Report - Bernard van Leer Foundation

Appendix 10Children’s Drawing as Resources• Indicating the Existing Knowledge & Skills that Children Bring to School• For Language LearningThe drawing below is a sample from one child following a free drawing activity carried out witha group of Std 1 children whohad been at school two months.Prior to the drawing, the groupof ten children shared storieswith the Maasai co-researcherabout their home environmentsand their families.After completing the activiy,the co-researcher usedindividual children’s drawingsas a tool for learning moreabout their home environments.As children explained thedetails of their drawings inKimaasai, the researcher wasalso able to explore if thechildren were also able toexplain their drawings inKiswahili.Children’s free drawing offer arich resource for teachers,including, for supportingchild ren’s language & literacydevelopmentTitle: “At home”Name: Lokoko Mulani Age: 10 years Class: Std 1.Initial Vocabulary Development from the DrawingKimaasai Kiswahili English1 Eng’eteng Ng’ombe Cow2 Engine Mbuzi Goat3 Alichani Mti Tree4 Papa Baba Father5 Yeiyo Mama Mother6 Engaji e Koko Nyumba ya Bibi Grandmother’sHouse7 Irpayek Mahindi Maize8 Eng’eteng Ng’ombe Cow66