Functional Analysis of Narrative Texts in Elementary School Textbook “Fly with English”

Background: This study is an analysis of narrative texts in Elementary School textbook “Fly with English” based on lexico-grammar and context in the framework of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). This study is also expected to give the pedagogical implication based on the context of teaching and learning process Method: This research uses descriptive qualitative type of study in investigating the problem. In the technique of collecting data, the writer uses observation and documentation. The writer finds 95 clauses in narrative text. In analyzing the data, the writer uses lexico-grammar of SFL framework to answer the first problem. Moreover, the writer refers to context of SFL framework to answer the second problem, and the writer also uses context of teaching and learning to answer the third problem. Result: Based on the result, there are six types of processes in the narrative text, those are: (1) material process (40%), (2) mental process (23,1%), (3) relational process (20%), (4) verbal and behavioral process (7,4%), and (5) existential process (2,1%). The writer also finds fifteen types of the participants, namely actor, goal, senser, phenomenon, sayer, verbiage, carrier, attribute, token, value, receiver, client, recipient, behaver, and existent. Moreover, the writer finds six types of circumstances, that are, location, matter, manner, accompaniment, cause, and extent. Implication: The pedagogical implication of studying Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) in narrative text is to give the insight of the teacher about SFL genre pedagogy in teaching and learning process. In functional grammar, teacher can teach the language features in different ways, such as by introducing the terms of processes, participants, and circumstances that contain in the narrative text clauses.

Chinese Traditional Culture Education: Implementing the Child’s Position and Perspective in the Elementary School Textbook Morality and Law

Purpose: Failure to clarify the position of children in Chinese culture is a significant issue faced by Chinese traditional culture education (CTCE). Indeed, moral education needs to establish child’s perspective and position in Chinese society and incorporate these into the curricula on the excellent Chinese traditional culture. This study explores how the elementary school textbook, Morality and Law, has approached CTCE. Design/Approach/Methods: First, this article analyzes practical difficulties in CTCE: omission child’s position. Second, this article explores the child's position needed by CTCE based on Rousseau, Montessori and Dewey’s contemporary views on children. At last, this article explores the strategy of how to implement the child’s position in CTCE based on morality and law. Findings: In respect to CTCE, Morality and Law positions children in various ways. In terms of its educational goal, the textbook is intended to improve children’s cultural education and appreciation. While the textbook’s editors mainly select positive content, negative content is also included. Always taking the child into consideration, the textbook incorporates systemized knowledge into children’s own lives, particularly insofar as the teaching strategy uses events or experiences in which children are interested. Originality/Value: Following the reform of China’s curriculum at the start of the 21st century, moral education textbooks were developed on the basis of the child’s position but remained weak in terms of traditional culture education. The approach adopted in Morality and Law and illustrated in this study bridges the gap between children and traditional culture, improves the effectiveness of CTCE, and provides other countries with insight based on China’s experiences in cultural education.

Old Volcanic Stories—Bringing Ancient Volcanoes to Life in Ireland’s Geological Heritage Sites

Active or recently active volcanic areas present very visible and easy to understand phenomena for the broad population to appreciate as geological heritage. However, in a geologically stable country such as Ireland, with no volcanism evident for tens of millions of years and few clearly visible traces of volcanoes of a ‘school textbook’ nature, the significance of ancient volcanic remains is much harder to explain or to present to visitors to geological heritage sites. This paper explores the wide range of evidence of ancient volcanic activity within recognised geological heritage sites across Ireland, both in County Geological Sites and in the UNESCO Global Geoparks. Some of the stories that can be told using the available evidence are documented, including some of the current efforts to present Ireland’s volcanic geological heritage. The stories are told within the context of the geological and volcanic history of Ireland over the past 500 million years. As such, the promotion of geological heritage is at an early stage, and this contribution may provide inspiration or ideas for approaches to this problem for other countries or terrains with similar ancient volcanic rocks.

School textbook as an object of pedagogical research

The article deals with investigations of scientists in the field of school textbook theory. The material has been structured taking into account the main components of this field of knowledge: purpose (the dual essence of this type of educational literature has been revealed – it is a carrier of educational content and teaching aids; position of the textbook as a model of integral learning process has been substantiated (systematization, consolidation and control, self-education, integrating, coordinating, developmental-educational), structure (general didactic structure of the school textbook covers the text and non-text components – the apparatus of mastering, illustrative material, orientation apparatus), methods of analysis and evaluation (distinguish traditional and theoretical) – analytical and formalized methods; the structural-functional approach to the textbook analysis has been proved). The peculiarities of textbooks for elementary school have been analyzed: the most complete definition of this phenomenon has been formulated; the leading functions of the textbook addressed to junior students have been defined – informational, developmental, educational, motivational; the features of structural components (taking into account the age of students) have been specified; methods of analysis and evaluation of the textbook have been classified: methods of analysis of the manuscript, methods of evaluation of the textbook itself, diagnostic evaluation ex post facto; a comprehensive approach to the analysis of textbooks for elementary school has been proposed; methods of analysis of certain aspects of the textbook (motivational component, developmental orientation, etc.) have been offered.

Assuming the Role of an Orientalist: Alexander Mishulin’s Articles about the History of the Ancient East

The popular articles written by A.V. Mishulin (1901–1948), a Soviet historian of antiquity, were analyzed. These articles are focused on the history and culture of the Ancient East states (Egypt, India, and China) with account of their impact on the establishment of Soviet historical science. Their role in A.V. Mishulin’s research activity is very important, because they were used in his school textbook of ancient history. A.V. Mishulin consistently adhered to the idea that slavery was a common basis of all ancient states, but he also believed that the slave-owning systems in the Ancient East and Greco-Roman world were different. Through a brief description of the Ancient East states, he emphasized the following two main aspects: all ancient societies exploited slaves, which inevitably resulted in the mass uprisings as a consequence of exhaustion of the slave-owning mode of production. To prove the validity of his ideas, A.V. Mishulin used historical material (such as the Papyrus Leiden). Therefore, the history of the Ancient East and Greco-Roman world more or less correlated with each other in A.V. Mishulin’s school textbook, which influenced the subsequent organization of school textbooks of history in the Soviet Union.