Professional Development Programme:
Enriching and Extending Students’ Learning Experiences through Reading and Writing across the Curriculum at the Secondary Level
Session 1
Dr Simon Chan
Organised by the INSTEP, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong and commissioned by the Education Bureau, The Government of the HKSAR
Warm-up self-reflection:
What challenges are your students facing?
Reading challenges Writing challenges
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.
Overview of the 6-hour programme
The overall aims of the programme
Sessions 1 to 3 will focus on the following issues:
An overview of students’ development of reading and writing skills at Key Stage 3
The significance of Reading and Writing across the Curriculum (RWaC) in (i)
developing students’ reading and writing competence; (ii) developing their positive values and higher order thinking skills and creativity; and (iii) school-based MOI and LAC plans
Motivating students to engage in sustained reading and writing activities
Introduction to the roles fictional and non-fictional genres play in RWaC
Understanding the rhetorical structure of different genres
Selecting texts and genres for RWaC
Considerations in designing reading and writing tasks for RaC and WaC
Introducing the Reading-to-Write Cycle: how to connect reading to writing in the curriculum
Demonstrating the process of designing and implementing RWaC cycles
Modelling teacher talk in Reading-to-Write lessons – introducing strategies in unpacking and repacking difficult texts
Exploring ways to provide quality feedback to help students improve their written work and design follow-up activities to address the problems identified
Session 4 will focus on the following issue(s):
Providing participants with opportunities to design tasks and activities to help students develop their skills in selecting, extracting, summarising and interpreting relevant information, ideas and views from multiple texts of different types, as well as a possible action plans for them to try out RWaC in their own school context
Professional Development Programme:
“Enriching and Extending Students’ Learning Experiences through Reading and Writing across the Curriculum”
Programme Content
Session Topic
Session 1 (1) Overview of the Programme
(2) Introduction to the significance of RWaC in the ELT secondary curriculum (3) Suggested framework for designing RWaC lessons
(4) Different RWaC genres and associated language functions Session 2 (1) Demonstration #1 (RWaC in Science subjects)
(2) Debriefing: reflection & discussion
Session 3 (1) Demonstration #2 ((RWaC in PSHE subjects) (2) Debriefing: reflection & discussion
Session 4 (1) Application: Preparing for the presentations (2) Mini presentations
(3) Summary of the programme
Facilitating professional dialogues and reflection in the programme
Examples and demonstrations
Discussions and reflections
Action plans
Sharing and mini-presentations
Let’s start with you…
How do you teach reading / writing in your classroom?
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!"
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree, And stood awhile in thought…….
Response from your students #1:
Is this English?
Response from your students #2:
Is it the poem Jabberwock by
Lewis Carroll?
Discussion Task 1
How do you teach reading / writing in your classroom?
Based on the challenges / problems you have identified
for students
for teachers
…
How would you describe:
your beliefs about reading / teaching reading?
your beliefs about writing / teaching writing?
your practice of teaching reading / writing skills?
Traditional Views of Reading and Writing
Reading Writing
-input
- receptive skills -comprehension of
language
- output
- productive skills -production of
language
Connection between Reading and Writing Reading
Writing
The same pool of knowledge and skills connect reading and writing!
e.g. the use of grammar and
vocabulary clues
Pre-reading
Post-reading
While-reading
A summary of reading
strategies
•Activating prior knowledge and making connections
•Creating concept maps
•Drawing attention to contextual clues (e.g., titles, visuals)
•Questioning
•Pre-teaching key vocabulary
•Predicting keywords/key content
•Reciprocal questioning
•Setting a purpose
•Skimming
•Checking comprehension
•Drawing attention to contextual clues
•Determining importance of a point
•Evaluating different points of view
•Finding and underlining key words/explaining key words
•Guessing meanings of words from context
•Highlighting the rhetorical organisation of the text
•Inferring the author’s point of view
•Paraphrasing a key point
•Questioning
•Reading aloud; Thinking aloud
•Reciprocal questioning
•Rereading; Scanning; Skimming
•Summarising; Synthesising; Surveying
•Visualising; Creating concept maps
•Checking comprehension
•Conducting picture walk
•Creating concept maps
•Drawing a conclusion
•Evaluating different points of view
•Highlighting the rhetorical organisation of the text
•Inferring the author’s point of view
•Paraphrasing a key point
•Reciprocal questioning
•Rereading, Summarising, Surveying, Synthesising
•Reading aloud
•Creating mental concept maps
•Questioning
•Reciprocal questioning
•Surveying
•Thinking aloud
Possible design principle of RWaC programmes:
Genre-based pedagogy
A functional view of language in context (Rose, D. 2005)
CONTEXT
TEXT PARAGRAPHS
SENTENCE WORD GROUPS
WORD SYLLABLE LETTER PATTERN
patterns within the sentence
patterns within the text
patterns within the word
Top-down Bottom-up
Understanding the context, curriculum and reading / writing
skills
Task 2
What are students learning (e.g. reading and writing) in KS2 and KS3?
In groups, can you list the subjects that your students were learning in KS2 (Primary 4-6) and the subjects that they are learning in KS3 (Secondary 1-3)?
Upper Primary (KS2) Junior Secondary (KS3)
Chinese English Mathematics
Putonghua Music Visual Arts Physical Ed.
General Studies
Science
Technology Education (e.g. design &
technology etc.) PSHE (e.g. Chinese
History, Geography.
History, Life and Society, Religious
Education etc.)
Look at the following extracts of texts. They are all texts from local textbooks.
Can you identify the genre / text type and subject area of each?
Can you also determine whether each belongs to KS2 or KS3?
Are there any similarities or differences among these texts?
What kinds of skills or strategies do students need in order to read and write these texts?
Task 3*
What kinds of texts are students
reading/writing in KS2 and KS3?
Text Genre/ Text type Subject Area Key Stage 1
2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
Explanation + instruction Computer Literacy KS3 KS3 KS3
KS3
KS3
KS3 KS2
KS2
KS2 Personal recount English (textbook)
Report
(classifying report) Geography
Poem English (reader)
Report
(classifying report) Science Historical recount History
Personal recount English (textbook)
Narrative English (reader)
Explanation
(cause-and-effect) General Studies
Discussion
Are there any similarities or differences among these texts?
Similarities: Differences:
For example:
- text types - subject areas - topics
For example:
- complexity of language - complexity of ideas
presented
- cognitive demands
Discussion
What kinds of skills or strategies do students need in order to read/write these texts?
Reading/writing skills or strategies For example:
• understanding the connection between ideas
• using connectives to connect ideas
• identifying pronoun reference
• guessing meaning of unfamiliar words from context
• using a variety of vocabulary and sentence patterns
• using headings and picture clues to predict text content
• identifying text type structure
Discussion
Are there any missing links between primary and junior secondary years?
Some possibilities on enhancing students’ language proficiency to meet the language demands in secondary years:
For example:
• exposure to a wider variety of text-types
• exposure to a wider range of topics (fiction / non-fiction)
• exposure to both English for everyday use and Academic English
• strengthening vocabulary building strategies
Reading/Writing skills for Hong Kong students
Appendix 5: Language Skills and
Language Development Strategies for Key Stages 1 — 4 (P1 — S6), P. A37
What is a genre-based approach to reading and writing?
- In very simple terms, this approach emphasises genres (i.e.
“text types”) and the importance explicit instruction on reading and writing strategies to help students
deconstruct and reconstruct various types of texts, with extensive demonstration, scaffolding and explanation on the process of making sense of meanings of those texts.
- Talking about meaning, if we guide the students to go
beyond understanding and expressing superficial meanings in texts, we may promote the development of higher
order thinking skills and positive values, e.g….
(Text 9)
How would you answer these three questions? Do the
sentences and pictures
presented provide enough information?
Would you challenge such information by relating to
concepts like economic wealth, composition of the population, fairness and (in)equality etc.?
Why/why not?
Note the adoption of quite debatable topics in HKDSE
English language in recent years, e.g. the one on “food trucks”
1. What are the eating habits of Hong Kong
people?
2. What is our main diet?
3. Why do we often eat seafood?
Genre-based approach to reading and writing
What is a genre?
A genre is more dynamic than a text type and is always changing and evolving
What is genre?
“All the language events , both spoken and written, that we participate in as members of our particular society and culture” (Gibbons, 2009, p. 108).
• Each genre has a specific social purpose, and is used to get something done through language.
• Each genre has a particular structure or overall organisation.
• Each genre has language features (i.e. grammar and vocabulary) that are typical of that genre.
• Understanding of the purpose, organisation and language features of school genres helps teachers recognise where learners need support in learning the genres in which they need to be successful academic readers and writers.
(adapted from Derewianka, B. (1990). Exploring how texts work. Australia: Primary English Teaching Association.)
Then… what constitutes a genre?
(Adapted from Rose, D. (2010). Reading to learn: Teacher resource books, book 1, p. 8 . From http://www.readingtolearn.com.au/)
Curriculum Context
e.g. Science, Geography, Economics, English language arts
Text Type
e.g. Procedure in Experiment, Information Report, Short Story
Paragraph / Sentences
Grammar & Rhetorical functions:
e.g., Compare & Contrast;
Defining
Words
Lexical Phrases
Task 4
patterns within the sentence / paragraph
patterns within the text
patterns within the word
Top-down
Bottom-up
A Functional View of Language in Context (Rose, 2005)
Advantages of a genre-based approach to teaching reading and writing:
It offers us a systematic and meaningful way to teach reading and/or writing.
In particular, we can highlight:
What is the subject matter/curriculum context?
For example, “water cycle” in science,
A fable in English language arts
Who are the target readers?
For example, an expert informing an expert-to-be about a science concept (in textbooks)
E.g., Fable: adults telling children a story with a
moral lesson for them to learn
Task 5*
Let’s try what we have learnt so far with the following text
Mini-teaching demo
Energy Crisis
Humans are like all other animals in that they need the
energy from food to stay alive, to function in their environment and to reproduce. For these basics we have about the same
personal energy requirements as other mammals of about the same size. Unlike animals, however, humans expect much more out of life than just survival. These expectations have a cost.
People have come to expect all kinds of luxuries. We want heating and cooling, computers, cars, planes etc. A lot of
energy is used in the initial production of these items and they use a lot of energy to run. They have caused an energy crisis.
Task 5 Genre-based approach:
“Energy Crisis ”
Curriculum Context
Text type
Text structure
Sentence patterns
Words / lexical phrases
Energy (Science/PSHE), Purpose: explain the concept energy crisis
Explanation
Descriptive sentences / sentences for causal relationships
Words related to the topic “energy”, “animals”;
signaling words suggesting causes/results etc.
Genre-based pedagogy would mean providing support at these various levels of language to facilitate the students’ reading process
General Specific (“energy” “energy crisis”)
Task 5 Genre-based approach:
“Energy Crisis ”
Any ideas on using this text to promote higher order thinking skills and positive values?
Some suggestions:
Discuss the following questions:
Are we being fair to the other animals by consuming their energy sources?
Can we go back to life without the ‘luxuries’ mentioned in the text?
What should we do when facing the energy crisis?
Possible integration with multimodal texts, e.g.
How useful is this
to our students' learning?
Exposure Automaticity
‘massive amounts of repetitive experience’
develop automaticity
(Segalowitz, 1991, p. 23)
and systematic
^
The Genre-based Approach to Reading and Writing Across the
Curriculum
How do we apply the genre-based approach in RWaC?
“I’m just an ENGLISH teacher, I don’t know much about the
academic text types…”
“I know nothing about
Science / Maths. / History etc.”
“My students are not
in an EMI class…”
How do we apply the genre-based approach in RWaC?
We can start small, and with something that we are familiar with (or maybe are doing very well already!).
Can you guess?
How do we apply the genre-based approach in RWaC?
•
To promote English reading/writing and across
different KLAs, information texts are very good resources.
•
We can make good use of this opportunity and
become more aware of the importance of teaching information texts with an explicit emphasis on
understanding the features of academic genres (or text types) and detailed reading strategies.
This could work in all school contexts, including those schools/
classes where content subjects are taught in Chinese
• Everyday English is different from academic English
– E.g., Everyday text-types are different from academic text- types
Reading for everyday life and reading for school subjects:
different kinds, different purposes, different ways
• Differences
– contexts
– text types
– academic functions
– sentence patterns &
vocabulary
• Similarity
– both are important to the language and
cognitive development of our students
It is therefore vital to help our students to develop skills and strategies to tackle everyday texts and
academic texts progressively across different disciplines.
Text types in language and content subjects
44
THEME:
Text types in language subjects
Text types in content subjects
Another RWaC example…
Refer to the graphic organiser below, choose a theme, and think of some possible text types that you can use to teach the content.
Science: Electric current
Information report
(compositional) Autobiography
I am an electron. I have a negative charge. I am found whizzing around the nucleus of an atom. My path is relatively circular around the nucleus, but I am not the best at keeping a perfect path. I also define how much volume or space an atom takes up. Between the nucleus and myself is just a bunch of empty space. I am kept inside shells or energy levels.
Some common text types in language and content subjects
45
Text types commonly found in language subjects
Text types commonly found in content subjects
•Poem
•Story
•News article
•Essay
•Recipe
•Argumentative essay
•Letter to the editor
•Advertisement
•Proposal
•Information report
•Laboratory report
•Essay
•Historical recount
•Manuals
•Explanations on sequence and process
•Explanations on cause and effect
•Discussion
•Argumentative essay
What does Detailed Reading do?
Supporting learners to read short paragraphs of text, sentence-by-sentence, by guiding them to identify groups of words in each sentence, and
discussing their meanings
Enabling learners to:
read challenging texts with detailed comprehension
recognise the language choices that writers make
use the content of factual texts to write texts of their own
use the language resources of accomplished writers in their own writing
Enabling teachers to:
meet the language and content goals of their curricula
support all students to learn at the same level
Adopted from Dr. David Rose, Reading to Learn.
Understanding “connecting reading and writing” through demos
2 demonstrations
Demo #1 in session 2, focusing on RWaC with
science subjects
Demo #2 in
session 3, focusing
on RWaC with
humanities subjects
*Disclaimer
The material developer and facilitator does not own the copyrights of the text excerpts shown. The respective
copyrights are owned by the respective publishers credited in the materials.
References:
Texts for Task 3
Text 1: “Inserting animation” in “Computer and Information Technology: Computer Literacy Course for Junior Secondary, Basic Modules, 2A” (pp. 182-183). Hong Kong: Longman Hong Kong Education. (2007)
Text 2: “Hello, Hong Kong!” in “Developing Skills Freeway, 1A” (p. 80). Hong Kong: Aristo Educational Press Ltd. (2007)
Text 3: “How is land used in the urban areas of Hong Kong?” in “Exploring Geography, 1A, Second Edition”
(pp. 40-41). Hong Kong: Oxford University Press. (2007)
Text 4: “Five Little Chickens” in “Fancy Food Work”, My Pals are Here: Reading Ladder, Primary 5 (pp. 2-3).
Hong Kong: Educational Publishing House Ltd. (2005)
Text 5: “A New Life is Born” in Mastering Science, 1A (p. 134). Hong Kong: Oxford University Press. (2010)
Text 6: “The Fertile Crescent” in World History Express, 1A, second edition (pp. 80-81). Hong Kong: Ling Kee Publishing Co. (2010)
Text 7: “Come to My Party” in My Pals are Here! English for Hong Kong, 4A (pp. 16-17). Hong Kong:
Educational Publishing House Ltd. (2005)
Text 8: “A murder mystery” in Thematic Anthology, Set A, Book 1 (pp. 132-133). Hong Kong: Oxford University Press (China) Ltd. (2009)
Text 9: “The Earth’s Climate and Environment” in Primary General Studies 4A (pp. 14-15). Hong Kong: New Asia Publishing House. (2010)
Text for Task 5
Science Ways 1 (Chapter 6- Energy and its uses , p. 141). Published by Pearson Education Australia. (2008)
Professional Development Programme:
Enriching and Extending Students’ Learning Experiences through Reading and Writing across the Curriculum at the Secondary Level
Session 2
Dr Simon Chan
Organised by the INSTEP, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong and commissioned by the Education Bureau, The Government of the HKSAR
Science is one of the 8 Key Learning Areas (KLAs) of the HK school curriculum
Direction
The emphasis of science education is to enhance students' scientific thinking through progressive learning activities that involve planning, measuring, observing, analysing data, designing and evaluation
procedures, and examining evidence. Learning science will enable our students to lead a fulfilling and responsible life by encouraging them to learn independently, deal with new situations, reason critically, think creatively, make wise decisions and solve problems.
Through science activities, students should develop an interest in science and thus they will be motivated to become active learners in science. Students should also develop an understanding of science, technology and society (STS). They should be able to make informed decisions based on evidence.
Students with high ability or a strong interest in science need more challenging learning programmes. These programmes should stretch the students' science capabilities and offer opportunities for students to develop their potential to the full.
(from: http://www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum-development/kla/science-edu/index.html )
Let’s explore
the nature
of Science language
in this session.
Language
demands in relating Science to
everyday life:
- descriptions;
- comparing;
- stating reasons /consequences;
- giving instructions etc.
(cf. data-based questions in
HKDSE in Science
subjects)
7
c.f. One of the two overall aims of the English Language Education curriculum:
“to enable every student to prepare for the changing socio-economic demands resulting from advances in information technology; these demands include the interpretation, use and production of materials for pleasure, study and work in the
English medium”
https://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/curriculum-development/kla/eng- edu/Curriculum%20Document/ELE%20KLACG_2017.pdf
How is Science Education realised in schools?
Subjects offered Primary education • General Studies
• Science Junior secondary
(S.1 – S.3)
• Science (S1 – 3) (i.e. “integrated science”)
Senior secondary (S.4 – S.6)
• Physics
• Chemistry
• Biology
• Integrated Science
• Combined Science
More details & curriculum documents: http://www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum- development/kla/science-edu/curriculum-documents.html
Let’s focus on this
Brainstorming task:
What are some characteristics of Science language/texts?
Language features of science texts (General)
Technical terms/ subject specific terminology
e.g. molecule, polymer, polymerisation, superconductor, element, compound, chemical change, acid, alkali, mitochondria, chloroplasts
Complicated noun phrases
e.g. “The number of motichondrai in a particular cell depends on the cell’s energy needs.”
e.g. “A vacuole is a fluid-filled space within the cytoplasm, surrounded by a membrane called the tonoplast .”
Modality
e.g. “However, many scientists think that the evidence is not conclusive. More studies should be done to find out the effects of using mobile phones on
health.”
(adapted from: Dr. Flora Kan. (2012). Session notes for Course for Secondary School Teachers on Teaching Personal, Social & Humanities Education (PSHE) Key Learning Area in the English Medium 2011-2012 )
•
Sentence structures/ patterns
- Use of conditional sentences
e.g. “If the disease is left untreated, the tooth may become loose and eventually fall off.”
- Use of the passive voice
e. g. “All nucleic acids are built up from similar repeating subunits called nucleotides.”
“Glycogen, starch, and cellulose are examples of polysaccharides.
They are made up of glucose molecules joining in different patterns.”
- Use of relative clauses
e.g. “Enzymes are important proteins that regulate almost all biochemical reactions that occur in cells.”
(Dr. Flora Kan. (2012). Session notes for Course for Secondary School Teachers on Teaching Personal, 11
Social & Humanities Education (PSHE) Key Learning Area in the English Medium 2011-2012 . )
Can you guess what the most common use of relative clauses in Science texts is?
Text structures
- With some fixed structures/ frameworks of presenting ideas
e.g. Introduction Illustration under different sub-headings (with paragraphs and topic sentences) Conclusion
Text Purposes
- To introduce/ define a term/ concept
e.g. to define photosynthesis
- To describe a phenomenon
e.g. to describe sexual production
- To explain the processes or development of something
e.g. to explain the water cycle
Difficulties our students face
1.
Abstract & complicated concepts (content)
2.
Technical terms/ Vocabulary
3.
Complex noun phrase and sentence structures
4.
Different types of registers/ genres
In both comprehension & production
How can RWaC help alleviate these problems?
From Reading to Writing Example 1
READING
To read an information report
WRITING
To write a narrative
Level: KS3
Theme / Topic: Food as source of energy (S2 Science)
Healthy eating (English)
Genre: information report story (narrative)
Brainstorming
1. What kind of content support will be needed for this RWaC activity?
2. What kind of language support will be needed for this RWaC activity?
3. Do you know any other topics in Science that can also be used for
prompting RWaC? What kind of support and resources will be needed for this type of collaboration between the two subjects?
4. Any ideas in using the activity to promote higher order thinking and/or positive values on the part of the students?
- e.g. integrating information from different texts (c.f. texts in Paper 3 of HKDSE English Language)
- e.g. comparing and contrasting perspectives - e.g. writing a moral at the end of the story
From Reading to Writing Example 2
READING
To read an explanation text
WRITING
To write a script
Level: junior secondary
Theme / Topic: Effects of drugs, alcohol and solvents on
our senses (S3 Science) Teen problems (English) Genre: explanation text script Why script, but
not a story?
Discussion #2
1. What kind of content support will be needed for this RWaC activity?
2. What kind of language support will be needed for this RWaC activity?
3. Do you know any other topics in Science that can also be used for prompting RWaC? What kind of support and resources will be
needed for this type of collaboration between the two subjects?
1. Shall we ask students to write a story? Or shall we ask our students to write a drama script and perform it? Which genre is more likely to promote students’ creativity?
Text Grammar Challenge: Identify all examples of modal verbs used in Texts 1 & 2.
Can you explain their uses?
What other grammar items can we focus on using the context provided in the two texts?
Overall reflection
What do you think of the suggested activities?
Have you identified any strategies / skills used?
Do you think you can apply some of these strategies / skills? Why or why not?
How can we cater for learner diversity?
Think from the teachers’
perspective:
-What is the activity design?
-What is the purpose of the activity?
-Is there any visible pedagogy to be used with this activity? What
do I have to be explicit?
-How to connect or apply this activity in my daily teaching?
Think from your students’ perspective:
-What do my students have to do?
-Is this activity at the right level for my
students?
-How will my students respond to this
activity?
Activity Design Purpose Visible pedagogy
Connection
Additional resources: online, multimodal resources (e.g.
video clips, online games, quizzes)
Questions:
How can we make use of these multimodal resources?
What are the demands (language demands + content demands) on students’ understanding on the topic using these resources?
Who are these multimodal resources suitable for?
Some other useful resources
Congratulations! We’ve completed Part 1 of the workshop
We’ll proceed to Session 3 next week.
We’ll examine two examples on RWaC in PSHE subjects.
We’ll also reflect on Sessions 1-3 and learn from each other!
Disclaimer
The material developers and facilitators do not own the copyright of the text excerpts and videos used in this session.
Copyright is owned by the respective publishers credited in the materials.
Sources of texts
Example 1 Text 1: “How does our body obtain energy”,
Longman Interactive Science (2nd edition), 2A, pp. 26-33. Hong Kong: Longman.
Example 1 Text 2: “Be a fit kid”, adopted from
retrieved on 25th January, 2018.
Example 2 Text 1: “Effects of drugs, alcohol and solvents on our senses”, Longman Interactive Science (2nd edition), 2B, pp. 209- 217. Hong Kong: Longman.
Example 2 Text 2: “What you need to know about drugs”, adopted from ,
retrieved on 25th January, 2018.
Professional Development Programme:
Enriching and Extending Students’
Learning Experiences through Reading and Writing across the Curriculum at the Secondary Level
Session 3
Dr Simon Chan
ssychan@hku.hk Organised by the INSTEP, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong and
commissioned by the Education Bureau, The Government of the HKSAR
1
PSHE is one of the 8 Key Learning Areas (KLAs) of the HK school curriculum
Overarching aims
The PSHE KLA aims to enable students to:
-
understand themselves, society and the world at large
-
maintain a healthy personal development
-
contribute to the well-being of the family, the local community, the nation and the world as confident, informed and responsible persons
(from: http://www.edb.gov.hk/index.aspx?nodeID=2406&langno=1)
c.f. One of the two overall aims of the English Language Education curriculum:
“to provide every student of English with further opportunities for extending their knowledge and experience of the cultures of other people as well as opportunities for personal and intellectual
development, further studies, pleasure and work in the English medium”
https://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/curriculum-development/kla/eng-edu/Curriculum%20Document/ELE%20KLACG_2017.pdf
Note also the ‘foreign’ topics in recent years’ HKDSE English
papers!
Curriculum framework: key strands/ themes of PSHE
schools develop their own curriculum
How is PSHE realised in schools?
Subjects offered Primary education • General Studies Junior secondary
(S.1 – S.3)
• Economic and Public Affairs
• Religious Education
• Geography
• History
• Integrated Humanities
• Social Studies
• Civic Education
• Life and Society Senior secondary
(S.4 – S.6)
• Liberal Studies (Core subject)
• Economics
• Geography
• History
• Tourism and Hospitality Studies
• Ethics and Religious Studies
• Chinese History
More details & curriculum documents:
http://www.edb.gov.hk/index.aspx?nodeID=2406&langno=1
Let’s focus on these
Language features of humanities texts (General)
Technical terms/ subject specific terminology
e.g. League of Nations, ceasefire, trade liberalisation, equilibrium, mantle, asthenosphere; eco-tourism
Complicated noun phrases
e.g. “The reduction in production costs and the rise in productivity help enterprises become more competitive and earn more profits.”
e.g. “The development of medicine, natural sciences, space exploration, transport and communications was rapid in the 20th century.”
Modality
e.g. “Earthquake-proof buildings should be constructed in order to prevent collapse.”
e.g. “Without his military service, Italian unity would not have been achieved.”
(adapted from: Dr. Flora Kan. (2012). Session notes for Course for Secondary School Teachers on Teaching Personal, Social & Humanities Education (PSHE) Key Learning Area in the English Medium 2011-
2012 . )
•
Sentence structures/ patterns
- Use of conditional sentences
e.g. “If/ When a market price is above the equilibrium price, quantity supplied will be greater than quantity demanded.”
- Use of the passive voice
e. g. “The independence of East Timor was maintained as a result.”
“Chemical industries and oil storage should be located far away from residential areas.”
e.g. “It is suggested that in the next decade, the number of tourists of the following age groups will …”
- Use of relative clauses
e.g. “Enterprises outsource their production stages to countries and regions that can produce goods more efficiently or at a lower
cost.”
(Dr. Flora Kan. (2012). Session notes for Course for Secondary School Teachers on Teaching Personal, Social & Humanities Education (PSHE) Key Learning Area in the English Medium 2011-2012 . )
Text structures
- With some fixed structures/ frameworks of presenting ideas
e.g. Introduction Illustration under different sub-headings (with paragraphs and topic sentences) Conclusion
Text Purposes
- To introduce/ define a term/ concept
e.g. to define market equilibrium & earthquakes
- To describe the processes or development of something
e.g. to describe the trends of tourism development
- To explain the causes of some phenomenon
e.g. to explain the causes of earthquakes
- To explain the effects of some phenomenon
e.g. to explain the effects of economic globalisation; to explain the effects of price floor/
price ceiling/ quota
- To express personal opinions on some issues
e.g. to evaluate the impact of globalisation; to evaluate the effectiveness of the UN
Difficulties our students face
1.
Abstract & complicated concepts (content)
2.
Technical terms/ Vocabulary
3.
Complex sentence structures
4.
Different types of registers/ genres
In both comprehension & production
How can RWaC help alleviate these problems?
An integrating perspective of RWaC
Integrated use of graphic organisers to provide language support at word, phrase, sentence, paragraph and text levels:
Vocabulary building
- Developing mind maps
(1) Generating a list of vocabulary in the same lexical fields
(2) Completing/redeveloping the mind map
(3) How do we sharpen our students’ skills in using mind-mapping or other graphic organisers?
land uses
commercial
residential
e.g. housing estates
e.g.
shopping malls
Other examples of graphic organisers:
12
Helping students express their ideas with language support
progressing from word to sentence or even text level
Main clause, connectives subordinate clause
The candle goes out because the oxygen in the gas jar is used up.
Conditional/ If clause,
(indicating the cause/ condition)
Main clause (indicating the
result/consequence) If there is too much cholesterol in the
blood,
it may deposit on the inner wall of the blood vessels.
Explaining
Conditional (serving the function of explanation)
Sentence-patterns building
- Developing “sentence-making tables”
General noun (a class)
Verb phrase (adverbs)
Number Nouns (referring to groups)
The food substances
are (normally) classified into
seven types.
Classifying
Name of the example
Verb phrase (adverbs)
Noun General noun (the
group that it belongs)
Vinegar is an example of food preservatives.
Exemplifying
Specific term is/ means/
refers to …
General
noun (a class)
Defining relative clause
Ingestion is the process which takes food into the alimentary canal through our mouth.
Defining
Sentence-making tables task: Can you suggest a sentence- making table for ‘Defining’?
Also A is B.
B is called A.
A refers to B.
…
E.g. Timelines for recount texts: to show the
chronological order of events & perhaps their relationship
Can be of different levels of “complexity”
for students with
different ability levels
e.g. only time + events;
time + events + description
e.g. fill in the blank activities; students’
creating their own timeline
1890’s: Expansionist policy of the Meiji government
1894-95: The Sino-Japanese War
- Cause: Liuqiu Affair (1874) - Result: China was defeated;
Japan’s international position was raised
- BUT: Still unable to win equality with the West (e.g.
1895: Triple Intervention)
1904-05: The Russo-Japanese War - Cause: Rivalry in Korea &
Manchuria
- Result: Russia was defeated;
Japan’s could win equality with the West
1914-18: The First World War - Result: Japan tool over
German leasehold in
Shandong and the German colonies in the north Pacific;
forced China to accept the Twenty-one Demands
1919: The Paris Peace Conference - Japan’s war-time gains in China
and the north Pacific were confirmed; the Western Powers respected Japan’s opinions - Japan’s world power status was
recognised 1921-22: The Washington
Conference
- To discuss the problems
brought by Japan’s expansion - Signed some important
agreements and treaties related to Japan
- Japan’s world power status was further strengthened
Text rhetorical structure building by means of different forms of summary graphic organisers
Graphic organisers as
“tasks”!!!
From Reading to Writing Example 1
READING
To read an information report
WRITING
To write a letter to the editor
Level: junior secondary
Theme / Topic: gambling (Liberal Studies) teen problems (English) Genre: information report letter to the editor
RWaC Extension Task: Comprehension and Analysis of Texts
Genre: Letters to the editor
Stage1: Reading comprehension task with items targeting specific reading strategies covered in EDB’s ELE KLA CG and/or tested in HKDSE (esp those higher order ones)
E.g. Read Extension Text 1. How has the Education Bureau’s attitude towards home-schooling changed over the years?
Give evidence from the text to prove it.
E.g. Read Extension Text 2. Decide whether each of the following statement is True, False, or Not Given:
The writer thinks home-schooling should be banned completely.
The writer thinks schools are safer places than homes for children.
The writer thinks child abuse cases are common in Hong Kong.
RWaC Extension Task: Comprehension and Analysis of Texts
Stage 2: Comparing and contrasting texts
Read and compare Text 1 and Text 2. What do they share in common? What are the differences among them? List as many points in the table below as you can. You may find the following prompting questions useful:
Do the two texts…
focus on the same topic? target the same group of
readers? adopt a subjective or objective tone? belong to the same text type?
Similarities among the three texts:
Differences among the three texts:
Text 1 Text 2
Extension Text 1:
Extension Text 2:
Same topic
Same target readers Different genres
Different purposes of writing
Different language styles/formalities Arguments supported by
evidence
What are the grammar
patterns suggesting these?
RWaC Extension Task: Comprehension and Analysis of Texts
Stage 3: Writing a letter to the editor
With reference to the rhetorical structure and language features of letters to the editor analysed, write a letter to the editor in response to either Extension Text 1 or
Extension Text 2. Express and justify your view on home- schooling in Hong Kong.
Potential for developing positive values on the part of the students?
Again, when we go through these suggested activities
Think from the teachers’ perspective:
-What is the activity design?
-What is the purpose of the activity?
-Is there any visible pedagogy to be used with this activity? What do I have to be
explicit?
-How to connect or apply this activity in my daily teaching?
Think from your students’ perspective:
-What do my students have to do?
-Is this activity at the right level for my students?
-How will my students respond to this activity?
Activity Design Purpose Visible pedagogy
Connection
Applying the Reading to Writing Approach to an alternative module
For gifted students / senior form students
Outline of the alternative module:
Reading
Reading an information report
Writing
Writing “personal opinions” in a letter to the editor
Speaking and listening
“Drama-in-education”
From Reading to Writing Example 2
READING
To read a descriptive text
WRITING
To write a recount
Level: junior secondary
Theme / Topic: natural hazards (Geography) natural hazards (English) Genre: information report recount
Materials developed by Dr. Tracy Cheung and Dr Simon Chan, with contributions from Prof. Angel Lin, Dr. Lo Yuen Yi
Discussion and reflection
What do you think of the suggested activities?
Have you identified any strategies / skills used?
Do you think you can apply some of these strategies / skills? Why or why not?
Think from the teachers’
perspective:
-What is the activity design?
-What is the purpose of the activity?
-Is there any visible pedagogy to be used with this activity? What
do I have to be explicit?
-How to connect or apply this activity in my daily teaching?
Think from your students’ perspective:
-What do my students have to do?
-Is this activity at the right level for my
students?
-How will my students respond to this
activity?
Activity Design Purpose Visible pedagogy
Connection
Disclaimer
The material developers and facilitators do not own the respective copyright of the extracts of texts and videos shown. The respective copyrights are owned by the
respective publishers credited in the materials.
Professional Development Programme:
Enriching and Extending Students’
Learning Experiences through Reading and Writing across the Curriculum at the
Secondary Level
Session 4
Dr Simon Chan
ssychan@hku.hk Organised by the INSTEP, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong and
commissioned by the Education Bureau, The Government of the HKSAR
Mini practice
(group discussion & presentation)
Facilitating professional dialogues and reflection in the programme
Examples and demonstrations
Discussions and reflections
Action plans
Sharing and mini-presentations
Mini group presentation (Part A)
• First, form groups of 4-5.
• Next, work with your group mates and design either a lesson plan or a longer term action plan for implementing RWaC.
You have approximately15 minutes to design your plan.
You can use any passages in the examples on our handouts.
Your own ideas are also more than welcome.
You have to plan what to teach and how to teach it.
• Then, each group will have 5 minutes to present your lesson outline to other groups. Other participants please give
constructive feedback.
a suggested planning template to help you brainstorm ideas
