Language-rich Environment
Section 6: Units of Work
6.4 Setting Up Stage Units of Work Overview
The units of work use big books as a focus for the teaching of reading and writing. They have been written for P1.
They incorporate:
• Storytelling
• opportunities for Reading Aloud
• guidance for assessment
• suggestions for the setting up of a classroom environment that supports literacy development in English
• a learning and teaching sequence to support the development of classroom management routines for teaching reading and writing as well as for whole-class and group work
• phonics teaching
• group work activities that have been adapted to meet the needs of students.
They also include:
• Group Unit Checklists – reading skills, writing skills, sounds and high frequency words
• General English Lessons Weekly Planner
• unit materials, e.g. pictures and vocabulary for initial sounds, high frequency word cards, etc.
• worksheets
• writing activity sheets.
Each Setting Up Stage (P1) unit of work contains instructions for preparation and a sequence of learning and teaching activities.
• Sections of the Shared Reading Lessons:
− Before the Reading (15 minutes)
o Warm up activities (songs, poems)
o Phonological Awareness and Phonics teaching o High frequency words
− Reading the Text (15 minutes) o Shared Reading/Storytelling o Questioning
− After the Reading (30 minutes)
o Students practising reading skills o Sharing and conclusion
• Sections of the Shared Writing Lessons:
− Introduction (10 minutes)
o Warm up (songs and poems) o Vocabulary building
− Before the Writing (10 minutes) o Shared Reading o Text orientation
− Shared Writing (15 minutes)
o Oral discussion (topic, purpose and writing skills) o Teacher models writing
o Teacher and students construct the text
− Independent Writing (15 minutes)
o Students produce their text, based on the teacher’s model
− Conclusion (10 minutes)
© NET Section, CDI, EDB, HKSAR 72 Section 6: Units of Work
The units of work use big books as a focus for the teaching of reading and writing with more emphasis on learner diversity. They have been written for P2.
They incorporate:
• opportunities for Reading Aloud
• Guided Reading
• Guided Writing
• guidance for assessment
• suggestions for the setting up of a classroom environment that supports literacy development in English
• a learning and teaching sequence to support the development of classroom management routines for teaching reading and writing as well as for whole class and group work
• phonics teaching
• group work activities that have been adapted to meet the needs of students.
They also include:
• Group Unit Checklists – Reading skills, Writing skills, sounds and high frequency words
• General English Lessons Weekly Planner
• unit materials, e.g. pictures and vocabulary for initial sounds, high frequency word cards, etc.
• worksheets
• writing activity sheets.
Each Implementation Stage (P2) unit of work contains instructions for preparation and a sequence of learning and teaching activities.
• Sections of the Shared Reading Lessons:
− Before the Reading (15 minutes)
o Warm up activities (songs, poems)
o Phonological Awareness and Phonics teaching o High frequency words
− Reading the Text (15 minutes) o Shared Reading/Storytelling o Questioning
− After the Reading (30 minutes)
o Students practising reading skills o Sharing and conclusion
• Sections of the Shared Writing Lessons:
− Introduction (10 minutes)
o Warm up (songs and poems) o Vocabulary building
− Before the Writing (10 minutes) o Shared Reading
o Text orientation
− Shared Writing (15 minutes)
o Oral discussion (topic, purpose and writing skills) o Teacher models writing
o Teacher and students construct the text
− Independent Writing (15 minutes)
o Students produce their text, based on the teacher’s model
− Conclusion (10 minutes)
© NET Section, CDI, EDB, HKSAR 73 Section 6: Units of Work
• Sections of the Guided Reading Lessons:
− Before the Reading (10 minutes)
o Warm up activities (songs, poems)
o Phonological Awareness and Phonics teaching
− During Guided Reading (40 minutes) o Guided Reading
o Group activity
− After Guided Reading (10 minutes) o Students practising reading skills o Sharing and conclusion
• Sections of the Guided Writing Lessons:
− Before Guided Writing (10 minutes) o Shared Writing time
o Text orientation
− During Guided Writing (40 minutes) o Guided Writing
o Independent Writing
− After Guided Writing (10 minutes) o Sharing and conclusion
Unit of Work Curriculum Framework
The units of work were written with reference to and support the implementation of the English Language Education Key Learning Area (ELEKLA, 2004), English Language Curriculum Guide (ELCG) (Primary 1-6), The Education and Manpower Bureau, HKSAR, 2004.
Adaptation
Schools may need to adapt the units of work to meet the needs and abilities of their students. They should adhere to the following:
• the text of the big book
• the number of sessions for each unit of work
• the session’s learning and teaching sequence
• Storytelling and Reading Aloud
• the teaching of reading and writing as a focus
• opportunities for formative assessment
• the coverage of the reading and writing skills in each unit
• the roles of the teaching team.
Catering for Learner Diversity
For the first four P1 units, students are generally working in mixed ability groups. From Unit 5 in P1 onwards, provision is made for students to be grouped according to ability.
Teachers are encouraged to group the students in four groups as this is recommended when teaching Guided Reading and Guided Writing in P2.
In the units of work, the resources are designed to cater for students at different levels.
From Unit 5 in P1 onwards, twelve small books will be provided to cater for a progression of difficulty based on the big book. The worksheets and activity sheets are similarly graded.
© NET Section, CDI, EDB, HKSAR 74 Section 6: Units of Work
The Stages of the PLP-R/W (KS1) have been designed to provide teachers with direction for the setting up and establishing of their school-based programmes. Teachers will find the units of work provide the support to progress through the stages. The Exit Descriptors for all stages will give teachers guidance in fulfilling the requirements of each stage and give teachers a more detailed description of the four components of the Programme. They may find it useful to discuss the Exit Descriptors at planning meetings to check and assess their progress and achievements in the programme.
The following tables are:
6.1 Setting Up Stage Exit Descriptors 6.2 Implementation Stage Exit Descriptors 6.3 Independence Stage Exit Descriptors
© NET Section, CDI, EDB, HKSAR 75 Section 6: Units of Work
Setting Up Stage Exit Descriptors By the end of the Setting Up Stage: