Life Skills
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Reg. No.: 2011/011959/07
Life Skills
Facilitator’s guide
Grade 1
CAPS aligned
H Erasmus
Introduction for the facilitator
Impaq’s approach to Life Skills in Grade 1
Life Skills play an important role in learners’ development. They learn how to interact socially, and they discover what they like and do not like. This helps to shape their personality. Physically and emotionally they are growing and exploring the world around them. The activities in the book have been developed to help them in these areas.
Teaching Life Skills in Grade 1 requires learning opportunities, interaction, creativity and applying acquired knowledge. All of which help learners to better understand people and their surroundings.
The subject is divided into four focus areas:
• Beginning knowledge
• Personal and social well-being
• Creative arts
• Physical education Beginning knowledge
The content and concepts of beginning knowledge comprise social sciences, natural sciences and technology. In this focus area, learners learn more about their environment, their individuality and diversity. They investigate different aspects of the world around them and discover wonderful things. They learn how relationships work, how to be interactive and communicate effectively.
Personal and social well-being
This focus area is very important for young learners. Here, they learn how to take care of their body and keep it healthy. It also includes healthy relationships with others and good values. Learners learn how to make responsible decisions by taking themselves, others and nature into consideration. More sensitive topics such as abuse and violence, are also touched on. Tolerance for other cultures, religious diversity and personal differences are discussed.
Creative arts
In this focus area, four different types of art are covered: dance, drama, music and visual arts. The aim is for learners to discover the world around them by using their imagination.
In these sessions, learners must be given the freedom to express their creativity. Provide materials to create something, without giving them an example. Allow them to experiment – the process can be more valuable than the result. If, for example, they mix different coloured paints to create new colours, but end up with a muddy brown, accept this as part of the process. The important thing is that they learnt which colours to mix to create a new colour, not the fact that they ended up with brown paint. Art is all about experimenting.
Let the learners use all their senses to explore and develop their creativity. Keep criticism to the minimum and always give constructive criticism.
Physical education
In the Foundation Phase, the development of learners’ fine and gross motor skills, as well as their powers of observation, are very important. This is done through play, movement, games and sport. Learners must maintain a good posture, which helps with rhythm, balance and laterality. The holistic development of the learner is very important.
Materials and resources
Grade 1 learners should write with a grey pencil so it is easy to erase mistakes. They can draw and colour pictures with any medium.
The lists below are not exhaustive, but cover what is required for most activities.
Material for creative arts
• A4 paper (white and different colours)
• A4 cardboard (white)
• A3 cardboard (white)
• Colour pencils/retractable crayons
• Wood glue, glue (such as Pritt) and Bostik Clear glue
• Playdough
• Paint (such as fabric paint)
• Watercolours
• Paintbrushes
• Old magazines
• Newspapers
• Chalk
• Cardboard boxes (such as cereal boxes)
• Oil pastels
• Plastic cups/polystyrene cups
Material for physical education
• Tennis balls
• Big balls (such as netball balls, big plastic balls)
• Soccer ball
• Hula hoops
• Skipping ropes
• Long ropes
• Cones
• Balancing beam
• Food colouring (different colours)
• Straws
• Cotton wool
• Old toothbrushes
• Wax crayons
• Split pins
• String or wool
• Koki pens
• Thick black marker
• Paper plates
• Empty toilet rolls
• Toothpicks
• Crêpe paper
• Prestik
• Empty bottles, cans, caps, polystyrene containers, etc.
• Beanbags
• Large containers
• Racket and ball (or tennis ball)
• Cricket bat
• Balloons
• Jungle gym
• Tyres
• Long elastic
• Whistle
How to use the material and resources
The Grade 1 package includes:
1. The facilitator’s guide
2. Workbook 1: Terms 1 and 2, weeks 1 – 20
3. Workbook 2: Terms 3 and 4, weeks 21 – 40
4. Learner aid (cut-out sheets)
5. Facilitator aid (posters)
6. Assessment (portfolio book)
7. Assessment guidelines and memorandum
Facilitators are encouraged to do assessment throughout the year, not only in the indicated formal assessment sessions at the end of each term. Continued assessment will ensure that learners obtain a fair mark for their skills.
Facilitator’s guide
This guide contains 20 units. Each unit is spread over two weeks and covers 10 days. Each day is divided into two or three sessions that cover different focus areas. Refer to the suggested timetable for the time allocation of the sessions.
Each session is concluded with two information boxes – ‘Conceptualisation’ and ‘Resources’. The conceptualisation box summarises the concepts that are embedded, while the resources box provides a list of items provided and/or required for the session.
і Indicates a provided resource. This includes the two workbooks, the learner aid and the posters (facilitator aid).
Æ Indicates a resource the facilitator must provide.
Two symbols are used in each session:
The owl indicates what the facilitator must do.
The pencil indicates what the learner must do.
Workbook 1: Terms 1 and 2
This workbook contains 68 activities covering:
• Term 1: Me, my school, healthy habits, the weather, religious days and other special days
• Term 2: My family, safety in the home, my body, keeping my body safe, religious days and other special days
Workbook 2: Terms 3 and 4
This workbook contains 68 activities covering:
• Term 3: My community, pets, manners and responsibilities, plants and seeds, food, religious days and other special days
• Term 4: Homes, picture maps, water, the sky at night, religious days and other special days
Sample
The facilitator aid refers to posters to be used during the lessons:
• Poster 1: Emotions
• Poster 2: Healthy habits
• Poster 3: The weather
• Poster 4: My community
• Poster 5: Pets
• Poster 6: Plants and seeds
• Poster 7: Fruit
• Poster 8: Vegetables
• Poster 9: Healthy and unhealthy food
• Poster 10: Different types of houses
The learner aid
The learner aid contains cut-out sheets required to complete the activities in the workbook or some of the creative arts activities.
Per week: 23 hours
Suggested timetable for Grade 1
Home Language (HL): 7/8 hours
First Additional Language (FAL): 2/3 hours
Mathematics: 7 hours
Life Skills (LS): 6 hours
07:50 – 08:05
–
Skills: Personal and Social Well-being and Beginning knowledge
min Life Skills: Personal and Social Well-being and Beginning knowledge 30 min 10:50 – 11:20
–
–
12:00 – 12:15
12:15 – 13:15
speaking 15 min
Learning unit 1
Day 1 Week 1
Session 1: Topic discussion – Me
Introduce each topic with an informal discussion. Guide the discussion with questions and encourage the learners to talk about their own experiences. It is important to build on their existing knowledge so they can get a more complete view of each topic. The topic table will also be used in this session. Learners participate by collecting items for the topic table.
Have an informal discussion with the learners about ‘me’. Start by teaching the rhyme to them and then recite it with them.
I’m
glad to be me
I look in the mirror and what do I see? I see the me no one else can be.
I am precious, I am glad to be me. My hair, my face, my personality.
My size, my shape, the colour of my skin. All make up me, outside and in.
Use these questions as a guideline:
Sample• What does it mean to be unique?
• What makes you unique?
• How old are you?
• Where do you live?
• Who is your best friend?
• What is your favourite … (food, sweets, colour, toy or game, crisps, sport, ice cream, television programme, etc.)?
• What is your name? (What do your friends call you?)
• What is your first name (if different)?
• What is your nickname? (What do your mom and dad call you?)
Study the topic table with the learners.
Topic table (The topic table is used throughout the unit.)
• ‘My body’ poster
◦ Go over the body parts and see whether the learners know the parts. They can repeat the body parts a few times. You can revise the body parts every day this week.
◦ Display the poster at the front of the classroom/room. It must remain there for the whole week, until it is time for the next topic. You can then move the poster and display the new topic’s poster at the front of the classroom.
• Learners can put their favourite toy on the topic table (if they are allowed to bring it to class, otherwise they can draw a picture of it).
Session 2: Physical exercise
Before each day’s physical education session, the learners must first play creative games to practise their skills. Make sure the learners’ muscles are warmed up before they do any activity.
Creative games and skills: Pretend to shake water off your body, play a piano, wash your body, use your toes to write your name in the air.
The learners play ‘poisonball’.
Rules
1. Mark off a large square ‘court’ on the grass in which all the learners are allowed to move around.
2. One learner stands outside the square with a soft ball. This learner must throw the ball and try to hit the players (the other learners) with the ball.
3. If someone is hit by the ball, they are out. They must then leave the court and join the learner to try and hit the remaining players with a ball.
4. The game continues until there is only one player left.
Sample
If there are many learners, the game can be adapted so that two learners are allowed to throw balls at players. As soon as a learner hits a player with the ball, the learner must sit out and the player who was hit must replace the learner.
If there are only one or two learners, family members can act as stand-ins for players. The game can also be adapted so that there is just one player who tries to stay on court as long as possible before being hit by the ball, thrown by the facilitator.
Day 2
Session 1: Topic discussion – Me
Discuss parts of the body (head, shoulders, arms, torso, legs, feet and hands) with the learners and pay special attention to the face (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hair, eyebrows and eyelashes). Teach the learners this song along with the movements – touch the relevant body parts as it is named.
Head, shoulders, knees and toes
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes, (x2) and eyes and ears and mouth and nose. Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes. (Repeat song x2)
Complete activity 1 in workbook 1. The learners complete their personal information.
Session 2: Creative arts
The learners use chalk to draw different parts of the body on the paving (bricks or cement). If there is no paving available, you can use adhesive tape to stick four sheets of A3 paper on the floor in the shape of a large square (one large square for each group). The learners can then use crayons to draw, instead of chalk.
• The learners work in groups. If there is only one learner, he/she works with the facilitator, but the learner must do most of the thinking and speaking.
• The learners study another learner’s eyes, mouth, finger and nose, in detail. They then draw an enlarged version of the body parts on the paving.
• They draw an eye – they must study the shape (it is not round, but oval), iris, pupil, eyelashes, eyebrows, etc.
• They draw an open mouth – with two lips, teeth, a tongue, etc.
• They draw a finger – notice the fine lines where the finger bends.
• They draw a nose – with two nostrils.
The learners can talk about the body parts they drew, for example, point at the eye and say it is an eye. They can also say what each body part is for (the verb that goes with the body part), for instance, we see with our eyes, smell with our nose, taste with our mouth, hear with our ears, feel/ touch with our fingers/hands, walk with our legs, etc.
Day 3
Session 1: Topic discussion – Me
The learners discuss their likes and dislikes. Provide examples such as, ‘I like ice cream’ and ‘I do not like to be ill’. The learners can either raise their hands, or you can ask them one by one to name one or two things they like and one or two things they do not like. They can name things such as food, colours, seasons, television programmes, characteristics – anything they like or do not like.
Complete activity 2 in workbook 1. The learners draw pictures of things they like and things they do not like. They must draw at least four things in each block.
Session 2: Physical exercise
Creative games and skills: Stretch as tall as a giant and make yourself as small as a mouse, jump up and down 10 times, pretend to climb a ladder, stalk your teacher’s feet.
Build an obstacle course for the learners. They must crawl under something and climb over something. They must also walk over a balance beam. The obstacle course must be safe.
Rules
Sample1. Learners complete the obstacle course as fast as possible.
2. If a learner falls off or does something incorrectly, they must start over.
3. The facilitator can use a stopwatch or a cell phone to time each learner on the obstacle course. The learner who completes the obstacle course in the fastest time without making mistakes, wins.
Day 4
Session 1: Topic discussion – Me
Discuss things the learners can and cannot do. For example, ‘I can throw and catch a ball, but I cannot cook food.’ Of all the things they named, discuss what will take a long time to learn and what they might be able to learn during this year.
The learners recite the poem, ‘I’m glad to be me’ from day 1.
Complete activity 3 in workbook 1. The learners circle everything they can do. They then draw a picture of something they can do and a picture of something they cannot do yet.
Session 2: Creative arts (part 1)
This project takes two sessions to complete (part 2 is on day 5).
• The learners paint their own face on a sheet of A3 cardboard.
• They include all their facial features – eyes, ears, nose, mouth, perhaps freckles – and talk about the colours of their facial features.
• They will use their painted face on day 5 when they build their body from a cardboard box.
Day 5
Sample
Session 1: Topic discussion – Me
Discuss the things you do on your birthday (for example, have a party with a birthday cake and birthday candles, gifts, decorations, birthday cards, etc.). Perhaps not all the learners have birthday parties. Talk about what they usually do on their birthday. The learners sing all the birthday songs they know, such as ‘Happy birthday to you’ and ‘For s/he’s a jolly good fellow’, and pretend to blow out birthday candles.
Complete activity 4 in workbook 1. The learners draw their own face in the picture (the person blowing out the candles) and draw the correct number of candles on the cake. They then colour the picture.
Session 2: Creative arts (part 2)
In this session, the learners make bodies for their faces (from day 2). The learners need cardboard boxes or anything else they can use to build their bodies. Alternatively, they can cut out body parts from cardboard to build a body.
• The learners use cardboard boxes to build their bodies – with a torso, arms, legs and head. They can paint the different body parts.
• They then paste the face they painted (in session 2 of day 4) onto the head.
Day 6
Week 2
Session 1: Topic discussion – Emotions
Have an informal discussion with the learners about emotions. They should already know basic emotions, such as happy, unhappy, cross and sad. Introduce more complex emotions, such as shy, scared, teasing, discouraged, jealous, excited, proud, downhearted, disappointed, etc.
Ask these questions:
• What makes you happy or glad?
• What makes you unhappy or cross?
• What makes you sad?
Give examples of situations and the learners must match an emotion to each one, for example:
• How do you feel when you play in the park?
• How do you feel when you are ill?
• How do you feel when your friend is nasty to you?
• How do you feel when you find out your grandparents/other family members are coming to visit?
Topic table
• ‘Emotions’ poster
• Discuss all the emotions on the poster. Have the learners experienced these emotions yet? They can share their experiences.
• Write the words ‘happy’ and ‘unhappy’ on separate sheets of paper and place it on the topic table. The learners cut out pictures in magazines and place it on the correct sheet of paper. They can also use objects they associate with these emotions, instead of pictures.
Session 2: Physical exercise
Creative games and skills: Roll a big ball to a friend, throw and catch a ball with a friend, practise skipping and galloping.
The learners play ‘Captain, may I?’ (Different from the traditional game.)
Rules
1. Lay two ropes (or something similar) on the ground parallel to each other, 20 metres apart.
2. All the learners stand behind the rope, except for the ‘captain’ who stands between the two ropes.
3. The group asks, “Captain, may we take a few steps forward?”
4. The captain can either say, “Yes, you may” or “No, you may not, but you may …” and they choose an action for the learners to perform. These actions can include things like skipping, jumping with their feet together, walking heel-and-toe, crawling, rolling, hopping on one leg, galloping, etc. The captain also performs this action while trying to catch the other learners before they reach the other rope. If the captain touches a learner, this learner joins the captain between the ropes.
5. The game continues until there is one learner left. The last learner left, wins.
Day 7
Session 1: Topic discussion – Emotions
Take a quick look at the ‘Emotions’ poster and the emotion charts in activity 5 once again, and revise the different emotions. The learners mimic the facial expression for each emotion.
Teach the learners this song, sung to the tune of ‘Twinkle, twinkle, little star’. They must express the emotions mentioned, for example, smile when they say the word ‘happy’.
Feelings
I have feelings, you do too. (point to yourself and then to the front) Let’s all sing about a few.
I am happy, I am sad, (smile on ‘happy’, frown on ‘sad’) I get scared, I get mad. (pretend to be scared and mad)
I am proud of being me. (pretend to look proud) That’s a feeling too, you see.
I have feelings, you do too. (point to yourself and to the front) We just sang about a few.
Complete activity 5 in workbook 1. Read out all the emotions and the learners circle the emotion that matches each face.
Memorandum
