Lifeplayer project 2014

In our first awarenet Lifeplayer session I tried to get to know the students. So we played two Icebreaker games in the group, called “True or False” and “If …”.

Icebreaker 1: True or False

I offered the students some chocolate beans. According to the number of chocolate beans they chose, the students had to tell the group an unusual story about themselves. One of the stories had to be fictional/wrong and the other stories are true. At the end of the game, the group detected, which story was wrong.

Icebreaker 2: If …

I read the following sentences to the students and each girl had to complete them

1. If I won 1 million Rand, I would …
   
2. If I were an animal, I would like to be …
   
3. If they had cancelled school/work today, I would like to …
   
4. If I could turn back the time, I would …
   
5. If I met a genie in a bottle and had three wishes, I would …
   
   
   

On the 06th of Febrauary 2014, the girls wrote their own short poem, called “Elfchen” on awarenet. The rules for writing an Elfchen are shown in the following photo.

Please find the Elfchens of the students attached below.

The first 10 – 15min of each session we will do a few exercises to learn, how to pronounce clearly and distinctly. Examples are attached to the below list:

Exercise 1: Cork game

The students had to place a cork or a sweet between their lips, while reading a story or a poem. After removing the sweet/cork, they could notice an improving of their pronunciation.

Exercise 2: Combination of vowels

The girls had to repeat the following exercise twice to practice the combination of vowels.

1. me ne, me ne, me ne, me ne
2. bla pla, bla pla, bla pla, bla pla, bla pla
3. kla kle kli klu
4. da ta, da ta, da ta, da ta, da ta

Exercise 3: Tongue twisters

We practiced the clearly pronunciation by saying the following tongue twisters:

1. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
   A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.
   If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
   Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
   
   
2. Whether the weather is warm, whether the weather is hot, we have to put up with the weather, whether we like it or not
   
   
3. There was a fisherman named Fisher
   who fished for some fish in a fissure.
   Till a fish with a grin,pulled the fisherman in.
   Now they're fishing the fissure for Fisher.

Exercise 4: shifted letters

We read the poem “In visions of the dark night” from Edgar-Allen Po and each time, the letters B – P, D – T and G – K got shifted.

Example:

To read the whole poem „In visions of the dark night“ from Edgar-Allen Po, click HERE.

We had a few drama sessions to learn how to tell a story in an authentic and exciting way. After explaining the five rules/ways of telling a story, we did some exercises:


1. Pitch

Explanation: Pitch, or tone, is the quality of the sound you make, the timbre of the voice. (High/Low)

Task 1: Counting down/up

The students had to start at a comfortable pitch and count from one to five, with each number being on a higher pitch than the last one. Afterwards they had to count back down from five to one, while lowering their pitch with each number (5 – 1) until they reach the starting pitch

Task 2: I’ve just met a man …

The girls had to speak the following line with their jaw closed, but with their lips open:

I’ve just met a man with a lemon stuck in his ear!

1. Afterwards, they had to check that their mouth is open and relaxed and say the line again.
2. They spoke the same line in as deep a voice as they could.
3. At least, the spoke the line again, while pinching their nostrils.

2. Pace

Explanation: The rate of speech should be slow enough to be clearly understood and rapid enough to maintain interest.

Task: Supercalifragilisticexpialodicious

The girls had to say a long word, like “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” (fictional word from the movie “Mary Poppins”), while repeating the word and striking a letter off.

1. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
2. Supercalifragilisticexpialidociou
3. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocio
4. Supercalifragilisticexpialidoci ...

3. Power

Explanation: The speech power is how loud or low your voice is.

Task: “Me – You – reflectioncircle”

This game was about the using of the voice – about the expression, the volume and the emphasizing: The group stood in a circle. One girl had to turn around to the neighbor and said a powerful and convincing “Me”, while the neighbor answered a scared and a submissive “You”. Now the girl, who answered had to say a powerful and convincing “Me”, while the other neighbor answered a scared and a submissive “You” … and so on.


4. Pause/Infliction

Explanation:

Pause: After a dot, comma, semicolon, colon … the speaker has to make a pause and the voice goes down.

Infliction: After a question mark the voice goes up.

Task: Rumpelstilsikin

To exercise Pause and Infliction, we read the fairytale “Rumpelstilskin”. The girls had to mark the comma, dot, question mark etc. and exaggerate the Pause or Infliction.
If you would like to read the story of "Rumpelstilskin", click HERE.

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I handed out two different fables (“The town mouse and the country mouse” and “the ant and the grasshopper”) to the students and they had to divide themselves into two groups. According to the group/fable, the girls answered questions on awarenet in a forum discussion.


The town mouse and the country mouse
by Aesop

Questions:

1. Please summarize the fable in one to three sentences.
2. Do you agree with the opinion of the country mouse?
3. What is the moral of the fable?
4. Do you agree with this moral?
5. Would you like to be the town mouse or the country mouse? Why?

Answers:

Siphosihle Mboyo

1.The town mouse and country mouse are cousins.The town mouse visits the country mouse but when the country mouse offered his food the town mouse refused and thought that the food wasnt good enough so he came up with an idea of going to town to show the country mouse what good food was.They then arrived in town to a beautiful feast but they then heard growling and barking of dogs so the country mouse made a decision of going back to the country because he'd rather have his bread,bacon,beans,cheese in peace.

2.YES

3.Not everything in life has to be fancy.

4.Yes

5.I would like to be the country mouse because the country mouse has a decent home,food and lifestyle as well as safety.


Click here to read the forum discussion of “The town mouse and the country mouse” by Aesop
Aesop - The town mouse and the country mouse (forum discussion)

If you like to read the fable of “The town mouse and the country mouse” by Aesop, click here.
Aesop - The town mouse and the country mouse (fable)


The ant and the grasshopper
by Aesop

Questions:

1. Please summarize the fable in one to three sentences.
2. Which role does the ant play in the story and which role does the grasshopper play?
3. What is the moral of the story?
4. Can you give an example from real life, which suits to the moral?
5. Do you agree with the moral?

Answers:

Elroné Prince

Click here to find more answers about the fable of “The ant and the grasshopper” by Aesop
Aesop - The ant and the grasshopper (forum discussion)

If you like to read the fable of “The ant and the grasshopper” by Aesop, click here.
Aesop - The ant and the grasshopper (fable)

Before we started to practice the stories on the 8th of May 2014, we recalled our drama sessions into memory with a little puzzle. The students had to assemble the drama concepts with a suitable explanation.

Practicing stories:

After memorizing the drama sessions, the students divided themselves into groups and practiced their stories. Antje and I were assisting the girls, by suggesting ideas for reading the stories more exciting.

On the 25th and the 27th of March 2014, Antje and I visited the DSG (Diocesan school for girls) private school in Grahamstown for one hour per day for a Lifeplayer outreach project.
We started to cooperate with the DSG drama and English teacher, Chi Ingledew at the beginning of February. She taught her students in drama and let them prepare nine German fairytales and African fables. She separated her 40 students into groups and we recorded their stories with a laptop in two days.
The last two weeks we edited and worked on these recorded stories.

Finally you can find the best four recordings and the stories from DSG below:

1. Black snake and the eggs:

1.1 recordings:

1.2 text:

"My eggs!" cried Chicken. "One of my eggs is missing! Yesterday I had twelve eggs and today there are only eleven."

As Chicken fled her nest to find Rooster, she had no idea that she was about to lose more eggs. Just out of view of the nest, the thief patiently waited for Chicken to leave her eggs again. Black Snake crept slowly and quietly up to the nest. He eyed the eggs and quickly swallowed one.

Black Snake smiled to himself. His plan had been so simple and had worked so well. He swallowed another egg. It slid far down his long throat before his muscles crushed the fragile shell. "I'll be back later for another delicious egg, Chicken," hissed Black Snake as he slithered away. "Thank you for another fine meal."

Meanwhile, the frantic chicken lead Rooster back to her nest. "Why would someone take one of my eggs?" she clucked.

"Are you sure you counted correctly? Maybe you just thought you saw eleven eggs?" suggested Rooster.

From the expression on Chicken's face, Rooster knew he shouldn't have asked that question. She glared at him and said, "You know I can count. See for yourself. How many eggs are in my nest?"

"One, two, three," began Rooster. He frowned and stopped counting out loud.

"What's the matter now?" questioned Chicken. "Are you afraid to admit you're wrong?"

"No, it's nothing like that at all," responded Rooster. "Something is very wrong here. There are only nine eggs."

"What? Nine Eggs!" cried Chicken. "What is happening? Who would do this to me?"

The next few days were just terrible for Chicken. She worried constantly about her remaining eggs. She tried to stay with her eggs at all times but it wasn't possible to always be with them. Sometimes she had to leave to get food or take care of her other chicks. No matter why she left, the same thing always happened. One or two eggs disappeared each time.

"Someone is watching me very closely," cried the chicken. "He knows exactly where I am at each moment of the day. I only have three remaining eggs."

"Although I cannot prove anything," comforted Rooster, "I think it must be Black Snake who is stealing your eggs. He's patient enough to watch you a long time, and we all know how he loves to eat eggs."

Just the thought of Black Snake eating her eggs made Chicken shudder. She had heard stories of how he swallowed eggs and then crushed them further down his long slender neck. She knew Rooster was probably correct.

"I must hurry back to my nest," declared Chicken, realizing how long she had talked to Rooster. She rushed to her eggs, but it was too late. Two more eggs had vanished. "Rooster!" she cried. "Come help me. I only have one egg left."

Rooster came quickly. "You know, it is very likely that Black Snake will steal your last egg tomorrow," he warned. "Unless we are able to trap him, this will only continue every time you have eggs."

"Yes, it's true," cried Chicken, "but what can we do? How can we possibly stop Black Snake?"

"I have a plan," whispered Rooster. "I think we will not be bothered by him much longer."

The next morning, Chicken continued guarding her last egg as if everything were normal. From a distance, Black Snake didn't realize that a deadly trap had been set for him.

Chicken left her nest for only the shortest moment when Black Snake slithered out of hiding. In no time at all, he swallowed the final egg. It slid down his throat easily. But, when his muscles squeezed the egg, it did not break. It only became firmly lodged in his throat cutting off his air supply.

Black Snake twisted and turned trying to crush the egg or loosen it so he could breathe. By the time Chicken returned with Rooster, the struggle was over. Black Snake would steal no more eggs. He was dead.

"I'm sure he died never knowing why that egg didn't crush," crowed Rooster.

"How could he have known," clucked Chicken, "that the egg was hard boiled?"

"My eggs!" cried Chicken. "One of my eggs is missing! Yesterday I had twelve eggs and today there are only eleven."

As Chicken fled her nest to find Rooster, she had no idea that she was about to lose more eggs. Just out of view of the nest, the thief patiently waited for Chicken to leave her eggs again. Black Snake crept slowly and quietly up to the nest. He eyed the eggs and quickly swallowed one.

Black Snake smiled to himself. His plan had been so simple and had worked so well. He swallowed another egg. It slid far down his long throat before his muscles crushed the fragile shell. "I'll be back later for another delicious egg, Chicken," hissed Black Snake as he slithered away. "Thank you for another fine meal."

Meanwhile, the frantic chicken lead Rooster back to her nest. "Why would someone take one of my eggs?" she clucked.

"Are you sure you counted correctly? Maybe you just thought you saw eleven eggs?" suggested Rooster.

From the expression on Chicken's face, Rooster knew he shouldn't have asked that question. She glared at him and said, "You know I can count. See for yourself. How many eggs are in my nest?"

"One, two, three," began Rooster. He frowned and stopped counting out loud.

"What's the matter now?" questioned Chicken. "Are you afraid to admit you're wrong?"

"No, it's nothing like that at all," responded Rooster. "Something is very wrong here. There are only nine eggs."

"What? Nine Eggs!" cried Chicken. "What is happening? Who would do this to me?"

The next few days were just terrible for Chicken. She worried constantly about her remaining eggs. She tried to stay with her eggs at all times but it wasn't possible to always be with them. Sometimes she had to leave to get food or take care of her other chicks. No matter why she left, the same thing always happened. One or two eggs disappeared each time.

"Someone is watching me very closely," cried the chicken. "He knows exactly where I am at each moment of the day. I only have three remaining eggs."

"Although I cannot prove anything," comforted Rooster, "I think it must be Black Snake who is stealing your eggs. He's patient enough to watch you a long time, and we all know how he loves to eat eggs."

Just the thought of Black Snake eating her eggs made Chicken shudder. She had heard stories of how he swallowed eggs and then crushed them further down his long slender neck. She knew Rooster was probably correct.

"I must hurry back to my nest," declared Chicken, realizing how long she had talked to Rooster. She rushed to her eggs, but it was too late. Two more eggs had vanished. "Rooster!" she cried. "Come help me. I only have one egg left."

Rooster came quickly. "You know, it is very likely that Black Snake will steal your last egg tomorrow," he warned. "Unless we are able to trap him, this will only continue every time you have eggs."

"Yes, it's true," cried Chicken, "but what can we do? How can we possibly stop Black Snake?"

"I have a plan," whispered Rooster. "I think we will not be bothered by him much longer."

The next morning, Chicken continued guarding her last egg as if everything were normal. From a distance, Black Snake didn't realize that a deadly trap had been set for him.

Chicken left her nest for only the shortest moment when Black Snake slithered out of hiding. In no time at all, he swallowed the final egg. It slid down his throat easily. But, when his muscles squeezed the egg, it did not break. It only became firmly lodged in his throat cutting off his air supply.

Black Snake twisted and turned trying to crush the egg or loosen it so he could breathe. By the time Chicken returned with Rooster, the struggle was over. Black Snake would steal no more eggs. He was dead.

"I'm sure he died never knowing why that egg didn't crush," crowed Rooster.

"How could he have known," clucked Chicken, "that the egg was hard boiled?"

2. Rumpelstilskin:

2.1 recordings:

2.2 text:

Once there was a poor miller who had a very beautiful daughter. One day, he went to the king’s court and claimed that his daughter could spin straw into gold. The king ordered the miller’s daughter to come to the palace. He took her to a full room of straw and said to her, “You must spin all this straw into gold tonight, or you shall die!” The miller’s daughter was locked in the room alone. She did not know what to do and began to cry. Suddenly, a dwarf came out of nowhere and asked her, “Why are you crying?” When she told him the story, he said, “Don’t worry, I will spin all the straw into gold, but what will you give me in return?” “I will give you my necklace!” she promised. The dwarf spun all the straw into gold.

The next day, when the king saw this, he was astonished and pleased. He became greedier. He took the girl in to a bigger room and said, “Spin all this straw into gold or you shall die!” She was locked inside again, and once again she began to cry. The tiny man came into the room once more. He said, “If you spin all the straw into gold, what will you give me this time?” She gave him her gold, ring and he sat through the night and spun all the straw into gold.

The third morning, the king was very happy to see the room full of gold. He took her to the biggest room filled with straw and said, “If you spin all this straw into gold, you shall become my wife!” The girl was locked up and once again, she began to cry. This time, when the little man came to her, she said, “I do not have anything to give you, sir! What will I do?” He said, “Promise me that you will give me your first born child when you become the queen!” The girl agreed to do so, because she was not expecting to become the king’s wife. The tiny man spun all the straw into gold in the night. The next day, the king was pleased to see the gold. He married the girl and soon they had a baby.

The tiny man came to the queen to take her baby away but she had forgotten about the promise. She cried and begged him to leave her baby alone. The tiny man said, “I will not take your baby if you can guess my name! I will give you three days!” Saying this, he disappeared. The queen tried to remember all kinds of names. The next night, when he came, she told him all the uncommon names she could think of, “Perhaps your name is Shortribs, or Sheepshanks, or Laceleg,” but he always answered, “That is not my name.” The next day the queen sent her servants all over the country to get all the possible names of the people. That night, the dwarf came to the queen again but she could not guess his real name.

On the third day, one of the queen’s servants went into the forest to find the little man. Deep in the woods, the servant found him dancing and singing happily in front of a fire. He sang, “Today I bake, tomorrow I brew, the next I’ll have the young queen’s child. Ha, glad am I that no one knew, that Rumpelstiltskin I am styled!” The servant went back to the palace and told the queen the name of the dwarf.

That night, when the little man carne to the queen, she was already prepared. The tiny man challenged, “Do you give up? Shall I take your child away?” The queen smiled and replied, “Is your name Harry? Is it Conrad? Perhaps it is Rumpelstiltskin!” Hearing his name, the tiny man screamed, “How could you possibly know my name?” Saying this, he ran away, deep into the forest never to be seen again.

3. Spider and the honey tree:

3.1 recordings:

3.2 text:

There was once a young girl from a village far way who had a special talent for finding the very best foods in the bush. Her oranges were just a little sweeter, her plums just a little larger, and her bananas had just a little more flavor. Everyone wondered where she located such delicious fruits. But, nobody ever asked the girl about her secrets of the bush. That is, nobody asked her after they heard the story about Spider and this young girl.

One day Spider asked this young girl to help him look for food. He was too lazy to work for himself and was sure he could trick this girl into sharing her secrets. He didn't know how clever this girl could be.

‘Little girl, nobody finds fruits as sweet as yours,’ cooed the spider. ’Will you please take me with you when you go looking in the bush?’
‘I've never done that before,’ replied the girl.
‘It would mean so much if you could do it one time,’ pleaded Spider.
‘Well, I suppose I can do it just once,’ agreed the girl. ‘Do you promise to keep my secrets?’
‘You can trust me,’ promised the lazy spider.
‘What do you like to eat?’
‘Well, I like plums and bananas, of course, but I especially love honey.’
‘I think I can help you,’ grinned the girl.
Spider couldn't believe his luck.

The girl lead Spider along the path into the bush. She took him down trails into areas where people rarely ever go. Spider grinned because he knew he was about to learn her secret places for finding the very best food. After learning this, he would never again have to work hard for good food.

‘This plum tree,’ explained the girl, ‘does not have much fruit so most people ignore it, but its plums are the sweetest ones in all of the bush."’

Now Spider was just as greedy as he was lazy. As soon as the young girl showed him the secret plums, his eyes became wide and his mouth began to water. Then, Spider shoved the little girl into the bushes. He rushed past her and climbed up into the tree. Then, he ate every single one of the plums. He didn't even leave one plum for the little girl. And, he didn't even say thank you!

After his feast, Spider rubbed his very full belly and thought, ‘This is the best day of my life! What a great idea! I can't believe she showed me where her plums are found. I wonder if she will take me to any bananas? She must be very foolish.’
Spider looked down at the girl with his biggest smile and she asked politely, ‘Do you want any of my special bananas?’
He raced down out of the tree before the girl could change her mind.

The girl continued down the path showing Spider her secrets of the bush. They walked further down the trail into areas where people rarely ever go. "Over here is a small patch of the very best bananas," declared the young girl. Again, as soon as Spider learned the secret, his eyes became wide and his mouth began to water. Again, he shoved the little girl into the bushes. He rushed past her and climbed the banana plants. He ate every single one of the ripe bananas. Again, he left the young girl with nothing -- not even one banana. And once again, he didn't even say thank you!

His belly was so full, but Spider was not satisfied. He wanted to learn more of the secret places of the bush. He thought to himself, ‘This girl is really foolish. But, as long as she guides me, I will continue to eat all of her food.’

Again, Spider looked down at the little girl and smiled. Once again, the young girl looked up at Spider and politely asked, ‘Are you too full or would you like to find some honey?’

One more time, Spider rushed out of the tree and followed the girl down the trail before she had a chance to change her mind.

The young girl guided Spider deeper and deeper into the bush where people rarely ever go. ‘Over here,’ she instructed, ‘is a very special tree. Deep inside a small hole is the most delicious honey in all of the bush.’

Now this girl was not nearly as foolish as Spider thought. She had a plan to teach this greedy spider a lesson. She remembered that Spider loved honey and was not surprised at all when his eyes became wide and his mouth started to water. She also wasn't surprised when he shoved her into the bushes, ran past her, climbed up the tree, and squeezed into the hole. Again, he ate all of the sweet golden honey, sharing nothing with the young girl. He didn't even share one drop. And once again, he didn't even say thank you.

When Spider had eaten his fill, he tried to climb out of the tree but he couldn't get out the hole. His stomach had grown too large. He was stuck!

‘Help me, young girl,’ cried the spider. ‘I cannot get out of the tree!’
‘You wouldn't be stuck if you hadn't been so selfish, scolded the girl.
‘I'm sorry for what I did! Please call for help,’ cried Spider.
‘I am not as foolish as you think. You aren't sorry for what you did. You are only sorry you are caught in the tree.’
‘No, you're wrong,’ lied the spider but in his heart he knew she was right. He had enjoyed every minute, every bite of food, as long as he thought he was tricking the young girl. He never expected his idea to turn into such a problem for him. ‘Please call for help! I am trapped!’

Finally, a smile crossed over the little girl's face and she said she would do as the spider asked. She cried for help -- as softly as she could, ‘Help! Help! The foolish spider is caught inside the honey tree. Help! Somebody come and help this greedy spider!’ Of course, nobody could hear her whispers for help. And, nobody could hear Spider's cries from deep inside the tree. They were too far into the bush where people rarely ever go.

Finally, the little girl looked up at Spider with a clever grin. ‘Goodbye, Spider, I am going to get some huge oranges for my family. If you want to eat some, just follow me there.’ She waved to him as she left to go down the trail.

4. The princess and the pea:

4.1 recordings:

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4.2 text:

There was once a prince, and he wanted a princess, but then she must be a real Princess. He travelled right around the world to find one, but there was always something wrong. There were plenty of princesses, but whether they were real princesses he had great difficulty in discovering; there was always something which was not quite right about them. So at last he had come home again, and he was very sad because he wanted a real princess so badly.

One evening there was a terrible storm; it thundered and lightninged and the rain poured down in torrents; indeed it was a fearful night.

In the middle of the storm somebody knocked at the town gate, and the old King himself sent to open it.

It was a princess who stood outside, but she was in a terrible state from the rain and the storm. The water streamed out of her hair and her clothes; it ran in at the top of her shoes and out at the heel, but she said that she was a real princess.

‘Well we shall soon see if that is true,’ thought the old Queen, but she said nothing. She went into the bedroom, took all the bed clothes off and laid a pea on the bedstead: then she took twenty mattresses and piled them on top of the pea, and then twenty feather beds on top of the mattresses. This was where the princess was to sleep that night. In the morning they asked her how she slept.

‘Oh terribly bad!’ said the princess. ‘I have hardly closed my eyes the whole night! Heaven knows what was in the bed. I seemed to be lying upon some hard thing, and my whole body is black and blue this morning. It is terrible!’

They saw at once that she must be a real princess when she had felt the pea through twenty mattresses and twenty feather beds. Nobody but a real princess could have such a delicate skin.

So the prince took her to be his wife, for now he was sure that he had found a real princess, and the pea was put into the Museum, where it may still be seen if no one has stolen it.

On the 7th and the 13th of August in the afternoon, we headed off towards the Rhodes University journalism department. After a few months praciticing to read stories and taking part in drama sessions, we finally reached our goal and recorded five stories at the recording studio. Therefore we were assisted by the third year radio student, Candice Theres le Kay in recording the German fairytale "Little Red Riding Hood" and four Aesop fables.
In the following awarenet session, the students wrote blogs about their experiences during the recording sessions.

recording session:

Siphosihle Mboyo

My personal experience with the life player so far has been a very nice one.I was taught many things like voice training, pronounciation and communication. I enjoyed playing the games which prepared us for the recording sessions.I was working on a short story called The Lion and The Mouse I had to read it several times inorder for me to have the perfect tone and reading speed.Knowing that the life player will help many children with reading and understanding english I felt quite privillaged.

When we got to the Recording studios at the university of Rhodes I was very excited.I enjoyed the recording session with Candice because it taught me a lot of things like concentration,reading speed,pronounciation and confidence. This experience was a one of a kind because its not everyday that one gets the chance of helping others while doing what they love the most.

If you would like to read all of the blogs, please click HERE.

According to the section "8. Sound recordings" -
please find the recordings and the stories from VG below:


1 The ant and the grasshopper:

1.1 recordings:

1.2 text:

Once there lived an ant and a grasshopper in a grassy meadow.
All day long the ant would work hard, collecting grains of wheat from the farmer's field far away. She would hurry to the field every morning, as soon as it was light enough to see by, and toil back with a heavy grain of wheat balanced on her head. She would put the grain of wheat carefully away in her larder, and then hurry back to the field for another one. All day long she would work, without stop or rest, scurrying back and forth from the field, collecting the grains of
wheat and storing them carefully in her larder.

The grasshopper would look at her and laugh. 'Why do you work so hard, dear ant?' he would say. 'Come, rest awhile, listen to my song. Summer is here, the days are long and bright. Why waste the sunshine in labour and toil?'

The ant would ignore him and would just hurry to the field a little faster. This would make the grasshopper laugh even louder. 'What a silly little ant you are!' he would call after her. 'Come, come and dance with me! Forget about work! Enjoy the summer! Live a little!' And the grasshopper would hop away across the meadow, singing and dancing merrily.

Summer faded into autumn, and autumn turned into winter. The sun was hardly seen, and the days were short and grey, the nights long and dark. It became freezing cold, and snow began to fall.

The grasshopper didn't feel like singing any more. He was cold and hungry. He had nowhere to shelter from the snow, and nothing to eat. The meadow and the farmer's field were covered in snow, and there was no food to be had. 'Oh what shall I do? Where shall I go?' wailed the grasshopper. Suddenly he remembered the ant. 'Ah - I shall go to the ant and ask her for food and shelter!' declared the grasshopper. So off he went to the ant's house and knocked at her door. 'Hello ant!' he cried cheerfully. 'Here I am, to sing for you, as I warm myself by your fire,
while you get me some food from that larder of yours!'
The ant looked at the grasshopper and said, 'All summer long I worked hard while you made fun of me, and sang and danced. I stored just enough food for the winter, it's true. I can't feed you all winter, or I'll starve too’.

The ant gave the grasshopper a few crumbs, but the grasshopper was cold, miserable, and hungry all winter. The next summer, the grasshopper worked hard to store food for the upcoming winter. That next winter, grasshopper was well fed and happy! He had learned to think ahead and plan for the future.

2 The town mouse and the country mouse:

2.1 recordings:

2.2 text:

Now you must know that a Town Mouse once upon a time went to visit to his cousin in the country. He was rough and ready, this cousin, but he loved his town mouse and made him heartily welcome. Beans and bacon, cheese and bread, were all he had to offer, but he offered them freely.

The Town Mouse rather turned up his long nose at this dinner and said: "I cannot understand, Cousin, how you put up with such poor food as this, but of course you cannot expect anything better in the country; come you with me, I will show you how to live. When you have been in town a week you will wonder how ever stood a country life." No sooner said than done: the two mice set off for town and arrived at the Town residence late at night.

"You will want some refreshment after our long journey," said the polite Town Mouse, and took his friend into the grand dining-room. There they found the remains of a fine feast, and soon the two mice were eating up jellies and cakes and all that was nice. Suddenly they heard growling and barking. "What is that?" said the Country Mouse. "It is only the dogs of the house," answered the other. "Only!" said the Country Mouse. "I do not like that music at my dinner." Just
at that moment the door flew open, in came two huge mastiffs, and the two mice had to scamper down and run off. "Good-bye, Cousin," said the Country Mouse, "What! going so soon?" said the other. "Yes," he replied; "Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear."'

3 The lion and the mouse:

3.1 recordings:

3.2 text:

A Lion lay asleep in the forest, his great head resting on his paws. A timid little Mouse came upon him unexpectedly, and in her fright and haste to get away, ran across the Lion's nose. Roused from his nap, the Lion laid his huge paw angrily on the tiny creature to scare her.

"Spare me!" begged the poor Mouse. "Please let me go and someday I will surely repay you." The Lion was much amused to think that a Mouse could ever help him. But he was generous and finally let the Mouse go.

Some days later, while stalking his prey in the forest, the Lion was caught in a hunter's net. Unable to free himself, he filled the forest with his angry roaring. The Mouse knew the voice and quickly found the Lion struggling in the net. Running to one of the great ropes that bound him, she gnawed it until it parted, and soon the Lion was free. "You laughed when I said I would repay you," said the Mouse. "Now you see that even a Mouse can help a Lion."

4 The fox and the stork:

4.1 recordings:

4.2 text:

The Fox one day thought of a plan to amuse himself at the expense of the Stork, at whose odd appearance he was always laughing.
"You must come and dine with me today," he said to the Stork, smiling to himself at the trick he was going to play.

The Stork gladly accepted the invitation and arrived in a good time and with a very good appetite. For dinner the Fox served soup. But it was set out in a very shallow dish, and all the Stork could do was to wet the very tip of his bill. Not a drop of soup could he get. But the Fox lapped it up easily, and, to increase the disappointment of the Stork, made a great show of enjoyment.

The hungry Stork was much displeased at the trick, but he was a calm, even-tempered fellow and saw no good in flying into a rage. Instead, not long afterward, he invited the Fox to dine with him in turn. The Fox arrived promptly at the time that had been set, and the Stork served a fish dinner that had a very appetizing smell. But it was served in a tall jar with a very narrow neck. The Stork could easily get at the food with his long bill, but all the Fox could do was to lick the outside of the jar, and sniff at the delicious odor. And when the Fox lost his temper, the Stork said calmly: Do not play tricks on your neighbors unless you can stand the same treatment yourself.

5 Little Red Riding Hood:

5.1 recordings:

5.2 text:

Once upon a time there was a sweet little girl. Everyone who saw her liked her, but most of all her grandmother, who did not know what to give the child next. Once she gave her a little cap made of red velvet. Because it suited her so well, and she wanted to wear it all the time, she came to be known as Little Red Cap.

One day her mother said to her, "Come Little Red Cap. Here is a piece of cake and bottle of wine. Take them to your grandmother. She is sick and weak, and they will do her well. Mind your manners and give her my greetings. Behave yourself on the way, and do not leave the path, or you might fall down and break the glass, and then there will be nothing for your sick grandmother."

Little Red Cap promised to obey her mother. The grandmother lived out in the woods, a half hour from the village. When Little Red Cap entered the woods a wolf came up to her. She did not know what a wicked animal he was, and was not afraid of him.

"Good day to you, Little Red Cap."
"Thank you, wolf."
"Where are you going so early, Little Red Cap?"
"To grandmother's."
"And what are you carrying under your apron?"
"Grandmother is sick and weak, and I am taking her some cake and wine."
"Little Red Cap, just where does your grandmother live?"
"Her house is a good quarter hour from here in the woods, under the three large oak trees. There's a hedge of hazel bushes there. You must know the place," said Little Red Cap.

The wolf thought to himself, "Now there is a tasty bite for me. Just how are you going to catch her?" Then he said, "Listen, Little Red Cap, haven't you seen the beautiful flowers that are blossoming in the woods? Why don't you go and take a look? And I don't believe you can hear how beautifully the birds are singing. You are walking along as though you were on your way to school in the village. It is very beautiful in the woods."

Little Red Cap opened her eyes and saw the sunlight breaking through the trees and how the ground was covered with beautiful flowers. She thought, "If I take a bouquet to grandmother, she will be very pleased. Anyway, it is still early, and I'll be home on time." And she ran off into the woods looking for flowers. Each time she picked one she thought that she could see an even
more beautiful one a little way off, and she ran after it, going further and further into the woods. But the wolf ran straight to the grandmother's house and knocked on the door.

"Who's there?"
"Little Red Cap. I'm bringing you cake and wine. Open the door for me."
"Just press the latch. I'm too weak to get up."

The wolf pressed the latch, and the door opened. He stepped inside, went straight to the grandmother's bed, and ate her up. Then he took her clothes, put them on, and put her cap on his head. He got into her bed and pulled the curtains shut.

Little Red Cap had run after flowers, and did not continue on her way to grandmother's until she had gathered all that she could carry. When she arrived, she found, to her surprise, that the door was open. She walked into the parlor, and everything looked so strange that she thought, "Oh, my God, why am I so afraid? I usually like it at grandmother's." Then she went to the bed and
pulled back the curtains. Grandmother was lying there with her cap pulled down over her face and looking very strange.

"Oh, grandmother, what big ears you have!"
"All the better to hear you with."
"Oh, grandmother, what big eyes you have!"
"All the better to see you with."
"Oh, grandmother, what big hands you have!"
"All the better to grab you with!"
"Oh, grandmother, what a horribly big mouth you have!"
"All the better to eat you with!" And with that he jumped out of bed, jumped on top of poor Little Red Cap, and ate her up. As soon as the wolf had finished this tasty bite, he climbed back into bed, fell asleep, and began to snore very loudly.

A huntsman was just passing by. He thought it was strange that the old woman was snoring so loudly, so he decided to take a look. He stepped inside, and in the bed there laid the wolf that he had been hunting for such a long time. "He has eaten the grandmother, but perhaps she still can be saved." thought the huntsman. So he took a pair of scissors and cut open his belly. Little Red Cap jumped out of the wolf’s belly and cried, "Oh, I was so frightened! It was
so dark inside the wolf's body!" And then the grandmother came out alive as well.

Together they chased away the wolf and the three of them were happy. The grandmother ate the cake and drank the wine that Little Red Cap had brought. And Little Red Cap thought to herself, "As long as I live, I will never leave the path and run off into the woods by myself if mother tells me not to”

On Thursday, the 28th of August 2014 we finally reached the last phase of the Lifeplayer project. Therefore Antje Hering, two Victoria girls from the Lifeplayer project (Siphosethu Mboleka and Yamkela Mcatsha) and I headed off towards Samuel Ntsiko Primary School in Joza, Grahamstown.
For one hour in the afternoon, we used our recorded stories onto the Lifeplayer to assist and teach grade six learners in reading English. Siphosethu and Yamkela decided to work together with the students on the Aesop fable "The ant and the grasshopper". The grade six learners practiced their English language skills in reading the fable, listening to our recorded audio book and answering questions according to the story. At the end of our English lesson, the VG girls recorded the students while reading.
Learner both enjoyed listening to the stories and recording themselves reading. The Samuel Ntsiko English teacher was glad her learners experienced something new apart from their usual English lesson.