Dear Learner Please note that although your formative assessment is online, you are still required to complete the Portfolio of Evidence (PoE) document below and to send it to Ukhanyiso Ebantwini NPC as part of the assessment process. There is an additional cost of R500 excluding VAT for the summative assessment. A facilitator will contact you after you have completed your online formative assessment. He or she will assist you in preparing for the summative assessment and go through this PoE with you. If there are any questions or concerns about the PoE or the summative assessment please contact info@educationaltraining.co.za Good luck! Warm regards The Ukhanyiso Ebantwini Team

The importance of children’s early literacy development cannot be overstated. Children’s success in school and later in life is to a great extent dependent upon their ability to read and write.

Literacy is a fundamental human right and the foundation for lifelong learning. It is fully essential to social and human development in its ability to transform lives. The uses of literacy for the exchange of knowledge are constantly evolving, along with advances in technology. Within the South African school curriculum literacy is regarded as a cognitive process that enables reading, writing and numeracy. In this module we will plan a literacy learning programme.

Historically, philosophers and theorists who have studied early childhood development have emphasized the importance of the physical environment in learning and development. Pestalozzi (Rusk & Scotland, 1979) and Froebel (1974) described real-life environments in which young children’s learning could flourish. Both discussed preparing manipulative materials that would foster literacy development. Montessori (1965) developed guidelines for creating a carefully prepared classroom environment that promotes independent learning and she recommended that every material in the environment have a specific learning objective. Piaget (Piaget & Inhelder, 1969) found that children acquire knowledge by interacting with the world or the environment. He suggested that ideal settings for young children to learn should involve real-life situations, and that children need materials with which to explore and experiment. Dewey (1966) believed in an interdisciplinary approach; in his view, learning takes place through the integration of content areas. He believed that storing materials in subject-area centers encouraged interest and learning.

Facilitating and learning with young children is a complex process embedded in relationships. These facilitating and learning relationships provide the scaffold for jointly constructing meanings about self, others, and the world. Early childhood professionals use their child development knowledge, their knowledge of developmentally appropriate practices, and their content knowledge to design, implement, and evaluate experiences that promote optimal development and learning for all children from birth - six (0-6) years. In addition, their use of observations is grounded in a thorough understanding of children’s families, cultures, and communities. Early childhood professionals encourage young children’s problem solving, critical thinking, and academic and social competence within a supportive and challenging learning environment. These challenging facilitating and learning experiences build children’s confidence in themselves as competent learners. At the centre of it all is the implementation of literacy learning programmes. This will be discussed in detail in this section.

Assessment is designed to discover what children know and understand, based on what they make, write, draw, say and do. Early childhood professionals should assess the progress of children’s learning and development, what children are ready to learn and how they can be supported. All children benefit when assessment reflects a whole-child approach, providing a holistic view of learning and development.

How does a practitioner know if the literacy learning programme met the requirements of the national curriculum or the needs of young children? This is where evaluation come into place. The effectiveness of the literacy learning programme should be evaluated. Evaluation allows practitioners to ascertain whether the required learning took place, that the learning methods utilised were appropriate and to assist with improving future activities and literacy learning programmes. This will be discussed in detail in this study unit.