TMS3715
ASSIGNMENT 4 2025
DUE 21 JULY 2025
,TMS3715
ASSIGNMENT 4 2025
DUE: 21 JULY 2025
Question 1 – Teaching Reading and Viewing according to the Process-Based
Approach - 50 marks
Read the following scenario and then answer the questions that follow:
In a Grade 11 Home Language class at Khanyisa High School, learners are about to
start a new reading unit focusing on a contemporary South African novel titled Shades of
the Rainbow. The teacher, Mr Dlamini, has introduced his class to the process- based
approach to reading, which emphasises pre-reading, during-reading, and post- reading
activities. The novel deals with identity, cultural diversity and the challenges many
young people in modern-day South Africa face.
1.1 Explain schema theory to reading and discuss how it supports
the comprehension of a novel such as Shades of the Rainbow, which explores
identity, cultural diversity and the challenges many young people face. (12 marks)
Schema theory holds that readers arrive at a text with schemata organized networks of
prior knowledge and experiences. As they read, learners match new information to
these schemata, fill gaps, and build new connections. In this way, understanding arises
not just from decoding words but from linking the text to what is already known
(Ma, 2021).
Activating Schemata in Reading
Before reading, teachers can help learners activate relevant schemata by discussing
themes such as identity, cultural differences, and youth challenges. While reading,
learners continually search the text for clues that fit or extend their existing schemata.
After reading, they revise or expand their schemata to include new insights (Ma, 2021).
Application to Shades of the Rainbow
, Cultural Diversity and Identit
Learners who have personal experience or background knowledge of South Africa’s
cultural mix bring rich schemata to the story. They understand character conflicts more
easily because they “see” the cultural signals in names, settings, or dialogue
(Suraprajit, 2019).
Predicting and Inferencing
When characters face identity struggles, readers use their own beliefs or prior lessons
about self‑image to predict what might happen next. These top‑down predictions guide
comprehension and keep readers engaged (Suraprajit, 2019).
Connecting Challenges to Context
Themes of poverty, peer pressure, or family expectations resonate with learners’ lived
experiences. By linking narrative events to real‑world schemata, learners make deeper
meaning of plot developments.
Building New Schemata
As the novel reveals fresh perspectives perhaps on contemporary youth activism or
urban life, learners form new mental structures. These enriched schemata then support
understanding of future texts with similar themes (Ma, 2021).
Interactive Model: Bottom‑Up Meets Top‑Down
Though learners decode individual words and sentences (bottom‑up), they
simultaneously apply their schemata to interpret meaning (top‑down). This interactive
process ensures that readers do not just pronounce words but understand them within a
meaningful context (Rumelhart, 2022). For example, encountering a culturally specific
idiom in the text prompts learners to draw on cultural schemata to grasp its sense rather
than decoding each word literally.
ASSIGNMENT 4 2025
DUE 21 JULY 2025
,TMS3715
ASSIGNMENT 4 2025
DUE: 21 JULY 2025
Question 1 – Teaching Reading and Viewing according to the Process-Based
Approach - 50 marks
Read the following scenario and then answer the questions that follow:
In a Grade 11 Home Language class at Khanyisa High School, learners are about to
start a new reading unit focusing on a contemporary South African novel titled Shades of
the Rainbow. The teacher, Mr Dlamini, has introduced his class to the process- based
approach to reading, which emphasises pre-reading, during-reading, and post- reading
activities. The novel deals with identity, cultural diversity and the challenges many
young people in modern-day South Africa face.
1.1 Explain schema theory to reading and discuss how it supports
the comprehension of a novel such as Shades of the Rainbow, which explores
identity, cultural diversity and the challenges many young people face. (12 marks)
Schema theory holds that readers arrive at a text with schemata organized networks of
prior knowledge and experiences. As they read, learners match new information to
these schemata, fill gaps, and build new connections. In this way, understanding arises
not just from decoding words but from linking the text to what is already known
(Ma, 2021).
Activating Schemata in Reading
Before reading, teachers can help learners activate relevant schemata by discussing
themes such as identity, cultural differences, and youth challenges. While reading,
learners continually search the text for clues that fit or extend their existing schemata.
After reading, they revise or expand their schemata to include new insights (Ma, 2021).
Application to Shades of the Rainbow
, Cultural Diversity and Identit
Learners who have personal experience or background knowledge of South Africa’s
cultural mix bring rich schemata to the story. They understand character conflicts more
easily because they “see” the cultural signals in names, settings, or dialogue
(Suraprajit, 2019).
Predicting and Inferencing
When characters face identity struggles, readers use their own beliefs or prior lessons
about self‑image to predict what might happen next. These top‑down predictions guide
comprehension and keep readers engaged (Suraprajit, 2019).
Connecting Challenges to Context
Themes of poverty, peer pressure, or family expectations resonate with learners’ lived
experiences. By linking narrative events to real‑world schemata, learners make deeper
meaning of plot developments.
Building New Schemata
As the novel reveals fresh perspectives perhaps on contemporary youth activism or
urban life, learners form new mental structures. These enriched schemata then support
understanding of future texts with similar themes (Ma, 2021).
Interactive Model: Bottom‑Up Meets Top‑Down
Though learners decode individual words and sentences (bottom‑up), they
simultaneously apply their schemata to interpret meaning (top‑down). This interactive
process ensures that readers do not just pronounce words but understand them within a
meaningful context (Rumelhart, 2022). For example, encountering a culturally specific
idiom in the text prompts learners to draw on cultural schemata to grasp its sense rather
than decoding each word literally.
