying, his interest in nature and his brush with bullying and corporal
punishment are just some of the personal experiences which stayed with Dahl and
which he moved into his stories. (Faundez, 2000) Dahl demands that his readers
suspend belief from the moment they enter his world. Unusual events are presented as
On the other hand, his stories offer entertainment, excitement, and humour. They
are typical of a narrative and language drive. He senses the same as children do in their
world of violence, explanation of right and wrong. His characters are larger than life and
his metaphors are powerful. In Dahls stories, the main characters are often children
from one-parent families like Danny in Danny, the Champion of the world or orphans as
is James in James and the Giant Peach, Sophie in The BFG and the narrator in The
Witches. The child is a symbol of innocence and a force for good, and is pitted against
incompetence. Adults are black and white and only with a few optimistic images (in
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Dahls stories are modern-day fairy tales full of magical comings and goings,
characters that are obviously good or obviously bad. His characters do not go through
the development of the plot. Their behaviour and responses start up the events. Literary
critic Linda Taylor notes that Dahls main characters are known for their wit,
Dahl represents his point of view in the third person narrative. He breaks down with
events and make the reader see things from a definite angle. Using asides and running
commentary, the anonymous narrator introduces beliefs, opinions, likes, and dislikes,
Roald Dahl is said to have an extraordinary and inventive way with language.
uckyslush. His prose beats with wordplay, giving his language a freshness, spontaneity,
and energy. Dahl uses language to create humour, often playing havoc with readers
sense of logic and order. His fiction is full of spoonerisms, malapropisms, and deliberate
misspellings.
Sponge in James and the Giant Peach is like a great white soggy over boiled cabbage.
He combines nonsense words into meaningful sentences. His place and character names
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are richly symbolic, carrying humour (Miss Trunchbull, aunts Spiker and Sponge,
gentle Miss Honey). Dahls sense for rhythm and rhyme encourage children to play with
Dahls extraordinary use of language provides a rich and inventive setting for
language work. His stories contain all the ingredients for modern day fairytales.
All but one of Dahls books are beautifully illustrated, many of them by Quentin
Blake. He is an important part of Dahls fantasy tales who highlighted the world of
To sum up Roald Dahl is a very special author because of many features that
make him useful for teachers to use in ELT: range of writing, fast narrative drive, rich
and inventive language, humorous writing, characters larger than life, straightforward
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2.1 Activity book
I would like to introduce an activity book called James and the Giant Peach
based on Roald Dahls book with the same name. I created this activity pages by
shortening chapters of Dahls book into few small paragraphs concerning the basic story
lines and characters. The structure is very simple: left pages contain simplified texts and
Why have I chosen this fantasy book? The first reason is my personal relation to
Roald Dahls world and literature itself. His world of fantasy mixing with reality is a
great opportunity for using childish imagination and sense for out-of-reality thinking.
His characters are confronted by big problems, adults who do not listen to children. At
the age of 10 and 11, many children are being confronted by problems with friendship,
parents and events they have no control over. Children sometimes tend to run away
from everyday problems to their own world. This story about an orphan is full of fun
and gives the readers hope that they can overcome any problems if they keep a positive
literature in classes at primary stage. Primary teachers usually work with literature in
Nevertheless, this does not happen so often in English language classes. Literary texts
appear neither in textbooks nor in activity books. There are several reasons for using
literature already mentioned in previous part of my diploma thesis. Duff and Maley
and Brewster (1991) state that stories as the starting-point for a wide variety of related
language and learning activities. However, there are some other reasons why teachers
should use storybooks such as motivation, having fun, sharing social experience while
32
listening to stories in class. Exercising the imagination is also one of the reasons that are
mentioned by Ellis and Brewster (1991). I appreciate most using books as a tool in
linking fantasy and the imagination with the childs real world. Children delight in
imagination and fantasy... It is more than simply a matter of enjoyment, however. In the
primary school, children are very busy making sense of the world about them. They are
identifying pattern and deviation from the pattern. They test out their versions of the
world through fantasy and confirm how the world actually is by imagining how it might
be different. In the language classroom this capacity for fantasy and imagination has a
Children are born to play games in their own worlds and enjoy themselves.
Nevertheless, the first year at school means losing a part of their free fantasy and they
Teachers usually force their pupils to unnatural stereotypes. According to this teachers`
special courses at music schools, art schools, and sports clubs. However, reading books
is a part of children` s free time. On the other hand playing computer games and
I realised one lesson based on the activity book James and the Giant Peach in
fifth class at Z Prask in Znojmo. I worked with a group of learners who have been
learning English for 2 years. There were 18 pupils 10 girls and 8 boys in this group.
This class was not specialised on any language or sport. There was a girl who was born
in Australia and spoke fluent English and for this reason, it was much easier for other
33
In comparison, I realised the same lessons in a private language school in Prague
where I work part-time as a teacher. I taught English to a group of six girls at the age of
11-12 years. The course was called English for children and was considered as a
The atmosphere was very friendly and open. When it was hot and pupils spent lessons
As I can say there are many advantages of teaching such a small group fewer
pupils = more time, more activities, more difficult exercises. On the other hand, it is
very challenging for me to handle a group of teenagers that want to enjoy their free time
after school talking about personal problems such as new boyfriends, pop stars and TV
shows. For me as a teacher it means strong motivation and variety of activities for each
lesson.
Time: 45 minutes
Aims:
Aims:
34
organising work
self-checking
Procedures
A. Warm up -
Time: 5 minutes
Procedure: Pupils sit on the floor and listen to teacher. They close eyes and
sleep. Then the teacher reads the script below and children act out.
You are a peach. You are a very very small peach. You are sleeping. I come to
you and I give you a magic pill. The sun is shining. The little peach starts to grow.
Slowly stretch out. Slowly stand up. Slowly. You are growing. Its bigger and bigger.
Now the peach is as big as a melon. You are growing and growing. Now you are as big
as a dog. The sun is shining. The peach is as big as a car. Now the wind is blowing.
Moreover, suddenly you are falling down. You are rolling and rolling...
B. Presentation
Time: 10 minutes
Procedure: The teacher shows children the cover of James and the Giant Peach to
remind the story and the author. He/she emphasises names of main characters and
35
Skill: listening
C. Controlled practise
Time: 10 minutes
Procedure: Reading texts together (one by one, teacher to children). Children match
D. Production
Time: 15 min.
Procedure: Pupils read texts and do activities in activity books. They work
independently, in pairs.
Chapter 1 activity draw two pictures according to the description in the text
36
Time: 5 min.
Time: 45 minutes
Materials: copies of James and The Giant Peach activity book, pictures, a book
of James and the Giant Peach, paper or cards, pencils, white/blackboard, markers
Aims:
Aims:
Procedures:
F. Warm up hangman
Time: 5 minutes
37
Procedures: Write a series of dashes ( _ _ _ _ ) on the board and invite the learners
to play hangman. They shout out letters; if the letter appears in the word, it is written
on the correct dash; if it does not occur, elements are added to produce a hanged man
on the gallows.
B._Presentation
Time: 5 10 minutes
Procedures: Students copy first and last sentences from chapters 1, 2, and 3 on to
pieces of card or paper. Then mix them all up and the teacher asks children to match
the beginnings and endings. When a pair thinks they have matched, they sit down
and make up the story. Then they read aloud their stories. Pupils are asked to check
C. Controlled practise
Aims: to ensure that the text has been understood sufficiently, to encourage learners,
Time: 10 minutes
Procedures: Pupils read simplified texts in activity books aloud or silently (each
chapter is followed by a set of exercises in activity pages; first pupils read, then do
38
G. Production
Procedures: Learners retell the story through pictures and reflect how James and his
friends changed during the story and what do like best about the book.
Aim: sum up the story of James and his friends; who is your favourite character?
Time: 5 minutes
EVALUATION
The main aim of this activity book- get children acquainted with a literary text
was fulfilled in both lessons either in the fifth class or in the language course but with
slight differences and some similarities. One feature that was in common for both
groups was the fact that children had not read any book or a part of a book written in
English.
Pupils from Znojmo were very difficult to motivate because they feared they
would not understand every word, every sentence structure. According to this fact few
learners focused on precise translation of each word and that was very demotivating for
both the children and me. With this in mind, boys stuck and refused to go on with
reading and doing exercises because of one word that was not in their textbooks. As the
teacher told me about all the pupils how they worked during lessons of English, I was
39
very surprised that the worst pupils became the best pupils. They appreciated most
the materials that were used such as pictures, crosswords, fruit, and a original book.
Finally, pupils worked mostly on their own and without my help. At the end of every
lesson there, was kind of feedback section where I tested learners understanding the
story and revising new vocabulary. Pupils were asked several questions or did a fun
exercise. Overall, I can say that learners from Znojmo worked above their possibilities
and tried very hard while going through this activity book. Therefore, exercises were
too difficult for them. When they did not understand, I explained the problem slowly in
English using pictures and drawing on the blackboard, so they could guess the meaning.
As I said Goodbye, they asked me if I could be their teacher forever and that was the
exercises went on much easily than in Znojmo because of several facts there were
only girls in this group, they did not know each other, they paid for it, and they had a
was the best in reading and who was the best in drawing etc. Although they also had no
experience with reading a literary text, they were very enthusiastic and keen on doing
unknown things. The only problem that occurred while teaching teenage girls was
talking out of the topic. Prague learners were used to talk in English and listen to
English speakers, so they had no problems when they did not understand. They asked
me about a word meaning and I explained in the same way as I did to the fifth class but
they understood after a while. These learners were less fixed on words and text
structure; they were caught up by the story for the first time.
Overall, the activity book seemed to be more difficult for learners from Znojmo
because it was something they had never done before new text, vocabulary, materials,
40
and approaches. The atmosphere was strange because I was used to friendly and hard
working children from the language school but the learners from Znojmo were used to
work only with exercise and course books. Even though the exercises were above their
maximum, pupils did their best and went through all handouts word by word. I can say
that at least 24 children know Roald Dahl and his James and the Giant Peach. In
addition, I believe one day one of the learners will read this fantastic book in original
41
2.2 Listening via audiocassettes
Brewster and Ellis (1992) consider listening to a foreign language as hard work
for young learners. They propose that children should spend more time listening to the
teacher while playing games, singing songs, and listening to simple stories than sitting
at the desk and fill in the gaps of a grammar handout. One of the reasons why teachers
should use storybooks in their lessons of English is according to Brewster and Ellis this:
listening to stories develops the childs listening and concentrating skills via visual
clues, their prior knowledge of how language works, and their general knowledge many
mothers and grandmothers tell night-stories every evening. As a good model of spoken
word, I used an audiocassette James and the Giant Peach accompanied with some
printed materials made by myself or taken from a handbook for teachers. The Penguin
Readers Teachers Guide (2000) suggest using audio cassettes in five ways: the cassette
as storyteller, using a cassette without the book, using cassettes for plays/sketches,
using a cassette as a serial story and listening comprehension. I followed some of the
suggestions cited above and some useful guidelines from Brewster and Ellis while
Cassettes bring the story to life and often add interesting and atmospheric sound
effects and sometimes very funny noises. The stories should be enjoyed fully and so
did a group of learners at the age of 10-13 that I taught in Prague in a language school.
First they were very surprised by the voices and intonation, esp. of Aunts Spiker and
Sponge and the little magic man, and by the fluency of British speakers but they got
42
Lesson Planning Sheet 1- using a cassette without reading
the book
Time: 45 minutes
Materials: handouts, pictures, a book of James and the Giant Peach, a cassette of
Aims:
Phonological intonation
- rhyme
Procedures:
Warm up and review of work covered in last lessons: names of main characters, name of
the book and the author by doing James and the Giant Peach crossword (see Appendix
VIII)
Time: 5 minutes
Presentation: Four to eight pictures of main scenes are shown to children. Then hide the
pictures and children challenge to remember what they are and what they look like.
43
Time: 15 min
Controlled practice: Introducing the activity Play and stop. Learners listen to the
after a particularly strange or loud noise has been heard. Learners are asked to predict
Production : Complete the poem( see Appendix VII ). Learners select the words that
are the most suitable from the list and write them in the spaces at the ends of the lines.
Time: 10 minutes
Review: What have we done today?, What have they learnt?, Did you enjoy the
activities?
Time: 5 minutes
44
Lesson Planning Sheet 2 using cassettes for plays
Time: 45 minutes
Materials: handouts with exercises, a cassette of James and the Giant Peach, a cassette
Aims:
Phonological intonation
Procedures:
Warm up: Bingo- Write 10 words on the board. Each child chooses any five words
(figure one) and writes them down. Then the teacher calls out one word after another.
Children cross off the words they have found. When a child has crossed off all five
Time: 5 minutes
figure 1
Presentation: Children have a version of the story with gaps in the text (figure two).
Time: 5 minutes
45
Production: Learners first listen to the cassette. First listening is a kind of get-to-known
. Then they listen again and fill in their handouts (see Appendix IX). Play the recording
Time: 15 minutes
Controlled practice: Envelopes with cut conversations are given to learners. The task is
to put together sentences. Then children act out the story as the teacher retells it.
Time: 15 minutes
Review: Evaluation of learners` participation and work. Rewards are handed out.
Time: 5 minutes
This story is about a boy called _ _ _ _ _ who lives with his two _ _ _ _ _ - Aunt
Sponge and Aunt Spiker. James is very sad. An old man wants to help James. He
glow-worm and a silkworm in the big peach. James goes into the peach and sees his
new friends. The peach goes down the hill into the Atlantic Ocean. _ _ _ _ _ want to
eat the peach. Creatures fly over the ocean and they meet _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. The peach
stops in _ _ _ _ _ _ _. James and his friends live happily in their new homes. And
figure 2
46
Evaluation
I used these lesson plans when I was teaching at a private language school. The
atmosphere was very good according to the number of learners there were just five or
six learners. I did not follow every point precisely but I have made few changes. There
were some short cuts in organising, time, and presenting new language parts
because of previous knowledge of the vocabulary (used in activity book lessons). The
listening part itself was very difficult for the first time listening but then learners get
used to funny voices and enjoyed it very much. I used the cassette of James story in
other lessons just to train their listening comprehension and listening for specific
information and it was very helpful for our further listening exercises not even within
47
2.3 James and The Giant Peach across
the curriculum
Something is about to happen,' James told himself. Something peculiar is
Using English across the curriculum has become a contemporary issue in ELT
all over the world not even in the Czech Republic. The trend involves both teachers and
learners. Teachers are trying to integrate English into others subjects and in everyday
conversation and learners. Many new schools (esp. private) were established and
introduced new programmes suggesting a Czech teacher and a native speaker in classes
of primary stage. However, this new wave of schooling usually happens in cities like
Using literary texts across the curriculum represents using English and other
subjects. Many activities can be done to make the story alive. Aimed at primary school
pupils the ideas in this part of my diploma thesis are intended as starting points for a
cross curricular topic based on the book James and the Giant Peach. It is thought to
follow the activity book and listening cassettes. I adapted a guide for using the film
version of James and the Giant Peach across the curriculum. I also used some activities
that are suggested on websites (see Bibliography) for English teachers. I found it very
helpful in my further work with Dahls wonderful book. There are some useful websites
48
Curriculum Guidelines
Minibeasts
Buildings
Fruit
1. Cautionary tales
This activity is based on childrens imagination and fantasy influenced by the story.
Children know how bad Aunt Sponge and Spiker treat James. Dahl tried to show
children that grown-ups are not always right. Those who do not behave nice to others
49
usually come to a bad end and in James and the Giant Peach; the two Aunts get their
come-uppance. Do you know any other stories in Czech language about adults who act
Task:
Try to write your own cautionary tale. You have to make up an imaginary hero or
heroine, the same age as yourself and a bad character. In pairs, write a story about your
bad and good character. Do they like each other? How is it to be bad? What bad
Task:
Finger Puppets:
Procedure: Pupils use small parts of felt sewn together so it fits fingers and stick on
faces or they can use thick paper stuck together instead. When using paper, children
Sock Puppets:
Materials: a pair of old (but clean) socks, thread, buttons, wool, some old fabrics
Procedure: Children sew on buttons (eyes) and use wool (mouth, hair, legs) and
50
Procedure: The basic is making a nebe-peklo-rj puppet. Then they stick two parts
to make a mouth and stick on it what they want (eyes made of paper, antennas)
A puppet theatre can be built from a large card box covered with paper. Children then
can perform their characters. Some music or sound effects added to the scenes make the
real atmosphere.
Children are asked to describe themselves in the best words. This is a kind of self-
evaluation exercise.
Task:
Procedure: Learners draw a picture of James and describe him. Then draw a picture of
their neighbour and write the best characteristic of her/ him. As children finish their
drawings and description, they hand it to the teacher. Then teacher reads aloud the
During the storm James and his friends get to travel to many exciting places.
Procedure: Learners have to read the sentences describing the various parts of James
51
Procedure: The sentences above need some illustrations that would fit the scene.
Children are divided into groups of four or six (one table = one group). They choose a
different part of the journey from those above and draw a picture of it. All the pictures
can be shown on the wall to tell the story of James. The sentences can be parts of the
The peach is lifted up out of the water by the seagulls and is flown in
the
air.
James lives with his two Aunts in the South of England in their
The peach lands on top of the Empire State Building in New York.
figure 3
A group of human-sized insects lives in a giant peach. They become James friends.
have to correct them and put them to the right picture (figure 5)
52
MISS SPIDER Thinks she is the nicest but she wants
figure 4
everything for herself.
figure 5
6. Studying minibeasts
James has six new friends who are called minibeasts or creatures. The
creatures can be divided into those that are insects and those that are not.
Task:
Procedure: Teachers revise what are insects, the main features of insects (in mother
tongue with a minimum of English). Learners then guess which creatures from the story
are insects. They have to find out something all minibeasts using encyclopaedias, books,
53
THE LADYBIRD
Number of spots: 2 12
Where: plants
figure 6
The best time for this activity is in spring or summer because learners look
Task 1:
Learners go to the school fields and lie down, watch and listen carefully. They have to
look everywhere under the stones, leaves but very quietly. They can take pictures of
minibeasts. If they see a minibeast, their work is taking notes about a life of the creature
(e.g. where it goes, what it does when someone steps near). Then they think of a list of
yes/no questions for their classmates. They make a chart (figure 7).
Task 2:
Procedure: Children draw pictures of all minibeasts they have seen (not only James
friends). Every pupil has a set of cards. The cards could then be used in a sorting game.
54
Alternatively, they can play another game called snap. They need a set of cards
(2 copies of each creature). They place the cards down in the middle of the table (or
floor when sitting) one by one. When two matching cards come up, they shout snap
How many
Where? Colour? Wings? Activity?
legs?
LADYBUG
GRASSHOPPER
SPIDER
EARTHWORM
CENTIPEDE
GLOW-WORM
figure 7
This may be difficult for children of 10 or 11 to know the most famous buildings of the
world. On the other hand, many children travel around the world with their parents; they
Task:
Procedure: Learners get a list of tourist attractions from all over the world. They have to
match the city and the monument. They may need some books or using the Internet. At
the end, they draw a class wallpaper of the most famous buildings with its description.
55
56
GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE EGYPT
PYRAMIDS CHINA
57
figure 8
9. Peach recipes
The book is called James and the Giant Peach. So why not use peach topic in English
or Hand craft lessons. Children might find this very funny and enjoying.
Task: children compare the skin, seeds, colour, and taste of fruit (figure 9) and write in a
chart. They complete a Venn diagram where they compare a peach and a nectarine.
Task 2:
Children make up some recipes using peach so the fruit is tastier or more disgusting.
They write down all the ingredients and amount. Then they write down how to make the
figure 9
peach
nectarine
plum
cherry
58
Comments to cross-curriculum activities
Activities suggested above are aimed at fifth classes (or fourth classes) of
primary schools according to the curriculum. Teachers can integrate the topics or themes
of either literary or non-literary issue in other subjects. The fact that we teach English in
Science or Art is for some teachers a new challenge. Some primary teachers fear talking
to their pupils in English but they should benefit of their whole-day contact with
children and influence learners as much as they can. For primary pupils teachers
represent a strong personality that they will lack in few years ahead as teenagers.
Do children know some English words from their daily life? Yes, of course.
Even primary learners already know many words for buildings, restaurants, objects of
every day use in English so we do not have to worry about the impact of English in their
lives. Children as they walk on streets see many words in English such as restaurant,
fast food, bus station, and others. They play computer games (most of them are in
English), watch films, read magazines, listen to music, and watch TV. English as any
other language should be used as a part of speakers life, in every day communication,
at the bus stop, at work or at school. Young learners sometimes put English in a
memory box called English class. Moreover, some learners dislike English because
59
Conclusion
In this diploma thesis, I have presented some suggestions and theories how to
use literature in primary classes. In the beginning of this project, enthusiasm blinded my
inexperienced mind of a teacher beginner. Honestly, I can say that not everything
The first reason was the fact that learners who I worked with have never
experienced a literary text in their English classes. Thus, I had to work on strong
motivation, rewards, and funny activities. The second reason why not all points came
true was for the difficulty of some parts such as listening to the cassette. Therefore, I
had to simplify some activities, help learners get involved in the topic by funny pages
(crosswords, rhymes). Finally, children created a positive relation to the crazy English
book (James and the Giant Peach) and Roald Dahl at all (thanks to Hollywood, Charlie
and the Chocolate factory). According to realized lessons I can say that children know
something about Roald Dahl, they know what the book is about, and they can name all
the main characters. I showed them the book after six months in order to get feedback
and they remembered the story in general. Actually, their first sentence was, That is
James!, When you were here last time, we spoke about it, And we listened to the
bad aunts.
With all this in mind, I recommend Roald Dahls books or some other valuable
English books. It is my belief that literature entertains, develops imagination, and causes
questions and new knowledge. Using minimum of literature helps extend a childs
vocabulary. On the other hand, the question of developing concentration and listening
Books are sometimes the only friends for unhappy child souls (even adult). They can
help children get out of the reality, get to unknown places, live unending adventurous,
60
and find new imaginary friends. In England, children go to schools much earlier at the
age of four or five. British teachers set reading storybooks as homework for parents in
order to get children involved in stories. They also have literary activities for six-year-
old pupils such as finding differences between stories, deciding which story is fiction
and which could be real. This helps develop a taste for great literature.
Albert Einstein said, If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy
tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales. And not only
fairy tales develop childrens intelligence. Pieces of advice at the end of my diploma
thesis - have no hesitation in using literature in English classes and have fun!
61
Bibliography
(In alphabetical order)
BREWSTER, J. et al. The primary English teacher's guide. Harmondsworth: Penguin
Books, 1992. 238 p. ISBN 0-140-81359-4
BREWSTER, J., ELLIS, G. The storytelling handbook: a guide for primary teachers of
English. London: Penguin Books, 1991. 275 p. ISBN 0-14-081016-1, 0-14-088277-4
BROWN, E.: Using Children's Literature with Young Learners. [online] In The Internet
TESL Journal, Vol. X, No. 2, February 2003 [cit Nov 25, 2005]. Available from
WWW>
<http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Brown-ChildrensLit.html>
BYGATE, M. Speaking. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. 121 p. ISBN 0-19-
437134-4
CHIN-WEN CHIN, G.: Integrating English into an Elementary School Life Course, The
Internet TESL Journal [online]. December 2003, Vol. IX, No. 12 [cit Oct 10, 2005].
Available from WWW:
<http://iteslj.org/Articles/Chien-Integrating.html>
62
CUDDON, J. A. The Penguin dictionary of literary terms and literary theory.
Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1992. 13, 1051 p. ISBN 0-14-051227-6
DAHL, R. Autobiography [online]. In The 1972 Biography from Third Book of Junior
Authors. H.W. Wilson Company, 1972 [cit Aug 25, 2005]. Available from WWW:
<http://www.edupaperback.org/showauth.cfm?authid=24>
DAHL, R. James and The Giant Peach. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 2001.156 p.
ISBN 0-14-131135-5
DAWSON, N. The Penguin Readers Teachers Guide to using Graded readers. Pearson
Education Limited, 2000. [cit Oct 20, 2005].
Available from WWW:
<http://www.penguinreaders.com/dowloads/PRTGUsingGradedReaders.pdf>
DUFF, A., MALEY, A. Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. 167 p. ISBN
0-19-437094-1
GHOSN, I. K. Four good reasons to use literature in the primary school ELT. English
Language Teaching Journal, 56, 2002
63
HEDGE, P. Writing. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. 167 p. ISBN 0-19-437098-
4
KRASHEN, S. The Power of Reading: Insight from the research. Englewood, CA:
Libraries Unlimited. 1993.
NUDD, K. The life and work of the author of Charlie and the chocolate factory.
Bibliography. [online]. Book and Magazine Collector, January 1989. [cit March
15, 2005]
Available from WWW: < http://www.roalddahlfans.com/articles/bmcjan89art.php>
64
SMALLWOOD, B.: Thematic Literature and Curriculum for English Language
Learners in Early Childhood Education. [online]. In English as a second language,
entered November 2002, Center for Applied Linguistics, 2006 [cit. Nov 19, 2005]
Available from WWW:
<http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/0208smallwood.html>
VANDERGRIFT, K. E.: Linking Literature with Learning [online]. September 28, 1995.
SCILS, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. [cit. December 15, 2005].
Available from WWW:
<http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/books/linkages.html>
WRIGHT, A. Storytelling with children. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. 222 p.
ISBN 0-19-437202-2
DAHL, R. James and the Giant Peach: a fully dramatized recording. Interprets: Andoah,
H., Howes, CH., Ollenerenshaw, M. [et al.]. Puffin Audiobooks. 1998 ISBN 0-14-
086837-2
65
Other used web pages:
Pictures:
http://wuche.wustl.edu/~egomez/colorbook/jgpcoloringmh.jpg
http://wuche.wustl.edu/~egomez/colorbook/jgptreasure1dl.gif
http://www.roalddahlfans.com/books/jametoons.php
Crossword:
www.kidscrosswords.com
The web page for James and the Giant Peach across the curriculum:
http://www.filmeducation.org/filmlib/JamesJP.pdf
Useful webpages:
www.roalddahl.com
The Bugs of James and The Giant Peach:
http://://www.whps.org/school/norfeldt/norfeldtwebsite/Links/bugs_of_james_and_the_
giant_peac.htm
http://www.slsc.org/docs/online/spiders/index.shtml
Peach Recipes:
http://www.roalddahlfans.com/teachers/jame.php
http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/index.html
www.teenreaders.com
www.wordpool.co.uk
66
Summary
Clem tto diplomov prce je zjistit a ovit jak vztah maj ci prvnho stupn ( 4. a
5. tdy) k anglick literatue, resp. ke konkrtn knize Roald Dahl a jeho Jakub a ob
broskev- a jak dok uplatnit dosud nabyt znalosti anglickho jazyka v rznch
formch prce s literrnm textem. Teoretick st se zabv dlenm anglick dtsk
literatury, pibliuje rzn pstupy k literatue ve vuce anglickho jazyka vbec. Dle
nsleduje funkce literatury na prvnm stupni, v rmci osnov ( vech pedmt) a na
zvr je kapitola vnovan tyem zkladnm jazykovm dovednostem poslechu,
mluven, psan a ten a jejich mst v literatue. Teoretick st kon pojednnm o
Roaldu Dahlovi. Praktick st ukazuje innosti zaloen na tzv.activity book a
poslechu zdramatizovan knihy. Posledn kapitola nastiuje zpsoby vyuit knihy
v rmci rznch pedmt na prvnm stupni.
There is a short view on the range of English childrens literature. The aim of this thesis
is to find out how children at the age of 10 11 can work with literature, esp. with
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl and how do they feel about this book. The
theory part is focusing principally on literature in ELT, literature in primary classes,
literature across the curriculum and the last chapter connected with literature is about
literature and four basic skills-listening, speaking, writing, and reading followed by a
chapter about Roald Dahl and his work. The practical part introduces an activity book
which was created according to the main story line and lessons based on listening to
audiocassettes. The last part is called James and the Giant Peach across the curriculum,
which concentrates on various activities through different subjects at primary stage.
67
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl ACTIVITY
Chapter 1 Draw pictures of Aunt Sponge and Aunt
Spiker: Here is James Henry Trotter. He is a small boy.
Aunt Sponge Aunt Spiker
His mother and father are dead. He lives with his two aunts: Sponge and Spiker.
They live in a house on the top of a high hill.
Aunt Sponge is fat and very short. She has small eyes. Her face is as a cabbage.
Aunt Spiker is tall and very slim. She wears glasses. She is very ugly.
James is a very sad boy. He does not have any friends.
An old man gives him a magic bag. James drops his bag under a peach tree and
something strange happens
Chapter 2 ACTIVITY
I
Its a peach! Aunt Spiker is shouting. Make the following sentences
negative:
A nice big one! Aunt Sponge is saying. 1. The aunts want to eat the peach.
The aunts want to eat the big peach. But James ..
cant eat it. Its growing! Its getting bigger and bigger! 2. James plays with children.
The peach is as big as a car. ...........................................................................
Many people and children come and see the very big 3. The peach is as big as a house.
peach. James has no friends. He doesnt like his aunts ...
He goes to the giant peach in the evening. 4. We like Aunt Spiker.
And he ... .............................................................................
Match together:
shout fat
peach no friends
II
Chapter 3
ACTIVITY
He goes into the giant peach. He can see creatures: Look at the picture and choose the correct
A Grasshopper as large as a dog preposition from the box
A big black Spider
in front of on next to
A Ladybug with nine black spots between under in
A Centipede with 100 legs
an Earthworm. James likes them. The Grasshopper is . the Ladybug
He is sleeping in his new peach-house and the Spider.
He is very happy because he is not alone. There is the Earthworm .. the Centipede
The peach rolls down in the morning. They are and the Ladybug.
in the Atlantic Ocean. And the journey begins Ladypider is . the right side of the picture.
James is . the Centipede and .
. ..
III
Chapter 4
ACTIVITY
The giant peach is now a ship. They can eat the Draw a picture of a cloud-man:
peach. There are many sharks around them. They
want to eat the peach-ship. The creatures are very scared.
But James is very clever. He has a plan. Seagulls
pick up the giant peach. The Centipede is singing a song
about their journey. The Old --Green-Grasshopper is
playing his music. They meet some cloud-men.
The cloud-men are tall, white, with black eyes
and thin white hair.
The seagulls fly to a big city New York.
James and his friends go down to......
T F
Are these sentences true or false?
The creatures have nothing to eat.
The cloud-men are black with white eyes.
James has a plan.
The cloud-men are black with white eyes.
Birds help James and his new friends.
IV
Chapter 5 Activity
1.
The peach is falling down.......
2.
The giant peach stops at the top of.
3.
The Empire State Building in New
4.
York City. People are looking at it.
5.
They think it is a spaceship.
6.
James is calling, Hello, everybody!
Hello! All the children are eating the 7.
big peach. And James is very happy now.
8.
And so is the Ladybug, the Old-Green
9.
- Grasshopper, the Earthworm, Lady Spider,
The Centipede, the Glow-worm and the Silkworm.
The journey ends. But the creatures live
on. Each of them is rich, famous, and happy.
1. Apples (pears, cherries) grow on a
2. What name is the fat and short aunt?
3. What is giant? 7. Spiker is James..
4.Not stupid 8. speak loudly
5. a small insect with black
6. 9. not good looking
V
The cover of James and the Giant Peach book
Complete the poem sheet
resource: http://www.puffin.co.uk/static/misc/uk/puffin/Resources%20pdfs/Dahl
%20J&TGP%2072.PDF
VII
1. Listen and fill in what Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker said about the
Giant Peach.
___
___growing! There
growing! Therereally
reallyisisa a__________upup
Its
Its getting______
getting t_t_______! !
______andand________
___!_!
Why?
SS_________!_!Hold Why?ItItisisa app________
Hold _!_!
everything!
everything! L_____
L_
AA__________! !Right
atatthe Rightupup
the____________, , there
there on the _ _______
on the _ _
Spiker!
Spiker!Just
Justlook
look ____branch!
____ ___!_! branch!Cant
Cant____
__
see
see___!_!
2. Listen again and fill in what said James about the Giant
Peach.
Yes,
Yes,AA__________ Oh,
Oh,isnisnt tititbb______________
__? ?ItIt____thethe________
SS________! !
I I______see
seeit!it! bb________________thing
thingI I
have
haveever
everseen!
seen!
VIII
3. Write the characters name and description in and write in
the name of the GIANT fruit.
IX
X
Pictures for class use:
resource: http://www.roalddahlfans.com/books/jametoons.php
XI
Anotace
Dymeov, Pavlna: The use of literary texts in primary classes. Brno, MU 2006, s.66
This diploma thesis is principally focusing on using literary texts in English primary
classes. Various approaches to the role of literature in ELT, at primary stage and across
the curriculum are discussed in theoretical part. Practical part presents Roald Dahls
James and the Giant peach in different ways such as activity book, listening to
audiocassettes, and across the curriculum.
Klov slova: zkladn kola, prvn stupe, anglick jazyk, literatura, v rmci osnov
Roald Dahl, James and The Giant Peach