ONGOING RENEWAL OF THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM:
HOLISTIC PLANNING OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM ACROSS KEY STAGES
English Language Education Section Curriculum Development Institute Education Bureau
28 June 2021
OBJECTIVES
Introduce major updates of the English Language Education Key Learning Area Curriculum Guide (P1-S6) (2017);
Enhance curriculum leaders’ capacity in undertaking holistic planning of the English Language curriculum at the primary level; and
Provide hands-on activities and suggestions to facilitate teachers’
knowledge in planning the school-based English Language curriculum
for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.
PART 1: ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION AT THE PRE-PRIMARY, PRIMARY AND
SECONDARY LEVELS
SEVEN LEARNING GOALS OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
https://www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum-
development/7-learning-goals/primary/index.html
https://www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum-development/7- learning-goals/secondary/index.html
PRE-PRIMARY LEVEL
Have balanced development in the domains of ethics, intellect, physique, social skills and aesthetics;
Develop interest in learning, have an inquisitive mind and eagerness to explore;
Cultivate positive values and attitudes; and
Have good living habits and develop a strong and healthy body.
Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide (2017)
Major Updates of the ELE KLACG (P1-S6)
ELE KLACG (P1-S6)(2017)
Literacy Development
Reading across the Curriculum
Integrative Use of Generic Skills Values Education
e-Learning & Information Literacy
Learning and Teaching of Text Grammar
Extending from Assessment for Learning to Assessment as Learning
Catering for the Needs of SEN and Gifted Students in the Mainstream English Classroom
Enhancing the
implementation of READING Workshops
Introducing features of different text types explicitly
Exposing students to different types of texts to enrich their ideas and language used
Ensuring progressive development of reading skills and strategies
Providing opportunities for students to develop their creativity, critical thinking skills and application of skills
Connecting students’
READING and
WRITING experiences
Making alignment between the GE programme and Reading Workshops to design writing tasks with meaningful contextsCONNECTION BETWEEN READING AND WRITING
CONSIDERATION FOR TEACHERS IN PROMOTING RAC
collaborate with teachers of other KLAs to develop learning activities that provide students with opportunities to consolidate the knowledge and skills
acquired across KLAs
design reading activities that reinforce students’
ability to integrate the knowledge, skills and learning experiences gained in different KLAs identify reading materials
in both print and non-print forms that connect students’
learning experiences in different KLAs
develop reading skills and strategies necessary for understanding and analysing language use in English texts
VALUES EDUCATION
Promoting Values Education in Different Domains
Basic Law Education
Human Rights Education
Life Education
Constitution Education
Education for Sustainable Development
National Security Education Civic
Education
Moral and Ethical Education
Media Education
Perseverance
Respect for Others Responsibility
National Identity
Commitment Integrity
Care for Others Law-abidingness
Empathy
Nine Priority Values and Attitudes
Others
RESOURCES ON PROMOTING POSITIVE VALUES AND ATTITUDES:
ENGLISH SAYINGS OF WISDOM (SOW)
www.edb.gov.hk/sow
CONSIDERATION WHEN INCORPORATING VALUES EDUCATION INTO ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM
School vision and mission
English KLA level
School development plan and major
concerns
School level
General English Reading Workshops
Enhancement programmes
Intervention programmes
Cross-KLA level
Reading across the Curriculum
Cross-curricular collaboration Life-wide learning
activities
…
…
• Noticing language patterns and how they are used
• Hypothesising about the ‘rule’
• Exposing to the specific language patterns in texts
• Restructuring the ‘rule’ and applying it in new contexts
TEACHING OF TEXT GRAMMAR
Teaching grammar through texts enables students to see how the choice of language items is affected by the context and how it shapes the tone, style and register of a text.
Exposing
Noticing and hypothesising
(Re)structuring
INTEGRATIVE USE OF GENERIC SKILLS
Two examples : Holistic thinking skills:
the use of critical thinking skills,
problem solving skills and creativity
Collaborative problem solving skills:
the use of collaboration skills,
communication skills and problem solving skills
To prepare students for more complicated tasks
PEDAGOGY TO ENHANCE LITERACY DEVELOPMENT
Interacting with Multimodal Texts
Producing Multimodal Texts
Access information from a variety of
sources
To develop learning, teaching and assessment activities for a unit of work:
Understand the ideas in the multimodal texts
Analyse and explore how messages are presented
Evaluate the messages and values embedded in the multimodal texts Express and create messages using different modes of communication
e-Learning refers to an open and flexible learning mode involving the use of the electronic media, including the use of digital resources and communication tools to achieve the learning objectives.
Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge
E-LEARNING AND INFORMATION LITERACY IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM
Good multimedia and IT resources should:
involve good models of English use;
be based on sound pedagogical principles;
be user-friendly, increase motivation and support learning;
promote the integrated use of language skills; and
encourage student input, allow them to work at their own
pace and provide feedback to them.
Purpose Key Assessor
Assessment for/as
Learning (AfL / AaL)
• Quality feedback for learners, which entails timely support and enrichment
• Information for teachers to review the learning objectives, lesson plans and teaching strategies
• Students’ self-monitoring &
self-correction or adjustment
Teacher / Students
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE ASSESSMENT AS LEARNING
Introducing study skills to students
Guiding students to monitor their
own learning Making use of assessment rubrics to facilitate self-reflection
using different kinds of assessment graphics (e.g. 3-2-1 summariser, SWOT) guiding students to set own goals
modelling of learning strategies (e.g. note-taking skills) through
think-aloud
creating criteria of good practices with students
teaching enabling skills (e.g.
dictionary skills, research skills, phonics skills and vocabulary
building skills)
discussing sample student work and providing quality feedback to
students
guiding students to keep track of their own learning understanding
expected learning outcomes
providing opportunities
for students to practise the skills that need to be learned or
mastered
STRATEGIES TO CATER FOR LEARNER DIVERSITY
•understanding the
strengths/weaknessesand the learning backgroundof students
•understanding the learning interests, styles and needs of students
•designing open-ended tasks
Catering for diverse learning styles and abilities
•adopting flexible grouping/
mixed ability grouping
•grouping students according to the purposes and
requirements of tasks
•providing opportunities for students to share and discuss in groups
Facilitating peer learning
• using questioning
techniques to elicit students’
responses
• giving quality verbal and written feedback in lessons/
homework
• adopting various modes of assessment
Promoting assessment for/as
learning
•motivatingstudents’ interest
•facilitating understanding and providing support
•giving immediate feedback
•engaging students in active/self- directed learning to enhance learning autonomy and allow them to learn at their own pace
Effective use of e- learning repertoire
•providing timely support
•providing scaffolding for students to complete the task
•providing different modes of support in learning tasks (e.g.
visual cues for visual learners)
Providing support and scaffolding
•setting challenging yet
manageable tasksfor students
Giving challenges
Analyse school context
Review and plan ELE curriculum/with other KLAs
Form a professional team
Deploy resources and support
Implement curriculum
Monitor and evaluate curriculum
PART 2: HOLISTIC PLANNING OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM
Horizontal curriculum continuity (Breadth)
• Balanced coverage of language skills, generic skills and enabling skills at each level
Vertical curriculum continuity (Depth)
• Progressive development of language skills, generic skills and enabling skills across levels
• Learning and teaching objectives
• Learning and teaching materials
• Language structures
• Text types
• Reading and writing strategies
• Marking focuses/assessment criteria
• Providing scaffolding and appropriate challenge for students
• Setting reasonable goals and expected learning outcomes for learners of different abilities
Holistic curriculum planning
Level curriculum planning
Listening Skills
Speaking Skills
Reading Skills
Writing Skills
THE LEARNING PROGRESSION FRAMEWORK (LPF)
1. Bear and Deer’s Big Feast (a play)
2. Fast Food Shop (a conversation)
3. How Does your Salad
Grow (an information book) 4. Healthy Snacks (a leaflet)
PART 3 LITERACY SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AT KS1 (USING INFORMATION TEXTS)
Teachingmaterials
Learning objectives
1. A play
(GE Programme)
• To introduce the target vocabulary items about food
• To expose to the target language items, e.g.
Would you like…, I’d like…, and I’d like…
too, to make orders
• To introduce the features of menus
• To highlight the text features of dramas
2. Practice 1 (a role play)
• To practise the target vocabulary and language structure “Would you like … or …?” through role-play
• To conduct a role-play “At a fast food shop”
3. How Does Your Salad Grow (an information book)
• To read and understand the different parts of a plant and how the plants grow
• To read and find out how to make salad
• To write a recipe about making a sandwich
4. Healthy Snacks (a leaflet)
• To read and learn about healthy food items about snacks
• To read and understand why the food items are healthy
1 Matching game: Steps of making an order at a fast food shop
Engaging Students in Task-based Learning Activities to Practise the Target Vocabulary Items and Language Forms
KS1 learners may not have enough experience in buying/ordering food at a restaurant.
The matching game allows students to think about the steps of ordering food and the language/proper manner for buying things.
2 Briefing and revision on the food items
Keeping the menu simple so that the role play is manageable to students.
As the learning objective is on ordering food rather than doing Maths calculations or
reading numbers, the cost of the food was kept straightforward.
Practising the Target Vocabulary Items and Language Forms through Thinking and Doing
3. Demonstration of the role-play
Giving explicit explanations through teacher’s demonstration
Providing opportunities for students to use the vocabulary items and
language forms in familiar contexts
4. Conducting role-play in groups
Allowing students to work in
pairs to take the role of cashier and customers so that they can support each other.
Pre-task: Sharing in pairs about their favourite food to practise the target language structure.
Pre-task: Revision on the vocabulary items about food
Guiding Students to Read a Leaflet on Healthy Snacks &
Connecting Students’ Learning Experiences in General Studies
Activating students’ prior knowledge about their favourite snacks
Students may not know the word “snack” and its difference from main meals. Explanations on the terms would be necessary.
Pre-task: Introducing healthy snacks and classifying the snacks
Providing opportunities for students to use the vocabulary items and language forms in familiar contexts, e.g. “I’d like… They are…”
to describe the taste of food.
Asking students to decide whether the snacks are healthy or not
Guiding Students to Read a Leaflet on Healthy Snacks &
Write about their Favourite Snacks
Guiding students to read the Food Pyramid
Drawing students’ attention to the good points of using diagrams to present
information
Asking students to design their own snack pyramid by drawing and labelling the snacks
Task 1: Learning about the Food Pyramid and providing opportunities for students to
design their own “Snack Pyramid”
Providing two examples for students to model on
Helping students to generate writing ideas with the guiding questions
Using a task specific assessment checklist to conduct peer assessment
Task 2: Writing a short description about their own favourite healthy snacks
It is necessary to break down the steps and provide demonstrations before engaging students in task-based learning activities.
It is good to connect students’ learning
experiences in different KLAs. Students’ prior knowledge in General Studies is helpful for them to understand the information in the leaflet
about the food pyramid.
Opportunities are provided for students to name different kinds of snacks, locate information from the leaflet and identify the features of
information texts.
Students gain ideas and vocabulary items from the leaflet to enrich their own writing, e.g.
nutrition value of healthy snacks, examples of snacks.
Students tend to speak in Cantonese when they work in groups. Classroom routines should be established to reinforce the use of English in
Good Practices &
Points to Note
My favourite snack is low fat strawberry
yogurt. It provides vitamins and a little energy.
I eat it at home on Saturday three hours after lunch. It is very yummy!
My favourite snack is bread. It has (is) starchy. I eat it two hours after lunch.
The bread is very yummy!
Curriculum Mapping
Connecting Students’ Learning Experiences between English Language & General Studies
Content:
Water rationing
Uses of water
Ways to conserve water
Text type:
information
texts: expository
Flowcharts Skills development:
Problem-solving skills
Common teaching points:
English Language
General Studies
• Set focus questions to provide
students with a clear reading purpose
• Use paired texts to deepen students’
understanding of the issue and
develop different reading strategies, e.g. an expository text and a narrative text
Part 3: (KS2) Water Conservation
Learning the Use of Tenses through a Discovery Approach
• Reading an article on water rationing to understand how precious water is to human beings
• Connecting with the learning experience in General Studies
• Instructing students to use pens of different colours to underline the verbs in the simple past tense and present tense (colour-
coding)
• Guiding them to generalise the uses of the two tenses through noticing
• Asking students questions to help them generalise the uses of the tenses, e.g. Where can you find the words in blue? Why did
Focus Question 1: Is water important to us?
Incorporating Different Multi-modal Texts to Cater for Learner Diversity
Reading an
expository text on the water cycle
More able classes Less able classes
Listening to a song on the water cycle
• Guiding students to read the text/ listen to the song on the water cycle
• Helping students visualise the text by using a flowchart to illustrate the different
stages of the water cycle
• Understanding the
importance of conserving water
All classes
Conducting Shared Reading with Students on a Narrative Text
• Reading a story about the problems of water shortage (“A World without Water”)
• Explicit teaching of reading skills
Making use of graphic organisers to help students organise
information in the book
Summarising the uses of water from the story
Students work in pairs to fill in the graphic organiser
Reading skills development:
guessing the meaning of unknown words using contextual and pictorial clues
locating specific information by identifying key words
guessing the likely development of the topic by using personal experiences and knowledge of the world
Positive values and attitudes:
• Gratitude
• Cherishing water as a precious resource
Focus Question 2: What do we use water for?
Conducting a Speaking Activity in Groups to Generate More Ideas for the Writing Task
• Activities adapted from the resource kit from the Water Supplies Department
• Group activities on tips for saving water
• Each group works on a different activity
• Guiding students to discuss with the
group members and write the tip on the paper
• Students stick the paper in the
designated areas after writing the tip
• Allowing students to walk around the classroom to learn other water saving tips
Generic skills:
• Communication
• Collaboration
Writing the water saving tips on the activity sheet
Focus Question 3: How can we save water?
Connecting Students’ Reading and Writing Experiences
• Setting a context for the writing activity:
You were the boy in the story “A World Without Water”. You experienced and knew how life was like when there was no water. You were very sad and decided to do something.
How would you help to save the world?
Responding to the experience of the characters in the story
Writing the ending and
providing tips on ways to save water
Providing opportunities for students to develop their
creativity and problem-solving skills
• Introducing the elements of a good story ending
• Brainstorming and
organising ideas using the mind map
Conducting Teacher, Peer and Parent Assessments
Peer assessment – “Two Stars and a Wish”
Finally, water came back because the old people saved water. Doraemon took the boy back to the real world. The boy was back to the real world.
He learnt how to save water.
The student was able to use the correct tense in the writing.
Students were able to apply different water saving tips appropriately.
So, we didn’t let the water run when we brushed the teeth and reused the water.
Suddenly, an angel appeared and helped me.
Inviting General Studies teachers to assess the content of the writing Parent assessment
Teacher assessment
PROGRESSIVE DEVELOPMENT OF LITERACY SKILLS
KS1 KS2
Reading Skills - Exposure to both narrative and information texts
- Scanning for key words/specific information - Understanding book concepts
- Making predictions
- Understanding unfamiliar words using pictorial cues and contextual clues
- …
- Exposure to a variety of texts, e.g. through RaC - Summarising skill
- Understanding main ideas and supporting details - Making inferences
- Dictionary skills
- Follow ideas by recognising simple text structures and understanding the use of cohesive devices
- … Writing Skills - Writing simple descriptions
- Writing simple stories by providing basic information
- …
- Writing descriptions/recounts with more elaborations and share personal experiences
- Structure the text using paragraphs, including an introduction, body and/or conclusion
- … Teaching
Pedagogies
- Learning through doing, such as role-play, games, show and tell
- Breaking down the teaching steps - Teacher’s demonstration
- Engaging students in task-based learning activities to make the learning purposeful
- Providing opportunities for students to learn from peers, e.g. group discussion, sharing of good work - Learning through awareness raising activities - Introduction of more advanced studies skills, e.g.