The designs that have been developed for learners in Grade 1, 2 and 3 aim at exposing them to the four language skills meaningfully. It is intended that suitable learning experiences that engage the learner in using language as they learn are created. With such enriching experirnces, learners are likely to understand and apply what they learn to real life circumstances.The designs also provide an opportunity for learners to have a mastery of the various dimensions of the four language skills from the onset. To achieve this, the designs focus on specific sub-skills in listening and speaking, reading and writing from Grade 1 right through to Grade 3.It is expected that building the sub-skills will support the learner’s competencies without leaving any aspect of of the four skills to chance. In all the skills, teachers are guided to provide for the differences among learners by providing more challenging tasks for those who have demonstrated given competencies and supporting those who are yet to attain the competencies.
Listening and Speaking
CBC English Activities- Attentive Listening
This is an important requirement for language learning .In Grade 1, it should blend in as part of reading and should not be isolated to be taught alone. Such an experience will ensure that learners acquire the habit of listening attentively. It will progressively improve their competencies in all language areas. Learners with low attention spans, should be observed closely and deliberate efforts made to have them engaged in ongoing activities. In Grade 2, empasis on sitting posture, appropriate facial expressions and gestures can be gradually reduced as learners demonstrate that their competencies have improved.However, learners with low attention spans, should be observed continuously and deliberate efforts made to have them engaged in ongoing activities. If at Grade 3efforts to engage learners with low attention spans have been unsuccessful, other interventions should be considered.
CBC English Activities- Pronunciation and Vocabulary
The sounds practised during pronunciation will help learners get familiar with the vocabulary in the thematic areas. The vocabulary is contextualized within the thematic areas to be covered during the teaching of language structures and functions. The vocabulary developed is linked to sounds learnt during pronunciation. Learners could be exposed to four to five new words with learnt sounds every week, starting with words that have familiar sounds, and moving progressively to words with sounds that are different from the first language. Variations to this suggestion should be made by increasing the number of sounds and new words in instances where learners can comfortably pronounce more sounds and use new words. This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. For those learners struggling with some sounds and new words, opportunities for more practise should be created.
In Grade 2, the consonant blends practised during pronunciation are expected to help learners get familiar with the vocabulary in the thematic areas. Like in Grade 1, the vocabulary is contextualized within the thematic areas to be covered during the teaching of language structures and functions. The vocabulary developed is linked to the consonant blends learnt during pronunciation. Learners could be exposed learners to two to three new words with learnt consonant blends per week, starting with sounds that have more distinct consonants and moving progressively to sounds that have less distinct consonants in the consonant blends.Variations to this suggestion should be made by increasing the consonant blends and the number of words with consonant blends in instances where learners can comfortably pronounce the consonant blends, and acquire more vocabulary with the consonant blends . This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. Learners who are struggling should be given more words with two distinct consonants. When they get to Grade 3, learners could be exposed to words that have two to three consonant blends per week, starting with words that have two consonants and moving progressively to words that have three consonants . Learners who can comfortably pronounce the consonant blends, and acquire more vocabulary could be exposed to words that blend three consonants to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. Those who are struggling should be supported through more practise with words that blend two consonants.
CBC English Activities- Language structures and Functions
Language structures and functions in Grade 1 are embedded in themes to provide realistic contexts for the development of the learner’s competence. The thematic concerns can be conveyed through dialogues, poems, passages and songs, among others.The pronunciation and vocabulary, reading and writing within thematic units should build on each other for the learner to make connections between the inter-dependent parts. In Grade 2, the thematic concerns can be conveyed through longer and more challenging dialogues, poems, passages and songs, among others. The strctures in Grade 3 have more challenging themes with a higher difficulty level than earlier grades to provide variety in application, and the development of the learner’s competence. Reading
Pre reading
Like attentive listening, pre reading skills are required for every component of reading to ensure that learners acquire the habit of sitting and placing their materials appropriately as they read. It should blend in as part of reading and should not be isolated to be taught alone.Empasis on sitting posture, placing books in the correct position can be gradually reduced as learners demonstrate that their competencies have improved. Variations to this suggestion should be made by continuously alerting those struggling with sitting and positioning reading materials appropriately while reading. In Grade 2, learners continue to maintain the habit of sitting and placing their materials appropriately as they read. Empasis on sitting posture, placing books in the correct position can be gradually reduced as learners demonstrate that their competencies have improved. Variations to this suggestion should be made by continuously alerting those struggling with sitting and positioning reading materials appropriately while reading.
Phonics
Letter sound knowledge lays a good foundation for reading. Learners could be exposed to two to three sound -to- letter matches per week. This could be varied by increasing the number of sounds in instances where learners can comfortably make more letter-sound matches. Forlearners who are still struggling with some letter-sound matches, opportunities for more practice should be created to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning.In Grade 2, learners continue naming three to four letters and their sounds per week starting with sounds that are more familiar . They then gradually start joining sounds with letter-sound correspondence to read words. To take care of differentiated curriculum and learning, variations to this suggestion should be made by increasing the number and complexity of sounds in instances where learners can comfortably join sounds to read most words. For those struggling with certain sounds, picture prompts should be used to provide more opportunities for naming letters and their sounds, and simple words. In Grade 3, the learners could read two to three words per week starting with long words that have simple letter-sound correspondence and gradually moving to longer words with more complex letter-sound correspondence.Where learners easily combine sounds to read words,variations to this suggestion should be made by giving more complex sounds to be combined into longer words every week. This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. For those struggling with word recognition, a combination of prompts could be used to support them . Reminders could still be made on pre-reading to sustain habits acquired earlier.
Word Reading
Word reading in Grade 1 starts with learners practising two to three words per week starting with words with letter-sound corrrespondence. They could gradually move to words without letter-sound correspondence. The learners who can comfortably read most words can have the number of words increased to take care differentiated curriculum and learning. opportunities for more practise should be created for the learners who cannot read certain words. In Grade 2, learners be exposed to three to four words per week starting with simple words without letter-sound corrrespondence. This could be stepped up to complex words without letter-sound corrspondence. Variations to this suggestion should be made by increasing the number and complexity of grade level vocabulary in instances where learners can comfortably read most words to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. For those struggling with certain nondecodable words, opportunities for more practice should be created. In Grade 3, learners could read eight to ten new words per week starting with long words without letter-sound correspondence . They could gradually read longer words without letter-sound correspondence.Those learners who can read such words with ease should be given more words without letter sound correspondence per week. This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. For those struggling with reading grade level vocabulary, shorter words without letter sound correspondence could be given , and suitable word attack skills encouraged.
Connected text and fluency
Learners read texts of 30 words gradually progressing to phrasal reading and fluency. In cases where learners easily read decodable and non-decodable words, variations to this suggestion should be made by giving longer texts with more phrases . This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. For those struggling with non- decodable words and phrases, shorter texts of about 20 words with more decodable words could be given to support them .In Grade two, connected text reading and fluency could include observation of one new punctuation mark after every two weeks. They could gradually read upto 65 words accurately. Variations to this suggestion should be made by increasing the number of punctuation marks in texts where learners can observe punctuation. The progression to phrasal reading could also be increased. This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. Learners who cannot observe punctuation marks and read the set number of words accurately should be given more time with the punctuation marks. By Grade 3, learners read texts of 200 words, gradually increasing in length and requiring more accuracy and expression at intervals of two weeks. For learners who can read fluently, they could get longer texts demanding more accuracy and expression. This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. For those struggling with fluent reading, shorter texts demanding fewer words per minute could be given to support them .
Comprehension
To support learners make meaning from a text, they read texts of about 60 words. In Grade 1, they initially make simple predictions and respond to simple questions that do not require inference. The texts increase in length at intervals of two weeks so that learners respond to more questions.Variations to this suggestion should be made by giving longer texts with more challenging questions in cases where learners easily answer direct questions. This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. For those struggling with making predictions and making inferences, shorter stories with more direct questions could be given to support them . In Grade 2, learners make predictions in contexts or stories whose levels of difficulty increase every two weeks. They progressively understand contexts with more characters and varied locations. Variations to this suggestion should be made by increasing the levels of difficulty of stories where learners show comprehension. This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. Learners who struggle to identify people in stories or answer questions should be given stories with more context clues. In Grade 3, learners could read texts of about 200 words, starting by making simple predictions, retelling the stories and gradually responding to questions that require inference. The stories increase in length and complexity at intervals of two weeks so that learners retell stories in more details and respond to more inferential questions.Variations to this suggestion should be made by giving longer texts with more complex inferential questions in cases where learners easily answer direct and indirect questions. This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. For those struggling with making predictions and inferences, shorter stories with more direct questions could be given to support them .
Writing
Pre Writing
Like attentive listening and pre-reading, pre writing in Grade 1 should blend in as part of every component of writing to ensure that learners acquire the habit of sitting and placing their materials appropriately as they write.Empasis on sitting posture, placing books in the correct position can be gradually reduced as learners demonstrate that their competencies have improved. Variations to this suggestion should be made by continuously alerting those struggling with sitting and positioning writing materials appropriately while writing.In Grade 2, emphasis on sitting posture, placing books in the correct position can be gradually reduced as learners demonstrate that their competencies have improved. Variations to this suggestion should be made by continuously alerting those struggling with sitting and positioning writing materials appropriately while writing.
Handwriting
Learners practise handwriting every week starting from forming letters and progressively improving to writing dictated words and sentences neatly and legibly. Variations to this suggestion should be made by giving more letter patterns and short words for learners who have demonstrated the competence in writing legibly, from left to right in Grade 1. The progression to writing longer words and phrases should be accelerated among such learners. This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. For those struggling handwriting, more time could be spent encouraging them to copy for clarity and legibility.In Grade 2, learners make incremental progress in improving their handwriting, in terms of legibility .Variations to this suggestion should be made by increasing more challenging practise exercises for handwriting. This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. For those struggling with handwriting, letter patterns could be revised for practise. In Grade 3, learners practise handwriting every week starting from copying models of shapes and progressively improving to writing dictated words and sentences neatly and legibly. Variations to this suggestion should be made by giving more complex patterns for learners who have demonstrated the competence in writing legibly. The progression to writing words and sentences should be accelerated among such learners. This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. For those struggling with handwriting, more time could be spent encouraging them to copy for clarity and legibility. Reminders could be made to sustain pre-writing skills.
Spelling
Learners practise spelling simple words every week in Grade 1, then progressively improve legibility and clarity in writing.Variations to this suggestion should be made by giving more complex words to be spelt by learners who have demonstrated the competence in correct spelling. The progression to spelling longer words and short phrases should be accelerated among such learners. This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. For those struggling with spelling simple words, more time could be spent encouraging them to improve clarity and legibility even as they strive to spell correctly.In Grade 2, learners make incremental progress in writing more words correctly .Variations to this suggestion should be made by increasing the number of words to be spelt among learners who can write words correctly, with clarity and legibility. This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. For those struggling with correct spelling, basic texts with simple words should be availed for practise. In Grade 3, learners practise spelling simple and compound words every week, then progressively move to spelling short and long sentences. Variations to this suggestion should be made by giving more complex words to be spelt by learners who have demonstrated the competence in correct spelling. The progression to spelling short and long sentences should be accelerated among such learners. This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. For those struggling spelling simple words, more time could be spent encouraging them to improve clarity and legibility even as they strive to spell correctly.
Punctuation
Learners could start by using capital letters for proper nouns and progressively use full stops in writing correct sentences. Variations to this suggestion should initially be made by increasing the proper nouns in practice exercises among learners who have demonstrated the competence in the use of capital letters. The progression to using a variety of punctuation marks should be accelarated in instances where learners recognise and use appropriate punctuation. This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. For those struggling with capital letters and punctuation, opportunities for more practise with simpler punctuation should be created.In Grade 2, learners make incremental progress in writing correctly punctuated texts.Variations to this suggestion should be made by increasing tasks with more punctuation marks where learners demonstrate correct usage of the punctuation marks. This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. For those struggling with correct punctuation, basic punctuation should be priortized for practise. In Grade 3, the learners continue using capital letters for proper nouns and progressively write sentences with a variety of correct punctuation marks.Variations to this suggestion should initially be made by increasing the proper nouns in practice exercises among learners who have demonstrated the competence in the use of capital letters. The progression to using a variety of punctuation marks should be accelarated in instances where learners recognise and use appropriate punctuation. This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. For those struggling with capital letters and punctuation, opportunities for more practise with simpler punctuation should be created.
Guided Writing
Learners are expected to gain independence in writing. They will practice writing words every week, gradually becoming less dependent on prompts as they complete blank filling exercises. They also use the correct form of words. For learners who can comfortably complete sentences without prompts, variations to this suggestion should be made by withdrawing picture prompts early, and increasing the blanks to be filled using various forms of words in a sentence. The progression to writing short phrases should also be accelarated.. For those struggling with form and meaning of words , opportunities for more practise with various prompts should be availed.This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. In Grade 2, learners could practise writing two to three words that are more challenging, from prompts every week and progressively complete simple blank filling exercises. They could finally write short phrases and sentences . Where leaners demonstrate mastery of vocabulary, variations to this suggestion should be made by withdrawing prompts to increase independence in writing words. The progression to filling blanks using correct forms of more difficult words should also be accelarated in instances where learners can comfortably complete sentences. This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. For those struggling with writing words, more prompts should be availed . In Grade 3, learners practise completing more blanks in exercises done every week, using the correct form of more difficult words. They progressively make short phrases and writing sentences to make paragraphs.Variations to this suggestion should be made by accelarating the progression from writing phrases to sentences and paragraphs in instances where learners can comfortably complete sentences. This is intended to take care of differentiated curriculum and learning. For those struggling with completing sentences , opportunities for more practise with simpler sentences and phrases should be created.
Essence Statement
English Language during the early years is intended to engage the learners in activities that allow them to use and progressively demonstrate the competences outlined. The emphasis in the presentation of the four language skills is to ensure that they are functional. The learners should also experience the interdependence of the competences across the skills, and find relevance of what they learn in their day to day contexts. Similarly, English language activities in Grade 1, 2, and 3 are expected to play a preparatory role in enabling learners to use it as a medium of learning from grade four, upwards. Concerted efforts to enrich learning at this level will gradually empower learners to exercise what they have acquired in the different functions that English language plays, at the national and global level.
General Learning Outcomes
By the end of Early Years Education, the learner should be able to:
- listen and respond appropriately to relevant information in a variety of contexts,
- express self confidently using the language structures and the vocabulary acquired for interaction with others,
- read with comprehension, a variety of short texts of about 200 words fluently and accurately,
- read with comprehension a variety of texts for information and pleasure,
- write simple sentences legibly and neatly to express ideas and feelings,
- demonstrate the appropriate use of simple language structures and basic punctuation marks to communicate effectively.
