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Standard Competence Basic Competence
disagree, and forbids. 2.4 Express
modesty meaningfully
which involves expressions: Do you mind … and
Shall we …
Reading 3. Understand
English writing
and pictorial
descriptive texts in school context
3.1 Read loudly with correct pronunciation, stressing and intonation and meaningfully
which involve very simple words, phrases, and sentences.
3.2 Understand very simple sentences, written messages and pictorial descriptive texts
correctly and meaningfully.
Writing 4. Spell
and copy
very simple sentences in school
context 4.1 Spell very simple sentences correctly and
meaningfully. 4.2 Copy and write very simple sentences
correctly and
meaningfully, such
as congratulations, thanking, and invitation.
Table 2.1: Standard and Basic Competence for Fifth Grade, Semester 1 Departemen Pendidikan Nasional 2006
3. Elementary School Students a. Elementary School Children Characteristics
Hamachek 1990:1 states that ”in order to be good teachers, which includes both helping students learn and establishing relationships that facilitates
positive teaching-learning outcomes, we need to be reasonably clear on what our assumptions are about why people behave the way they do.” Therefore, this part
deals with the importance of knowing students’ characteristics. Children from age six to twelve are considered as elementary students.
The years where they begin to develop their interaction toward environment in PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
21
which they live. Hamachek 1990 includes the years from age six to twelve are increasingly more aware of and responsive to an ever-widening array of
influences ranging all the way from their parents, to playmates, to television, to comic books, etc. They continue to develop and expand the personality
characteristics that began to appear during the preschool years. The cognitive processes also continue to evolve slowly from the purely concrete, black-and-
white thinking of the elementary years to an increasing capacity to the conceptual thinking that will emerge during the later middle years and adolescence. Certainly,
each year from those ages has particular uniqueness. The children development stage is related to the cognitive development.
The word cognitive focused on mental processes such as thinking, learning, remembering and problem solving. Meanwhile, the word development is used to
imply that cognitive processes change with age or experience Byrnes, 1996:3. In brief, the cognitive processes such as thinking change with age. The children
cognitive development has four general stages which are proposed by Piaget in Vasta et.all 1995: 35. They are:
1 Sensorimotor
Form of intelligence in which knowledge is based on physical interactions with people and objects. This period is extending from birth to 2 years.
2 Preoperational
Form of intelligence in which symbols and mental actions begin to replace objects and overt behavior. This third stage is extending from about 2 to 6 years.
