1 Experience Sharing from Carmel Divine Grace Foundation Secondary School Strategies for Catering for Learner Diversity in the New Senior Secondary (NSS) English Language Curriculum: Reflections and Thinking Forward
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Experience Sharing fromCarmel Divine Grace Foundation Secondary School
Strategies for Cateringfor Learner Diversity in the
New Senior Secondary (NSS) English Language Curriculum:
Reflections and Thinking Forward
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Overview
Reflections on the first year of implementing the NSS curriculum at S4
Plans to cater for learner diversity
Conclusion
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Reflections on 2009/10Areas of progress
Exposure to Language Arts through1. the General English (GE) programme
at JS level2. English Reading lessons
Teachers’ capacity enhancement
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Progress 1: Exposure to Language Arts
Task-based Language Arts units in the GE programme at JS level (since 2006/07)
Level ThemeLanguage Arts
Covered
S1 SchoolFictionPoemsDrama
S2 LovePoemsSongs
Short Stories
S3 War and Peace
FictionSongsPoems
Short Stories
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English reading lessons
1. Intensive reading component (since 2006/07)
Level Language Arts Covered
S1Short Stories
DramaPoems
S2Print Fiction
Print Non-fictionPoems
S3Non-print Non-fiction
DramaRap
2. Literature sets (since 2008/09)
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Rationale behind the curriculum design
Students’ limited exposure to language arts in primary schools
Stretching the potentials of our students
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Major problems:
1. Teachers’ lack of experience in teaching language arts
2. Lack of resources
Curriculum implementation
Success factors:
1. Teachers’ interest and initiative2. Students’ interest and ability
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Progress 2: Teachers’ Capacity Enhancement
NSS-related courses
Teacher training by service providers
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Major Area for Improvement
Catering for learner diversity at
classroom level
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Current Measures to Cater for Learner Diversity
Split class arrangement
Plan for 2010/11Adopting a more structured approach in teaching practices to maximise benefits to students of all ability levels
Pulling out 12 students from the weakest class
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Approaches and Strategies to Be Adopted
Varying degree of teacher support and appropriate scaffolding (e.g. through tiered / graded activities; prompting and questioning)
Suitably challenging activities (e.g. open-ended questions, creative work)
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An Illustration from the Elective Module on Short Stories
Text: “The Dance”by Tara Millican
[page S12 of Learning English through Short Stories (Secondary 4-6): A Resource Package]
Summary of the StoryA girl sits nervously around the dance area, watching people dance.She anxiously hopes someone will invite her to dance. She is disappointed when a boy walks towards her but invites the girl sitting next to her instead.
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Learning Objectives and ActivitiesLearning Objectives:
To understand the main characterthrough interacting closely with the text
To understand the character’s thoughts and feelings through considering herappearance and behaviour
To express personal response to the character and the way she is created
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Learning Objectives and Activities
Activity:
Complete a graphic organiser on the character’s appearance/ behaviour, thoughts and feelings
Answer some open-ended questions to express personal views
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Strategies to Cater for Learner Diversity
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Strategy 1: Varying Degree of Teacher Support and Appropriate ScaffoldingI. Material Design
different activity sheets and/or learning tasks (with same learning objectives) designed for learners of different ability levels
Tiered / Graded activities
Varying degree of supportprovision of examples, clues and options
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Strategy 1: Varying Degree of Teacher Support and Appropriate ScaffoldingII. Teaching Process and Approaches
Simplifying or blocking outparts of the text if necessary
Dividing the text into chunks for students to read
Guided / Supported Reading
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Explaining difficult vocabulary or introducing relevant reading strategies (e.g. guessing meaning of words from context; identifying main ideas and skipping difficult vocabulary that do not affect understanding) where appropriate
Strategy 1: Varying Degree of Teacher Support and Appropriate Scaffolding
Guided / Supported Reading
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Strategy 1: Varying Degree of Teacher Support and Appropriate Scaffolding
Demonstrating how to select information to complete the graphic organiser with part of the story (e.g. Paragraph 1)
Guiding students to start considering how the character feels based on details of her appearance / behaviour
Guided / Supported Reading
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Strategy 1: Varying Degree of Teacher Support and Appropriate Scaffolding
Guided / Supported Reading
Deepening students’ understanding of the plot and character with the use of prompts and questions
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Examples of Prompts and Questions
For the Less advanced:What is the main character doing with her chair (Paragraph 1)? (Teacher might mime if necessary)
What are the others doing while the main character stays lonely and cold in her seat (Paragraph 1)?
What happens to her body? We are also told that there is _______ (something that looks like beads) on her forehead (Paragraph 4).
What does the main character say to herself (Paragraph 5)?
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Examples of Prompts and Questions
For the Average:Where is the main character in the story?
What is she doing while other people are dancing?
Does she feel comfortable and relaxed? Why or why not?
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Examples of Prompts and Questions
For the More advanced:
The main character undergoes a change in the story. What is this change and how does it add to our understanding of her as a character?
Do you find the main character interesting and life-like? Explain your answer.
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Note:
The graphic organiser should not be taken as a gap-fill exercise. Students should be guided through well-sequenced questions to see:
the connection between the three blocks (i.e. appearance and movements, thoughts and feelings)
how the writer uses details and descriptions to make the character vivid and interesting
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Strategy 2: Suitably Challenging Activities
Using activities to stretch students, helping them interact with the story and express their personal views (Experience Strand of English Language learning)
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Examples
Guided Questions and ReponsesSuitable for the less advanced students
If I were the main character, I would have the
same/different feelings because __________________
____________________________. What I will do next
is to _________________________________________
because ______________________________________
_____________________________________________.
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Open-ended / Free Response Questions
Suitable for average to more advanced students
How would you feel if you were the main character? Why?
If you were the main character, how would you handle the situation?
What advice would you give the main character if you were her best friend?
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Creative Work
Suitable for the more advanced students
Is the main character’s problem resolved at the end of the story? Continue the story with two more paragraphs to show what is going to happen to her.
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Conclusion
Appropriate scaffolding is important for all learners. It enables the less advanced students to interact with the story and understand the character, and the more advanced to achieve beyond the target objectives and connect what they have learnt to a wider context.
Activities for tapping students’ potential are necessary for all learners. Even the less advanced could also be suitably challenged by, for instance, open-ended questions that require them to express their personal views.
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The End