The Pre-School Educational Package was developed by Michelle Vinokur who is a highly qualified teacher. She has a Higher Diploma in Pre-Primary and Junior Primary Education, as well as, a B.Ed Honours in Learning Support. She has taught for 8 years and has assisted children with learning difficulties. She formulated this package to help teachers prepare lessons and assess the children. She was assisted by Head of Education at Wits, Lorraine Excel, as well as many therapists. The package offers guidelines for all learning areas; including expected standards for each age group. This is very useful when developing lesson plans and determining if the child is meeting the standards of his/her age. The package also provides an Assessment Booklet to keep track of the children's progress throughout the year. This booklet assists teachers to identify learning areas that needs to be focused on, to make referrals and write reports.
It is aimed at the following age groups::
The LEARNING Manual contains all the Learning Outcomes for all the areas of learning (according to the CAPS document): Life Orientation, Mathematics, Language, Technology, Art and Culture, Natural Science, Technology, and, Economic and Management Science. It covers the following age groups: 2-3 year olds (Playschool), 3-4 year olds (Junior Group), 4 -5 year olds (Senior Group) and 5 – 6 year olds (Grade R).
All the Learning Outcomes for all the learning areas are presented on one page for each age group. Using the Learning manual eliminates hours of preparing and planning as all the Learning Outcomes for all the Learning Areas are presented on an A3 page.
The Continuous Assessment booklet allows teachers to focus on a particular area of concern which all the children are still learning to master. It gives the children an opportunity to practice and improve that skill over a certain period of time. The teachers then re-assess the area of concern and observe if the children have mastered it or not
Teachers assess their entire class of children and use this section of the booklet to document information whilst the children participate in an activity targeting specific assessment criteria. The teacher can observe, assess and document the children’s skills and abilities using the assessment grid.
Once the Whole Class Assessment has been completed, teachers can then complete the Individual Assessment. This section gives teachers the opportunity to write a more detailed description of their observation of each child. The teacher can write how the child achieved. For example if the child excelled then what way is the child going to be extended or if the child struggled then should the child be monitored or sent for an assessment. This section can be used for report writing and parent interviews. It also becomes a legal document which should be stored in each individual child’s file.
The Continuous Assessment section allows teachers to focus on a particular area of concern which all the children are still learning to master. It gives the children an opportunity to practice and improve that skill over a certain period of time. The teachers then reassess the area of concern and observe if the children have mastered it or not.
Assessing the children should be done in a fun and enjoyable way. The Resource Pack provides a variety of games and activities which teachers can play with the children. Each game and activity is aimed at assessing specific assessment criteria. The goal of the Resource Booklet is to make learning and assessing fun for both teachers and children.
