TMN3702 Assignment 3
(COMPLETE ANSWERS)
2025 - DUE 31 July 2025
For assistance contact
Email:
, QUESTION 1: TEACHING READING AND VIEWING
1.1 Explain the difference between bottom-up and top-down approaches to reading. (3)
Bottom-up Approach: This approach emphasizes that reading begins with the smallest
units of language and progresses upwards to meaning. Readers start by recognizing
individual letters, then blend these letters into sounds (phonemes), combine sounds into
words, and finally combine words into sentences and derive meaning. It's a decoding-first
approach, where accurate identification of letters and words is seen as the foundation for
comprehension. (1.5 marks)
Top-down Approach: This approach suggests that reading starts with the reader's prior
knowledge, context, and expectations, which influence how they perceive and understand
the text. Readers use their existing knowledge of the world, vocabulary, syntax, and the
topic to make predictions about what they are reading. They focus on deriving overall
meaning first, and then use that meaning to help decode unfamiliar words. It's a
comprehension-first approach, where background knowledge is paramount. (1.5 marks)
1.2 Provide one example of each approach that could be used in a Grade 4 English Home
Language classroom. (2)
Bottom-up Example: A teacher explicitly teaching the phonics rule for long 'a' vowel
teams (e.g., 'ai' in "rain," 'ay' in "play"). Learners practice sounding out words like "train,"
"snail," "day," "way" by focusing on the individual letter sounds and blending them. (1
mark)
Top-down Example: Before reading a story about a visit to a wildlife park, the teacher
asks learners to share what they already know about wild animals or parks they've visited.
They discuss vocabulary related to animals, habitats, and activities in a park,
brainstorming predictions about what might happen in the story. (1 mark)
1.3 You are a Grade 4 English Home Language teacher in a South African multilingual
classroom. You are preparing to teach a reading lesson using a short story. Design a
teaching activity that demonstrates how you would implement pre-reading, while-reading,
and post-reading teaching strategies to support your learners’ reading comprehension.
Provide evidence of the short story to be read. (Paste, share link, or retype)
Short Story Evidence:
(For the purpose of this answer, I will use a simplified, public domain version of a well-known
fable. In your actual answer, you would paste the story directly or provide a link.)
The Lion and the Mouse
Once upon a time, a mighty Lion was sleeping in the forest. A tiny Mouse accidentally ran over
his face, waking the Lion. The Lion roared loudly and was about to crush the Mouse with his
huge paw.
(COMPLETE ANSWERS)
2025 - DUE 31 July 2025
For assistance contact
Email:
, QUESTION 1: TEACHING READING AND VIEWING
1.1 Explain the difference between bottom-up and top-down approaches to reading. (3)
Bottom-up Approach: This approach emphasizes that reading begins with the smallest
units of language and progresses upwards to meaning. Readers start by recognizing
individual letters, then blend these letters into sounds (phonemes), combine sounds into
words, and finally combine words into sentences and derive meaning. It's a decoding-first
approach, where accurate identification of letters and words is seen as the foundation for
comprehension. (1.5 marks)
Top-down Approach: This approach suggests that reading starts with the reader's prior
knowledge, context, and expectations, which influence how they perceive and understand
the text. Readers use their existing knowledge of the world, vocabulary, syntax, and the
topic to make predictions about what they are reading. They focus on deriving overall
meaning first, and then use that meaning to help decode unfamiliar words. It's a
comprehension-first approach, where background knowledge is paramount. (1.5 marks)
1.2 Provide one example of each approach that could be used in a Grade 4 English Home
Language classroom. (2)
Bottom-up Example: A teacher explicitly teaching the phonics rule for long 'a' vowel
teams (e.g., 'ai' in "rain," 'ay' in "play"). Learners practice sounding out words like "train,"
"snail," "day," "way" by focusing on the individual letter sounds and blending them. (1
mark)
Top-down Example: Before reading a story about a visit to a wildlife park, the teacher
asks learners to share what they already know about wild animals or parks they've visited.
They discuss vocabulary related to animals, habitats, and activities in a park,
brainstorming predictions about what might happen in the story. (1 mark)
1.3 You are a Grade 4 English Home Language teacher in a South African multilingual
classroom. You are preparing to teach a reading lesson using a short story. Design a
teaching activity that demonstrates how you would implement pre-reading, while-reading,
and post-reading teaching strategies to support your learners’ reading comprehension.
Provide evidence of the short story to be read. (Paste, share link, or retype)
Short Story Evidence:
(For the purpose of this answer, I will use a simplified, public domain version of a well-known
fable. In your actual answer, you would paste the story directly or provide a link.)
The Lion and the Mouse
Once upon a time, a mighty Lion was sleeping in the forest. A tiny Mouse accidentally ran over
his face, waking the Lion. The Lion roared loudly and was about to crush the Mouse with his
huge paw.
