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
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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 (as found in
textbooks of subjects like Geography, IH, L&S, LS etc.)
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, 7
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:
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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?
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land uses
commercial
residential
e.g. housing estates
e.g.
shopping malls
Other examples of graphic organisers:
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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.
…
Text rhetorical structure building:
What do you think about a History teacher’s study notes below?
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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
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Text rhetorical structure building by means of different forms of summary graphic organisers
Graphic organisers as
“tasks”!!!
From Reading to Writing Example 1
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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.
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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?
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Similarities among the three texts:
Differences among the three texts:
Text 1 Text 2
Extension Text 1: https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3006014/home-schooling-hong- kong-number-families-opting-out-system
Extension Text 2: https://www.scmp.com/print/comment/letters/article/3009055/why-monitoring-hong-kong- home-schoolers-should-be-priority
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.
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Potential for developing positive values on the part of the students?
Again, when we go through these suggested activities
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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”
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From Reading to Writing Example 2
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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?
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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
Let’s take a break!
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We’ll move on to Session 4 when you return.
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.
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