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.

In this last module the learners visit Willy in the forest. Much discussion will take place when learners decide.

They will spend time with the Wops in the forest.

Integration of themes

The learners visit the forest and come into contact with the Wops and the Toobies who live different lives. They are made aware of different cultures who have the right to be respected. Social Justice living so close to nature, the Wops teach the learners how to care for the environment.

For the Educator:

In module 8 the learners go on an imaginary visit to Willy Wop and his friends in the forest.

Learners write their own stories. These can be stapled together in a book and the learners can read them to the class. They can be encouraged to identify their mistakes and to correct these. They can make use of their “Dictionary and Vocabulary Pages” which they have kept in their files. Stories are still written on blank paper.

In this module the last of the letters in this ruling is introduced and practised.

Learners should be encouraged to read a wide variety of easy readers - non-fiction as well as fiction. They should be encouraged to visit the library regularly.

Read or tell the class the story of “Snow White” (LO 1.3). Snow White also went into a forest and visited the seven dwarfs.

Discuss the characters in the story and ask the learners to retell the story. (LO 2.7).

Learners can act out the story (LO 2.3).

In an Art class they can paint a picture of the forest, the creatures in the forest and the characters in the story.

When they know the story, they can read the abridged version on the next page.

Encourage the learners to read the story sums carefully and to say orally what the “story” is about. They must know what they are trying to find out. They can suggest different ways of finding the answers, e.g. by drawing the picture or by using counters, etc.

Question them to see whether they have the insight into the story before trying to solve the problem, e.g. How many pancakes did Mom bake?

How many people are to share the pancakes? etc.

More examples can be given.

1. Mummy made 16 pancakes. She gave Baby, Willy, Daddy and me the same number of pancakes.

How many pancakes did each one get? .......... pancakes

(Draw the plates if you like).

Figure 1

2. The Toobies live 10 km from the Wops. I rode on Walter’s back for 8km. I had to walk another .......... km to get to the Toobies.

(Use the number line if you like).

Figure 2

3. We travelled to the mall in Mr Mole’s underground train. It took us 20 minutes to reach the mall. How long did it take us to go there and back? .......... minutes.

Figure 3

1. ……………………………………………………………………. is my book.

2. Give me ………………………………………………………………….. pen.

3. She will tell …………………………………………………………… a story.

4. ………………………………………. or ……………………………………..

5. Baby can count to ……………………………………………………………..

Figure 4

Figure 5

Learning Outcome 2:SPEAKING: The learner is able to communicate confidently and effectively in spoken language in a wide range of situations.

Assessment Standard 2.4: We know this when the learner uses language imaginatively for fun and fantasy;

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 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);

Assessment Standard 3.5: We know this when the learner develops phonic awareness:

3.5.9 recognises common consonant diagraphs (single sounds spelt with two letters) at the beginning and end of words (e.g. sh, th, ch);

3.5.10 recognises some high-frequency sight words.

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 4.6: We know this when the learner begins to build vocabulary and starts to spell words so that they can be read and understood by others:

4.6.3 attempts to spell unfamiliar words using knowledge of phonics;

Learning Outcome 5:THINKING AND REASONING: The learner is able to use language to think and reason, and access, process and use information for learning.

Assessment Standard 5.1: We know this when the learner uses language to develop concepts:

5.1.1 demonstrates developing knowledge of concepts such as quantity.