Sierra Leone Junior Secondary School (JSS) Syllabus - Language Arts

Language Arts JSS 1 Term 2

This course covers a range of topics to improve pupils' language skills, including grammar, reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The following summarizes the content of the Pupil's Handbook for Term 2.

Grammar

• Possessive Pronouns: Students learn to define and identify possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs) and use them correctly in sentences.
• Past Continuous Tense: This section covers the definition and formation of the past continuous tense (was/were + verb-ing), including positive, negative, and interrogative sentences. It also emphasizes using the tense to describe interrupted actions.
• Present Continuous Tense: Pupils learn to recognize, conjugate, and use the present continuous tense (am/is/are + verb-ing) in sentences, including contractions (I'm, you're, he's, etc.). Time expressions associated with the tense are also covered.
• Simple Future Tense: This topic introduces the simple future tense (will/shall + verb), covering positive, negative, and interrogative forms, including contractions (I'll, he'll, won't, shan't, etc.). The distinction between "will" and "shall" is also explained.
• Possessive Nouns: Students learn to identify and use possessive forms of singular and plural nouns, using apostrophes correctly to indicate ownership or relationship.
• Demonstrative Adjectives: This section defines and explains the use of demonstrative adjectives (this, that, these, those) to point out specific people or things, distinguishing between singular and plural forms.
• Interrogative Adjectives: Pupils learn to define, identify, and use interrogative adjectives (which, whose, what) to ask questions about nouns.

Reading

• Drama-Based Story: Students read and analyze a short play, focusing on identifying characters, their roles, and understanding the plot. Comprehension questions and vocabulary exercises are included.
• Selected Poems: This section introduces various literary terms found in poetry, including alliteration, hyperbole, simile, and metaphor. Students analyze poems from different cultural backgrounds, focusing on themes and literary devices.
• Reading Newspapers and Magazines: Pupils practice reading non-textbook materials, focusing on comprehension, vocabulary development, and identifying main ideas. Articles about classrooms of the future and global warming are included.
• Prose: Students practice reading fluency and comprehension through various prose texts, including a recipe and a dialogue. They also learn to identify main events and describe characters in a story excerpt from "James and the Giant Peach."
• Shakespearean Text (Abridged): This section introduces students to Shakespearean plays, focusing on "The Taming of the Shrew." They read excerpts and summaries, analyze characters and plot, and discuss the play's themes.

Writing

• Narrative Essay: Students learn to plan, organize, and write a narrative essay about a past event, focusing on using the simple past tense.
• Informal Letters: This topic covers the features of informal letters, including address, date, greeting, introduction, body, closing, and name. Students practice writing a letter of apology.
• Guided Writing Summary: Pupils develop summarizing skills by identifying main points and writing a one-paragraph summary of a reading comprehension passage.
• Poetry: Students practice creative writing by composing diamond poems, following specific structural and thematic guidelines.
• Creative Writing: This section guides students in writing a short story about themselves and their friends, focusing on planning, organizing ideas, and developing a clear introduction, body, and conclusion.

Listening and Speaking

• Pronunciation: Students practice pronunciation skills, focusing on specific consonant sounds (b and d) and long and short vowel sounds (u). Tongue twisters and vocabulary exercises are included.
• Dictation and Spelling: Pupils practice listening attentively and spelling words correctly, including capitalization of proper nouns.
• Conversations: This section focuses on developing conversation skills by describing occasions and special events, such as festivals and celebrations in Sierra Leone. Students also practice using fillers in conversations.