Sesotho First Additional Language - Term 3 - Week 8

Phonics is the relationship between sounds and their spellings. In Sesotho, understanding phonics helps us read and write better. Today, we will focus on the sounds of letters and how they combine to form words. We will also look at how to use these words in sentences.

Let’s take the sounds 'm', 'a', and 't'. When we combine these sounds, we can form the word 'mat'. Now, let’s try another example. If we take 's', 'e', and 't', we can create the word 'set'. Notice how changing the first sound changes the word completely.

Now, let’s work together to create sentences. I will give you a word, and you will help me form a sentence. For example, if I say 'ntja' (dog), we can say 'Ntja e ntse e bapala' (The dog is playing). Let’s try with the word 'moholo' (big). What sentence can we create?

For your independent practice, I want you to choose five phonetic sounds from our lesson today. Build words from these sounds and then write a sentence for each word. Remember to use correct punctuation and spacing. Once you finish, share your sentences with a partner.

• kat
• mat
• bat
• pat

Answer: kat

The correct word is 'kat', which means 'cat' in Sesotho.

• Ntja e ja.
• Ja e ntja.
• E ja ntja.
• Ntja ja.

Answer: Ntja e ja.

The sentence 'Ntja e ja.' means 'The dog eats.' and is grammatically correct.

Answer: supa

The word 'supa' means 'to point' and starts with the sound 's'.

• small
• big
• fast
• slow

Answer: big

'Moholo' translates to 'big' in English.

Answer: Ntja e le monate.

The sentence means 'The dog is nice.' and uses correct structure.

• m
• b
• t
• k

Answer: b

'B' represents the sound 'b' as in 'bat'.

• .
• ,
• !
• ?

Answer: .

A period (.) is used to indicate the end of a declarative sentence.

Answer: koloi, bolo

Both 'koloi' (car) and 'bolo' (ball) rhyme with 'moholo'.