Training guide

View

4. Using TESSA resources

4.2. The TESSA Curriculum Guide

The TESSA Curriculum Guide cover

The TESSA Curriculum Guide (left) will help you make links between the Zambian Revised School Curriculum and the TESSA modules. It was prepared by a team led by The Open University UK, which included officials from CDC, working with teachers and College Tutors. The pages are colour coded according to subject (e.g. yellow for Literacy).

In the picture below you can see one page of the curriculum guide. There is one page per TESSA module, so there are a total of 15 pages.





TESSA Zambia Literacy Module Areas

  • Yellow indicates Literacy.
    • What colour are the other subjects?
  • Each page represents one TESSA module (or pdf).
    • This page for example is TESSA Module 1: Reading and writing for a range of purposes
  • Each row summarises one section of the TESSA module. There are 5 section in each module (first column of the left)
    • For example Section 1 is ‘Supporting and assessing reading and writing’
  • The middle column (Topics and teaching approaches), summarise the content of each section
    • What is section 4 ‘Ways of presenting your point of view’ about?
  • The last column on the right shows the ‘Links to the revised Zambian curriculum’. The first number tells you the grade, the second number the topic and the third number the section within that topic.
    • For example in TESSA section 1, teachers from grades 3, 4, 5 and 6 can find ideas to support the curriculum for English language. And teachers in grades 5, 6 and 7 can find suggestions for teaching Zambian languages.

Example 4.2: Using the TESSA Curriculum Guide

Florence is a Grade 4 Literacy teacher. Next week she will focus on Topic 2: Reading. She looks for references to the Zambian Revised School Curriculum (column 3 on the right-hand side) which start with the number ‘4’. She found that Sections, 1, 2, 3 and 4 from Literacy Module 1 might be helpful, but that Section 2 and Section 3 have specific reference to ‘4.2’. Section 2 mentions ‘4.2.1 intensive reading’ and Section 3 mentions ‘4.2.2 Reading aloud’:

  • Section 1 – 4.1.6 poetry
  • Section 2 – 4.2 intensive reading, 4.3 guided composition, 4.4 parts of speech
  • Section 3 – 4.2 reading aloud, and 4.3 summary and handwriting
  • Section 4 – 4.3.6 sentence construction

This means that if she looks at Sections 2 and 3 of Literacy Module 1, she will find something that will help her to actively involve her learners in her lessons next week.

She also noticed that Section 5 is mainly suitable for Grade 7 but she had a look as she thought she might find something to help with informal writing.

Activity 4.7: Using the TESSA Curriculum Guide

Fred is a social studies teacher. Next week he is teaching Grade 5. They will be doing Topic ‘5.1 Living in the community’. Which TESSA sections would be helpful for him?

Martha is a science teacher. Next week she will be teaching Grade 3. They will be doing Topic ‘3.4 Plants and animals’. Which TESSA sections would be helpful for her?

Remember, as well as looking at the main subject, it is always worth looking at the Life Skills Modules, especially for younger children as they have lots of ideas about how to teach skills and values.

Chewe's notebookIn the next few weeks, use the TESSA Resources to help you plan lessons which link the teaching approaches together to make a lesson which actively engages learners. 

Chewe spent some time in the staff room using the Raspberry Pi to look at TESSA Resources on her phone.  She made some notes in her Teacher Notebook, and downloaded the relevant TESSA Sections on to her phone. Notice how she is planning ahead by making a note to collect resources that she will need.