Introduction.
For this assignment, I have chosen to do my assessment on Literacy – Home Language. The skills to be focused on will be “Listening and Speaking”, and the grade that I have chosen is Grade 3. In grade 3, the learners are required to “make an oral presentation” as part of their outcomes. For my assessment, I have chosen to do an Oral Presentation using Formative Assessment strategy.
This assignment will cover what the Oral Presentation entails, the memorandum as well as the rubric. The reason for using Formative Assessment will also be explained, and Learning Support Programmes will be discussed.
All about me oral presentation.
You are required to do an oral presentation all about yourself. You must be prepared to stand in front of the class and talk for no longer than 3 minutes.
Topics you need to talk about:
1. Where were you born and on what date?
2. Who is your family?
3. What is your favourite food you love to eat and why?
4. What do you love doing the most?
5. What is your favourite subject at school and why?
6. If you could be anything one day when you are older, what would it be? Explain.
You will need to bring visual-aids to assist you with your oral presentation. You could bring eg. photographs, drawings, toys or anything else that is part of your oral presentation.
Your oral presentation needs to be ready by the: 4 March 2011.
Have fun! 
Memorandum
Where were you born and on what date?
Learner gave a reasonable explanation to where they were born eg. Umhlanga Hospital. Learner was able to say their birth date in full and not eg. 05-02-05, or “five February”.
*Learner had visual aids to support answer, eg. Birth Certificate.
Who is your family?
Learner could talk fluently about their family members, and went beyond the question. Learner did not include eg. pets as member of family.
*Learner had visual aids to support answer, eg. photographs.
What is your favourite food you love to eat and why?
Learner gave a substantial answer to their choice of their favourite food and could give reasons why it is their favourite food, and not say eg. “because it tastes nice.”
*Learner had visual aids to support answer, eg. pictures or samples.
What do you love doing the most?
Learner gave a valid response to what they love doing the most, their hobbies.
*Learner had visual aids to support answer, eg. pictures or toy.
What is your favourite subject at school and why?
Learner was able to give their favourite subject at school and could give a variety of reasons as to why.
Eg. Literacy. Reason: I love being able to read stories and being able to write my own stories.
*Learner had visual aids to support answer, eg. story book.
If you could be anything one day when you are older, what would it be? Explain.
Learners were able to think outside the box, and were able to answer the question creatively while giving a clear explanation as to why.
*Learner had visual aids to support answer, eg. Fireman helmet.
Mark allocation:
*Introduction and conclusion= 5marks
*Time allocation= 5marks
*Content= 10marks.
Total of 20/40 [counts 50% of presentation]
Rubric- Mark Structure.
1= Not Achieved.
2= Partial Achievement.
3=Satisfactory Achievement.
4= Excellent Achievement.
TOTAL
1. Tone and Expression, with Body Language.
Very soft, lacks self-esteem.
Minimal eye-contact.
Tries to be expressive, uses eye-contact some of the time.
Conscious of tone and expression. Uses body language and eye-contact.
Expressive speaker, uses body language and eye-contact appropriately.
2. Logical Sequencing.
No sequence cannot follow learner.
Some points out of order.
Presented logically.
Sequence of events followed in an interesting, logical way.
3. Descriptive Language.
Use of descriptive language was not achieved.
Tries to use descriptive language.
Conscious of language and vocab. used.
Uses language and vocab. that is interesting and appropriate.
4. Creativity Process.
Use of creative thinking process lacked.
Partial use of creative thinking process.
Satisfactory use of creative thinking process.
Excellent use of creative thinking process, and answering of open-ended questions.
5. Use of Visual Aids.
No visual aids present.
Brought visual aids, but were not used.
Satisfactory use of visual aids, supports presentations.
Excellent use of visual-aids. Explained and were used appropriately.
6. Factual Information Given.
Irrelevant information given, not prepared.
Knowledge of information lacks understanding.
Full knowledge and understanding of information given. Good presentation.
Full knowledge and understanding of information given. Excellent presentation.
[* x5 as per memorandum states, 50% of the oral for factual info.]
Choice of assessment.
“Formative assessment is developmental. It is used by teachers to provide feedback to the learner and track whether the learner has progressed (or not).”
[South Africa s.a:9] During formative assessment, the learner is aware that he/she is being assessed. “Formative assessment is also known as ‘assessment for learning.'” [South Africa s.a:9].
The reason why I chose formative assessment is simply because it allows for feedback (positive) to be given to learners after the assessment to allow for improvement. The Centre for Educational Research and Innovation stated that formative assessment also allows for the use of different approaches to identify the learners understanding, eg. the use of visual aids in my assessment. It also said that formative assessment is also used to improve the learners understanding and progress. [Centre 2005:45-46]

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The CAPS document stated that “specific attention needs to be given to listening and speaking skills throughout the Foundation Phase.” [South Africa 2010:8] Therefore, I did my assessment based on an Oral assessment, as Oral assessments are important and are often over-looked. Oral assessments will prepare the learners for their futures as well as boost their self-esteem. With the use of Formative assessment, I will be able to monitor the learner’s progress as well as they will be able to monitor their own progress. I will be able to keep record of the learner’s performance and assist them according to their individual needs.
Feedback.
28 learners in my class took part in the oral presentation assessment. Out of the 28 learners, 6 of the learners fared poorly, where 10 of the learners could have performed better. These 16 learners need the extra support that the Learning support programmes will provide for them. The remaining 12 learners fared excellently and will take part in the accelerated learner programme.
Learning Support Programme.
“[Learners] who experience difficulties in basic areas of learning are supported through the Learning [Support] Program in their local school.” [Student support programmes 2010]
The 26 learners who need the extra support from the assessment, are the learners who are less comfortable talking in front of others (shy learners), learners who spoke without expression or without the use of body language. The learners also battled with using descriptive language to bring their oral presentation to ‘life’.
The first learning support program will be focusing on breathing.
The breathing activity that we will be doing is called “The Elephant Walk” [Breathing strategies for kids 2011]. The activity is helpful to assist the learners with relaxation, and allow them to feel less tensed when doing another oral presentation, or just generally speaking in front of groups of people.
For this activity the learners have to pretend to be big elephants. They have to bend their legs, lower their heads, relax their shoulders and have their arms dangling loosely next to their sides. They will need to imagine and act as an elephant walking slowing, swaying their arms side to side. The next step is to get the learners to inhale as much air in as they can. They will then be shown how to blow the air out slowly. [Breathing strategies for kids 2011].
This activity will not only help the learners to relax, but will also teach them to breathe out long and slow which is helpful for their presentations.
The next support programme will be role-plays. The outcome for this activity will be to develop the learner’s confidence and self-esteem while talking in front of people.
For the role-plays, the 16 learners will be divided into 4 groups of 4. The 4 groups will be given a certain story to act out, eg. Goldie-Locks and the Three Bears. This story will be divided into 4 sections, and each group will be given a section to work on and act out. Splitting one-whole story into the sections will allow the learners to gain knowledge of logical sequencing, as they must perform the story in the correct sequence.
The use of role-plays has many beneficial uses, and will support the learners. The role-plays focus on developing self-esteem, as they will be working together in groups, and will be in character which aids in their self-confidence. It will also allow them to be conscious of body movements- which is where most of the learners fared poorly on as well as maintaining eye-contact.
It will teach the learners to express themselves using descriptive language. Role-plays are also used to “facilitate coherence of speech and awareness for the use of suitable vocal techniques, [as well as] to build self-esteem and improve presentational skills.” [Speech and drama s.a]
The learners will be given the opportunity to practice the role-plays in class, and will be allowed to dress up accordingly. The groups will then need to perform in front of the class, but in the correct sequence allowing the story to flow in a logical way.
These 2 learning support programmes will boost these 16 learners to improve in their speaking and presentation skills. They will acquire important skills while being involved in these programmes, and they will be done in a relaxed, fun atmosphere, where learners learn best!
Accelerated learning programmes.
Accelerated programmes are programmes developed for learners who fair excellently in their assessment. These programmes allow learners to further develop and enhance their strengths, and allows them to reach their maximum potential.
The 12 learners who fared excellently in their oral assessment, are the learners who spoke with expression and used body language appropriately. They were able to use descriptive language while maintaining and logical flow of information during their presentation.
The first accelerated programme these learners will do will be focused on doing creative orals.
The learners will each be given laminated pictures where they will be required to make-up a story using the pictures. [ Lance 1996:10] This activity will encourage the creative process of the learners, and they will be stimulated to use descriptive language while telling their story. They must also ensure that the story is told in a logical sequence and that it flows creatively.
The learners will then get a chance to tell their story to the other learners in the other learning programme. This will enhance the use of tone and body-language, as they will be talking in smaller groups, but will still be required to maintain expression while talking. The learners must also be open to questions regarding their stories, which allows critical creative thinking process to be activated. The learners will be given time in class to prepare their stories while the other groups practice their role-plays.
Another activity that these learners will be required to do is doing general knowledge orals. This entails that each learner will be given a day in the week, where they will be required to research and come-up with an interesting fact, or general knowledge to share with the class. It must be age-appropriate, and the learners must be able to lend themselves to all areas, eg. wild-life facts, scientific fact or basic general knowledge facts.
This activity is a great activity to stimulate descriptive language as learners must be able to speak in such a way as to get the attention of all learners. They will get a chance in the beginning of the day to present their findings, and use visual-aids, eg. pictures or newspaper clippings, to stimulate their presentation.
This will benefit the learner as they are able to speak in front of the class, practice their tone and use of expression again and enhance their strengths while talking about a variety of different topics. They will be required to talk in a logical way that is easy for the other learners to follow. It will be a brief presentation, no longer than 2 minutes, which will assist the learners to talk within a given time-frames as well as give the most important facts first.
These advanced learning programmes will enhance the 12 learners who fared excellently in their oral presentations. It will not only give them another opportunity to speak in front of others, but it will allow them to be extended and to use their creative thinking skills. This programme will strengthen the learner’s skills and improve their overall speaking and presentation skills.
Conclusion.
This assignment covered many aspects of assessment and it shows that learning does not stop after an assessment is given, but it is a continual process. Programmes must be incorporated to assist learners who fared poorly as well as the learners who fared excellently. From reading this assignment, you would have seen why I chose to do an Oral presentation as my assessment and use the formative assessment strategy.