learning styles
We can display and provide resources to support our learners:
• Vocabulary displays
• Alterna:ve word lists
• Picture dic:onaries and word banks
• Centres – Games / Audio sta:ons
How can you create a language rich environment in your own classroom? Can you coordinate with other subject teachers?
Learning
Environment
Vocabulary Displays
Break
CC Daniel Go, Tea Break, 2012, Flickr.com
Differen:ated Instruc:on in Ac:on Learning to read
Learning
Environment
Reading
Content
More able
Extended texts Addi:onal reading material
Authen:c
texts Different skills focus
Less able
Simplified
texts Different skills focus
Original text
Downie, M., Gray,D., and Juménez, J.M. (2014) Lighthouse for Hong Kong Book 7.
Educa:on Publishing House p.16
Adapted texts
Simplified version
Japanese children celebrate Children’s Day on 5th May. Their parents put up decora:ons at home for them. Many years ago, Children’s Day was only for boys. Girls had a special day in March.
The day was called ‘Doll’s Day.’ Now, Children’s Day is for boys and girls.
Simplified version
Japanese children celebrate Children’s Day on 5th May. Their parents put up decora:ons at home for them. Many years ago, Children’s Day was only for boys. Girls had a special day in March.
The day was called ‘Doll’s Day.’ Now, Children’s Day is for boys and girls.
Higher frequency words Simpler sentence pa^erns
Less pronouns and referen:al words
Extended version
Japanese children celebrate Children’s Day on 5th May. It is a day to celebrate the happiness of all children and
their mothers. On the day, parents put up carp-shaped streamers at home and people eat mochi rice cake. Un:l recently, this holiday was known as Boy’s Day and was
only for boys. In the past, there was another special day for girls in March. It was called ‘Doll’s Day’. Now, boys and girls celebrate together in May. The 5th May is a
na:onal holiday in Japan. Children do not need to go to school and adults do not need to go to work.
Extended version
Japanese children celebrate Children’s Day on 5th May. It is a day to celebrate the happiness of all children and
their mothers. On the day, parents put up carp-shaped streamers at home and people eat mochi rice cake. Un:l recently, this holiday was known as Boy’s Day and was
only for boys. In the past, there was another special day for girls in March. It was called ‘Doll’s Day’. Now, boys and girls celebrate together in May. 5th May is a na:onal holiday in Japan. Children do not need to go to school and adults do not need to go to work.
Addi:onal informa:on
More complicated connec:ves More challenging vocabulary
Process
Flexible groupings
Mixed ability / Ability groups
Collabora:ve reading strategies. e.g. Jigsaw
reading
Levels of teacher support
Reading aloud, shared reading, guided reading, independent
reading
Different types of ques:ons
Ques:ons that require different levels of processing / language
ability / responses
Different ac:vi:es Worksheets, games, board games
Types of ques:ons
• Look at the following ques:ons about the passage
– When is Children’s Day?
– What was the special holiday for girls called?
– Would you like to have Children’s Day in Hong Kong? Why?
Why not?
– Why do you think many years ago that Children’s Day was only for boys?
– If you could choose the ac:vi:es people do on Children’s day, what would you choose? Why?
• Which ques:ons are more challenging to answer and why?
• Use blooms taxonomy to make ques:ons about your passage
• Make 3 different ques:ons.
• Using Kahoot.it
Flexible Groupings
We can cater for diversity using different kinds of groupings for different tasks. How might the following groups help cater for diversity?
• Ability groups vs Mixed ability groups
• Pairs vs Small groups
• Friends vs not with friends
Product Different ways to respond to the text
Verbal response
Retell the story orally
Answer oral ques:ons about the
text
Wri^en response
Closed / Open-ended
Short answers / Long answer
Summarizing / sequencing
Visual response Draw the sequence / summarize as a comic
strip etc.
Products: Open-ended tasks
• Produce a comic strip about children’s lives in Japan.
• Make a Venn Diagram to compare the life of children in Hong Kong and Japan.
• Summarize the informa:on about children in Japan onto a poster
• Make a short drama to show one part of children's life in Japan
What kinds of learners do these different products cater for?
Using e-Learning to cater for diversity
Learning Environment
– Reading skills and strategies posters
– Ques:on word poster
– Reading strategies flip-book / bookmarks
sparklebox.com
Differen:a:on of other English language skills
• WriEng – Open-ended wri:ng tasks / provide resources / Consider purpose, audience and context
• Speaking – More or less scaffolding and support / Open-ended tasks with real communica:ve
purpose
• Listening – Selec:on of audio recording / number of :mes they play the recording / Different ways to respond to the text
• Grammar – More or less scaffolding and
support / Different focus structures / Addi:onal grammar items
Choice
• To cater for the student and parents’ views of fairness, students can be provided with choices
• Choice can help enhance students’ mo:va:on and help develop their autonomy
– Choice can help us consider students’ learning styles ensures students are gerng the most out of the tasks (Czeriawksi & Kidd, 2013)
• “Hart (1996) highlights, “’choice’ and ‘diversity’ are the two key themes of ‘differen:a:on’, were to be the means of achieving equality of opportunity for all.” (p.13)
How do we give students choice?
• Provide students with different tasks to choose from or the order they do them:
– Task 1: Sort the words into the fruit and vegetables columns. You can add more words
– Task 2: Write down all the fruits and vegetables you like and don’t like
– Task 3: Write a journal of all the fruits and vegetables you ate this week
– Task 4: Make a picture dic:onary for all the fruits and vegetables you know
Dicta:on Prac:ce
Choose 3 ac:vi:es to prac:ce your spelling.
Write your words in
alphabe:cal order. Write your words in
rainbow colours. Write a sentence for each word.
Write your words with red vowels and blue
consonants.
Write your words with a rhyming word next o
them.
Write your words in CAPITAL le^ers.
Write your words with
silly
le^ers.Write your words with
bubble le^ers.
Write your words 3 :mes each.
Moorhouse, 2016
Hands-on Task
– In groups, design a Pick ‘n Mix ac:vity with
different ac:vi:es that cater for different learning styles, abili:es and interests under the topic of
food for primary two learners.
– This ac:vity should bring the idea of choice and differen:ated instruc:on together.
– When you have thought of your a:vi:es, please present them.
Other things to consider
• Clarity of instruc:ons (oral and wri^en)
• Type of feedback provided (mark, grade, comment, sugges:ons)
• Homework rou:nes and prac:ces
• Summa:ve and forma:ve assessment
• Others?
Take away points
• Use the teaching, learning and assessment cycle to get to know your students’ needs
• Crea:ve a posi:ve learning environment where diversity is celebrated
• Arrange and conduct diverse ac:vi:es and tasks through differen:ated instruc:on
• Provide choice when possible to allow
students to take ownership and autonomy over their own learning
• Let’s do a poll
– Go to www.men:.com – Type in 35 95 53
• What will you take away from this workshop and implement in your English classroom to cater for learner diversity?
Thank you! ☺
Benjamin Moorhouse and Simon Chan Faculty of Educa:on,
The University of Hong Kong benmoorh@hku.hk