2.2 Preview of Related Literature
2.2.1 School Based Curriculum of English Teaching at Elementary School
Based on the 2006 curriculum, English has in the position of the first foreign language to learn in Indonesia, and it has important roles not only in developing
science, technology, and culture but also in making good relationship among countries. Now, English is acceptable to be taught as a local content subject at
elementary school students with regard to the availability of competent teachers. According to 2006 curriculum for elementary school, There are many
kinds of local content taught in different elementary school, such as, regional language, English, etc, as one of local content subject taught in elementary school,
English has some function as follow; 1 English function as a tool for the students to improve them in science,
technology, art, and culture. Therefore, in their progress they still possess Indonesian personality.
2 English, as local content, is an optional subject for students at the fourth, fifth, and sixth graders of elementary school. English functions to support the
development of tourism, export industry area, and the demand of the community of Central Java Kurikulum Mulok SD 2006:4.
Based on the function above, the students are expected to have skills of language in simple English. Teaching English at elementary school focuses on the
four skills they are: listening, speaking, reading, and writing which are targeted to simple English.
2.2.2 The Characteristics of the Fourth Graders of Elementary School
Teaching elementary school students is not the same as teaching adults, because they have different characteristics such as stated by Helaly, 1987:49 “unlike
adults, children are not self motivated and do not concerned with job or university degree that requires knowledge of English. Their world is their daily games,
events of interst to them, new knowledge that may across and question that their inquisition may ask.”
The forth graders of elementary school usually consist of students about eight to ten years old who have different characteristics and different motivation
from the students in higher level. Harmer 2004:37 says that the age of the students major factor in teacher
decision about how and what to teach. Students of different ages also have different needs, competence, and cognitive skill. Differet ages also mean different
characteristics. The fourth graders of elementary school is children whose ages are eight to
ten years old, are relatively mature children with adult side and a childish side. Many characteristics of them are as follow:
a. Their basic concept are formed. They have very decided views of the world.
b. They can tell the difference between facts and fiction. c. They ask question all the time.
d. They rely on the spoken word as well as the physical word to convey and
understand meaning. e. They are able to make some decision about their own learning.
f. They have definite views about what they like and do not like doing. g. They have a developed sense of fairness about what happens in the
classroom and begin to question the teacher‟s decisions.
Concerning the statement above, I think that the fourth graders of elementary school belong to transcend students with their own characteristics.
Furthermore, by knowing the characteristics of the students, it is easier for teachers to decide further steps in teaching and it will possibly help the teachers
in finding solution to overcome problems that might arise in teaching learning process.
2.2.3
Simple Sentences
There are some definitions of simple sentences from some experts : 1 Susan 1950:210 states that a simple sentence contains subject and one
predicate, both of which may be compound. 2 Wilting says 1981:35 that a simple sentence has one subject and one
predicate, other or both of which may be compound. 3 Marcella Frank 1972:222 claims that simple sentence contains one full
subject and predicate.
2.2.3.1 Kinds of Sentences
English is a language, and language is made up of words, however, we cannot just string the words together to produce an English sentence. We need to
put the words into the right order. According to Richard 1957:150, a sentence is a group of words consisting of subject and predicate that does not depend on any
larger grammatical construction. In line with that statement, sentence is a related group of words containing a subject and predicate and expressing a complete
thought www.English – test.net.
A sentence is a group of words that makes sense on its own. It must have a verb and it must start with a capital letter and end in a full stop., exclamation
mark or question mark ?. Moreover, Frank 1972:220 defines a sentence in one of two ways in traditional grammar, namely by meaning and by function. By
meaning, a sentence consists of a subject and a predicate. From functional and formal point of view, a sentence is a full of prediction
containing a subject plus a predicate with a finite verb. In other word, a sentence consists of subject and a verb at least. The subject in a sentence is generally the
person or thing carrying out an action. The arrangement of the sentence can be symbolized by formula as follows :
S V O Subject + Verb + object
She teaches English Further, Frank 1972:220-222 purposes the classification of sentences into
two ways, namely by the types and by the number of formal predications. There are four kind of sentences :
a Declarative Sentences Statements The Declarative Sentences in which the subject and predicate have normal
word order. For example:The child ate his dinner.
b Interrogative Sentences Question Interrogative Sentences is the sentence in which the subject and auxiliary are
often reversed. The sentence ends with a question mark.
For example : Did the child eat his dinner? c Imperative Sentences Command, Request
The Imperative Sentences is the sentence in which only the predicate is expressed.
For example : Eat your dinner In this study, I only use simple sentences in the form of simple present tense.
It causes the fourth graders of elementary school is the first class in elementary school which get english as a local content. Therefore, the material given to them
is just simple English. It is based on the 2004 curriculum for elementary school that elementary school students are the students who are expected to have
language skills in simple english. From this statement, we can conclude that the material given to them must be relevant with t
he students‟ ability and ages.
2.2.3.2 Simple Sentence
Susan1950:210states that simple sentence contains one subject and one predicate, both of which may be compound. „Adam, Jefferson, and Monroe died
on the fourth of July‟is a simple sentence. “This man went to the beach” is also simple sentence. It contains one simple subject and one compound predicate.
Wilting says1981:35 that a simple sentence has one subject and one predicate, other or both of which may be compound. The patterns are :
a Subject +
predicate Birds
fly I
read b Subject
+ predicate
+ object
The boy put
the ball
c Subject +
predicate +
indirect object + direct object We
give him
a book I
send her
a letter d Subject
+ linking word +
subjective complement Mary
is a girl
He is
a dilligent student Wilting1981:35 also gives some other various examples of simple
sentence: 1 Compound sentence
a. Mary and John put the ball b. You and I are Indonesian
2 Compound predicate a. She write and read
b. He sells and buys apples 3 Compound object
a. See my brother and my sister b. He buys a book and three pens
Marcella Frank 1972:222 claims that simple sentence contains one full subject and predicate, for example :
A statement : He lives in New York
A question : How old are you?
A request : Please, close the door
2.2.3.3 Simple Present Tense
Simple present tense showing an action that happens continually at the presents and expressing habitual actions, Simple present tense is divided into two forms:
present tense of be and present tense of other verb.
2.2.3.4 Present Tenseb of Verb Be
Present Tense form of be is formed with to be am, are, or is after the subject of the sentence. Acoording to Praninskas 1961:2 in English, the present tense of be is
used to express the following situations : a Profession, trade, occupation
Mr.Allen is professor b Nationality
Mr.Suharto is an Indonesian c Age
Doni is twenty five d Condition
Jack is sick
2.2.3.5 Present Tense of Verb
The present tense of verb is formed with simple form of a verb for first person, second person, and third person plural subject except for third person singular
subject; the verbs end in s, or es Soemarto, 1994:2. In the terms of form, the simple present tense can be divided into positive, negative, interrogative. The
adverbs or adverbial phrases that are often used in the simple present tense are always, usually, everyday, sometime, never, etc.
For example: I always go to school by bicycle.
2.2.3.6 Pattern of Present Tense Form of Other Verbs
a. Positive Form I,we,you,they
Verb Complement
He,she,it,singular name of people,noun
Verb+ses
Example : I have much money b.Negative form
To make the negative sentences in the simple present tense, the pattern is : I,we,you,they
Do not+ verb Complement
He,she,it,singular name of people,noun
Does not + verb
Example : I do not have much money She does not always watch movie
c.Interrogative Form To make interrogative sentences or yesno question in the simple present
tense, we put dodoes before the subject.the pattern is : Do
I,we,you,they verb
Complement? Does
He,she,it,singular name of people,noun
Example : Do I have much money ? Do we read a newspaper everyday?
For the Indonesian students, they will undergo some interference from their mother tongue when they study simple present tense. For example, the exsistence
of s or es ending the verb for the third person singular subject. The auxiliary do or does in negative and interrogative sentences and the verb be in the nominal
sentences that never exist Indonesian language. Those will make the Indonesian students having difficulty in applying them.
2.2.4 Number Head Together Game
Numbered Heads Together is a cooperative learning strategy that holds each student accountable for learning the material. Students are placed in groups and
each person is given a number from one to the maximum number in each group. The teacher poses a question and students put their heads together to figure out
the answer. The teacher calls a specific number to respond as spokesperson for the group. By having students work together in a group, this strategy ensures that
each member knows the answer to problems or questions asked by the teacher. Because no one knows which number will be called, all team members must be
prepared. 2.2.4.1
A general Introductory of Number Head Together
The structure of Number Head Together is derived from the work of Spencer Kagan 1975. There are a number of variations on the method, some very simple
and others with a greater degree of complexity. This structure can be used in conjunction with„Think, Pair Share‟ early in the development of the Co-operative
Classroom. learning with spellings.
These are all sequential responses. The teacher can also use what Kagen describes as simultaneous answers:
1 All students showing their work. 2 Students using whiteboards to show their group work.
The application of using Number Head Together : 1 To involve whole class in the consideration of a question or problem.
2 To increase individual accountability. 3 To increase group teaching so that all members of the group are coached.
4 To increase team spirit and satisfaction.
2.2.5 Teaching Writing of Simple English Sentences to the Fourth
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