WHOLE

LANGUAGE
in the Foundation Phase

Course written and presented by Viv Kenyon

Layout by Welma Odendaal

Getting Foundation Phase Learners Writing and

Getting Foundation Phase Learners Reading, are also available from the PSP.
Contents
A Whole Language Approach in the Foundation Phase

Introduction 1

Using Newspapers for Whole Language 4

Using Pictures for Whole Language 20

Using Songs and Music for Whole Language 34

Conclusion 42
Introduction
This year our Language workshops at the PSP have
focused on a Whole Language approach to language
learning and teaching. Each term we focused on just
one of three readily available resources to use in the
primary classroom. And we have suggested ways that
Foundation Phase teachers can use these resources to
get their learners using language in a meaningful and
purposeful way.

What do we mean by Whole

Language? A Whole Language
What do we mean by “Whole Language”? What is a ‘Whole approach means making
Language” approach? A Whole Language approach means making sure that learners have
sure that learners have opportunities to use and develop all aspects
opportunities to use and
of language in any learning event. It means that learners are
develop all aspects of
required to think, listen, speak, write and read when they carry out
any learning experience. Speaking doesn’t happen on its own. It language … It means that
takes place alongside listening reading, writing and thinking. It is learners are required
deliberately integrated with thinking, listening, writing and reading. to think, listen, speak,
write and read when they
This approach to language learning and teaching arose out of a
carry out any learning
concern that many children struggle with written language when
experience.
they meet it at school. This is true, even when the learners have
learned to speak, listen and think quite successfully.

1
 Yetta and Kenneth Goodman have spent decades observing
young children and their approach to learning both inside
and outside schools. They have pointed out that when
young children are learning outside school, they learn
quickly and in order to carry out a particular task.
Learning in these situations is meaningful.

The Goodmans suggest that in schools we need to make

learning more meaningful and purposeful. They have found
that we can do this if we integrate different aspects of
language so that children learn language as a whole, just as
we do in real life. If we separate the different aspects of
language, and focus on one at a time (for example spelling),
it is much more difficult to make the activity meaningful.

What you will find in this

booklet

Whole Language You will find that the activities and experiences we suggest in this
encourages learners booklet, require learners to use all aspects of language. In some cases
to use all aspects of the learners will be learning additional things. They may be focusing on
language. an aspect of Social Studies, or Life Skills. But in order to do so, they
will be thinking, speaking, listening, reading and writing. When your
learners carry out these activities they will be engaged in Whole
Language work.

2
 They may be focusing on an aspect of Social Studies, or Life Skills. But
in order to do so, they will be thinking, speaking, listening, reading and
writing. When your learners carry out these activities they will be engaged
in Whole Language work.

This booklet is in three sections.

 The first section has ideas for using newspapers for Whole
Language learning experiences.
 The second section suggests ways to use pictures to get your
learners thinking, speaking, listening, writing and reading.
 And the third section provides suggestions for ways to use
music for Whole Language learning and teaching.

Pairs and Small Groups

In this booklet we often suggest that you encourage your learners
to work either in pairs or small groups. When you ask your
learners to work with a partner, you will find that all the children
get a chance to speak. When children work in small groups, they
also have more opportunities to speak than when they are in large
groups.

If you are serious about adopting a Whole Language approach in

your class, you will need to give your learners numerous chances
to speak, to listen, to read and write, and to think. One of the best
ways to achieve this is to get them to work in pairs or small groups.

3
1 Using Newspapers for
Whole Language
All the activities in this section involve using newspa-
pers or parts of newspapers. We are
aware that Grade Rs and Grade 1s
are unlikely to be able to read news-
papers. But we also understand that
children know that newspapers exist.
And free community newspapers are
delivered each week to households.

Many schools receive copies of the

Sunday Times each week during
term time for teachers to use as a
learning and teaching resource.
Although we did not use this partic-
ular paper in our workshops, teachers
could use parts of the Sunday Times
for several of the suggested activities.

At the workshops where we focused on

using newspapers, we found that the
structure and layout of The Cape Times
was clearer than the structure and layout
of The Argus. We also used Vukani, The
Plainsman, and Athlone News, local
community newspapers that report on neigh-
bourhood issues and events.

What do we know about Newspapers?

All Grades
You can do this with all Grades of learners in the Foundation Phase.
Even though Grade Rs aren’t reading, they know that people do write
and read. And it’s very important that they have opportunities to see
the words they say, recorded in print. Experiences like this are impor-
tant emergent literacy lessons.

4
 1
What you will need
You will need a large sheet of paper (flip-chart paper
works well), and some kokis. In the middle of the sheet
of paper write the word Newspapers, in preparation
for making a spider-web (or mind-map).

What do we know?
Start off by gathering your learners around you
informally. Then ask your class, What is a news-
paper? When the children respond, write their
responses on the mind-map. Here are a number of
other questions you can ask to prompt your chil-
dren to think about what we find in newspapers,
who makes them, and why we buy newspapers.

 What’s in a newspaper?
 What are they about?
 How do stories get into
the newspaper?
 Who writes the stories?
 Who takes the photos?
 How do these people
find out what’s
happening?
 Where can you buy
newspapers?
 How much do they cost?
 Where are they made /
put together?

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1
 Who buys newspapers?
 Why do people buy newspapers?
 Where do you start to read when you
read a newspaper?

 Do you know anyone who reads a news-

paper? What do they like to read about?
 Have you seen your community news-
paper? Do you know that it is free?

Try this activity with your learners. We think you will be surprised at
how much your learners know – even the very youngest!

Beetle Drive
Grade 2s and Grade 3s
This is a wonderful activity for teaching Grade 2 and Grade 3 learners
the reading skills of skimming and scanning. They will need these
SKIMMING skills later in their school careers, as well as in their lives.
We skim a text (look
What you will need
through it quickly) when
we want to get an idea You will need several copies of the same issue of a particular news-
of what the text is paper. Whether you choose to use a Community newspaper or a daily
about. We scan a text paper, make sure that you have a copy for each group of learners.
when we want to find a
specific word, or You will also need a piece of paper for each group to write down their
specific information.
answers to the questions. And each group will need copies of the
questions.
6
 1
Introducing the activity
Tell your learners that you have arranged a competition. Tell them that
you are going to give each group a list of questions and that you want
the whole group to help to find the answers to
all the questions.

Then hand out a piece of paper to each group

with several copies of the questions. Tell your
learners that you want them to look for the
answers to the questions in the newspaper. Tell
them that they must look quickly for the
answers. They must not read every word.
They must just look for the words or picture
that answers the question.

Modelling, Skimming and Scanning

Demonstrate what you want your learners to
do. Read the first question aloud. Then ask
your learners to think about where the answer
might be. Will it be on the front page? Will it
be on the back page? Or will it be somewhere
in the middle? Hold up a copy of the paper and
show the children how you can use your finger
to help you search for an answer. Take your
finger quickly across and down a page. As you
do this, read aloud words you notice that might
be like the word or name you are looking for.
When you find the answer, write it down on the
chalkboard.

You may want to read all the questions aloud

the first time you carry out this activity. After
reading aloud each question, give your learners
time to hunt for the answer. Encourage them
to discuss in their groups where the answer
might be. Although this will take longer, you
will be supporting your learners as they
become familiar with a newspaper.

Checking answers
Encourage your learners to work together
quickly. Tell them that when they have found
all the answers, they must put their newspaper
tidily on their table, and sit quietly. Give your
learners a reasonable time to find the answers.
But don’t wait until everybody has finished.

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1
When you feel that most of the children have
managed to find the answers, stop them. Give each
table a chance to answer a question. Encourage
some of the less confident learners to share an
answer.

Each time an answer is given, check with the whole

class that they children have found the correct
answer. Look in the paper with the whole class.

You will find that your children have to read the questions. They will
probably discuss (listen and speak) where the answer might be. Then
they will have to scan (read quickly) the paper for the information.
When they have found the information, they will have to record it
(write). And throughout the activity your learners will be thinking.
They will be involved in a whole language activity.

Using Newspaper Photographs

There are several ways that you can use pictures from newspapers
with your learners. In this section we have three suggestions.

8
 1
Using Newspaper Photos to make up Stories
All Grades
What you will need
You will need 2 quite large photographs from the newspaper.
Look for photos that show people doing something. You may
need to look through several papers to find photos that you feel
are appropriate for your learners, and that they will find inter-
esting. If you mount and laminate the photograph, it will last
for a long time.

Make sure that you have some large sheets of flip-chart paper
and some wax crayons or kokis.

Introducing the activity

Gather your learners around
you. Then hold up one of the
newspaper photographs for
your learners to look at. Ask
them to look at the picture
carefully.
Ask them
 What is happening in the
picture?
 What do you think
happened before the photo
was taken?
 And what do you think
happened afterwards?

9
1
Try to get some of the quieter children in your class to respond. You
may well find that the children who aren’t the most fluent readers in
the class, might be very good at reading pictures. You can ask lots of
interesting questions, based on each photo.

Then show the next

newspaper photo-
graph and get your
learners to discuss
that picture in the
same way. Tell your
learners that you
want them to help you
make up a story about
one of the pictures.
Ask them to choose
one of the pictures.
Ask them, Which
photograph do you
find really inter-
esting? Why?

Shared Writing
When your learners have reached consensus about which photograph
they want to work with, ask your learners to help you start the story.
 What is happening in the picture?
 What are the people doing?
 What would be a good way to start the story?

As the children offer their ideas, write them down. Try

to write exactly what your learners say. This is espe-
cially important if you are working with Grade Rs or
Grade 1s. They will remember what they have
dictated. This is an important stage in learning to
read. After you write each sentence, get your learners
to read aloud, with you, all the sentences they have
dictated and that you have written down.

A chance to edit
When the story is complete, read it aloud to your
learners just as if you were telling the story. Read
naturally. Don’t read word by word. Try to read in
phrases, just as we speak. Ask your learners if there is
anything that they want to change. In this way, you
will be inducting them into the process that a writer
goes through when s/he writes an article or a book.

10
 1
When the story is complete, you can decide if you want to make it into
a Big Book. Then your learners could draw pictures to illustrate the
text.

When you have done this a few times, you may find that you need to
find more than 2 pictures to discuss with your learners. You know your
learners best. You will know what is appropriate for you and your class.

Working with Grade 2s and Grade 3s

If you are working with Grade
2s and Grade 3s, you could
give each small group, or pair
of learners, 2 or 3 smaller
newspaper photos. If you have
many pictures, you could even
give each group 4 or 5 photos
to work with. You could put
the newspaper photos in an
envelope with instructions for
them to read. Then they can
choose one photo to work with
to co-create a story. Later,
when they have finished their
stories, they could read them
aloud to the rest of the class.

Matching Photos and

Captions
(Grade 2s and Grade 3s)
What you will need
You will need a lot of newspaper
pictures for this activity. You
will need at least 5 pictures for
each pair or group to work
with. Make sure that you have
cut off the captions. But keep
the captions and make sure that
you put them in the envelope
together with the photos. We
suggest that you write instruc-
tions on the outside even if you feel
that your learners won’t be able to
read them. This is part of creating a
rich print environment – writing
everywhere!

11
1
Introducing the activity
Give each group or pair an envelope with
several newspaper photographs inside.
Ask your learners to take out the
pictures one at a time and to look at each
one carefully. Next, ask them to take out
the captions and to read them. Then ask
your learners to match the captions to
the newspaper pictures.

When you see that most of the learners

have matched their captions to their
pictures, you could get each pair or
group to show one of their pictures and
to read one of the captions.
LIVE WIRE: Mealie vendor
Salina Moekeng inspects a com
Germiston. Moekeng’s rural b under an Eskom power grid
home in Frankfort in the Free in
State has no electricity.

River Pass
g h th e K aaiman’s
wed freely
throu e flood-
ra ff ic fl o e th e r to declare th
E PASS:
T wh
PASSABL t considers area.
a ti o n a l g overnmen g io n a disaster
rd a y a s n ip a li ty re
yeste ict Munic
Eden Distr
damaged

NO HOPE: A Somali girl feeds her sister at the Dadaab refugee camp in
northern Kenya earlier this month.
BRIAN BALOYI
: Cairo nightmar
e.

CAN DO: Modern

technology has rea
usual Castrol GTX ched “township gu
oil can and gut, Se itars”. Instead of the
electric version, in an May, 21, plays
Church Street Mall the modern-day take, an
. d

12
 1
Working with Headlines
(Grades 1 – 3)
Headlines are an important part of newspapers. There are several ways
that you can work with them and you will find a few suggestions below.

in Easte rn Cape
Heavy rains cause severe floods
345 pilgrims die on hajj
Big stink in Stilbaai over raw sewage in ri
ver
Kersfees kom vroeg
in Oceanview
g g e d fr o m h o m e s a s attacks by
People dra
in T a n z a n ia a n d M o z ambique
lions rise
Vrou het dalk
India keep Pa breinskade ná
kistan
guessing slangbyt

Garden route N2 collapsing

Veertien beseer t
van Pick ’n Pay ioe dak
ntuimel
What you will need
You will need a recent newspaper, flip-chart paper (or
newsprint ) and wax crayons or kokis, or chalk and a
chalkboard. Go through the paper before you share it
with your class. Choose a few headlines that you feel are
appropriate for your learners, and that you can share with
them.

13
1
Introducing the activity
When you are with
your learners, gather
them informally
around you. We
suggest that with
Foundation Phase
learners you do not
leave them sitting at
their desks. If you
have them sitting in a
semi-circle around
you, you will be more
likely to hold the
attention of all the
children. And if they
are sitting fairly close
to you, they will feel
freer to share their
thoughts and ideas
with you, without fear
of saying the wrong
thing.

Discussing Headines
Show the children the news-
paper and read one of the head-
lines to them. Ask them what
they think it means. Discuss the
headline with the class. What do
they think the story is about?
Write up the children’s ideas on
the flip-chart paper or on the
chalkboard.

Then ask your learners to make

pictures to illustrate the story
they think goes with the head-
line. When you feel that they
have worked carefully on their
pictures, display your learners’
drawings together with the
headline that they have illus-
trated.

14
 1
Split Headlines
Grade3s
What you will need
Go through some papers and look for some headlines that you think are
appropriate for the learners you are teaching. Cut out the headlines
carefully. You will need enough for each small group or pair of learners IN A JIFFY
to have at least 5 headlines each. And you will need an envelope for Self-sealing plastic bags
each set of headlines. are great alternatives to
envelopes. They are
Cut each set of headlines in half. Put the pieces in an envelope. Make expensive, but will last
longer.
sure that you do this for each set of headlines. You will need to write
instructions on each envelope for the learners to read.

For example:
 Take the parts of the headlines out of the envelope.
 Work with a partner and look at all the parts of the headlines.
 Read the parts.
 Match the parts to make a good headline.
 Talk with your partner about the story that goes with this headline.
 Write the story (or draw a photograph) that goes with the headline.
 You can adapt this activity for younger learners if you make it a
‘Shared Writing’ activity.

Flawless
The adventures of Farouk
of dis nag Race to
Bokke speel
an Afghan princess u p
e d
Spaar krag,
fir
k a d e u l l e h h
a r t e uit
h e t d a lk b r e in s
Vrou
d e b l a c k o uts
Nationwi i m b e r
i t y c l
save C
on the cards
ná slangb
yt
15
1
Headlines and Stories
What you will need
Go through some papers and look for headlines that you think are
appropriate for the learners you are teaching. Cut them out carefully.
You will need enough for each pair of learners, or small group, to have
at least 3 headlines each. And you will need an envelope for each set of
headlines. Put each set of headlines in an envelope. You will need to
write instructions on each envelope for the learners to read.

The adventures of Flawless

of dis nag Farouk
Bokke speel Race to
an Afghan princess u p
e d
Spaar krag,
fir
hulle harte
Vro u h e t d a lk b r e in s k ad e uit
e b l a c k o u ts
Nationwid ve City sa climber
ná slangb on the cards
yt

For example:
 Look at the headlines with a partner.
 Choose one headline.
 Talk about the story you think is behind the headline.
Why do you think this story is in the news?
 Together, write the story that goes with the headline.
 Draw a picture to go with your story.

16
 1
Weather Information
Grade 3s
What you will need
You will need to look for weather information for
this activity. We have found that the information
given in the free local community newspapers is
very simple and straightforward. These newspa-
pers give the expected maximum temperature for 3
or 4 days. They use symbols to show what kind of
weather is expected on those 3 or 4 days. The direc-
tion of the wind is included. And the times of high
tide and low tide are given.

The Cape Times also provides a fairly easy to

read Weather Outlook. There is a map that
shows a number of main towns in the Western
Cape. Symbols on the map indicate the kind of
expected weather for these towns for the day of issue, as well as the
following day. And the maximum temperature is also printed on these
two maps.

You may feel that some of the information that

the Cape Times includes is too diffi-
cult for your learners. But you will
know what your learners can manage.
And you could use the Weather
Outlook in the Cape Times just to get
your learners to look for, find and read
specific information.

Preparing for the activity

You will need enough copies of Weather
Information for each pair or small group
of children in your class to have one.
You can use reports from different days.
Use easy-to-read Weather Information
from the same kind of newspaper (ie the
local community paper or a daily paper
like The Cape Times). Cut out the
Weather Information. Then plan ques-
tions to give your learners. Write ques-
tions that will encourage them to think,
talk and listen to one another, and then
read and write what they find.

17
1
Introducing the activity
Here are a few questions that we feel are
appropriate for Foundation Phase learners,
based on an example of the Weather Outlook
in The Cape Times.
 What is the maximum temperature
expected in Cape Town?
 What is the minimum temperature?
 What will the weather be like on (day) in
Worcester?
 What time is high tide in Table Bay?
 What time is low tide?
 How does knowing what the weather will
be like help us?
 Which people might need to know what the
weather will be like? Why?

Extending the activity

If each group has the information from a
different day (or even a different time of year)
you could discuss the differences between the
learners’ answers, and discuss the time of year
when we have the kind of weather indicated in
their Weather Outlooks. Your learners might
even be inspired to create their own weather
chart for the next month. Encourage the chil-
dren to use some of the symbols they have
found in newspapers.

18
 1
TV Information
Grade 2s and Grade 3s
Another source of information that is provided in both The Sunday
Times and the daily newspapers is the TV Programme Guide. We have
found that when children are interested in something they will enjoy
talking, reading and writing about it.

Introducing the activity

You could begin by having a
discussion with your learners
about the programmes they like
to watch on TV. Even children
who do not live in a home with a
TV frequently have chances to
watch TV. Daily newspapers will
only provide the programmes for
the day of issue. Local commu-
nity papers don’t seem to include
this information in their pages.
The Sunday Times provides
information on programmes for
the whole week. You will need to
choose what is appropriate for
your learners.

What you will need

You will need to give a copy of the TV
Programmes to each pair of learners or small
group in your class. Plan some questions to
give your learners. The first time you carry
out this activity, try to plan just one set of
questions that will work for all the
Programme Guides you give your learners.
But you want to plan questions that will
encourage your learners to think, to talk to
each other, and to read and write.
Here are some questions we suggested:
 What is your favourite programme?
 Why do you like it?
 What day is it shown on TV?
 At what time?
 What language is the News in on SABC 1
at 17:00?

19
2 Using Pictures for Whole
Language
Pictures are a wonderful resource for Foundation Phase
teachers right across the curriculum. As a
Foundation Phase teacher, we
urge you to collect pictures.
You will find pictures in news-
papers, magazines, and else-
where. The Early Learning
Resource Unit in Lansdowne
has 5 packs of pictures, with 10
different pictures in each pack.
Each pack has a theme.
 Ikhaya Likhaya (houses)
 Malapa (families)
 Vroom Vroom (transport)
 Work (jobs)
 Speel Speel (play)

The packs are very reasonably priced and

reflect the lives and experiences of many of
the children in our country.

We asked Ruth Vers-

feld to come and share
ELRU ADDRESS some of the ideas she
The address of the Early uses to get teachers
Learning Resource Unit and learners to read,
is discuss and write
19 Flamingo Crescent about pictures. You
Lansdowne will find the activities
Cape Town we experienced at the
South Africa 7789 workshops. We have
Tel: 021 762 7500 also included ideas
Fax: 021 762 7528 that the teachers
E-mail: info@elru.co.za carried out with their
www.elru.co.za learners.

20
 2
Raising Questions
Very often it is teachers who ask questions and then expect their
learners to give the answers. In this activity your learners will have a
chance to think of questions that they have.

Working with Grade Rs or Grade 1s

What you will need
If you teach Grade R or Grade 1, you will need to do this
with a group or the whole class so that you can write for
your learners. You will need several large pictures or
photographs for this activity. Look carefully for pictures
or photographs that you know will interest your
learners. Pictures that show people just after or just
before they do something can be very useful. Also
pictures of unusual things. You know your learners, and
you will know what will work with them.

You will also need flip-chart paper or news-

print and some wax crayons or kokis. And
you will find it useful to have some long
strips of paper and something to lean on.
You will be recording your learners’
questions on these strips.

Cut out the pictures carefully, and if

you want to be able to use them
again and again, laminate them to
protect them and make them last.

21
2
Introducing the activity
Gather your learners around you, either on
the carpet or get them to bring their chairs
to the front of the class near the chalkboard.
You want them all to be able to see the
pictures. If they are sitting at tables, they
will struggle to see and some children may
not see what is happening in the pictures.

Show the pictures one at a time. Don’t

discuss the pictures with your learners yet.
Just let them look. They will need a little
time to look at each one. When they have
had a chance to look at all the pictures you
have brought, tell your learners that they
must decide on just one picture. Although
Grade Rs and Grade 1s are young, you can
encourage them to vote. And although they
may vote for more than one picture, it is
important that they learn to vote, and about
reaching consensus.

Raising questions
When the class has chosen one of the pictures,
use some prestik to put the
picture in the middle of a sheet of
flip-chart paper, or onto the
chalkboard. Then get the chil-
dren to talk about the picture.
Give your learners time to
discuss the picture carefully.
When they have commented
about what they can
see and what they
think about the
picture, ask the
learners what they
would like to know
about the picture.
Encourage them to
think of interesting
questions to which
they do not know the answer.

22
 2
Ask them
 What do you think the people in the
picture are thinking or saying?
 What would you like to ask (that
person)?
 What would you like to know?

Although this will take time at first,

once the children begin to understand
what you are expecting them to do,
they will think of questions. And the
more questions they ask, the more they
will think of. One question will make
somebody else think of another ques-
tion.

Question strips
Write each question down clearly on a strip of paper.
Then use prestik to stick it down with one end
touching the picture. When you have written
several questions down, and stuck up your learners’
questions, it will look something like this!

When you have recorded quite a lot of questions, get

your learners to think of possible answers to their
questions. You could do this for every question, or
you could choose a few questions to work with.
Encourage your learners to give reasons for the
answers that they suggest.

Working with Grade

2s and Grade 3s
Introducing the activity
If your learners are in Grade 2 or 3,
then they will be able to record
their own questions, especially if
they work in pairs or small groups.
However, when you introduce this
activity to your Grade 2s or Grade
3s, we suggest you first carry the
activity out with the whole class. In
which case, follow the guidelines
we’ve suggested for teachers of
Grade Rs or Grade 1s.

23
2
Choosing a picture
When your Grade 2s or 3s
understand what you expect of
them in this activity, your
learners can work in small
groups. You will need many
many pictures. Try to have
enough so that you can give each
group 3 or 4 pictures to choose
from. They will have to reach
consensus about which picture
they will work with. Give them
only a limited amount of time to
choose just one picture. Then
hand out a large sheet of paper,
a wax crayon, and some Prestik.

Raising Questions
Then tell the children that you want them to think of all the questions
that they would like to ask about the picture that they have chosen.
Encourage them to think of interesting questions to which they do
know the answer. (For example, you don’t want them to write down
questions like, How many people are in the picture? because they can
see how many – unless it’s a huge crowd!) You want them to think of
questions that later they could think about and discuss, and possibly
think of answers.

Extending the Activity

When Grade 3 learners have experienced
this activity several times, you could extend
the activity by asking the pairs or small
groups to swap pictures and questions. Then
a pair or group will have to answer the ques-
tions another group have thought of. This is
quite challenging, and is a good way for
learners to see how important it is to think
about their questions carefully. Have they
worded them so that whoever reads the
questions will understand them? Could they
make their questions simpler?

You will find that this activity requires learners to read (pictures),
think, speak and listen, think some more, write, read what they’ve
written, think some more, re-write bits, read again, think some more,
and so on. It’s a long process. And it involves all aspects of language!

24
 2
Cropped Pictures
(All Grades)
What you will need
Find some good photographs that are relevant
to your learners’ lives and experiences. Black
and white photographs are fine. You will need
to choose the pictures carefully. And you will
need to find at least 20.
You want each learner to work on her / his
own on a picture. And you need to make sure
that not more than 2 or 3 learners have the
same picture to work with.

Then make a master copy of each picture. If you have

a master copy, you can keep it and use it again
another year, with a different group of learners.

Make sure that you mask (cover up) about half of the
picture before you make the master copy. This is
very important, because you will ask your learners
to draw in the part that is missing.

Introducing the activity

We have found it works well if first you show your learners what
you want them to do. You will need a large picture so that all the
learners can see it clearly. Choose a different one from the ones you
have copied. Put the picture on the board, and gather your learners
around you. Discuss the picture with your learners. Ask them,
 What can you see happening in the picture?
 What are the people doing?
 Where are they?

25
2
Get your learners to describe as much as possible. But don’t take too
long. This is only the introduction to the activity!!

Modelling the task

Take a piece of paper and cover part of the

picture. Tell your learners that you are
going to give each child a picture with part
of it missing. Tell them that you want them
to draw in everything that they think is
missing. Ask them to look really carefully at
the picture, so that they can make good
guesses about what it missing.

You will need to give your class time to look

at their pictures carefully, their drawings
will provide evidence of their careful obser-
vation. While they work you can move from
group to group observing how your learners
work.

Sharing their drawings

When you see that a number of children
have finished drawing, encourage the rest of
the class to finish off their drawings. Then
get each learner to share her / his drawing
with a friend. They could either swap their
pictures, or they could describe their
completed pictures to one another.

26
 2
We suggest that you display a number of these
drawings on the wall of your classroom. Make a
note of the names of the children whose work you
display. Then when you display other work, you can
make sure that you display the work of different
children. In this way all your learners can feel
affirmed and valued.

Finally, show your learners the complete version of

each photograph or picture. In this way your
learners will see how close they came to the original
complete picture.

Speech and Thinking Bubbles

(Grades 2 and 3)
What you will need
You will need a lot of pictures for this
activity. You can use black-and-white or full-
colour pictures. Make sure that you have
enough pictures to give each pair or group
of three children one picture.

Introducing the activity

Begin by showing your children what you
want them to do. Don’t just rely on spoken
instructions. Take a large picture that you
will not be giving to any of the children in
your class. Gather your learners around you
and discuss the picture with them. Ask
them to tell you what they think the main
people in the picture might be saying or
thinking.

Modelling the Activity

When the children make suggestions,
write what they say in a speech bubble
or a thinking bubble. Then take a small
piece of Prestik and stick the speech or
thinking bubble next to the person who
is saying or thinking that. Do the same
with the other people in the picture.

27
2
Working Independently
Next give each pair of children (or small group) a picture. Ask your
learners to discuss the picture that you have given them. Ask them to
think about what the people in their picture are thinking or saying.
Give them time. This is an important part of the activity. They need to
think and talk before they write.

BIG BOOKS While the children are talking move around your class and give each
Our friend Marlene pair or small group several speech and thinking bubbles. Tell your
Rousseau has been learners to write in the speech bubbles what they think the people in
working with teachers in their picture might be saying. If they don’t think the people are
the Plettenberg Bay speaking, then tell them to write in the thinking bubbles what they
area. One teacher
think the people in their picture are thinking.
discussed pictures with
her learners and
When the children have completed writing what they think the people
together they co-created
stories. The teacher are thinking and saying, get each pair or small group to tell the rest of
asked her Grade 1s lots the class about their picture, and what they think the people are
of questions and wrote thinking or saying.
down her learners’ ideas
in big speech bubbles. In this way, your learners will be thinking, speaking and listening, and
Then they made several writing and reading. They will be involved in a Whole Language
BIG BOOKS
learning event.

28
 2
Writing Captions
What you will need
For this activity, you will need pictures that
your learners will find interesting, and that
are appropriate and relevant to their inter-
ests and experiences. If you are working
with Grade 2s and Grade 3s you will need
at least one picture for each group. If you
are working with Grade Rs or Grade 1s,
you will need just a few large pictures.

With Grade Rs and Grade 1s

Choose some pictures that you know your
learners will find interesting. Also, make sure
that there are at least 2 or 3 people in the
picture. You will need to find pictures that will
make your learners think and talk. You will also need
either a big koki or a fat wax crayons, and some long
strips of paper. Make sure you also have some Prestik.

Introducing the activity

Gather your learners around you, either on the
carpet or get them to bring their chairs to the
front of the class near the chalkboard. You want
them all to be able to see the pictures clearly.

Either hold up one of the pictures, or put it on the

board. Ask your learners to look at the picture
carefully. Encourage them to talk about the
picture.

29
2
 What is happening in
the picture?
 What are the people
doing?
 What do you think
they are thinking?
 What do you think
they are feeling?
Why?
 What do you think
happened before the
picture was taken?
 What do you think
will happen next?

Writing Captions
When you feel that the children have covered most of what
is visible in the picture, tell them that sometimes pictures
have captions under them. A caption sums up what the
picture is all about. Ask your learners to think what you
should write as a caption for this picture. Write each
suggestion on a strip of paper. As you write the caption,
repeat the words the child has suggested. Then put it up
near the picture. Again, read the caption in a natural
way, just as you would speak.

When you have several different captions, read

them all. Then read them through again, and
encourage your learners to read the captions
with you. You could ask your learners to think
about the different captions, and to choose the
one they think fits the picture best.

30
 2
Grade 2s and Grade 3s
What you will need
You will need quite a lot of pictures without captions for this activity.
You will need at least one picture for each pair or small group. Make
sure that there are at least 2 or 3 people in the picture. You will need to
find pictures that will make your learners think and talk.

31
2
Introducing the activity
The first time you get your learners to think about writing captions for
pictures, follow the guidelines for working with Grade Rs or Grade 1s.
In this way you will demonstrate and give your learners a chance to
understand what you want them to do.

Working Independently
When they are familiar with what they need to do to write a caption,
they can work more independently. Give each small group or pair a
picture. Ask your learners to look at their pictures carefully and to talk
together about them. Then ask them to write down their ideas for
appropriate captions quickly. You don’t want them to worry about their
handwriting and spelling and grammar. You just want them to write.
They could write either on recycled paper or in a rough workbook.

When they have recorded their ideas, give each small group a few
strips of paper to write down their captions neatly. Then tell them to
choose the one(s) that fit the picture best.

Alternatively, when they share their pictures and captions with the
rest of the class, the other children could suggest which caption they
think fits the picture best.

Rumour Clinic
(All Grades)
What you will need
For this activity you will need several pictures that you have not used
with your learners before. You need pictures with which they are not
familiar. And all the pictures need to be about the same topic.

32
 2
Introducing the activity
Tell your learners you are going to play a game. Ask
about 6 children to volunteer to leave the room.
Then tell the rest of the class that you are going to
look at a picture together very carefully. You can
either choose one of the pictures yourself, or you can
let your learners choose.

Get your learners to talk about the picture. Ask the

children inside the classroom to help you describe
the picture that you have chosen. Explain that you
will put the picture away. Then you will invite one of
the children outside the classroom to come back in.

Describing the picture

Invite one of the children back into the classroom.
Ask your class to describe the picture that they
discussed. Tell the child s/he must listen carefully to
the description. Do not show this child the picture.
Then invite another child back into the class. Ask
the first child who returned, to tell the second child
what s / he has been told. Then invite the third child
back into the room. Ask the second child who
returned to repeat what s / he has been told.
Continue in this way until all the children outside
the class have heard what was described in the
picture.

Which Picture?
When the last child of the group sent out has heard the description, or
clues, put out all the pictures that you have on this topic. Ask this last
child to choose the picture s/he thinks is the one that was chosen and
described.

Make sure that you reassure this learner, and all the learners that went
outside the classroom. Don’t let them feel uncomfortable, or that they
are inadequate. Explain that it is very hard to choose the right picture
because messages get distorted (mixed up and changed). Tell them that
it’s difficult to describe a picture you have seen. But it’s even more diffi-
cult to describe a picture you haven’t seen!

If you do this activity fairly regularly, your children will be quite

comfortable with it. They won’t lose confidence about their listening
and speaking abilities. The activity requires the speakers to be very
clear and specific. It also requires the listeners to listen very carefully.
And the all children will have to really think.

33
3
Using Songs and Music
for Whole Language
Music in our Lives
Music plays a big part in our lives. There is music on
the radio, music on the television. Family members
sing. When we go to supermarkets and shops, music
is playing in the background. Adverts have music.
Music is a big industry. We sing to express our
emotions, our joy, and our sorrow, to celebrate, to
protest. We make music to dance to. And our
earliest ancestors also made music to express
their feelings and to entertain themselves.

Music also plays an important part in the lives of

our learners. What do you know about the music
your learners enjoy? Music can be a very powerful
resource for us to use in our classrooms. And when
we use the interests of our learners as a focus for the
curriculum we provide, our learners are more inter-
ested and more motivated. And if they are more interested
and more motivated, they will be more successful.

But before we think about that, let’s think about the music
we enjoy. What music do you like? What part does music play
in your life? How important is it? What music do you like to
listen to? Why? Make a list of some of your favourite pieces of
music. When do you sing? What do you like to sing?

What Kinds of Music do your

Learners Like?
(All Grades)
What you will need
You will need flip-chart paper (or newsprint) and kokis. Gather
your learners around you, either on the carpet or get them to
bring their chairs to the front of the class near the chalkboard.
In the middle of a sheet of flip-chart paper write the words,
Music we Like. Then ask the children questions to get them
to talk about the music they like to listen to and to sing.

34
 3
For example:
 What songs / music do you listen to? Why?
 Who are your favourite artists?
 Why do you like them?
 How does their music make you feel?
 Which songs do you like best?
 What songs do you like to sing?
 What about adverts? Which adverts have
good tunes or songs? Do you know the
words?

As your learners respond to your questions,

write up their comments and ideas on the flip-
chart or newsprint. Make a mind-map of what
they tell you. This is what the Grade 3s told
their teacher at St John’s Primary School.

Extending the activity

If you discover that there is a song or an advert
that many of your learners like and know, ask them
to sing the song for you. Then take a clean sheet of
flip-chart paper and a koki. Stick the sheet of paper
on the chalkboard. Then ask your learners to tell
you the words of the song that they particularly
like.

As the children dictate the words, phrase by

phrase, write the words up on the sheet of paper.
And as you write, say the word you are writing.
When you’ve finished a phrase, line or sentence,
read it through. Each time you have written a
phrase or line, and you’ve read it through, get your
learners to read with you all the phrases, lines or
sentences that you have written so far. Even
though your Grade Rs and Grade 1s probably can’t
read independently, they are learning important
lessons about reading and writing when they do
this. You are giving them an opportunity to become
emergent readers and writers.

A ‘Big Book’ of Songs

You could work in this way (doing Shared Writing) with other songs
that you sing with your learners, and which they particularly like. You
could also ask the children to draw pictures to go with each song. Then
you could make a Big Book of their favourite songs.

35
3
Groups of children will be able
to take the Big Book and
‘read’ the words. When they
turn the pages of the Big
Book, they will know which
song is which, because of the
pictures. Some children will
recognise the shapes of the
words and phrases. And they
will be able to sing the songs
because they know the words.
Some children might start to
read some of the words. It’s
wonderful when children are
given opportunities to learn to
read and write in natural
ways, with no pressure put on
them.

Writing new words for an old song

What you will need
Another way you can use Shared Writing is to make up some new
words for one of the songs that they know well. You will need flip-
chart paper (or newsprint) and kokis, or you can write on the chalk-
board. Choose a song that is fairly simple and which you think you
and your learners could make up some new words.

Writing the words

Then gather your learners around you, either on the carpet or get
them to bring their chairs to the front of the class near the chalk-
board. When you have sung the song all the way through with your
learners, tell them you would like them to help you make up another
verse. You will need to prompt them a little, but as they make
suggestions, write up their suggestions on the flip-chart paper (or
newsprint) or the chalkboard.

Then try to get your learners to refine the suggestions that have
been made, and lead them to co-create another verse. Sing the new
words with the children and see if it sounds all right. When you are
happy with the phrases and words, write them neatly on the paper or
board. Then sing the new words again.

If you have written the words in a big book, you could add this new
verse to the song that you have there.

36
 3
Drawing and Writing to Music
(All Grades)
Music and Feelings
Choose some music that you really like and which you can play in
your classroom. It might be a good idea to choose some music with no
singing, no words. Tell your learners you are going to play some
music for them to listen to. Tell them that you want them to be very
quiet and to listen very carefully. If you think it will help, tell them to
close their eyes. Then play the music for them to listen to.

Discussing the Music

When you have played the piece of music through once, ask your
learners
 What did it make you think of?

Listen to what they children tell you and

write their ideas on the chalkboard. Then tell
your learners that you want them to draw
pictures of what the music makes them think
about and how it makes them feel.

Ask the children to return to their tables and

give each child a piece of paper. Play the piece
of music again, and let them draw. We think
you will find that this activity has a very
calming effect on your learners, especially if
the music isn’t loud or noisy.

37
3
Writing a Story to go with Music
What you will need
You will need to find some music or a song to share with your
learners that you think will be a good starting point for writing a
story. You will also need some flip-chart paper (or newsprint) and
kokis.

Introducing the activity

Gather your learners around you, either on the carpet or
get them to bring their chairs to the front of the class near
the chalkboard. Tell your learners you are going to play
some music for them to listen to. Tell them that you want
them to be very quiet and to listen very carefully. If you
think it will help, tell them to close their eyes. Then play
the music for them to listen to.

Shared Writing
When the piece of music is finished, put up a sheet of flip-chart paper.
Ask your learners,
 What did the music make you think of?

Encourage them to talk. Then tell them that you want them to help you
make up a story. Ask,
 How shall we begin our story?
 How do stories begin?
When one of the children suggests a beginning, write up their sugges-
tion on the flip-chart paper. Then read it through. If your learners are
in Grade 2 or Grade 3, get them to read with you when you read. If you
teach Grade Rs or Grade 1s, read the sentence or phrase first, and then
get the children to read it with you the second time.

Ask your learners

 What shall we write next?
Again, write up what the children say – exactly as they say it. This is
important because they will remember what they have dictated. Also,
when you have completed the story, you can check that they are happy
with the story that they have co-created.

Continue in this way until the story is finished. Each time you add a
new sentence, say the words as you are writing them. When you’ve
finished writing the sentence, get your learners to read the sentence
with you. Then read all the sentences you’ve written so far. Read in a
natural way, just as you would tell a story. Don’t read in a stilted
unnatural way.

38
 3
Editing the writing
When the story is finished, ask your learners if they would like
to make some changes. This will give you an opportunity to
model how we edit writing (improve on our first rough draft).
Take a different coloured pen and write in the changes your
learners suggest. Then get your learners to read the story
through again. By doing this your learners will experience
process writing, drafting, editing, and then writing a final draft.

In this activity, your learners will have done a lot of thinking.

They will also have spoken and listened. And they will have
read, while you have written down their ideas.

Extending the Activity

You can extend this activity, and bring in more thinking, speaking and
listening if you get your learners to act the story. First discuss the

story you have co-created with your learners. Then ask your class who
they think should take the different parts. Get them to think about how
LEARNERS’ STORIES
they should dramatise the story. Invite the children to start to act out
the story. Talk about how each part should be acted as you go along. Vivian Gussin Paley
used to write down the
Even very young children can do this. You can suggest that they act
stories her learners
their story again at break-time, after eating their sandwiches. dictated, and then later
in the day, they acted
In a book, Wally’s Stories, Vivian Gussin Paley, a kindergarten teacher out one or two stories.
in Chicago, has described how she did this on a daily basis with her The children helped
children. Vivian Gussin Paley to
select the actors, and
We often underestimate what young learners can do. We will never then to direct how the
know how much they are capable of if we don’t give them opportunities story was acted out.
to show us.

39
3
Rhythm
A fundamental (basic)
part of music is
rhythm. In fact
rhythm is an uncon-
scious part of all we
do. It is part of our
speech and language.
Children have a
strong sense of
rhythm. And we can
build on this sense by
raising their aware-
ness of the rhythm in
language.

Clapping Rhythms
Gather your learners around you, either on the carpet or get them to
bring their chairs to the front of the class near the chalkboard. Tell
them that you are going to clap a pattern and you want them to listen
very carefully because you want them to clap the same pattern back to
you. Sometimes, for variety, clap with your flat hand on your chest.
Your chest cavity will act as a drum!

Keep it simple
Make sure that the first pattern you clap is very simple. Then ask your
learners to clap the same pattern back to you. Don’t clap with them.
Just listen. Then clap another simple pattern that’s a little different.
Again, don’t clap with your class. Just listen.

Observing
learners
Do this several times.
When you listen, look
around at your
learners. You may also
notice the children
who are not quite
managing. This is a
good opportunity for
you to observe your
learners in terms of
their listening,
hearing, and sense of
rhythm.

40
 3
Then take one of your learner’s names that has just two syllables (eg
Nomsa, Riaan, Sipho, Tracey), and clap two slow claps, one for each
syllable. Say the learner’s name as you clap, emphasising each syllable
with each clap. Then take a child’s name that has three syllables ( eg
Christopher, Gcobisa). You will find that when we say these names, the
syllables are not all the same length. Clap the name just as we say it.
You will either have two quick claps and one long one, or one long clap
and two quick ones.

Rhythm in Poetry
We have found that children really enjoy poetry. Sometimes when they
are becoming independent readers they choose to read poetry because
of the rhythm in the language. The words can also be predictable, so
beginning readers can make intelligent guesses about the words. We
also think poetry can be less intimidating to beginning readers because
the lines are shorter!

At the workshop we took the following traditional English poem and

recited it as a choral poem.

The Cat, the Mouse and the Bumble Bee

A Cat came fiddling out of a barn
With a pair of bagpipes under his arm.
He could sing nothing but “Fiddle –de-dee,
The mouse has married the bumble bee.”
Pipe, cat, dance, mouse,
We’ll have a wedding at out good house.
Some of the teachers recited the whole poem, while others repeated
one line over and over again – at the same time. Another group
repeated a different line. This really emphasised the rhythm of the
words. It was like a three part song!

Choral Poetry
Choose a short poem appropriate for your learners and teach them the
words of the poem. Then invite part of the class to repeat one of the
lines over and over again. Ask another part of the class to repeat a
different line over and over again. And then ask the rest of your
learners to recite the poem. In this way some of your learners will be
providing a verbal rhythmic backing to the poem.

If you have some percussion instruments that you have made with
your learners, they could use these instruments to emphasise the
rhythm as they repeat the words of the poem. We think you and your
learners will find that the percussion instruments and the repeated
words make a wonderful accompaniment to the poem.
41
 Conclusion
Encourage them to We hope you find the ideas in this booklet inspiring. And we would
really like to hear about your experiences of carrying out the
read for information,
suggested activities with your learners. When we ran the workshops at
to cope with the print the PSP we were so excited by the stories the teachers told us of their
that surrounds them experiences trialling the activities. We were all surprised by just how
everywhere, to enjoy much even the youngest children could do. We realised that we all
underestimate children and forget just how much they are capable of
a good story. doing.

We would like to conclude this booklet with some words from Kenneth
Goodman about using a Whole Language approach.

“ . . . Invite pupils to use language. Get them to talk about things

they need to understand. Show them it’s all right to ask questions
and listen to the answers, and then to react or ask more questions.
Suggest that they write about what happens to them, so they can
come to grips with their experiences and share them with others.

Encourage them to read for information, to cope with the print that
surrounds them everywhere, to enjoy a good story.

42
This way, teachers can work with children in the natural direction of
their growth. Language learning then becomes as easy in school as
out. And it’s more interesting, more stimulating, and more fun for
the kids and their teachers. What happens in school supports and
expands what happens outside of school. Whole language programs
get it all together: the language, the culture, the community, the
learner, and the teacher.

It’s easy when: It’s hard when:

It’s real and natural.
It’s whole.
It’s sensible.
It’s interesting.
It’s relevant.
It belongs to the learner.
It’s part of a real event.
It has social utility.
It has purpose for the learner.
The learner chooses to use it.
It’s accessible to the learner.
The learner has power to use it.
It’s artificial.
It’s broken into bits and pieces.
It’s nonsense.
It’s dull and uninteresting.
It’s irrelevant to the learner.
It belongs to somebody else.
It’s out of context.
It has no social value.
It has no discernible purpose.
It’s imposed by someone else.
It’s inaccessible.
The learner is powerless.

These lists show that a whole language program is more pleasant and
more fun for both pupils and teachers. Is it also more effective? Yes,
it is. With the language they’ve already learned, children bring to
school their natural tendency to want to make sense of the world.
When schools break language into bits and pieces, sense becomes
nonsense. Each abstract bit and piece that is learned is soon
forgotten as kids go on to further fractured fragments. In the end,
they begin to think of school as a place where nothing ever seems to
make sense.

That’s why learning language in the real world is easy, and learning
language in school should be easy, but is often hard.”

(From What’s Whole in Whole Language by Ken Goodman 2005: 4-5)

43
Teachers who attended the Whole
Language Workshops in 2006
Eisleben Luzuko Parkdene Ms Nokuxola Matinise
Ms Lorraine Hazner Ms Nomalungelo Matole Ms Riva Mentoor Ms Nomandithini
Ms Sinthea Koks Ms Nokuzola Ncayo Parkfields Molteno
Ms Sharon La Kay Ms Nompilo Ngalo Ms Rochan Arieff-Herbert Ms Thandiwe Tandazo
Ms Martha Meiring Ms Zoleka Tshayi Primrose Park Siviwe
Ms Gail Symonds Manenberg Ms Carol Anne Birch Ms Nandipha Mkonto
Entshona Ms Badronesa Abrahams Ms Jenny-Lynn Kruser Ms Doris Mtshibe
Ms Nokwanda Mqhayi Ms Juanita Adonis Qingqa-Mtwana Ms Nomsa Soshweshwe
Ms Noluthando Phaliso Ms Asieya Johnson Ms NB Kedama Ms Nonkosi Sovara
Ms Thelisa Thamsanqa Ms Gillian McCree St John’s Siyazakha
Hlengisa Ms Jacqueline Petersen Ms Charlene Hans Ms Linda Matshingana
Ms Lillian Dyantjies Ms Rosemary Piedt Ms Natasha Hartogh Ms Nokuthula Mxesibe
Ms Nothemba Mgetu Ms Nabewisa Roelt Ms Joan Louw Ms Queenie Ndlovu
Ms Fundiswa Njemla Masiphumelele Ms A Magnet Siyazingisa
Ms Welekazi Qwaka Ms Tenjiwe Mabaso Ms Francesca Pillay Ms Bukiwe Daniels
Impendulo Ms Neliswa Mangona Mercial Stanfield Ms Nodumo Gulwa
Ms Thunyiwe Bam Ms Zukiswa Ntamo Ms Jenny Steenkamp Ms Andiswa Mdebuka
Ms Nomonde Fikizolo Mfuleni Ms Yvette van Tonder Ms Nomnqweno Mlozana
Ms Thandiwe Johns Ms Nokuzola Dlikilili St Louis Ms Doreen Morrison
Ms Nokuzola Majivolo Ms Noluthando Ntshele Ms Dorothy Dunyo Ms Noloyiso Mtimba
Ms Nomawethu Ngwane Ms Nocawe Ntshokoma Ms Nikki Ngcukana Ms Cebisa Mzolo
Ms Nocawe Mkhosi Mseki Sakumlandela Ms Ncediwe Ndleleni
Ms Nontobeko Mutlane Ms Nomathamsanqa Hoyi Ms Bukelwa Babu Ms Mary-Ann Ntsane
Ms Zanele Nqolo Ms Buyiswa Ludonga Ms Ntsiki Daniel Ms Mandisa Peko
Ms Margaret Sikiti Ms Stella Makeleni Ms Mandisa Jonas Ms Ntsikie Sidyiyo
Ms Thozama Zilwa Ms Bulelwa Mgqoki Ms Pinky Mgijima Ms Jenie Stulweni
Inkazimlo Ms Nomvuyo Ndlela Ms Pumeza Mtambeka Sobambisana
Ms SN Gobo Nalikamva Ms Monica Ndinisa Ms Maureen Lekker
Ms Luntukazi Kwetana Ms Christina Ndlangisa Ms Yolisa Siyengo Umnqopiso
Ms Gloria Majambe Ms Mirriam Qolo Samora Machel Ms YC Qavane
Ms V Makiva Ms Nosipho September Ms Vuyokazi Mgwele Ms G Tshaka
Ms TE Mapitiza Ms Noluthando Tshakam- Ms Lumka Mlondweni Vuyani
Isikhokelo bulashe Ms Nomtamsanqa Mzin- Ms Noluvuyo Macanda
Ms Nombeko Mpikashe Naluxolo gaye Ms Sindiswa Mfobo
Ms Senamela Tsheyohalo Ms Nomfusi Dlaku Ms Luleka Nakani Ms BN Quva
JS Klopper Ms Nolawe Dyantyi Ms Nokuzola Sikeyi Yomelela
Ms Louise Daniels Ms Bongiswe Jacob Ms Salma Sixubane Ms Thembeka Nama
Ms Natalie Marinus Ms Namhla Mahlati Ms Koliswa Siyanga Ms Julia Sipamla
Ms Dorothy September Ms Nomthandazo Ms Nomfundiso Siyotula
Maqasho Special thanks to Charlene Hans
Liwa Silukhanyo
of St John’s Primary School, and
Ms Lungiswa Nyathi Ms Lindiwe Banjwa
Ms Xoliswa Lunika Noluvuyo Macanda of Vuyani
Ms PB Nkele Ms Neliswa Gcwabe
Ms Nombulelo Primary School for their help and
Ngxamngxa Ms Thandile Gqamlana support in trialling activities.

44
 WESTERN CAPE
PRIMARY SCIENCE PROGRAMME
TRUST (PSP)

The PSP is an in-service education organisation that supports primary school

teachers in the field of Natural Sciences and related learning areas particularly in
township primary schools in the Western Cape. We are based at the Edith
Stephens Wetland Park, Philippi, situated close to many disadvantaged
communities in the Cape Flats.

The PSP has been operating since 1984 and has built up good relationships with
over 200 primary schools from all the township areas, including the Boland and
West Coast rural areas. More than 1 050 teachers from grades 4 to 7 and 126 000
children benefit from the work of the PSP.

The PSP works in an environment where most teachers and learners have to
operate in a 2nd or 3rd additional language. We therefore also work on developing
learners’ communication skills while focusing on science related learning areas and
environment.

The PSP currently operates with a complement of nine staff.

CONTACT DETAILS
Western Cape Primary Science Programme (PSP)
Edith Stephens Wetland Park ; Lansdowne Road ;
Philippi ; Cape Flats ; 7785
P.O. Box 24158; Lansdowne; 7779 ; South Africa
Tel: (021) 6919039 ; Fax: (021) 6916350
e-mail: info@psp.org.za ; website: www.psp.org.za

NPO: 015-822
Registration Number: IT2806/99