Revised National Curriculum Statement Grades R-9 (Schools) - Grade Three

Learning Area: Languages - Home Language

Learning Outcome 1:  Listening

The learner will be able to listen for information and enjoyment, and respond appropriately and critically in a wide range of situations.

Assessment standards

We know this when the learner:

• Listens attentively (extending concentration span) and responds to an extended sequence of instructions appropriate to the learner’s level.
• Demonstrates appropriate listening behaviour by showing respect for the speaker, taking turns to speak, asking questions for clarification, and summarising or commenting on what has been heard.
• Recognises and shows respect for different varieties of language.
• Listens with enjoyment to stories, poems, songs and other oral texts and shows understanding:
  • listens for the topic or main idea;
  • listens for details;
  • predicts what will happen;
  • communicates back a sequence of events or ideas in the text;
  • answers questions about the oral text;
  • expresses feelings about the text, giving reasons;
  • works out cause and effect in the oral text;
  • draws pictures to illustrate understanding of the oral text, and writes it in own words.
• Listens, enjoys and responds appropriately to riddles and jokes.
• Listens to a speaker the learner cannot see (e.g. on radio, intercom) and responds to questions and instructions.

Learning Outcome 2:  Speaking

The learner will be able to communicate confidently and effectively in spoken language in a wide range of situations.

Assessment standards

We know this when the learner:

• Recounts personal experiences and more general news events, and expresses feelings and opinions about them.
• Uses language imaginatively for fun and fantasy (e.g. telling jokes, creating own poems and code language).
• Creates and tells stories with a beginning, middle and ending, which use descriptive language, avoid repetition and have elements of plot and characterisation.
• Uses different expressions and gestures when telling a story.
• Contributes to group and class discussions:
  • initiates topics in group discussion;
  • takes turns and asks relevant questions;
  • suggests or elaborates ideas;
  • shows sensitivity to the rights and feelings of others;
  • summarises a group’s work;
  • asks questions for clarity and information;
  • answers questions and gives reasons for answers;
  • gives constructive feedback to others.
• Interviews people for a particular purpose.
• Makes oral presentations (e.g. on given topics, on interviews conducted, reporting back from fieldtrips):
  • with support and guidance from teacher, develops class guidelines for a good presentation;
  • describes what is going to be presented and how;
  • uses visual aids to supplement oral presentations;
  • uses basic strategies to engage listeners (e.g. making eye contact);
  • varies volume and pitch of voice.
• Engages in conversation as a social skill.

Learning Outcome 3:  Reading and Viewing

The learner will be able to read and view for information and enjoyment, and respond critically to the aesthetic, cultural and emotional values in text.

Assessment standards

We know this when the learner:

• Uses visual cues to make meaning:
  • reads graphical texts such as photographs, maps, flow diagrams, charts, and:
    • explains orally or in writing their meaning and purpose,
    • uses the information in appropriate ways (e.g. a map for direction),
    • evaluates the image for design features and effectiveness.
• Makes meaning of written text:
  • comments on a story or poem the learner has read, and demonstrates understanding by answering questions on:
    • main idea,
    • key details such as main characters, sequence of events, setting, cultural values,
    • cause-effect relations,
    • conclusions (e.g. ‘What does this story/fable teach us?’),
    • whether or not the story was liked and why;
  • reads instructions related to real life interests and needs;
  • reads a wide variety of fairly complex texts such as fiction and non-fiction books, tables of contents and indexes.
• Reads texts alone, and uses a variety of strategies to make meaning:
  • reads a printed text fluently and with understanding:
    • pronounces words with accuracy when reading aloud,
    • reads aloud with expression, using appropriate stress, pausing and intonation,
    • uses word recognition and comprehension skills to read unfamiliar texts (e.g. phonics, contextual cues, predicting),
    • uses a range of automatic monitoring and self-correcting methods when reading such as re-reading, reading on, pausing, and practising the word before saying it out loud.
• Consolidates phonic knowledge:
  • recognises that the same sound can be spelled in different ways (e.g. play, pain, plate);
  • recognises that the same spelling can represent different sounds (e.g. bread, read);
  • recognises some more vowel sounds spelled with two letters (vowel diagraphs) (e.g. oi, ou, oa, aw);
  • recognises the use of ‘gh’ and ‘ght’ at the end of words;
  • recognises vowels with two sounds (diphthongs) (e.g. ere, air, are, au).
• Reads for information and enjoyment:
  • chooses fiction and non-fiction books and says what was liked or not liked about them,
  • reads and appreciates books written by authors from different cultures about a range of different contexts and relationships;
  • reads diferent kinds of texts such as comics, magazines, newspapers;
  • develops vocabulary by using a dicationary and keeping a personal dictionary;
  • uses table of contents, index, key words, headings, captions and page numbers to find information;
  • plays word games that draw on reading, vocabulary knowlegde and skills;
  • identifies and finds information sources such as community members, library books;
  • starts to analyse oral, written and visual texts for socio-cultural values, attitudes and assumptions (e.g. in an advertisement on soap powder, talk about who it is meant to appeal to, and roles played by females and males.)

Learning Outcome 4:  Writing

The learner will be able to write different kinds of factual and imaginative texts for a wide range of purposes.

Assessment standards

We know this when the learner:

• Uses pre-writing strategies to initiate writing:
  • uses various pre-writing strategies to gather information and choose a topic (e.g. brainstorming, free writing, talking with friends, visual images);
  • begins to plan writing.
• Drafts a piece of writing for different purposes:
  • selects a text form to suit the purpose and audience (e.g. diary entry to record feelings about an event);
  • writes a selection of short texts for different purposes (e.g. one- or two-paragraph stories, simple book reviews, recipes, letters, dialogues, instructions);
  • where appropriate, writes a title that reflects the content.
• Revises own writing:
  • discusses own and others’ writing to get or give feedback;
  • edits own writing (e.g. deleting or adding words to clarify meaning, re-ordering sentences, checking and correcting spelling and punctuation);
  • revises own writing after getting feedback from others.
• ‘Publishes’ (makes public) own writing:
  • shares work with others by reading it aloud and/or displaying it in the classroom;
  • shares writing with intended audience, such as family or friends (e.g. letters, messages, instructions);
  • makes own books or contributes to class anthologies.
• Builds vocabulary and spells words independently:
  • varies vocabulary for interest and specific purposes;
  • experiments with and manipulates words from stories, reading, media, jokes, oral language of friends and others;
  • builds word bank and personal dictionary;
  • uses dictionary to check spellings and meanings of words;
  • uses knowledge of phonics and spelling rules to write unfamiliar words.
• Uses appropriate grammatical structures and writing conventions:
  • begins to group sentences into paragraphs;
  • uses punctuation appropriately (capital letters, full stops, question marks, commas, apostrophes, exclamation marks);
  • applies knowledge of grammar;
  • uses knowledge of other texts as models for writing;
  • uses narrative structure;
  • uses informational text structures, such as experiments.
• Writes legibly:
  • writes with ease and increasing speed as a result of frequent practice;
  • completes a writing task within a set time.

Learning Outcome 5:  Thinking and Reasoning

The learner will be able to use language to think and reason, as well as to access, process and use information learning.

Assessment standards

We know this when the learner:

• Uses language to develop concepts:
  • understands and uses the conceptual language of different learning areas necessary at this level and in preparation for the next level.
• Uses language to think and reason:
  • understands and uses language for logic and reasoning (e.g. cause and effect, drawing conclusions);
  • uses higher order thinking and the language associated with it (e.g. hypothesising - ‘I think it could ...’, ‘If ... then ...’);
  • uses language to describe similarities and differences, and to analyse, compare and contrast information.
• Uses language to investigate and explore:
  • asks questions for clarification, searches for explanations, suggests alternatives (e.g. ‘If I do this, then ...’; ‘What about ...?’; ‘We could try ...’);
  • does simple research: asks questions which help define the task and get necessary information (e.g. ‘What do we need to know, to do, to get?’; ‘Where can we find the information?’);
  • plans the steps of a task, and shares responsibilities (e.g. what must be done, and who will do what);
  • uses simple strategies for getting information:
    • asks relevant questions,
    • carries out interviews and surveys,
    • does library searches (with help of adult or older learner);
  • supports and clarifies arguments, by giving reasons and evidence;
  • summarises information and presents it in an appropriate and interesting way.
• Processes information:
  • records and organises information in different ways:
    • selects information and take notes,
    • makes mind maps,
    • constructs tables, diagrams, charts and flow-charts;
  • sequences information and puts it under headings;
  • uses language to describe similarities and differences, and to analyse, compare and contrast information.

Learning Outcome 6:  Language Structure and Use

The learner will be able to use the sounds, words and grammar of the language to create and interpret texts.

Assessment standards

We know this when the learner:

• Relates sounds to letters and words:
  • uses phonics to spell more difficult words.
• Works with words:
  • uses some spelling rules to spell correctly;
  • uses a variety of sources to check spelling;
  • uses prefixes and suffixes to build words;
  • identifies and uses more synonyms and antonyms.
• Works with sentences:
  • identifies subject, verb and object in a sentence;
  • uses subject-verb agreement correctly;
  • uses connecting words to express cause and e ffect (e.g. ‘I don’t like her because she is rude.’);
  • uses more complex tenses (e.g. present perfect progressive in English - ‘I have been learning Xhosa for three years.’);
  • uses a variety of sentence types (questions, statements and commands);
  • identifies and correctly uses nouns, pronouns (me, her, him, etc.), adjectives, verbs, adverbs and prepositions;
  • uses punctuation correctly (exclamation marks, apostrophes in contractions in English - e.g. I’m, can’t).
• Works with texts:
  • links sentences to form paragraphs, maintaining consistency in use of tenses.
• Develops critical language awareness:
  • explores the way class uses slang, with whom and for what purposes.
• Uses meta-language (terms such as subject, verb, object, question, statement, command, connecting word, simile, synonym, antonym, exclamation mark).