Uganda Primary 1 Life Skills Curriculum

This curriculum is designed to develop basic literacy, mathematics, and life skills in learners through a thematic approach. The themes reflect the learners' everyday interests and experiences.

Key Features of the Curriculum:

• Learner-Centered Approach: The curriculum emphasizes learner activities rather than teacher instruction, encouraging active participation through exploration, observation, and play.
• Thematic Structure: The curriculum is organized around twelve themes, each subdivided into sub-themes for weekly lessons. This approach integrates various subjects, including English, Mathematics, Literacy, and Creative Performing Arts.
• Emphasis on Local Language: Learning materials are primarily delivered in the child's home language or a familiar language to facilitate faster literacy development.
• Multiple Resources: The curriculum encourages using various learning resources, including flash cards, charts, and simple readers, to create a rich and varied learning environment.
• Integrated Assessment: Assessment is continuous and diagnostic, focusing on identifying individual learning needs and providing remedial support.

Curriculum Themes:

1. Our School: The learner develops communication skills and relates to others harmoniously, demonstrating creativity through producing and manipulating learning materials. Activities include learning about people and things in the school environment and participating in school activities.

2. Our Home: The learner identifies family members, recognizes objects in the home, and appreciates and participates in home activities. This theme explores family roles and responsibilities, things found in the home, and their uses.

3. Our Community: The learner communicates and relates with people in the community and identifies important places. Activities include learning about different professions, community activities, and significant locations.

4. The Human Body and Health: The learner identifies and cares for their body, learning about body parts, personal hygiene, common diseases, and preventive measures.

5. Weather: The learner understands different weather elements and types, seasonal activities, and the effects and management of weather.

6. Accidents and Safety: The learner identifies common accidents at home, on the way to school, and at school, understanding safety precautions and the effects of accidents.

7. Living Together: The learner identifies family structures, learns about ways of living together harmoniously in school and the community, and practices cooperation and respect.

8. Food and Nutrition: The learner identifies food sources, understands their uses and nutritional value, and learns about food safety and preservation methods.

9. Our Transport: The learner differentiates types and means of transport, understands their importance, and learns about related measures like time, money, distance, speed, and size.

10. Things We Make: The learner identifies and appreciates things made at home and school, exploring materials, their sources, and the importance of these creations.

11. Our Environment: The learner explores and appreciates the environment, identifying its components, factors that damage it, and ways to conserve it.

12. Peace and Security: The learner recognizes the importance of peaceful coexistence, exploring factors that promote peace and security in the home, school, and community.

Additional Curriculum Areas:

• Christian Religious Education: This area focuses on discovering God's gifts, including self, family, community, and creation, emphasizing values and moral development.
• Islamic Religious Education: This area covers reading from the Quran, understanding Tawhiid (faith), Islamic practices, moral teachings, and the history of Islam.
• Physical Education: This area develops physical skills, promotes fitness, and encourages enjoyment of traditional games, dances, and other physical activities. It also emphasizes values such as self-discipline, teamwork, and cooperation.