Riemvasmaak is a beautiful Afrikaans poem by Willie Adams that tells the story of a group of people who were forcibly removed from their land by the Apartheid government in 1975.  Even though the story of the people of Riemvasmaak started sadly, it has a happy ending as this community was one of the first to be relocated and today they[Read More…]

In the first few weeks of the term the Grade 9s have been learning about some Afrikaans contemporary artists like Karen Zoid, Francois van Coke and Arno Carstens.  They have enjoyed discovering how many SAMA awards our own Arno Carstens have won and that he lives in the Valley.  Some learners bumped into him and relayed their experiences with great[Read More…]

According to research, self and peer assessment are important aspects of ‘assessment for learning’ practice. Assessing their own work or that of others can help students to develop their understanding of the  Learning Outcomes and the Assessment Criteria. Research has shown that learners make more progress when they are actively involved in their own learning and assessment. This term students[Read More…]

The matrics are in the home stretch of their school career and the Prelim and Final Exams are looming. Most of their Afrikaans assessments for the portfolios are done, except the CAT assessments which consists of a blog, prepared speech and prepared reading. The theme for the Afrikaans CAT this year is, ” Afrikaans- ‘n taal vir vandag” in which[Read More…]

This past week the Grade 11’s had to present a prepared reading to the class, but at the IEB it is so much more than just reading! Choosing a suitable passage is easy.  Finding a passage where you can motivate why you chose it, makes it slightly more challenging.  Students have to be knowledgable about the content and the topic[Read More…]

The first theme for Term 2 in Grade 8 Afrikaans is animals. The kids loved the video clip of the donkey farmer who uses donkey milk to make skin products, ranging from anti-aging to eczema creams. They were charmed by the story in their comprehension test of the rescued donkey who had twin donkeys in Oudsthoorn. Their reading passage is[Read More…]

The Grade 11’s recently went to Michael Oak Waldorf School where they attended the Rocking the Future career expo. This expo is presented by ISASA to expose learners to Tertiary Institutions aside from UCT, UWC and Maties.  Colleges such as Vega, AFDA and Open Window offer creative and design courses. The Animation School attracted quite some interest and the soccer[Read More…]

It’s that time of the year when the Grade 10’s have to dig deep, get creative and write amazing stories.  Their brief is to write, illustrate and read a children’s book aimed at children aged 7 and younger.  The students were amazed at the quality of books done by previous Grade 10’s. The stories vary from lost children to healthy[Read More…]

It’s a new year and for the Grade 8’s, a new beginning. High school, and 45 minutes a day of  Afrikaans, may be daunting for many students.  The biggest fear I hear from the Grade 8’s is: “I am not good at Afrikaans,”  or “I really struggle to understand Afrikaans.” The good news is that this is a new beginning and a[Read More…]

Being an Afrikaans teacher in the Deep South is not always an easy job.  Unfortunately, it is not up there as one of the favourite subjects.  So, succeeding at teaching Afrikaans successfully starts with relationship.  When kids feel safe and loved, they learn better and in my case change their attitudes about “Die Taal”! My great reward comes when a[Read More…]