Year 8 Sesotho African Language Project draft 2 - Eunice High School

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Shared Core Aims:The project simply aimed at making a difference, that is, injecting energy, enjoyment and initiativeand giving learners themselves the chance to take teaching and learning to a higher level using theirown peers’ home language as their major resource and their own creativity as the key driver of thesuccess of the project.Getting Started:Simple StrategiesWe used a flexible approach to timetabling by scheduling both the usual five separate Gr 8 classperiods (facilitated by a school teacher) as well as specially scheduled longer periods for the group asa whole, where a workshop facilitator for the University of the Free State (Sarietjie Musgrave) couldfacilitate and support the groups.During the first workshop with all 175 students, they were urged to thinkabout teaching strategies by inviting them to assess the teaching andlearning styles of successful teachers or memorable lessons in their ownschool experience. They also examined what they appreciated about theirfavourite teachers.Following these reflections on teaching and learning styles, the classeswere divided into groups of 8 by means of an active, fun strategy called“High 5” - a group activity used to highlight commonality and explore and celebrate the rich diversityof experiences that different people bring to any group. The workshop facilitator explained that shewould call out different things that may or may not apply to each person. If the item did apply to astudent, they had to run into the middle, jump in the air, and do a high 5 with anyone else who ranin. It started with general items such as: “Are you an only child? ……..have you ever baked a birthdaycake? ……….. to, finally, …is Sesotho your home language?”. Those left in the middle were given theopportunity to select team members. And so, quite normally, and on the basis of expertise, theseSesotho speaking girls were identified as group leaders.Highligts of NationalCurriculum Statement.pptxThe National Curriculum Statement for the subjectwas explained to the teenagers who themselves were to becomeinstant teachers. The learners received no text book, but only a verygeneric “Second Additional Language Program Guideline” Discussionsin groups focused on topics such as oral tradition, functionalcommunication, creative ways to design listening, speaking, reading,viewing and writing opportunities, rubrics and assessment.The year was divided into three phases:
Phase 1: Each group selected a theme of their choice and built variouslistening, speaking, reading and writing activities around it. Individualgroups had only themselves as audience.Phase 2: Each group selected a new theme and again developedlistening, speaking, reading and writing activities, but had to present it totheir class (5 groups)Phase 3: The final challenge was: “How can you use technology to teachall other 170 Grade 8 students and an outside audience as muchSesotho as possible in 10 minutes with a form of assessment?” Inpreparation for this phase, the students were introduced to cutting edge educational software suchas Moviemaker, Songsmith, Mouse Mischief and AutoCollage. Each group had autonomy over thetechnology they used when presenting to a bigger audience. Almost all 175 girls, even those fromdisadvantaged backgrounds, had cell phones. Learners used their own resources, existing IT labsavailable to them and 30 borrowed laptops from the University of the Free State forpresentation/assessment days.During each of the phases, students attended workshops where progress assessment of groupdynamics took place. Various tools were used for this, but one worth sharing:Each student traced their hand on a sheet of paper.The facilitators guided them through the following 5questions – each question answered inside thecorresponding finger:Thumb: What is really working well in your group?What do you like about the project?Index: Where is your group heading with this topic?What still needs to happen before you can say that youhave been successful? Are you heading in the rightdirections? Are you focused on the task at hand?Middle: What made you cross? What do you not likeabout your group/your topic/the subject? What causesconflict in your group?Ring: Do all your group members show commitment tothe project? How do you show your group that you arecommitted to your group/project? Since the start ofthis project, how has your perception of a secondadditional subject changed? Why?Pinky: What makes you feel vulnerable? Do you haveideas on how to deal with it? What help do you need?
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Year 8 Sesotho African Language Project draft 2 - Eunice High School

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