Life Orientation is one of the subjects that grade 12 students must learn and master. In fact, it is central to their holistic development. Particularly, it addresses skills, knowledge, and values for their personal, social, intellectual, emotional, and physical growth.
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Furthermore, the subject concerns the way in which the aforementioned facets are interrelated. Specifically, Life Orientation guides and prepares learners for life and its possibilities and equips them for meaningful and successful living in a rapidly changing and transforming society.
Unfortunately, this is a relatively complex subject. In fact, many students openly admit that they have difficulty absorbing the lectures they receive in class. For that purpose, we have listed some of the keynotes from Life Orientation for Grade 12 below. You can use this summary to hone your understanding before the exam.
All right, prepare a notebook and your stationery. Let’s start learning from the very bottom line: how your performance will be assessed in this class.
Life Orientation Assessment for Grade 12
In Life Orientation, all assessments are internal and make up 100% of the final mark for promotion and certification. In Grade 12, sixty minutes per week (30 hours in total, i.e. 50% of contact time) should be dedicated to Learning Outcome 3 (Recreation and Physical Well-being). Then, the remaining 30 hours should be split among Learning Outcomes 1, 2, and 4.
As the focus of the Life Orientation curriculum falls strongly on the application of knowledge, the approach to assessment needs to be more practical where learners develop through experience, inquiry, and performance the life skills and values necessary for living in a democratic and changing South African society.
In tasks that are practical in nature, especially the movement activities in Physical Education, learners need to be assessed while participating in and performing the skill. Therefore, teachers will have to observe learners and assess performance against the criteria set for such tasks. Learner progress in Life Orientation is monitored throughout the school year.
Types of Tasks Included in the Life Orientation Grade 12 Exam
There are many different forms of assessment tasks. These include:
- Assignments
- Case Studies
- Debates
- Demonstrations
- Design and Make
- Exhibitions
- Interviews
- Investigations
- Presentations
- Projects
- Research
- Role-Plays
- Simulations
- Tests
- Written reports
In fact, teachers may incorporate as many of the above in the informal daily activities. However, in this guideline, we list only the most frequently used ones. For instance, these include:
1. Research Assignment
What does a research assignment entail? The research involves a literature review of various sources. Next, the complete written component is assessed as a research report.
In the example below, you will be asked to answer four questions regarding job opportunities.
When writing your report includes the following:
- Cover page – It should cover your topic and name. Also, you can include an appropriate picture, illustration, or photograph relevant to the topic.
- Table of contents
- Topic
- Purpose
- Introduction – Describe what the report was all about.
- Findings – Your findings should be a minimum of 2 to 5 paragraphs, and the body of the report should answer the questions set on the topic.
- Recommendation – Make recommendations on the issue.
- Conclusion – Summarizes all your findings and gives your own conclusion.
- Acknowledgments – Address anyone who had been part of the process of being a helping hand in the research.
- Bibliography – Add a list of literature and other media sources that you referred to and included in your report.
Research Assignment Task Sample
2. Test
Types of assignments in the form of tests on the Life Orientation Grade 12 exam are composed of three cognitive levels and weightings, for example:
- 40% Level 1 Questions (Section A) – Lower order questions, e.g. what, why, and who.
- 30% Level 2 Questions (Section B) – Middle-order questions, e.g. discuss, explain, and describe.
- 30% Level 3 Questions (Section C) – Higher-order questions, e.g. evaluate, synthesize, critically evaluate, and examine.
The following is a description of the characteristics of each level of the questions above.
Section A (Multiple Choice, Case Study, or Source-Based Questions)
- This section incorporates all the lower-order questions.
- These questions test factual knowledge.
- Questions vary from simple to complex and cater to the different levels of learners.
- You will have to read, understand, interpret, and apply what is illustrated.
- The questions involve information that is current, up-to-date, age-appropriate, learner-friendly, and culturally sensitive. You must be able to relate to the case.
Section B (Short Open-Ended Questions)
- The test includes yes/no questions that ask the learner’s reason or motivation.
- Marking is subjective and teachers will evaluate your ability to handle, respond, react, or cope with real-life situations.
Section C (Scenario or Cartoon Questions)
- Identify the subject and explain the situation.
- Explain the caption in the event of there being one.
- Describe the possible stereotypes that are being portrayed.
- Explain the use and function.
Test Task Sample
3. Investigation
What is an investigation task in the exam of Life Orientation Grade 12?
Actually, there are different types of research. For example, one could research the causes of motor accidents by analyzing the literature on accidents. Or, another example of research is conducting an experiment on the effects of smoking on people or conducting a case study of a person who smokes about twenty cigarettes a day.
In other words, an investigation is a type of research that attempts to find out the truth about or cause of something, such as the effects of pollution in the local community, the prevalence of crime in the area.
Thus, an investigation is a systematic search or examination to discover truths, facts, opinions, etc.
In particular, when writing your report on this task, you must include the following:
- Cover page
- Table of contents
- Topic
- Purpose
- Introduction
- Findings
- Recommendations
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgments
- Bibliography
Investigation Task Sample
4. Physical Education
The Physical Education Task (PET) of Life Orientation constitutes the fifth task and is administered across three school terms in Grade 12. Therefore, learner participation and performance in the PET is assessed and reported on in each term.
Then, the marks obtained per learner per term are added up to give a total mark out of 100 for the PET at the end of the year. The mark allocation for the PET (Task 5) is 25% of the total mark out of 400 for Life Orientation, i.e. 100 marks.
The Physical Education Task focuses solely on the Physical Education component (Learning Outcome 3) which comprises three different movement sections:
- Fitness
- Games and Sport
- Recreation
Then, you have to participate in a Physical Education period once a week which is timetabled to take place in a fixed period labeled Physical Education on the school timetable. The activities that you engage in cover the physical activities relevant to the three-movement sections.
Generally, the activities presented in a period should be practical in nature where you engage in and perform movement activities.
Specifically, your performance in the PET is assessed on an ongoing basis during participation and the mark awarded is adjusted accordingly as you show progress in the different movement skills and activities.
Physical Education Task Sample
