All educators know that quality learning depends upon these three factors― teacher, program, and instructional materials. We recognize the important role of the teacher, the human factor that guides the learners. Her presence is indispensable especially in the early years of schooling. Programs include the conceptual frameworks, the goals and rationale for the curricular and co-curricular tasks that the school offers to the students. These include the objectives, approaches, and teaching methods to implement the program. And the third one is the materials that include the facilities and print or non-print materials needed for instruction. These three factors complement one another forming a balanced whole. A very good example of this is the BEE.

The main thrust of the Bureau of Elementary Education (BEE) of the Department of Education is to provide access, progress, and quality in elementary education. It formulates and implements key programs and projects to enable every citizen to acquire basic preparation that will make him an enlightened, disciplined, nationalistic, self-reliant, God-loving, creative, versatile, and productive member of the national community.

To implement this thrust, key programs, projects, and quality materials are needed. Hence, teachers, administrators, publishers, writers, and other education stakeholders should be cognizant of this goal and see how it is implemented properly.

Materials development

Developing materials especially for children give inner joy, a feeling of contentment, satisfaction in knowing that you have accomplished something. Someone has said “True happiness comes from giving, not receiving. First, doing a good thing to others daily―f0 a kind word, a simple service to someone in need. Second, plant a tree or train a child, not necessarily your own child. Third, write/draw/paint/compose music, or construct something.”

Take note that writing gives joy. If we sum up those three keys to happiness it is “Love thy neighbor” and this includes man and environment. Let me then share with you my experiences in writing educational materials for particularly for the preschool and elementary school learners.

On materials design

According to Johnson (1973), instructional materials are “specially designed classroom tools which contain instructions to learners/teachers and which specify for each increment of learning the content to be learned, the techniques of presentations, practice, and use of that content, and the modes of learning/teaching associated with those techniques.”

Design phase

1.         Select target and audience.

2.         Survey and analyze needs of target audience

3.         Analyze learner’s characteristics

4.         Determine goals and objectives

5.         Determine framework of materials

6.         Prepare and validate skill/content flowchart

Development phase

1.         Survey of existing materials

2.         Organize the format for presentation of content and activities

3.         Select materials

4.         Write the materials

Evaluation phase

1.         Teacher/student evaluation

2.         Revision

3.         Dissemination

Integration of macro-skills in language arts

Listening, speaking, reading, and writing are the primary tools of communication through which learning in and out of school is conducted. Proficiency in the language arts relates directly to every aspect of individual’s life goals?f0 personal, social, educational, and professional.

“We are now aware that whenever students listen, speak, read, and write they are constructing meaning.

They are accessing and recalling information, interpreting it, and applying the information in some meaningful ways. These thinking processes are fundamental to the language arts, and they are transferable to new situations. Hence, by integrating the teaching of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, we are at the same time integrating the teaching of thinking while empowering students with the ability to be life-long learners.” (Dorothy Strickland)

Goals of the material (Using this framework)

Give the students the learning experience that will:

1.  Move them from reading to speaking and listening as they read stories, discuss them and act out the stories for each other.

2.  Make them use what they have learned from reading the text to writing original stories which they can later share by reading aloud to others.

3.  Guide them to write questions in preparation for interviews they will conduct to share what they have jotted down.

In this holistic framework each of the language arts receives individual attention within a structure of mutual support.

• Reading, writing, and thinking are connected as students read a selection, analyze it from a writer’s perspective for the varied text structure and the creative use of language, and then use the selection as a model for their own writing

• The development of thinking is supported through the writing process as students generate ideas, plan, and organize their work, create drafts, reflect on their efforts, and make decisions regarding revisions.

• Listening and speaking are woven into the wrriting process as students interview to gather information, respond to each other’s writing during revision, and publish their finished products.

• The mechanics of writing  grammar and usage are connected to the proofreading stage of the writing process.

Analyzing the characteristics of target learners

1.         Observe the children.

2.         Determine the characteristics, abilities, and activities that interest them.

3.         Read researches on emergent/early school literacy and blend findings with your own experiences/observations in knowing the characteristics of young children.

Principles in designing language materials  (Nunan, 1988)

1.         Materials should be clearly linked to the program they serve.

2.         Materials should be authentic in terms of text and task.

Authentic text ?f0  stretch of real language produced by a real speaker/writer for a real audience and designed to convey a real message of sort.

3.         Materials should stimulate interaction.

Student-to-student interaction promotes language learning by:

3.1       providing greater opportunity for students to use language

3.2       creating a less stressful environment for language use

3.3       allowing students to use a greater range of language functions

3.4       encouraging students to help one another

3.5       increasing motivation to learn

4.         Materials should allow learners to focus on formal aspects of the language.

While the emphasis in materials design is on meaningful aspects of language use, there should be scope for learners to focus on language form (Nunan 1988). A focus in part of each unit/lesson on grammatical structures enables the learners to improve their spoken and written English in the context of an over-all emphasis on meaning.

5.         Materials should encourage learners to develop learning skills and skills in learning-how-to-learn.

Materials should incorporate tasks and activities which?f0

5.1       monitor students’ own performance

5.2       evaluate their developing communication skills

5.3       evaluate their rate of progress and level of attainment

5.4       Develop techniques for applying their skills to genuine communicative interaction outside the classroom

6.         Materials should encourage learners to apply their developing language skills to the world beyond the classroom.

f0 They can be encouraged to monitor and record the type and quantity of language they use outside the classroom. This can be written in their languge diary or journal.

Evaluation

Evaluation is a matter of judging the fitness of something for a particular purpose.

A sample evaluation sheet (Using a 5-point scale)

I.          Objective - SMART

Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Reasonable, Time-bound

II.        Content -  Meaningful, Interesting, Varied, Innovative

III.       Activities

1.         Varied for each level of difficulty

2.         Appropriate for the skill being developed

3.         Gives clear and specific directions

4.         Challenges students’ creativity and critical thinking

5.         Uses language structure and vocabulary words appropriate to target learners

6.         Responds to different learning styles/multi-intelligence

7.         Enhances interactive/cooperative learning

8.         Uses interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary approach

IV.       Exercises

Sufficient, varied, appropriate, clear

Conclusion

Sir Francis Bacon once said, “Reading maketh a full man but it is writing that maketh an exact man.” How aptly said because as writers, we can attest to the fact that we write because we read making the process of reading and writing intertwined.

Well, come and join the pathway to writing ministry of  reaching out to children through developing educational materials. After all, it is our Lord Jesus Christ who said “Let the little children come to Him for theirs is the kingdom of God.” We can be a part of bringing children to Christ through the materials we write. No wonder, one way to happiness is to train children. Happy writing! (May 23, 2011)

References:

Strickland, Dorothy S. et. al. Language Arts: Learning and Teaching. Beijing: Peking University Press, 2005.

Strickland, Dorothy S. Best Practices in Literary Instruction. 1999.

Nunan, David C. Syllabus Design. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.

(Dr. Lalunio, a former Dean of PNU College of Language, Linguistics and Literature and a Vibal author and in-house editor, shares her insights in writing curriculum materials.)