MALAWI PRIMARY SCHOOLS STUDY NOTES

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STANDARD FIVE NOTES

AGRICULTURE

BIBLE KNOWLEDGE
 ENGLISH

EXPRESSIVE ARTS

Unit 1 Artistic shapes and movements

Unit 2 Participating and collaborating in

sports and arts

Unit 3 Self expression through artwork

Unit 4 Solving challenges in everyday

life

Unit 5 Producing various items for the

community

Unit 6 Various artistic activities

UNIT 1 ARTISTIC SHAPES AND MOVEMENTS (Written by

Zikomo Masese Banda)

CREATING BODY MOVEMENTS

Body movements help in the coordination of
muscles and joints.
Body movements can be done through physical
exercises such as: jumping, chopping wood and
other activities.
IMPORTANCE OF MOVEMENT AT DIFFERENT
HEIGHT LEVELS
 looking for food
 running away from danger
 looking for shelter
 looking for mate for companion and
procreation
 looking for fun and pleasure
 seeking peace and freedom
 hiding from a predator
 crawling to catch a prey

PRACTISING BODY MOVEMENTS AT

DIFFERENT HEIGHT LEVELS

IMITATING ANIMAL MOVEMENT AT

DIFFERENT HEIGHT LEVELS
CREATING ARTISTIC SHAPES AND
MOVEMENTS
One can create different shapes and movements
when drawing pictures and illustrations. Such
drawings can be done by joining lines and circles.
Lines and circles can produce shapes when they
are joined in different ways and at different
angles.

These shapes are known as geometrical figures

and they can be in the form of circles, rectangles,
squares and many others.
One can also create shapes by knitting and
sewing.
When these shapes are joined together in
different ways and at different angles, they can
make figures such as people, houses, trees,
animals and other things.

DRAWING GEOMETRICAL SHAPES

CREATING SHAPES USING THE BODY

DESIGNING TOYS OF DIFFERENT SHAPES

SEWING TOYS

Steps for sewing and stuffing toys

 lay the designs on pieces of fabric and pin
them together
 cut out the pattern pieces
 mark the stitching line
  mark the features on the toy and position of
an opening to be used for stuffing
 tack and stitch using a running stitch, leaving
an opening for stuffing
 clip and snip seams where necessary and
turn the toy to the open side
 stuff the toy and close the opening by over-
sewing the opening

KNITTING TOYS

A BEAN BAG
 cast on 48 stitches
 using garter stitches, knit until the work
measures 16cm long
 cast off
 fold and join the sides using the running
stitch
 stuff and over-sew the opening

A KNITTED DOLL

 cast on 10 (8, 6) stitches and knit in garter

stitch until the work measures 11 (7, 5) cm
long (this forms the leg)
 knit another leg to match
 knit he body using the following steps
 o with both legs on one needle, knit right
across to join them together
o carry on knitting until the work measures
35 (25, 19) cm long. this will be the front,
head and back
o divide the stitches in half for the back of
the legs
o using half of the stitches, knit until the
work measures 11 (7, 5) cm long and
then cast off

o re-join the wool to the remaining half of

the stitches; knit half of the stitches and
knit the second leg to match
 knit the arms using the following step
o cast on 16 (14, 12) stitches and knit in

garter stitch until work measures 7 (5, 4)

cm long.
o cast off

o knit another arm to match

 make up (finish off) the toy by folding the

knitted work in half and over-sewing round
the edge leaving space for stuffing as in the
illustration below
 o round off the ends of the legs for feet and
head by doing the following
o turn the knitted doll inside out
o stuff the head firmly and then tie it
tightly round the neck with a piece of
wool
o stuff the rest of the body and legs and
sew up the opening
o sew up the side of the arms and round off
the corners for hands, as shown below

o turn the arms inside out and stuff them

o sew the arms on the body at the
shoulders
o embroider the features of the doll (eyes,
nose and mouth)

IMPORTANCE OF MAKING TOYS BY CHILDREN

 Making toys helps the children in developing

their creativity
 Making toys helps children in developing
their imagination
 CREATING GAMES USING TOYS

There are many games that can be played using

toys.
RISKS AND SAFETY PRACTICES IN ARTS AND SPORTS

Risks in Using Equipment

The table below shows sources of risks in various

sporting and artistic activities

ACTIVITY SOURCE OF RISKS

Weaving Equipment such as bamboos
and chisongole
Knitting Equipment such as knitting
needles
Sewing Equipment such as sewing
needles and pressing iron
Carving Tools such as adzes
(kasemasema)
Athletics: track Small running lanes, stones,
events (running litter, sharp objects, bricks,
activities. For rough surfaces, lack of warm
example, relay up and cool down activities
race and cross
country)
Athletics (throwing Poor condition of equipment,
events) for poor handling of equipment
example, javelin, and slippery and rough
discus, shot put surfaces
Ball games Sports surfaces in poor
conditions, lack of warm up
and cool down activities,
wrong pressure and size of
balls, poor condition of balls

Strategies for Reducing Risks

 Doing warm ups and cool downs

 Thrower should always be in front of others
 Clear the area where the activity will be done
 Always use equipment that is in good
condition
 Store and keep equipment safely after use to
prevent wrong use
 Proper handling of sharp tools, for example,
needles
 Wearing a thimble when sewing
 Proper sharpening of tools
 Splitting and processing bamboos with care
in weaving The table below shows strategies
that can be used to reduce risks

ACTIVIT RISKS STRATEGY THAT CAN

Y BE USED TO REDUCE
RISKS
Playing Getting fractures,  Referee should

ball cuts and scratches control the game

games  Referee should

give penalties for

bad play
 Plant grass on

bare ground
 Remove anthills

and stones from

the ground
 Fill ditches and

holes on the
ground

Ball hitting players  Cut all grass for

the balls to run
smoothly
 Goalkeepers
wearing
protective wear
 Make the ground
flat

Players hitting - Strictly observe the

each other rules of the game
Sewing Needle pricking - Use a thimble to
ones finger protect the middle
finger when sewing
Needle pins  Put pins or

piercing others or needles on a pin

oneself cushion
  Point the needle
towards your own
body when
sewing

Cutting oneself or  Cut away from

others others
 Handle scissors
or razor blades
properly

Burning oneself or  Put pressing iron

others on a stand after
every pressing
 Remove charcoal
after use
 Switch off and
plug off the
electric iron after
use
 Proper storage

Athletic Hitting one  All races of one

s another due to lap for example:
bunching (many 100m, 200m
people being should be run in
together without lanes
enough personal  Runners should
and general space) be well spaced
and limited in
number
 Obey the rules

Collapsing  Breathe through

 the nose when
running
 Do cool down
activities

Carving Getting cuts or  Sharpen

tears equipment away
from your body
 Place tools in
safe places
 Hold tools firmly
when sharpening
them

The table below shows some of safe practices in

different activities

ACTIVITY SAFE PRACTICES

Javelin  Walk with the javelin in vertical

position to the playing field

 Put a cork or a protective cloth on

both ends of the javelin when not

in use

Discus - Use discus without cracks and worn

out reams
-Create adequate space between
thrower and others
The shot - Hold the shot with a firm grip
Jumping - Have a soft landing area
events
Athletics  Adequate preparation

 Use lanes when running

  Ensure learners are well spaced in
races of more than one lap
 Count all learners before and after
long runs
 Provide transport behind the
runners in long distance running

Basketbal - Minimise contacts among players

l
Netball  Observe rules of the game

 Umpires should ensure fair play

Volleyball  Playing field should be dry

 Use approved balls
 Avoid treading on the ball
 Spikes should be empty part of the
court

Field  Cut grass on the pitch

hockey  Provide goalkeepers with
protective clothing
 Use sticks that are in good
condition

Football  Avoid dangerous play

(soccer)  Referees should be strict in the
game
 Cut grass on the field of play
 Ensure the field is free of risks

Gymnasti  Use clothing that allows free

cs movement
 Proper supervision of the activities
  Give activities according to the age
of the learners

UNIT 2 PARTICIPATING AND COLLABORATING IN SPORTS

AND ARTS

Sports and artistic performances

There are different types of sports and arts in
which learners can participate. These include:
football, netball, singing, dancing, and poetry.
The activities can be done for pleasure, leisure or
entertainment.

FOOTBALL

Football is played for pleasure and

entertainment.
IMPORTANCE OF PARTICIPATING IN FOOTBALL

 It fosters team spirit

  It promotes cooperation
BASIC SKILLS IN FOOTBALL

 Dribbling
 Passing
 Heading
 Shooting
 Goal keeping

NETBALL

Netball is played for pleasure and entertainment

IMPORTANCE OF PARTICIPATING IN NETBALL

 It fosters team spirit

 It promotes cooperation
BASIC SKILLS IN NETBALL

 Passing
 Catching
 Marking
 Shooting
 Goal keeping
The learners need to practice the basic skills first
in both football and netball before participating in
a real game.
Both games need cooperation and team spirit if
they are to be played successfully.
SINGING

Singing is a form of communication.

Songs can be used to pass on messages on

issues such as health and gender.
Songs are an effective medium of communication
because they easily draw the attention of the
audience.
DANCING

Dancing is one of the oldest human activities.

In Malawi, some dances are based on specific
historical events. For example, Beni is based on
the parades of British soldiers, ngoma or Ingoma
is a war dance.
Tchopa and Likhuba are traditional dances
associated with rain-making ceremonies.

SPORTS ATTIRE AND COSTUMES

Sports attire and costumes are the type of dress

that identifies people with a certain kind of
sporting activity or artistic performance.
Sports attire and costumes can be made using
locally available materials.
This can give an opportunity to the makers to
acquire various skills such as designing,
creativity and production of various items
One the sports attire and costumes have been
made, there is need to take care of them.
This can be done through proper storage so that
the items can be used many times before they
wear out.
IMPORTANCE OF SPORTS ATTIRE AND COSTUMES

 Giving identity
 Adding beauty
 Allows freedom of body movement
 Attracting viewers
ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES THAT REQUIRE COSTUMES

 Drama
 Poetry (poem recitals)
 Story telling
 Traditional dance
 Choir singing

LOCAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

A musical instrument is an instrument created or

adapted to make musical sounds. In principle,
any object that produces sound can be
considered a musical instrument.
Local musical instruments can be classified into:
 Tuned musical instruments

 Untuned musical instruments

Tuned musical instruments are those which

produce various pitches.
Examples of tuned musical instruments are
Nkangala, the flute, string-bass and guitar.

Untuned musical instruments are those which

produce one pitch. Examples of untuned musical
instruments are shakers, rasps and rattles.

OCCASIONS WHEN MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS ARE USED

o Weddings
o Funerals
o Initiation ceremonies
o Political gatherings
o Festivals
o Installation of chiefs

SOME MATERIALS FOR MAKING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

o Gallons
o Plastic papers
o Buckets
o Sticks
o Wood
o Strings
o Bones
o Bamboo
o Reed
o Nails
o Wires
o Animal hides
MAKING LOCAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
PLAYING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

Musical instruments can be played by:

 Plucking (e.g a guitar and banjo)
 Beating (e.g a drum)
 Blowing (e.g a trumpet)
 Shaking (e.g a rattle)
 Pressing (e.g a piano)
 stroking

IMPORTANCE OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

o they complement human voice

o they add harmony in music
o they reflect the cultural history of an
ethnic group
 o they attract attentiveness and
concentration of the musical players and
listeners
o they foster self-expression
o they relieve stress
o they add beauty in music
o they promote social skills
o they boost listening skills
o they promote discipline

UNIT 3 SELF EXPRESSION THROUGH ARTWORK

There are various artworks which learners can

produce to express and communicate their
feelings. These include songs, sports, stories,
sewing, knitting, plaiting and modelling.
REPETITIONS AND CONTRASTS IN ARTWORK

Repetitions and contrasts in these artworks are

used in order: (Importance of repetitions and
contrasts)
 To express and communicate various ideas
effectively

 To emphasize certain ideas

 To make certain areas of an artwork stand out
  To add beauty to artworks
 To express feelings

 To add visual intensity and interest to art

pieces

REPETITIONS AND CONTRASTS IN ART AND CRAFT

MODELLING A POT

FORMS OF COMMUNICATION THROUGH

ARTWORK
Communication is passing out information, ideas,
feelings or wishes from one person to another.
Communication can be verbal or non-verbal.
Songs, plays, cartoons and puppets can be used
to communicate verbally or non-verbally.

SINGING

DRAWING CARTOONS

MAKING PUPPETS
 UNIT 4 SOLVING CHALLENGES IN EVERYDAY
LIFE CHALLENGES IN EVERYDAY LIFE AND THEIR
SOLUTIONS

CHALLENGES IN LIFE
o Floods
o Droughts
o Epidemics
o Rapid population growth
o Diseases
o Food shortages
Artistic representations such as plays and posters
can be used as a way of dealing with these
challenges.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO THE CHALLENGES

o Practising family planning

o Planting more trees
o Using environmental friendly methods of
farming
o Doing physical exercises
o Eating balanced diet food
o Living a health life
 UNIT 5 PRODUCING VARIOUS ITEMS FOR THE
COMMUNITY WEAVING BROOMS

Guidelines for weaving brooms

 prepare dry palm leaves into thick edged
weaving strips by using a knife
 get a bundle of the thick edged strips and tie
in the midpoint
 bend the strips from the midpoint towards
one side
 tie at two or more places to make a handle
and a sweeper
 weave through the ties with palm leaf strips
 trim the ends of the strips with a sharp knife
 PLAITING DOORMATS

Guidelines for plaiting doormats

 arrange the fibre into three strands
 plait the strands into a plaid of desired length
 coil the plaited cord and join the rows using
running stitches

MODELLING TOYS USING LOCAL MATERIALS

Guidelines for modelling grass toys

 Shred maize sheaths/palm leaves into small
pieces lengthwise using a knife.
 tie the bottom end of the maize sheaths/palm
leaves firmly to form a broom-like structure
 fold the longer end over the tied end, as is
done when weaving brooms, to form the
head of the toy
 after all the maize sheaths/palm leaves have
been turned down, tie again to form a neck
  Pull out some maize sheaths/palm leaves into
three groups and plait for a length of about
10cm to form a trunk. Then divide them into
two groups to form legs (hind limbs). Plait the
legs and do the same with the arms.

CARVING SPOONS

Guidelines for carving spoons

 take a piece of wood and chop it into a plank
 smoothen the plank
 draw the required size of the wooden spoon
on the plank
 use an adze (kasemasema) and chisel to
carve the spoon
 smoothen the spoon using a broken piece of
glass or a sharp knife

COSTING ITEMS

When costing items consider the following:

o The materials used
o The cost of materials used
o Time it took to make the items
 o Labour involved in making the items
o Size of the items
o Quality of the items
o Demand of the items
o Supply of the items
o Affordability of the customers

MARKETING ITEMS

Importance of Carrying out a Market

Research
 To understand what people’s likes are
 To discover where particular artefacts are
popular
 To convince people that they will not regret
after buying the artefacts

Marketing Skills

 Carrying out a research

 Costing the artefacts
 Displaying them
 Marketing them

UNIT 6 VARIOUS ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES PRODUCING AND

MARKETING ART ITEMS

There are many artistic activities which can help

one to develop skills for producing and marketing
artistic items.
Some of these activities are composing songs,
acting, drawing, sewing and knitting.

COMPOSING A SONG

Guidelines for composing a song

Step 1 What message do you want to convey in
the songs Step 2 Target audience
Step 3 What mood of the song do you want to
convey your message through? Step 4 Identify a
time for your song
Step 5 Find words to the tune of your song
(consider things such a rhymes in your words of
the time, just like in poetry)

FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN COMPOSING A SONG

o Age of the target group

o Cultural background of the target group
o Religion of the target group
o Language spoken by the target group
o Likes and dislikes of the target group
 KNITTING A BABY'S BOOTIES AND BONNET

PATTERN FOR KNITTING THE

BONNET MATERIALS
 1 ball yarn of 50gm

 No. 3.5 mm sized needles

PATTERN

 cast on 82 stitches
 1st row: knit
 2nd row to 10th row: purl
 11th and alternate row: purl
 12th and every alternate rows to form
stocking stitch
 continue in stocking stitch until the work
measures 17cm long from the beginning
 fold the bonnet in half with a wrong side out
 using the over-sewing, stitch, join the sides
 make a hem from one end of the bonnet to
the other across the stitched seam for the
chord
 using four strands of knitting wool, twist a
chord to be slotted in the hem

PATTERN FOR KNITTING THE BOOTIES

 cast on 36 stitches
 1st row to 10th row: knit
 11th to 20th row: stocking stitch
 21st row: k1, wfd k2 together*, repeat from *
to * to the last stitched, knit
 22nd row to 25th row: knit
 26th row: k25 stitches and turn
 27th row: purl 14 stitches and turn
 continue in stocking stitch on these 14
stitches for 20 rows
 knit 14, purl and k11 stitches from the sides
of foot
 knit to end
 pick up and purl stitches from one side of the
foot; purl to the end (58 stitches)
 work 10 more rows in garter stitch
 cast off all stitches
 using oversewing, join the two sides on the
wrong side
 using 4 strands of knitting wool, twist a chord
to be slotted in the holes provided in the
booty
 ABBREVIATIONS IN KNITTING

C/on - cast on
C/off - cast off
Sts-stitches
k-knit

p-purl
Wrd -wool forward
tog - together
alt - alternate
St st - stocking stitches
beg - beginning
incl - including
rep - repeat
*to*- beginning from - to -

SEWING A MAGYER DRESS/COLLARLESS MAGYER

SHIRT

Process for constructing a Magyer

dress/collarless Magyer shirt
 pre-shrink cotton fabric and hang out to dry
 pull all corners of the fabric diagonally to
straighten the fibre. Press with an iron
 lay out the fabric with the wrong side out and
place pattern on the fabric
 pin pattern piece to fabric and cut 1 piece of
the garment as in the following illustration

 assemble the garment by making a slash

opening 10cm long in the centre of the
neckline
 cut out crossway strips and join them. place
the right sides of the crossway strip along the
neckline using back stitch
 trim one side of the seam allowance to
remove the bulk of the finished binding
 snip the curved edge close to the stitching
line to relieve strain
 turn the binding over so that it shows equally
on both sides as shown in the illustration
below
  tack the binding down and hem in position on
the wrong side, picking up the back stitches
 bind the sleeves using the same procedure
as in Step e) above
 work side seams by making open seams on
both sides of the garment. Stitch using the
back stitch
 snip the curved areas as illustrated below

 neaten the seams

 turn a small fold at the bottom of the
garment and press. make a second fold for
the hem of about 2cm. Hold down the hem
using hemming stitches

ATTACHING A BUTTON

Procedure for attaching a button to the shirt or

dress
 attach a button to the garment by fastening a
piece of thread at the required position of the
button
 place the centre of the button over the
fastened thread, and bring the thread
 through the first hole to the right side of the
button
 place across the button, a pin, match stick or
knitting needle according to the length
 pass the thread across the pin and through
the second hole to the back of the fabric
 repeat this as often as necessary for the size
of the button, keeping the stitches on the
wrong side, one lying over the other
 remove the pin, bring the needle out
between the button and the fabric. pull the
button to the end of the long stitches formed
 wind a thread 3 to 4 times round the stem of
stitches formed. Take the needle through the
back of the fabric, loop over the stitches and
fasten off.

WORKING A LOOP

STEPS TO MAKE A WORKED LOOP

o measure the diameter of the button to
mark the place of the loop using pins
o fasten the thread with a double stitch at
one pin and work strands back and forth
from pin 1 to pin 3 passing the thread
round pin 2 and finishing at pin 3 as
illustrated below
 o repeat stranding as often as the size of
the loop requires
o remove the pins
o turn the loop round and work the loop
stitches over the stranded threads as
illustrated below

CUTTING AND ATTACHING A SIMPLE APPLIQUE PIECE

Cutting
Step 1 Trace or draw desired shapes on paper
Step 2 Cut around the outlines to get the pattern
of the required design Step 3 Trace out the
design on the contrasting colour of fabric
Step 4 Cut neatly along the outline
Step 5 If a motif is cut from the printed fabric, cut
it following the edges of the chosen design
 Attaching

Step 1 Place the cut out design in position on the

right side of the garment. Pin and tuck Step 2
Using hemming stitches, stitch closely along the
edge of the applique
Step 3 Remove the tucking
Step 4 Press the garment and air it
Step 5 Prepare price labels for the garments
constructed Step 6 Attach the price labels to the
garments
Step 7 Display and mock market the garments

REFERENCES

MIE (2008); Standard 5 Teacher’s Guide

MIE (2008); Standard 5 Learners’ Book ODL
Expressive Arts Handbook
The Internet
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

SOCIAL STUDIES

CHICHEWA

LIFE SKILLS