“Room on the Broom” in the Primary Classroom

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject English - Pedagogy, Didactics, Literature Studies, grade: 1,15, University of Erfurt (Philosophische Fakultät - Fachbereich Anglistik), course: Speaking and Storytelling in the Primary Classroom, language: English, abstract: “Then out rose … A TRULY MAGNIFICENT BROOM! With seats for the witch and the cat and the dog, A nest for the bird and a shower for the frog. “Yes!” cried the witch, and they all clambered on. The witch tapped the broomstick and whoosh! they were gone.”(DONALDSON, SCHEFFLER, 2002)At the end of “Room on the broom”, the characters can finally enjoy the magic night. Before, they have to go through scavenger hunt-like and nerve-wrecking adventures. The book, which was written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, has been translated into 21 different languages so far. The author and the illustrator have already worked together on several successful children’s books. “The Gruffalo” is their most known piece and was probably the breakthrough for the two artists. (DONALDSON, a, b)Julia Donaldson, born in 1948, already invented stories as a child. She studied Drama and French and began her carrier as a writer for songs for children’s television. When her song “A squash and a squeeze” was turned into a book, illustrated by Axel Scheffler, she decided to write professionally plays and books for children. Up to now, she has written 154 books, partly for retail sales and partly for school purposes. (DONALDSON, a) The German Axel Scheffler, now living in London, was born in 1957 and studied Arts History as well as Graphic Arts. At the beginning of his career as illustrator, he worked for magazines and advertising agencies. Today, he mainly illustrates children’s books. (SPRECKELSEN, 2008)This book report provides first some aspects which have to be taken into consideration when choosing “Room on the Broom” for the classroom, such as the storyline, the values expressed in the book, its culture specific content, the language and an analysis of the illustrations. Secondly, some ideas for integrating the book into the English foreign language education are given. As the language applied in this book is rather challenging these considerations and implications on teaching refer to the proficiency level of a fourth grade in a German primary school.