WORKBOOKS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
EDITORIAL
WORKBOOKS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
The DBE has introduced Workbooks for Grades 1 - 6. Below are answers to some of the questions you might have on the workbooks.
WHAT IS THE AIM OF THESE WORKBOOKS?
1. They will provide organised work in the form of worksheets for every child in mathematics and language. The aim of the workbook project is provide every child with two books of work- sheets – one for numeracy/mathemat- ics and one for literacy/language in the child’s mother tongue. Each book contains 128 worksheets (two pages each) – one a day for four days of the week. In the third term, learners will be provided with another two books – one for mathematics and one for lan- guage. Learners will use the books to do written exercises in language and mathematics.
2. They will be a great help to teachers. The worksheets are also intended to assist teachers who have large classes and who won’t necessarily have re- sources like photocopiers or stimulat- ing reading materials for children to read.
3. The workbooks will help teachers who teach multilingual classes. The worksheets
will also be useful for
teachers (mainly in urban areas) where they have to teach multilingual classes. Sometimes teachers have up to five different mother tongue languages in one class. Because the books are available in all 11 languages, teachers will find the books useful in mixed language.
4. The workbooks will also be helpful for teachers who have to teach more than one grade in a class. Because the work- books are available for learners from
grade 1 to 6, it is possible for the teacher to work separately with different grades in the same classroom – giving each grade its own grade specific workbooks. They will also be useful for teaching mixed ability groups – with each group working on a different worksheet.
5. They will assist the teacher to manage teaching time and to monitor the tasks that children do in the workbooks.
6. The workbooks will assist teachers to identify learners’ needs for extra sup- port from early in the school year. The Department’s new workbooks all start with revision of the previous grade level with grade 1 giving attention to school readiness and cognitive development. The start up of each grade with a re- view/revision of previous grade’s work will enable the teacher to use this to identify learners in need of extra sup- port or remedial action. In the work- books each alternate lesson also re- quires the teacher to make a judgment on which learners require additional or remedial support and which high achiev- ers many need extended activities.
ARE LEARNERS ALLOWED TO WRITE IN THEIR WORKBOOKS?
All learners must write in their workbooks. The difference between a workbook and a textbook is that the workbook is designed to enable the learner to answer questions and practice reading, writing and numeracy in the workbooks. A textbook does not have the same design features. In fact, learn- ers should be discouraged from writing in textbooks so that these may be handed from one class to the next each year.
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE WORK- BOOK AT THE END OF THE YEAR?
At the end of the school year, the work- books become the property of the learner and a record of the learner’s progress dur- ing the year.
IS THERE ANY COST INVOLVED FOR THE SCHOOL OR PARENTS?
The books will be supplied for free at no cost to the schools or parents. They are entirely funded by the Department.
HOW WILL SCHOOLS RECEIVE THE WORKBOOKS?
The Department is in the process of deliv- ering the workbooks to all primary schools for all Grade 1-6 learners. Each learner will receive two books – one for language and one for numeracy/mathematics and again in the second half of the year. By the end of the year each learner will have four work- books – two in mathematics and two in language.
ARE THE LEARNERS PERMITTED TO TAKE THE WORKBOOKS HOME?
Teachers should encourage learners to take their workbooks home so that they can do home work. Teachers should en- courage the parents and care givers to engage actively with their learners’ work- books in order to participate in their chil- dren’s learning.
Workbooks do not replace textbooks. They are an additional learning and teach- ing aid.
1 801
SCHOOLS WITH FUNCTIONAL LIBRARIES
THE EQUAL EDUCATION CAMPAIGN FOR SCHOOL LIBRARIES
ARTICLE PROVIDED BY EQUAL EDUCATION “
It is common knowledge that libraries are an integral part of the education process.
In 2007 only 7.23% of South African public ordinary schools were operating functional libraries. Since 1997, five drafts of a National Policy on School Libraries have been circulated by the Department of Education (DoE), and yet there still exists no official policy. A sixth draft, entitled National Guidelines for School Library Servic- es have recently emerged, but it is a discussion docu- ment, not a policy, and therefore contains no imple- mentation plan.
Equal Education (EE), founded in 2008, is a movement of learn- ers, parents, teachers and community members working for quality and equality in South African education through analy-
sis and activism. Among its overarching objectives are: the de- velopment of learning facilities and resources; the improved availability, practice and content of teaching; the building of commitment and passion among teachers and learners; and the overall efficacy of the public education system.
During 2009, EE embarked upon a new campaign: 1 School 1 Library 1 Librarian. In order to address the acute shortage of school libraries in South Africa, its members – thousands of high school students, their teachers and parents – have made a commitment to ensuring that the government provides every school in the country with a library; a trained, full-time librarian or library administrator; adequate shelving; computer facilities; 3 books per learner; 9 as well as annual funding to service each library by ring-fencing 10% of the Learning Teaching Support Materials (LTSM) allocation.
” 23 178
SCHOOLS WITH NO LIBRARIES & NO LIBRARIANS
24 979
PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN SOUTH AFRICA
144 CHAPTER 8 | TEACHING RESOURCES
www.ed.org.za
www.ed.org.za
CHAPTER 8 | TEACHING RESOURCES
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