JL Tiley reviews FOOD by Carolyn Reid and Adeline Sejane (Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs; Gauteng Department of Education and Gauteng Institute for Educational Development)
What a delightful book this is! The artists and authors have succeeded in producing a book that is both a rich resource of information and one that learners can enjoy and explore.
It is divided into two modules delightfully titled to please any lover of the English language: ‘Good food, good health”, and ‘Food on the move”.
Each module is divided into a number of units, each of which suggests activities for the different learning areas. Certainly it is a workbook, but the black-and-white drawings lift it far beyond such a mundane description and each page is a delight.
The styles of the two artists, Erika Hibbert and Vusi Malinda, are very different from each other. One is realistic and each one of the many children drawn by this artist is unique. Even the houses, street scenes and vehicles suggest the South Africa we know and love. The second artist’s work is witty and amusing, from the naive, flat drawings of lorries and cars to the enormous beehive hairstyle of the mother.
The authors have taken a risk in limiting the amount of text and relying on a handful of words or a short sentence to stimulate interaction and participation by the learners. Each unit is introduced with a few questions and learners construct their own learning through discussion, exploration and other activities. This way the level of English will be determined largely by the fluency of learners themselves together with encouragement from the parent or teacher. The book can thus be used effectively in any of the lower grades.
Many educators ask how they can successfully integrate the three learning programmes while ensuring that learners acquire the many formal skills that the foundation phase requires. The book does not tell you the answer. It is the answer. For example, learners use cards and place them in a line above the food they like best. The cards are then counted, thus forming the cognitive basis of what they will later know as bar graphs. Similarly, a ‘food pyramid” is designed by learners to illustrate the components of a healthy diet.
A few pages carry the word ‘copy” in the top corner and the activity suggests that learners cut out the copy or colour them. Learners should obviously not cut them out of their books so presumably schools should photocopy such pages. This could be too expensive for some schools and teachers will have to find alternative means of letting learners practise what they have learnt. A skilled and creative educator will not need a teacher’s guide, but one is available for those who would like to have this extra resource and support.