Introduction to the Instructional Toolkit

(Electronic Version, December 2013)

Welcome to the electronic version of the Instructional Toolkit. You will notice that it is slightly different from the printed version, in that it provides more resources in the form of additional worksheets, Power Point presentations and photos. There are other additions to this toolkit. The following will outline the major changes.

New and/or Revised Learning Plans

Some learning plans and units have been updated since they were initially uploaded by the Ministry of Education in September 2013 at http://ow.ly/omBbE.

In some cases, learning plans have been slightly revised to provide more support for teachers. In other cases, new integrated as well as core skills learning plans have been included. These folders have been renamed with the word “revised” at the end of the folder name. Additionally, the words “revised” or “new lesson”, respectively have been added to the file names of the learning plans.

Some core skills lessons have also been added to Science, English Language Arts and Mathematics. Please check the Core Skills folders in the respective year levels for these lessons.

The English Language Arts Learning Units and Plans

This toolkit provides a number of sample English Language Arts learning plans. The electronic version of the toolkit contains all of the learning plans in the printed version. However, it also contains outlines of Learning Units which suggest further outcomes that teachers may use to create their own learning plans.

Happy exploration of the Instructional Toolkit!

Curriculum Development Division

December 2013

Introduction

Welcome to the Instructional Toolkit: a companion piece to the Curriculum Guide and Teachers’ Guide which have been developed to help you implement the National Primary School Curriculum of Trinidad and Tobago.

In order to maximise your students’ learning experiences, it is recommended that you familiarise yourself with all of the documents in the series. The key features of each document are outlined in the figure below:

Figure 1: The National Curriculum Documents

Using the Toolkit

This Instructional Toolkit comes in two forms: a printed version and a digital version found in an accompanying CD. The main feature of both versions of this toolkit is the collection of learning units, learning plans and other resources that have been developed to maximise learning in the classroom.

The Printed Version of the Toolkit

            The printed version of this toolkit is divided as follows:

Section 1: Integrated Learning Plans, which contains all of the integrated learning plans, arranged by year level and themes. Table 1 presents all of the themes arranged according to terms.

Section 2: Core Skills Learning Plans, which contains learning plans arranged according to subject as follows:

• Agricultural Science
• English Language Arts
• Mathematics
• Physical Education
• Science
• Social Studies
• Visual and Performing Arts (Dance, Drama, Music, Visual Arts)
• Values, Character and Citizenship Education (VCCE)

The Digital Version of the Toolkit

            The digital version of this toolkit contains more resources than the printed version since it contains not only learning units and learning plans (integrated and core skills), but also other resources not found in the printed version such as additional sample worksheets, observation checklists, photos and  Power Point Presentations. In most cases, worksheets and checklists appear immediately after the respective learning plans. The other resources appear in labelled folders.

The digital toolkit found on an accompanying CD is organised so that teachers can navigate through various folders. Figure 2 illustrates the organisation of the digital toolkit.

Table 1 also gives and overview of the themes that inspire the learning units and plans in a suggested sequence. Teachers are free to adjust this sequence to suit the needs of their students. It is hoped that this toolkit will provide many hours of exciting and enriching experiences for our nation’s children. Happy exploring!

                                                                                                     Table 1: Themes Distributed By Terms

Table 1: Themes Distributed By Term
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