, RDF2601
ASSIGNMENT 3
(PORTFOLIO) 2026
DUE 20 OCTOBER 2026
QUESTION 1: (25)
1.1. Natural materials are a strong Foundation Phase resource because they are freely available,
locally obtainable and “provide a variety of tactile and sensory experiences” that can make abstract
mathematical ideas concrete (RDF2601, 2020:42). Their main advantage is that they invite
manipulation: learners can touch, sort, count, compare, arrange and transform them, which
supports the movement from bodily experience to concrete objects and later to semi-concrete
representation (RDF2601, 2020:55). For example, stones can be used as counters when teaching
number concept, as the guide explains that even small stones collected outside can become the
resource through which learners grasp counting and number knowledge (RDF2601, 2020:35).
Leaves, seeds, sticks, corks and bottle tops can similarly be counted, matched to number symbols,
grouped into tens and ones, or used to explore one-to-one correspondence, addition and
subtraction (RDF2601, 2020:57–59). Because these objects are real rather than pictures or plastic
models, they can also connect mathematics to learners’ environments and prior experiences, which
is important when resources must be relevant, appealing and linked to learners’ real-life world
(RDF2601, 2020:12).
A second advantage is that natural materials are open-ended and multipurpose, so the same
collection can serve several CAPS focus areas. Learners can create repeating patterns with twigs,
leaves and stones; build geometric patterns using sticks, toothpicks or tongue depressors; and
construct two-dimensional shapes by placing sticks or beads along drawn lines (RDF2601,
2020:61–62). Sticks collected outdoors can also be used for larger outdoor construction of shapes,
while informal measurement can be taught by ordering sticks from longest to shortest or
measuring the length of an object using rocks, blocks, hands or feet (RDF2601, 2020:63–64). This
versatility encourages engagement because learners are not merely told a rule; they discover that a
triangle has three sides, that a pattern can be extended, or that ten sticks can be bundled to show
place value. Used well, such materials can develop logical thinking, problem-solving, fine motor
control and mathematical language simultaneously.
ASSIGNMENT 3
(PORTFOLIO) 2026
DUE 20 OCTOBER 2026
QUESTION 1: (25)
1.1. Natural materials are a strong Foundation Phase resource because they are freely available,
locally obtainable and “provide a variety of tactile and sensory experiences” that can make abstract
mathematical ideas concrete (RDF2601, 2020:42). Their main advantage is that they invite
manipulation: learners can touch, sort, count, compare, arrange and transform them, which
supports the movement from bodily experience to concrete objects and later to semi-concrete
representation (RDF2601, 2020:55). For example, stones can be used as counters when teaching
number concept, as the guide explains that even small stones collected outside can become the
resource through which learners grasp counting and number knowledge (RDF2601, 2020:35).
Leaves, seeds, sticks, corks and bottle tops can similarly be counted, matched to number symbols,
grouped into tens and ones, or used to explore one-to-one correspondence, addition and
subtraction (RDF2601, 2020:57–59). Because these objects are real rather than pictures or plastic
models, they can also connect mathematics to learners’ environments and prior experiences, which
is important when resources must be relevant, appealing and linked to learners’ real-life world
(RDF2601, 2020:12).
A second advantage is that natural materials are open-ended and multipurpose, so the same
collection can serve several CAPS focus areas. Learners can create repeating patterns with twigs,
leaves and stones; build geometric patterns using sticks, toothpicks or tongue depressors; and
construct two-dimensional shapes by placing sticks or beads along drawn lines (RDF2601,
2020:61–62). Sticks collected outdoors can also be used for larger outdoor construction of shapes,
while informal measurement can be taught by ordering sticks from longest to shortest or
measuring the length of an object using rocks, blocks, hands or feet (RDF2601, 2020:63–64). This
versatility encourages engagement because learners are not merely told a rule; they discover that a
triangle has three sides, that a pattern can be extended, or that ten sticks can be bundled to show
place value. Used well, such materials can develop logical thinking, problem-solving, fine motor
control and mathematical language simultaneously.
