Materials for Language Teaching at Steiner Waldorf Schools
edited by Christoph Jaffke and Peter Morris in cooperation with the Pädagogische Forschungsstelle beim Bund der Freien Waldorfschulen
The following titles are widely used in Waldorf schools all over the world where English is taught as a second language.
CLASS 4 / 5
The Pancake (Class 4/5)
Many teachers consider this collection to be something like the ideal first reader. Apart from The Pancakeitself, the book contains ’classic’ stories that have been among the favourites of generations of children in English-speaking countries around the world. – From its first appearance in 1922 until 1990, The Pancakewas reprinted no less than seventy-three times. – There are three features that make this reader particularly attractive: the very ’juicy’ language, full of repetitive rhythmic elements that help our children to get into reading fluently very soon, the delightful illustrations in full colour throughout the book offering endless opportunities for description and conversations, and – the book is printed in very large, easy-to-read letters. – With exercises.
Silly Simon – An English Folk Tale (Class 4/5)
This little booklet has every quality it takes to be a suitable reader for Class 4 or 5. The story of Simple Simon may well have been one that children loved to hear in the years of oral work, they may even have acted it and have found their favourite incidents. Mollie Clarke has retold it in clear and lively style and yet uses repetitions in such a way that children will be able to recognise and thus read entire sentences rather than work at deciphering one word after another. The illustrations are a joy to look at and encourage little conversations. Last not least, the printer has managed to be a real composer, spacing the words and lines in such a way that the eye is led on but never confused. This charming book has been out of print for many years, and the Waldorf Schools have been fortunate in being permitted to reprint it for their purposes.
The King’s Bread and other stories (Class 4/5)
This new collection for Early Readers brings together four classic folk tales:
- The Giant Turnip
- Goldilocks and the Three Bears
- Stone Soup
- The King’s Bread
The stories are retold in simple but interesting English – lots of repetition, but with enough small variations to keep young readers’ attention! Several tales are presented both as stories and plays, offering extra variety in class. – Word lists and a broad range of exercises for first oral use, together with many ‘how-to’ hints for teachers, round off the collection, which ends with the usual list of irregular verbs.
Many teachers consider this collection to be something like the ideal first reader. Apart from The Pancake itself, the book contains ’classic’ stories that have been among the favourites of generations of children in English-speaking countries around the world. – From its first appearance in 1922 until 1990, The Pancake was reprinted no less than seventy-three times. – There are three features that make this reader particularly attractive: the very ’juicy’ language, full of repetitive rhythmic elements that help our children to get into reading fluently very soon, the delightful illustrations in full colour throughout the book offering endless opportunities for description and conversations, and – the book is printed in very large, easy-to-read letters. – With exercises.
Ripe Plums in Spring and other stories (Class 4/5)
Four stories have been selected from the classic Waldorf collection for early readers, Hay for my Ox. Edited and – with a light touch! – modernized for learners of English, they are suitable for use in Classes 4 or 5 of Waldorf Schools. The language is easy to understand, though a little more difficult than the well-known reader, The Pancake, and the stories will be enjoyed for their humour and many surprises. Frequent (but never boring!) repetition gives young learners the practice they need on their way to becoming confident readers.- The story is richly illustrated with new watercolour paintings by Christiane Lesch – pictures which themselves offer many opportunities for conversation work in class.
The Work Section comprises an extensive Page by Page vocabulary and over ninety exercises,
offering practice with question words, tense-changing, forming questions, describing pictures and various forms of vocabulary-work. There is material for varied ability levels, from weak pupils to faster learners. – A List of English Irregular Verbs rounds off this reader.
The Ship That Turned Over (simple version, Class 4/5)
After the world of fairy tales, legends and nursery tales, this story leads into “real life”, in short sentences, simply structured. A ship sinks in the Atlantic, its passengers are saved, the captain attempts to salvage the wreck but fails. Suitable for a short and exciting read, unhampered by “hard“ words, once the vocabulary of ship and seamanship is mastered. (Even simple words are explained in the annotations, mainly in English).
CLASS 5 / 6
Hazy Mountain – The story of an Indian Boy and a Horse (Class 5/6)
This beautiful book tells the story of a young Indian boy who tames a wild horse that nobody else can ride. Suitable for use as a first reader, the text is complemented by rich colour illustrations on every page. For those teachers who wish to use it, the final two pages offer a brief overview of the main vocabulary in sentence form (’Things to remember’).
Ghosts at the Castle! Vol.1 (Class 5)
Here is the story of Brian and Julie, and their problems with the ghosts at the age-old castle of the McPhantoms! This book was specially written to provide a fast, entertaining and not-too-difficult read after stories like The Pancake or Silly Simon. It unites puzzles, excitement and comedy with useful, everyday language. It is beautifully complemented by eight watercolour-illustrations by Christiane Lesch, in full colour. – There are three different vocabulary sections – Thematic, Opposites and Page by Page – to suit most tastes and styles of teaching. As usual, there is a very extensive selection of exercises to choose from, offering practice with the basic question words who, what, where etc., as well as simple tense-changing (Future and Simple Past), Short Answers, Either-Or questions and – if desired – some first, easy vocabulary practice and short retellings. A List of English Irregular Verbs rounds off this useful reader, together with some notes for teachers on introducing techniques of independent work to the pupils.
A List of English Irregular Verbs rounds off this useful reader, together with some notes for teachers on introducing techniques of independent work to the pupils.
Workbook Ghosts at the Castle! Vol.2 (Class 5)
This workbook accompanies the new edition of the reader “Ghosts at the Castle” with a wide-ranging and extensive selection of exercises keyed to the story text. They include a broad range of grammar work suitable for this age group.
Dick Whittington – A story from England (Class 5/6)
A beautifully colour-illustrated work-book, with comprehension questions and exercises; vocabulary in groups of related words and page by page; list of Irregular Verbs.
Robin Hood (Class 6)
This exciting story captures the essence of one of England’s most enduring legends. Robin Hood is everybody’s hero, taking his place beside Saint George, King Arthur and other immortals of English folklore. Here, the famous outlaw comes to life in a new retelling of his adventures, which offers a moderately easy text, illustrated with fine line drawings by Christiane Lesch. – The text and illustrations are complemented by a very extensive range of extra material catering for a wide range of tastes – a Robin Hood poem and two songs, extra background notes for teachers and/or Page by Page), and the usual vast selection of practice material to choose from over 800 questions in all. These exercises cover who-, what-, where-questions, Short Answers, Either-Or material, tense-changing, question-forming, simple retellings and various types of vocabulary and comprehension work. A List of English Irregular Verbs completes the material.
Outlaw: Robin of Sherwood – Reader (Class 6)
Robin Hood is everybody’s hero. Here the famous outlaw comes to life in an all-new retelling, completely rewritten for a fast and easy read. With black-and-white illustrations by Christiane Lesch and a page by page vocabulary.
Outlaw: Robin of Sherwood – Workbook (Class 6)
This workbook accompanies the new reader “Outlaw: Robin of Sherwood” with a wide-ranging and extensive selection of exercises keyed to the text of the reader.
Little House In The Big Woods (Class 6)
This edition of the classic American Little House … series offers a shortened (but otherwise unaltered) selection of the original text – the true and exciting story of a family living in the Wisconsin woods in the 1860s. It vividly captures the best of the American pioneer spirit. – The text selection is the same as in the previous edition, but the new version also con-tains a very extensive vocabulary (both thematic and page-by-page), with English examples/definitions and German equivalents throughout) as well as a huge selection of over a 1000 questions and exer-cises, all firmly text-based, from which teachers can choose according to the needs of their class. The material ranges from simple comprehension and content questions, to tense-changing, word order, sentence-building, vocabulary, question-forming and retellings. – Pioneer recipes and a list of English Irregular Verbs are included, while a Would You Like to Know … ? section gives some basic historical and literary background to the text, concluding with contact addresses in America and a short list of internet resources for those wishing to do their own research. The classic black-and-white illustrations by Garth Williams complement the text perfectly.
CLASS 7 / 8
Stone Fox – Reader Vol.1 (Class 7)
A really excellent reader for Class 7, Stone Fox is an exciting and fast-moving story set in the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming in the early 1900s, with a powerful, tragic ending. The text, although an original, slightly abridged, is a fairly easy read, illustrated throughout in black-and-white. It has been used with great success in many classes, and is a true modern classic.
Stone Fox – Practice Book Vol.2 (Class 7)
This reader is accompanied by a separate Practice Book offering a wide range of grammar, language and vocabulary exercises keyed to the text. There are no exercises contained in the reader itself!
Captain Cook – The Great Explorer (Class 7/8)
Materials for language teaching at Rudolf Steiner (Waldorf) Schools This book describes the life and discoveries of James Cook, one of the greatest sailors, explorers and navigators who ever lived. In just ten years, Cook largely completed the picture of the globe begun in the age of Columbus. His work made great contributions to many fields of knowledge besides geography. – The book contains colour illustrations, maps and colour photographs of the replica of Cook’s first ship, the Endeavour, recently constructed in Australia following the original plans. There is also a vocabulary (thematic, page-by-page and antonyms) and there are 100 exercises, all based firmly on the text, offering a selection of 700 questions and tasks on grammar, vocabulary, syntax, text-work, question-forming, comprehension and retelling, from which teachers who wish can select according to the needs of their class. This additional material is rounded off by three sea songs and a list of irregular verbs.
Living and Working in the Days of Charles Dickens (Class 7/8)
A reader for “cultural studies” about social conditions in England at the time of the Industrial Revolution. Can be used independently of A Christmas Caroland offers descriptions of early industrial processes and of men and women who worked to keep the human aspect alive (Elizabeth Fry, Lord Shaftesbury, Dr. Barnado et al.). – Vocabulary in groups of related words and in text sequence. – Wide range of graded exercises.
CLASS 8 / 9
A Christmas Carol In Prose – Being a Ghost Story of Christmas (Class 8/9)
The much-loved story which Rudolf Steiner recommended for the Upper Middle School. It offers material suitable for both this age-level and later. In A Christmas Carol Dickens wove his concern for the poor and unfortunate together with visits of four ghosts to tell the story of a hard man’s inner transformation. This classic tale is both a cry for social justice and a moving parable of human development. – Several episodes not included in the previous editions have been added, the vocabulary section has been completely revised: The thematic groups have been checked and extended, while a new and greatly extended page-by-page vocabulary replaces the alphabetical list of the earlier editions. A wide range of comprehension questions and exercises, graded in difficulty for use in mixed-ability classes, completes the main work-section. Christmas recipes, a dance and a list of internet resources for further study have all been included. Colour portraits of the author. John Leech’s original illustrations (1843), also in colour.
A Christmas Carol – The Play (Class 8/9)
This play is particularly suited for Class 8, 9 or 10. While some classes may just use it for a dramatic reading of the Carol, others will be keen to perform it. The words of this play keep very close to Dickens’ tale in order to preserve its typical Dickensian atmosphere. This was made possible by the fact that Dickens often uses the form of direct dialogue and always tries to let his characters speak in their own individual language. – Since this dramatic version was written for performance by a school class, as many scenes as possible of the original were preserved to provide as many characters as possible. – The book also contains some of the original illustrations as well as a biographical sketch of Charles Dickens, recipes for Christmas and Sir Roger de Coverley.
They Fought for Freedom Vol.1 (Class 9)
Harriet Tubman – Rosa Parks – Martin Luther King – Nelson Mandela – Barack Obama – Desmand Tutu
They Fought for Freedom Vol. 2, Workbook (Class 9)
Man and Man: Six Biographies (Class 9)
Elizabeth Fry – Father Damian – Robert L. Stevenson – Thomas Garrett n – Harriet Tubman – Booker T. Washington
The meeting of individual destinies – crossing social and cultural barriers, finding brotherhood and mutual aid between sufferers and helpers, practising courage in the quest for the freedom of others – that is the theme of these six accounts. They are told in an intentionally spare and matter-of-fact style, leaving both background research and imaginative colouring to the teacher and student. Thus the stories can become useful “growing points“ for a number of activities in Class 9.
Famous Inventors (Class 9)
Richard Arkwright – JosiaWedgwood – Thomas A. A. Edison – Gugliemo Marconi
These biographies lead us into Classes 8 and 9, offering food for the soul setting out into the technical world of our time. Lively style, suitable for exercises and summaries as well as dramatising by the students. English-German vocabulary.
CLASS 10
The Canterbury Tales (Class 10)
Geoffrey Chaucer
A selection of five stories retold in prose, giving a good background for further work of a literary quality – short story, novel – in the final classes. The stories live in a world between acute observation of human behaviour and traditional stories handed down from classical and medieval sources. – Suitable for exercises in creative writing. A good introduction to English humour.
Long Walk to Freedom (Class 10)
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela, the leader of the South African anti-apartheid movement, has become a worldwide symbol of resistance to racism. Released from prison in 1990, he helped guide the country on its peaceful transition to democarcy. This version of Mandela’s autobiography has been shortened to a manageable length of 40 pages of text, but reads as a continuous narrative. Mandela describes his life in vivid and dramatic terms, dealing with the human and moral problems he faced. The political aspects are covered in a way that will involve students without overwhelming them. There is an extensive vocabulary and a wide range of exercises covering different levels of language competence, designed specifically to help in working with mixed-ability classes. – For Class 9/10.
Mahatma Ghandi – The Man and his Message (Class 10)
Donn Byrne, Peter Morris
This biography of one of the most inspiring and important personalities of the 20th century offers a complete overview of Gandhi’s life, work and times, while – with 36 pages of actual text – remaining an easily readable length. The reader contains many photographs, a vocabulary (thematic and in text sequence) as well as exercises in comprehension and individual use of the language at various levels of ability. – For Class 10 (9)
Six Romantic Poets (Class 10)
Meant for the use of the students, particularly in Class 10. It contains a description of the historical back-ground of the Romantic Era as well as biographies and a representative selection of the poetry of Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley and Keats. This reader includes carefully chosen portraits of the six poets and two of Blake’s illustrations for his Songs of Innocenceand Songs of Experience.
Six Romantic Poets – Additional Material for Teachers
A bibliography, and relevant passages from Kaethe Wolf-Gumpold’s book about William Blake, from Owen Barfield’s “Romanticism Comes of Age” and from “Poetry and the Art of Speech” by Rudolf Steiner and Marie Steiner-von Sivers.