Introduction

The adventures of the Wops family are closely related to the experience of every learner in Grade I, boys as well as girls. They may be exposed to a different environment if they live in towns and cities and through the stories become aware of what it is like to live in a forest without the ordinary amenities like running water and electricity.

Educators need to remember that many learners in Grade I will not have attended Grade R and consequently skills, strategies and concepts for Grade R will not have been learnt. The educator in Grade I must ensure that these are covered in the work that is done with these learners.

Listening and speaking should form a firm foundation on which to build literacy. The degree to which learners can speak their home language will vary according to circumstances, and educators should be aware of their levels of competence.

Language development is a gradual process and learners need the support of the educator to become increasingly more accurate in the use of their home language.

In Grade I learners become involved in listening to and reading stories, writing for genuine purposes, and learning phonics. The classroom environment should be a place that reflects and encourages all aspects of learning the home language.

Time scheduled for the modules 1 to 8

All learners should complete all eight modules doing approximately two modules per term. Allow the learners to proceed at their own speed.

OVERVIEW MODULE 2: Willy’s birthday picnic

In this module Willy identifies with the learner as he celebrates his birthday. Different rituals are involved making learners sensitive to the variety of cultural and social behaviours in our country.

There are riddles to read and games to play.

INTEGRATION OF THEMES

Learners can be made aware of different cultures/different people have different ways of celebrating e.g. birthdays. They must learn to accept these differences.

Educators Page

1. Learners bring old birthday cards to school to discuss and analyse.

- How are they made? How are they folded? Shape?

- What makes them attractive? Pictures? Colours?

- What does the card say?

- Why are there open spaces?

2. Learners will make a rough sketch to design their own cards. They can decide:

- What to draw.

- What message they will send.

- How they are going to write their messages. (They can ask the teacher to write them lightly and they can print over the letters or make any other plans they can think of)

- What they will need. (Make a list of drawings of tools needed.) They collect and bring these.

3. They make their cards.

4. They show it to the class. Positive comments are encouraged when learners consider their friends’ cards and maybe suggest improvements. Much praise is needed to encourage learners.

5. Display cards in the room.

LO 2

LO/AS 1.3

The following sounds are introduced in this learning unit. Follow the steps for each as set out in Learning Unit.

“r” as in rose

“h” as in house

“l” as in leg

“c” as in cat

“o” as in orange

“a” as in apple

The correct letter formation is taught after the sound has been introduced. Learners decorate their patterns.

Words with two sounds are on one page. These words can be introduced when the second sound on the page has been taught. Keep these pages in flip-files. They will form their first dictionaries and learners can use the words for their own stories later.

These are used for revising and consolidating new words learnt. Keep in flip-files for stories later.

The teacher puts all these words on flash cards for revision games and quick recognition.

My Dictionary Page

Figure 5

Let’s light up Willy’s birthday tree.

Figure 6

Assessment

Learning Outcome 1: LISTENING: The learner is able to listen for information and enjoyment and respond appropriately and critically in a wider range of situations.

Assessment Standard 1.6: We know this when the learner develops phonic awareness:

1.6.1 distinguishes between different phonemes, especially at the beginning of words.

Learning Outcome 3:READING AND VIEWING: The learner is able to read and view for information and enjoyment and respond critically to the aesthetic, cultural and emotional values in texts.

Assessment Standard 3.4: We know this when the learner recognises letters and words and makes meaning of written text:

3.4.1 reads simple written materials (labels, stories, ect.) for different purposes;

3.4.3 uses phonic and word recognition skills to decode new or unfamiliar words in context (e.g. visual cues like shape of word and letter patterns, picture clues context clues, and letter-sound relationships);

Learning Outcome 4:WRITING: The learner is able to write different kinds of factual and imaginative texts for a wide range of purposes.

Assessment Standard 4.1: We know this when the learner writes with increasing legibility:

4.1.1 manipulates writing tools like crayons and pencils effectively;

4.1.3 forms letters of the alphabet successfully;

Learning Outcome 6:LANGUAGE STRUCTURE AND USE: The learner will know and be able to use the sounds, words and grammar of the language to create and interpret texts.

Assessment Standard 6.1: We know this when the learner relates sounds to letters and words.