Volunteer educator teacher Dianne presentation for working with local teachers at vulnerable child ( some of whom are orphans) care points in Swaziland

1. WORKING AT YOUR NCP

2. Your role in the classroom
• You are there to assist teacher in helping the children learn
• Don’t distract children but do help to make learning fun
• Use lots of praise and encouragement – help children learn but don’t
do it all for them!
• Encourage children to take the next step, not just repeat what they
already know
• Work with individuals or small groups as teacher directs – maybe an
age or ability group – don’t forget most able as well as those who
need extra help
• Take every opportunity to extend their learning

3. Working with young children
• Get down to their level – make eye contact
• Display all work at their eye level
• Speak new words slowly and clearly, and encourage them to repeat.
Look for ways to use new words regularly
• Repetition is important to build confidence
• Build on what children say to you
• Give them time to think – don’t jump straight in yourself
• Remove distractions (e.g. your camera!)
• Never have favourites – or don’t let them know you have!

4. How children learn – Skills you can help them
develop
• Children learn best through directed play
• Key skills to develop:
• Physical development
• Social and emotional development
• Language development – listening and speaking; reading and writing
• Intellectual development
• Mathematics
• Reading and writing
• Discovery - Understanding the world
• Arts

5. Activities you could try
• Play counting games
• Read stories
• Teach them songs (with actions if possible)
• Use small whiteboards to practise vocabulary
• Sequencing games – make it a race!
• Sound walks (phonics); also sense walks
• Lead role play activities
• Art activities

6. Our curriculum for the NCPs
• A topic for each week – so 36 topics in the year (3x12).
• Every week a coloured picture to go on the wall
• A teacher’s plan for the term with suggested activities to cover all key
skills and competencies which children of this age should be reaching.
The plan includes suggested activities for each topic and each area of
development, and encourages teachers to give each day a different
focus – language, maths, art, discovery and sport/fantasy.
• A termly workbook for each children, containing:
• Black and white copies of the pictures for colouring
• Maths and Language worksheets for each of the 12 topics (with progression
built in across the year)
• Each day children do at least one activity related to the topic, as well
as normal free play, morning songs/prayers etc.

7. Topic list
• Me
• My body
• My senses
• Domestic animals
• Plants and trees
• Fruit and vegetables
• Land transport
• Colours
• Big and small
• Loud and soft
• Days and months
• Games I play
• My family and friends
• My home
• My village
• Food we eat
• Farming
• Water
• Water transport
• Wild animals of Africa
• Heavy and light
• Seasons of the year
• Clothes
• Sport
• The reed dance
• My country
• Children from around
the world
• Air transport
• Insects and reptiles
• Time
• Jobs and money
• A healthy diet
• Day and night
• The weather
• Graduation
• Christmas