South Africa Grade 1 School Syllabus - First Additional Language

This syllabus outlines the curriculum for First Additional Language in Grade 1, based on the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) from the South Africa Department of Basic Education. The focus in Grade 1 is primarily on developing oral communication skills, listening comprehension, and emergent literacy. Reading and writing are introduced gradually, building upon the foundation established in the learner's Home Language.

Listening and Speaking

• Daily Activities: These activities should be integrated throughout the day and focus on building oral vocabulary through themes chosen by the teacher (e.g., My Clothes, Food, Animals, Things I Can Do). Learners will:
• Respond to and use greetings and farewells.
• Make simple requests (e.g., "May I go to the toilet?").
• Follow simple oral instructions.
• Name objects in pictures or the classroom.
• Respond to simple questions.
• Sing simple songs and perform action rhymes.
• Play language games.
• Focused Activities (Twice per week): These sessions center on listening to stories told and read aloud by the teacher, using Big Books or illustrated posters. Learners will:
• Listen to short stories or non-fiction texts.
• Understand and respond to simple questions and instructions related to the story.
• Name objects in the pictures.
• Participate in retelling or acting out the story.

Reading and Phonics

• Phonological and Phonemic Awareness (Integrated daily): Brief activities to develop awareness of sounds in language. Learners will:
• Segment sentences into individual words.
• Identify rhyming words.
• Recognize initial sounds in familiar words.
• Clap out syllables in words.
• Emergent Literacy (Occasionally): Exposure to environmental print (e.g., labels, signs) to develop print awareness.
• Shared Reading (Minimum 30 minutes, maximum 1 hour 15 minutes per week): Teacher-led reading of enlarged texts (Big Books, posters) to develop vocabulary and concepts of print. Learners will:
• Follow along as the teacher reads.
• Discuss the pictures.
• Identify objects in the pictures.
• Answer simple questions.
• Learn oral vocabulary.
• Join in with repeated readings and choruses.

Writing

• Shared Writing (Maximum 15 minutes per week): Teacher-supported writing activities. Learners will:
• Write captions for drawings with teacher assistance.
• Copy and read back written captions.
• Write simple lists with headings (with support).

Language Structure and Use

Learners will begin to develop an understanding and ability to use simple language structures in the context of meaningful spoken language. This includes:

• Imperatives (e.g., "Don't run").
• Simple present tense (e.g., "She likes school").
• Present progressive tense (e.g., "He is reading").
• Question forms (e.g., "What?", "Who?", "How many?").
• Personal pronouns (e.g., I, you, we, they).
• Modals "can" and "may".
• Negative forms.
• Plural forms of countable nouns.
• Possessive pronouns.
• Prepositions.
• Adjectives and adverbs.

By the end of Grade 1, learners are expected to understand 700-1000 words in context, depending on the time allocated to First Additional Language instruction. The vocabulary and language structures are learned incidentally through exposure to the spoken and written language in meaningful contexts. The teacher should select themes that are familiar to learners and offer opportunities for active learning and language use.