Zimbabwe Grade 2 Curriculum - Indigenous Languages

This curriculum covers Early Childhood Development (ECD), Grade 1, and Grade 2. It aims to establish a strong base for language skills applicable to everyday communication. The syllabus emphasizes a progressive approach, focusing on listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, along with other literacy and numeracy skills. Visual, manual, and tactile learning methods are incorporated to accommodate learners with disabilities. The curriculum promotes the values and cultural norms of Unhu/Ubuntu/Vumunhu.

Curriculum Aims

The curriculum seeks to enable learners to:

• Develop proficiency in listening/observing, speaking/signing, reading/signing, and writing/brailling, incorporating visual, tactile, and manual skills for diverse purposes.
• Communicate effectively in various situations.
• Cultivate a lifelong habit of reading in Indigenous Languages, fostering personal, cultural, and national identity.
• Develop critical thinking skills related to current and emerging cross-cutting issues.
• Enhance national heritage and culture through orature.
• Utilize ICT in Indigenous Languages learning.

Curriculum Content

The curriculum focuses on:

• Registers
• Grammar
• Folktales
• Stories
• News
• Poetry
• Comprehension

Learning and Teaching Methodology

A communicative, learner-centered approach is recommended. Suggested methods include storytelling, imitation, exploration, research, projects, games, quizzes, problem-solving, educational tours, drama, song, poetry, demonstrations, group discussions, debates, question-and-answer sessions, resource persons, and gallery walks. It is advised to use multiple methods within a single lesson.

Time Allocation

• ECD: 5 periods of 20 minutes per week
• Grades 1 and 2: 8 periods of 30 minutes per week

Assessment

Continuous assessment is conducted throughout the course, covering the four main language skills. Assessment objectives include:

• Speaking/Signing: Greeting and responding, describing events and situations, making polite requests, and engaging in short conversations.
• Listening/Observing: Participating in dialogues, retelling news, folktales, and stories, responding to instructions and requests, and answering questions.
• Reading/Signing: Matching objects, interpreting pictures, reading dialogues, news, folktales, and stories.
• Writing/Brailling: Penmanship, coloring, joining dots, spelling, writing correct sentences, creative writing, and answering questions.

Cross-Cutting Themes

The curriculum integrates several cross-cutting themes:

• Gender
• Children's rights and responsibilities
• Disaster risk management
• Sexuality, HIV and AIDS Education
• Child protection
• Heritage studies
• Human rights
• Environmental issues
• Guidance and counseling
• Enterprise