The Review Committee believes that teachers of languages should focus on knowledge about languages and how they work. They should teach learners to use, think about and analyse language and to develop strategies for composing, comprehending and responding to a wide variety of visual and written texts.
The focus of this learning area should be the learning of South African languages and the literature of these languages. C2005 has been criticised for being ‘based on a unilingual system i.e for all practical purposes, an English-medium system of education´ (Alexander and PRAESA submission). C2005, the argument goes, is at odds with the official language-in-education policy which is based on a bilingual or multilingual system of education. There is considerable controversy over the present language-in-education policy. The realities of urban classrooms are that learners have a wide variety of main languages; teachers´ capacity to teach in more than one language is limited; and parental wishes and ambitions promote English over other languages. These factors all contrive to undermine the official language policy. The Minister of Education has called for a review of the language-in-education policy and this should inform the future teaching of languages in the revised C2005.
This learning area should provide learners with effective and efficient foundational knowledge and understanding of mathematics. This does not mean a return to the old pre-C2005 syllabus. Rather it means ensuring that the foundational skills promoted in the curriculum are supplemented with trends which have emerged in school mathematics curricula over the last decade. For Taylor these trends provide ‘opportunities to apply mathematical modeling to “authentic” problem situations, and to apply the resultant models to the solution of related problems´ (Taylor submission, DOE 2000f). In the Senior Phase, ‘analysis of complex “authentic” situations should link various sub-branches of mathematical knowledge both with each other, and with concepts from other knowledge areas´ (Taylor submission).
This learning area should cover key concepts in physical science and biology. There is a division of opinion as to whether technology should be included with science or should be presented as a separate learning area. The reason for this division of opinion is that there is not a consensus on what the study of technology encompasses. This is because ‘technology makes use of a wide range of bodies of knowledge and skill but is not defined by them´ (OrtStep submission). However, OrtStep claims that despite the ‘endless debate about the relationship between science and technology´ there is ‘broad agreement that while technology often, but not always, draws on science, it involves more than simply being applied science´. This is the main argument against teaching science and technology together - that it is more than applied science. However, it is also applied science; and given that
it seems reasonable to suggest that science and aspects of technology are taught in the same learning area but that the training and re-training of science and technology teachers include applied science and other features of technology. At the same time, ‘design´ features of technology should be in the Life Orientation learning area. This is by no means to downgrade the importance of technology.
This should include history, geography and environment. These should not be integrated mechanically but should ensure that the distinctive concepts and ‘ways of thinking´ of each is fostered and developed.
The teaching of history should ensure learners develop a ‘narrative´ and conceptual understanding of the history of South Africa and Africa and their place in world history.
Geography should deal with the concepts of place and space and how human beings interact with the environment.
This learning area has an important role to play in promoting and developing the value and creative potential of all learners. The curriculum framework should ensure that the arts – the music, dance, drama and visual arts - of a wide variety of South African and other societies are taught during the GET band. The Arts and Culture learning area thus has an important role to play in informing, challenging and shifting attitudes and values of a heterogeneous and divided society. (DOE 2000f) The curriculum framework for Arts and Culture documents should ensure that the arts are taught at increasing levels of complexity, depth and breadth during the GET band.
Issues important for personal well-being and growth in South Africa and which are appropriate to the emotional and social development of learners should be included in Life Orientation. These include basic banking and accounting procedures, design, entrepreneurship, health education, physical education and religion education.
In addition, the following two points should be borne in mind:
Rationalisation of Economic and Management Sciences
Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) will no longer be a separate learning area in the GET band. Selected topics in the current C2005 EMS learning area should be included in the Life Orientation learning area. The reasons for this are twofold. First, there are a limited number of primary school teachers that have any education or training in the economic and management field. More importantly, a great deal of what has been included in EMS is regarded as suitable only for senior secondary or tertiary study. It seems more appropriate in the GET band to introduce learners to issues related to entrepreneurship and to the use and interpretation of financial documents required in everyday life.
Flexible time
In addition to the learning areas, some flexible time should be included in the curriculum. This provides an opportunity for learners to pursue extra-curricular activities important to their development such as sporting, spiritual and cultural interests. These will be locally determined, taught and supported.
Languages is that area of the curriculum where learners study and use language and literature.
The languages learning area promotes literacy and learning of languages. There are different types of literacies (visual, mathematical, computer, cultural) which teachers in all learning areas share a responsibility for teaching. However, teachers of languages should focus on knowledge about language and how it works. They should teach learners to use, think about and analyse language and to develop strategies for composing, comprehending and responding to texts.
To develop :
Numeracy
Learning outcome Assessment standard
By the end of Grade 1 learners will be able to
Assessment will include the following
count and recognise numerals from 0 – 100
Learner counts from 0 to 100 verbally
Learner counts backwards from 100 to 0 verbally
Learner skip counts in 2s (odd and even numbers), 5s and 10s to 100
Learner reads written numerals from 0 – 100
Learner uses number line from 0 to 100
do simple addition and subtraction of whole numbers 0 – 10
Learner adds whole numbers 1 – 10
including
Money, length of objects and weight of objects
Learner subtracts whole numbers 1– 10 including
Money, length of objects and weight of objects
Compare, order and represent whole numbers to 50 using concrete materials and drawings
Literacy
Learning outcome Assessment standard
By the end of Grade 1 learners will be able to
Assessment will include the following
Identify all letters of the alphabet
Learner identifies all letters of the alphabet (capital and small) by sight
Learner identifies all letters of the alphabet by sound in isolation and at beginning of words
Identify core vocabulary of the learner´s language
Learners identify the core vocabulary (approximately 100 words) on sight)
Learners identify the core vocabulary in familiar, illustrated texts
Life Skills
Learning outcome Assessment standard
By the end of Grade 1 learners will be able to
Assessment will include the following
Describe and demonstrate basic practices relating to personal hygiene
Learners describe the processes and reasons for brushing teeth
Learners describe the processes and reasons for washing/combing/brushing hair
Learners describe the processes and reasons for bathing
Demonstrate and describe practices relating to safety and security in the home and school environment
Learners describe the processes for use of cooking facilities in the home environment
Demonstrate and describe environment friendly practices within the home and school environment
Province
Number of Learners
Amount that should be spent on LSMs @ R100.00 per learner (Norms and Standards for Funding, 1999)
Eastern Cape
1 408 055
140 805 500
Free State
797 685
79 768 500
Gauteng
1 560 267
156 026 700
KwaZulu-Natal
2 722 026
272 202 600
Mpumulanga
931 679
93 167 900
North West
922 910
92 291 000
Northern Cape
205 060
20 506 000
Northern Province
1 917 552
191 755 200
Western Cape
924 658
92 465 800
Total
11 389 892
1138 989 200
Contents | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5
Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Appendicies