Thursday, September 9, 2010

‘Learner’s Choice’ range of activity-based storybooks, handwriting/classroom workbooks and assessment sheets for preschool to primary classes.

Forward

The broad field of education is undergoing radical changes due to a variety of reasons. In that context, it is significant to note that in subjects like languages, arithmetic and environmental sciences, the core curricula relating to foundation learning will remain more or less unchanged. In other words, as children who are hardly weaned away from their mothers’ breasts are being ushered into the portals of play schools for beginning their preschool education, the focus shifts to the teaching methodology, throwing up challenges to the teaching fraternity as never before.

Mission statement:

Markstrat Plc, publishers of ‘Learner’s Choice’ range of exclusive colour worksheets and workbooks will endeavour to provide learning material and teaching aids that are more appropriate and effective for promoting the process of learning at the foundation level. In doing so, we will not compromise on content and quality so that our ultimate products will maintain an internationally acceptable standard of excellence at all times.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Environment and the young

‘Learner’s Choice’ shows the way, all the way

It is a truism that every child has a fundamental right to a clean, healthy, living environment on our planet. There is an urgency that is implicit in that poignant statement which calls for the preservation of our inheritance for the well being of not only we adults but also our young ones, and of generations to come.

While one can see a stupendous task ahead, it is vital that we instill in the impressionable minds value-based concepts through the process of mainstream education, the sooner the better. So far only few hesitant steps have been taken in that direction, although it demands a movement of tidal wave proportion in order to make up for lost time.

An activity book released under the popular banner, ‘Learner’s Choice’ and titled “Shoo, Shoo…fly, go away!” attempts at just that. Markstrat Plc, publishers of the title, has already under its belt a wide range of exclusive color worksheets on handwriting, number concept and general knowledge, apart from a number of story-cum-activity books which are finding increasing application in the modern play-way method of education. Following the same proven format, the new environmental activity book makes a positive beginning in imparting awareness in 6-9 year-olds, initially focusing on their own health and hygiene. It’s a 24-page book, packed with activities in the form of songs, rhymes, vocabulary, phonetics, comprehension and the most informative general knowledge section. The environmental aspect is highlighted through a captivating dialogue, with a typical class room backdrop, where the teacher-children combination is pitted against the villains of the day; none other that the malicious fly, the vicious worm and the repulsive rat! What more a child can ask for than such an enthralling story line, more than matched by the illustrative brilliance of P S Babu, who has also lent his skill to all titles brought out under the ‘Learner’s Choice’ banner so far. Altogether it forms a rare treat which will hopefully catch the attention of well-meaning educationists and benefit our youngsters, who are indeed beginning to be fortunate as their value-based education turn more enjoyable than ever before.

New Colouring Book for the Toddlers

Markstrat Plc has also brought out a scientifically designed coloring book for the toddlers. In a field cluttered with exercise books of varying hues, what ‘Learner’s Choice’ banner has on offer is indeed something different. With its visual introduction to the English alphabet and vocabulary, numbers and abstract designs, coloring as a pre-writing skill can easily provide the tender fingers the much needed muscle build up, while also helping to gain self esteem and triggering off the process of learning in any child, the right way.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Developing good handwriting as a vital communication tool

Good handwriting is a vital communication skill and developing that skill at an early age need no longer be viewed as a chore by teachers, parents and wards alike. It can be fun to begin and end with as being proved in practical terms through a set of 7 ‘Learner’s Choice’ series of titles. These exercise books, starting with pattern drawing at level A and ending with creative writing exercises for the average student at level V when the foundation learning is considered to be truly and effectively completed, have become the popular choice for prescribed use in all leading schools, including a number of well-known International schools in southern India.

Why view handwriting as a critical communication skill, you might ask? Look at any standard doctor’s prescription and you begin to wonder at the elasticity and tolerance levels of ‘legibility’ in handwriting! But ask any experienced primary school teacher and she will quickly endorse the common perception that many a time students lose out on marks not because they do not know the subject matter, but because they are unable to write legibly, making it bothersome for the evaluator to decipher as to what they have written.

The ‘o’ will often look like ‘a’, ‘u’ like ‘c’, ‘i’ like ‘e’ and vice versa. Instead, handwriting should look good, be legible and should facilitate quick writing. Handwriting is a skill and it needs to be developed from the very early age. Every letter has a related pattern and linking the letter of the alphabet is an art by itself.

The series of ‘Cursive Writing Made Easy’ titles from ‘Learner’s Choice’ provide an opportunity to the current generation of children, no matter what their age group may be, to learn or rectify their style of writing, to develop the art and skill of cursive writing, leading to legible writing and to rightfully secure the marks they deserve.

With Learner’s Choice worksheets and workbooks, schools have an option of introducing either the script or cursive form of handwriting, or both at the appropriate levels.

In the cursive form, emphasis is placed on small letters of the alphabet at levels A and B. Capital letters are introduced only at Level I and completed at Level II.

Level A deals with pattern drawing and related patterns according to the letter, leading on to ‘l’, ‘t’ and ‘b’.

Level B begins with patterns and practice in combination of the consonants with the vowels. Example: ba, be, bi, bo, bu. From there it leads on to three-letter and four-letter words.

At Level I, emphasis is given to commonly used capital letters A, D, F, H, I, M, S, T. W and four-letter words. Include number names from one to nine and counting in tens up to one hundred.

At Level II emphasis is given uniformly to all the capital and small letters of the English alphabet. Sentences are then introduced with the capital letters. Four pages of small paragraph writing are also introduced at this level, to give children guidelines on how to write a paragraph, along with practice in cursive writing.
At Level III practice lessons have been given in writing of words beginning with the letters of the alphabet A to Z. The subsequent pages have paragraph writing as well.

Level IV includes collective nouns and paragraph writing.

Level V includes writing sentences with similes, besides paragraph writing.
If you are following the script (print) pattern of handwriting, we have a set of 3 titles, from Level B, to Level I and II

This handwriting set, from level A to V, as also the script set from level B to II, is priced at Rs.50/- per title.

For further details and preview, visit, www.joi2learn.com or write to: joi2learn@gmail.com.

Friday, September 3, 2010

TEACHER’S CORNER

Standard Activity Guidelines
For Titles from ‘Learner’s Choice’


1. Pre-school Fun Book I - (October – December)

2. Pre-school Fun Book II - (January – March)

3. Lower Nursery Term Book I - (1st Term)

4. Lower Nursery Term Book II - (2nd Term)

5. Lower Nursery Term Book III - (3rd Term)



These titles can be utilised as preparatory to the introduction of colour worksheets at the Pre-KG and LKG levels. They are recommended for use as classroom activities at the initial stages.

An assessment sheet is appended at the end of each workbook. This will eliminate the need for a separate report card. It can function as a medium for providing broad indicators to parents on the progress of their wards.

For pleasurable learning and teaching at pre-KG level

Young children learn best from things with which they are familiar and which they enjoy doing.

6. Pre-school Colouring Exercise Pads/Workbooks

This pad consists of 40 colouring exercise sheets, aimed at promoting finger muscle development, observation skills, vocabulary development, identification of the letters of the alphabet and numbers 1 to 9. The same contents are also available in a workbook format.

To elaborate, from June to December the children may be trained to:

  • Socialise – making friends, sharing toys;
  • Develop healthy eating habits;
  • Encourage finger muscle development – scribbling, sand play, clay modeling, tearing (used paper);
  • Participate in conversation – greetings, action words;
  • General muscle development – running, catching, throwing, climbing bars, etc.;
  • Learn nursery rhymes;
  • Show and say the letters of the alphabet;
  • Show and say the numbers 1 to 9;
  • Show and say the primary colours, and, most important of all,
  • Imbibe personal hygiene.
From Jan to April the worksheets may be introduced and children can be encouraged to take up colouring work as part of the finger muscle development process.

Show the worksheet to the children and talk to them about the pictures on each worksheet before actually doing them. It is advisable that a teacher student ratio of 1:3 or 1:4 is maintained while handling the worksheets.

Note: While the children colour the letters, she or he should be encouraged to say aloud, ‘I am colouring A’ and so on. While doing the numbers, for example, children should keep repeating ‘I am colouring 3 cats’ and so on.

7. Handwriting Worksheets – script - 70 pages

8. Handwriting Made Easy – LKG workbook


9. Made Easy – LKG workbook


10. Handwriting Worksheets – cursive – 60 pages


During the months of June and July, teachers are advised not to make the children commence their writing exercises straightaway. We must keep in mind that the children’s muscles are not well developed to be able to hold the pencil. Therefore teachers are requested to conduct the following activities throughout the year.

I. Painting: a) first with fingers and palms, b) with thick brush, and
c) with mixed brushes.

II. Crayons: a) thick, b) thinner – scribbling on large sheets of paper

III.Stencil shapes: made of cardboard – first lines such as followed by curves.

IV. Jigsaws / Patterns: (fine muscle control, hand/eye co-ordination and visual discrimination.)

V. Cutting and tearing, bead threading

VI. Block-building, sand play and water play.

By August you can introduce pattern writing. The strokes can also be introduced at this stage.

Note: By this time, the children should be able to distinguish the letters of the English alphabet at random. Teachers should not announce the letter that the children are going to learn to write. They should be brought closer to the blackboard and instructed to look at the board and listen and watch the teacher.

Example: The teacher can say, ‘I draw a standing line; and without taking my hand off the blackboard, I now draw a sleeping line. What do I get?’

Children will happily say, ‘L’ giving them the joy of ‘discovering’ the letter. While teaching the letter ‘L’ the teacher needs to integrate the following:

a) Phonic sound of ‘L’.

b) Introduce a ‘leaf’ to the children. Talk about the colour of the leaf; show them the veins and shape. Also tell the children that the leaves should not be plucked indiscriminately, as they are very important to the plant.

c) Introduce leaves of different common plants and also allow children to smell them.

d) ‘L’ is for lion, leopard, and lamb. Show the pictures of these animals and talk to the children about them.

Example: Lion is called the king of the jungle, what it is covered with, number of legs, kind of teeth, sound made by the lion, baby lion, home of lion, etc.
While talking about the lamb, you can teach them the rhyme ‘Mary had a little lamb’.

e) Introduce more words beginning with ‘L’ such as, ‘light’ and ‘lamp’.

f) Introduce the names of the children in the class beginning with the letter ‘L’.
When introducing numbers, say ‘2’, begin with practical experience:

Example: with stones, pencils, etc., then (colouring exercise)
2 flowers out of 5, and so on, then writing.

11. UKG worksheets – Number concept, Language development & GK (script/cursive)


12. Number concept made easy – UKG workbook


13. Language development made easy – UKG workbook – script


14. Language development made easy–UKG workbook –cursive


15.General knowledge made easy – UKG workbook


Note: Teachers should undertake a revision of all topics that the children had learnt at the LKG level.

Language development:

At the UKG level, teachers should express the words phonetically.

Example:
(ag) b ag - bag, then spell – b a g - bag

Next comes the emphatic expressions:

This is These are


That is Those are