(excerpt from Multigrade and Bilingual Classes in VietNam, Ministry of Education and Training, VietNam, and UNICEF VietNam, Hanoi, VietNam, 1998.)

HANOI

MODULE 5: Selection and Development of Local Topics

• Go to: Social Issues - the Traditional Costume of the Red Dao

• Go to: Local Trees - the Red Sugar Cane

I. The aims for development of local topics for teaching and learning

In the National Primary Curriculum, there is a 10-15% window to teach local topics across all subjects. However, so far not much attention has been paid to this issue by either the provincial education services or district education services. This needs to be reconsidered soon.

II. Local topics taught at primary schools are very meaningful as well as beneficial:

• It makes the curriculum more comprehensive and relevant.

• If local topics are taught as primary schools, it will make the schools closer to the communities, serving the socio-economic development of the locality.

• In ethnic minority areas, local topics will contribute to the maintenance and development of traditional culture and lifestyle of ethnic minority groups and to unite all ethnic minority groups.

• If local topics are well developed and suited to primary school children, it will create more interest for the children. They will have a chance to study topics relating to their daily lives. This will connect them more closely with their communities, their classes and schools.

1. Some principles for selecting and writing local topics for primary multigrade and bilingual education.

• Based on National Primary Curriculum of each subject, the following aspects need to be considered:

• Time allocated for local topics (how many periods? When?)

• Which section or parts of the curriculum do the local topics belong to?

• scientific

• educational

• practical

• relevant (as primary school children are ethnic minority children).

III. Procedures for selecting and writing of local materials

1. Geographical features
   - topography
   - geography
   - beauty-spots
   - climate, etc.
   

2. Flora:
   - natural plants or trees
   - plants grown by people
   

3. Fauna:
   - wild animals, tame animals, pets
   

4. Transportation and Construction:
   - transportation system
   - construction works
   - traditional architecture (houses, communal houses, pagodas, temples, tombs, graveyards, etc.)
   - construction materials
   

5. Population:
   number, features, distribution
   

6. Cultural activities of different ethnic groups:
   - festivals, fairs, games
   - traditions and customs
   - traditional musical instruments, traditional songs and dances
   - folk songs, traditional songs, idioms, proverbs, sayings...
   - typical art works, literature works
   - traditional costumes
   

7. Local history:
   - Local cultural personalities
   - historical characters
   - major historical events of the locality
   

8. Production:
   - traditional handicraft trades and local products
   - tools of local production and livelihood
   

9. Environment and sanitation:
   - protection of forests and natural resources
   - protection and improvement of water sources
   
   
   

   PLANNING A TOPIC - EIGHT TEACHING STEPS Step 1: Choose the topic (content of local topic correspond to 15% flexible component of the national curriculum). Step 2: Choose resources.     Q. Which resources suit this topic best? Step 3: Finding out what the students already know.     Q. What do the students already know about this topic?     Q. What else about the topic are they interested in finding out?     Q. How will the children tell me what they know? Step 4: Write understandings about the topic.     Q. What do we want the children to learn about? Step 5: Introduce the new resources that will help the children learn about the topic. Step 6: Develop the topic through the different curriculum areas (e.g. mathematics, Vietnamese language/ethnic minority language, art...). Step 7: Allow the students to share what they have learnt about the topic. Step 8: Assess the students learning. Evaluate the teaching strategies.

   
    
   

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Sample Topic for Trees

• Trees are the most important plants on Earth because they contribute to the conditions which support life.
• Trees provide many types of living places and food for animals.
• People have used trees and their products for many different purposes.
• Different trees are suited to different habitats.
• The roots of trees help to hold the soil together and prevent erosion.

Make a chart of one tree

Name of tree:	Features of the tree
Parts of tree	(Describe these features)
Trunk
Bark
Roots
Leaves
Flowers
Fruit
Seeds
Birds, animals or insects that use the tree	(List)
How people use the tree	(Describe)

Comparing the trees you and your partner chose with those of other people:

Name of the tree	Pine tree	Green dragon cactus
Where it grows	hill, roadside, forest	ground, sand (delta and mid land)
Leaves	pin shaped, long, sharp points	stem looks like a leaf, (like a green dragon)
Trunk	straight, many branches at top	trunk is itself the leaves
Bark	rough, easy to peel, peels sometimes???, brown color	thick, smooth
Root	???	???
Flowers	???	???
Fruits	brown color, elliptical, thorny skin with overlapping pieces	red color, elliptical, average weight is _ - 1 ???kg
Seeds	like rice	like black sesame seeds
Special features	planted for liquid, fruit and wood	flower blossom at night, is very fragrant and dies that night
Animals living on it	birds, squirrel, ants, insects, spider, monkey	ants, insects, butterflies

Tree or plant	Where it grows?	Seeds	Flowers, Fruit and Roots	What animals use tree/plant?	How people use plant?
Rice	field, hillside	hard, yellow grains	creamy, small flower	birds, rats, insects	food, wine
Maize	field, garden, hillside	Hard, yellow or white grains	brownish flower on top of plant	birds, rats, insects, buffaloes, cows, horses,	food, wine
Coffee	red soil, plateau	dark, brown and hard	white flower, red, berry like fruit	fox, bird, bat, bee, spider	drink, export
Rubber	red soil plateau	-	creamy white flower	bee, ant, bird	industry
Pepper	red soil plateau	small, hard green seed, turn red when ripen	white flower, bright red fruit	bird	food, spices, medicine
Cinnamon tree	forest, hill		white flower	bird	oil, spices, medicine
Anise	forest, hill	brown and hard	green flower, dark brown fruit	bird	oil, spices. medicine
Banana	garden, hill	tiny, soft black seeds	purple flower, long, green/ yellow fruit	bird, monkey, bat, elephant	fruit for eating, leaves for wrapping cakes, trunk for animals
Sweet potato	field, hillside	-	purple flower, tuberous root	rat, pig, buffalo, cow	food

Sample Topic on Animals (ELEPHANT)

Where do elephants live?





What do they eat?





What parts of their bodies do they use to gather food?





What are the major threats to the survival of elephants on this planet?

Comparison Chart

Wild animal	Tame animal
Lion, tiger, leopard, deer, antelope, snake, python, fox, wild chicken, owl...	Cow, buffalo, pig, chicken, duck, goose, dog...

Summary Chart

Guide teachers to develop a list and choose topic following 8 planning steps.

Sample Topic on Culture

Ethnic Minority Costumes

Name of parts	Colors	Designs	Materials	Made by whom?	Worn on what occasion?
Scarf
Flap
Shirt
Pants
Leggings
Accessories

Traditional Musical Instruments

Type of instrument	Material	Sound	Shape	Which minority use it?	Origin	How to use	Use on what occasion
Pan-pipe
Gong
Drum
Trung
Monochord
Flute
Two-chord fiddle
Stone musical instrument
"Tinh" musical instrument

Festivals

Name of festival	Origin	Time	Place	Form	Costume	Participants
Village festival
Shuttlecock throwing
Name giving
Temple festival
Pagoda festival
Elephant race
Buffalo stabbing

Sample Lesson on the Topic of Social Issues:
Traditional Costume of the Red Dao

1. Objectives and requirements of the lesson:

1. What are the main parts of the Red Dao costume?
   

2. The main color of the Red Dao costume is (tick (X) the right answer):
   • Blue

   • Black

   • Red

   • Dark blue

   • Indigo

   • White

3. Tick or draw the correct information on the chart below:

   	Separate shirt	Separate pants	Waist chain	Scarf	Necklace	Leggings
   Man
   Woman

4. On which parts of the Red Dao costume are the designs embroidered?

5. What kind of pictures embroidered on the Red Dao costume?

Sample Lesson on Local Trees
THE RED SUGAR CANE

I - Objectives and requirements:

1. By observing the red sugar cane, students know the appearance characteristics of the red sugar cane (from simple to detail depending on the grade group).

2. Students know the benefits of sugar cane to animals and human.

II - Preparation :

• 3 sugar canes.

• 1 picture illustrating animals using sugar cane.

• work sheet for each grade group.

• charts.

• game cards.

III - Class activities :

1. Whole class activities (4 minutes): teacher introduces the new lesson.

2. Group activities (10 minutes):

• Teacher divides class into groups by level - Guide students to observe 3 sugar canes in 3 groups.

• Students discuss in group - write the outputs of observation to the work sheet.

• Students exchange work sheets between groups to check the outputs of discussion themselves.

3. Whole class activities (6 minutes):

Teacher checks the outputs of discussion and make charts.

Characteristics of the red sugar cane
Trunk	long, round, divided into sections, having nodes and roots
Bark	smooth, soft
Root	around the sections of the trunk and base
Flower	white color
leaf	long, green, with rib in the middle and down

Teacher asks students to name parts of the sugar cane in ethnic minority language.

4. Group activities (10 minutes):

• Discussion based on teacher's questions in mixed level group.

  • What animals use sugar cane?

  • What do people use sugar cane for?

• Students exchange work sheets between groups to cross-check.

5. Whole Class activities (10 minutes):

• Teacher hangs pictures of sugar cane and animals using sugar cane.

• Students observe and check the output themselves.

• Teacher checks the outputs of discussion and fill in charts.

• Teacher reviews the lesson by using a piece of card-board to hide part by part of the picture and asks students to recall what they have observed.

• Teacher guides the students to play the Sticking Game (sticking the word cards to the picture charts).

(excerpt from Multigrade and Bilingual Classes in VietNam, Ministry of Education and Training, VietNam, and UNICEF VietNam, Hanoi, VietNam, 1998.)