Gifted Education School Network Experience Sharing Compendium - English Language Education

Adopting Parallel Curriculum Model in the English Classroom to Facilitate Students’ Learning

- CCC Mong Wong Far Yok Memorial Primary School

• This lesson example demonstrates how Parallel Curriculum Model (PCM) could be adopted in the English classroom to facilitate students’ learning, as well as stretching the potential of gifted/ more able students.
• With the use of PCM, the teacher reinforced basic knowledge of the topic, helped students draw connections among what is known and what is unknown, and developed learner autonomy through conducting mini-research on endangered animals.

Realising the Potential of Gifted/ More Able Students by Nurturing Multiple Intelligences in the English Classroom

- Christian Pui Yan Primary School

• This lesson example emphasises the importance of nurturing the multiple intelligences of students through engaging students in purposeful and meaningful learning and assessment tasks.
• The following differentiated instructional strategies were employed to stretch students’ potential:
  - Tiered worksheets as input
  - Flexible grouping
  - Tiered questioning

Enhancing Students’ Higher-order Thinking Skills through Effective Use of Tiered Questioning

- S.K.H. YAN LAAP MEMORIAL PRIMARY SCHOOL

• This lesson example showcases the effective use of tiered questioning to enhance students’ creativity and higher-order thinking skills.
• Scaffolded learning tasks were used to develop students’ summarsing skills (i.e. identify and articulate key details) while developing their reading and writing skills, thus maximising students’ learning.
• Values education elements were also infused into the unit to foster students’ whole-person development and enhance students’ understanding and appreciation of efforts made by the older generations.

Enhancing Students’ Higher-order Thinking Skills through Effective Use of Tiered Questioning: A Practice in the Senior Form Writing Classroom

- The E.L.C.H.K. Yuen Long Lutheran Secondary School

• This lesson example emphasises the use of tiered questioning in various carefully designed learning tasks to develop students’ higher-order thinking skills.
• The following strategies/ tasks were employed to stretch students’ potential:
  - TEE model in paragraph writing (scaffolds to build up and reinforce students’ writing technique)
  - rubrics to facilitate self-reflection and giving of constructive feedback
  - different modes of assessments (i.e. debates and writing) to evaluate student learning

Deep Reading via Non-fiction Texts: Developing Students’ Higher-order Thinking Skills

- NLSI Lui Kwok Pat Fong College

• This lesson example illustrates the use of non-fiction texts to teach deep reading skills and develop students’ higher-order thinking skills. For gifted/ more able students, they are empowered to grasp complex concepts and theme, as well as drawing insightful connections between the selected text and their own lives.
• The following strategies were employed to stretch students’ potential:
  - selecting a rich reading text
  - asking higher-order questions with wait time to encourage thoughtful responses from students
  - engaging students in meaningful discussions
  - promoting self-reflection

Developing Students’ Creativity through Riddle Writing in the English Classroom

- CCC Heep Woh Primary School

• This lesson example demonstrates how the teacher makes use of riddle poem to teach the creative use of simile, metaphor (for gifted/ more able students) and concrete imagery.
• Students are introduced to a series of activities in order to explore riddle poems: reading sample riddle poems and guessing the answers; analysing the riddle poems to find the techniques used, defining what makes a good riddle poem and creating their own riddle poems.

Enhancing Students’ Creativity and Higher-order Thinking Skills through Scaffolding and Self-directed Learning

- Tai Po Methodist School

• This lesson example emphasises the use of cooperative learning to facilitate interaction in the group to acquire and practise the target content and language features in order to complete the task (creating a healthy eating poster).
• Through group discussion, presentation and peer evaluation, students are guided by scaffolding activities to think critically and make informed decisions, and improve their work through peer evaluation.

Effective Use of Differentiated Instructional Strategies to Nurture Creativity and Empathy

- Lam Tin Methodist Primary School

• This lesson example demonstrates the use of various differentiated instructional strategies, including flexible grouping, tiered questioning and tiered learning tasks, etc., to cater for learner diversity in the regular classroom.
• An authentic learning experience is created to help students learn more about animal conservation, develop an awareness of animal needs and nurture their love for wildlife.
• In group activities, gifted/ more able students are assigned to coordinate and lead their group members to collect and analyse information, brainstorm possible actions to conserve the endangered animals and create a promotional poster to urge the public to take action. Students with various abilities are given opportunities to demonstrate their potential and develop a creative approach to problem solving.

Incorporating Life-wide Elements in the English Curriculum: Understanding, Exploration and Appreciation

- NLSI Lui Kwok Pat Fong College

• This lesson example showcases how teacher incorporates life-wide elements in the curriculum to help students understand, explore and appreciate the city they live in.
• Students are guided to learn in real contexts and authentic setting by conducting field trips to various sightseeing spots and making vlogs to introduce the places to the audience.
• Through the use of flexible grouping and tiered learning tasks, students make linkage between classroom learning and daily lives and successfully apply target grammar items in the extended writing task.

Fostering Information Literacy in the English Classroom

- Kau Yan College

• This lesson example demonstrates the use of AI (i.e. ChatGPT) to foster information literacy in the English Classroom.
• With the use of tiered reading materials, tiered questioning and flexible grouping, students are engaged with the reading text, collaborate effectively in expert groups and apply critical thinking skills to make informed decisions (i.e. evaluating the pros and cons of using ChatGPT in schools from different stakeholder perspectives).

Enhancing Students' Persuasive Writing and Critical Thinking Skills through the Use of Diversified Evidence

- Wah Yan College (Kowloon)

• This lesson example shows the use of scaffolding to help students analyse and evaluate an issue from different perspectives, and make use of diversified evidence to develop persuasive writing skills.
• Gifted/ more able students are tasked to challenge others for clarification, explanation or even rebuttal to enhance their active listening and higher order thinking skills.

Stretching Students’ Potential through the Adoption of Literature Circle in the English Classroom

- TWGHs Ko Ho Ning Memorial Primary School

• This lesson example demonstrates how young students (Primary 2) learn to engage with texts by setting tiered questions on their own, and take control of their literacy in positive and rewarding ways.
• Students’ creativity and higher-order thinking skills are also nurtured and stretched through the tiered creative writing tasks.

Sparking Curiosity, Helping Students Ask Better Questions and Showing Creativity

- Munsang College Primary School

• This lesson example demonstrates how two particular skills of reciprocal teaching – questioning and predicting can be incorporated in reading lessons.
• With the use of tiered worksheets, students are engaged with the reading text, monitor and build comprehension through questioning and make use of their prediction skills to solve the problem presented in the reading text.

Nurturing Students’ Higher-order Thinking Skills in the English Classroom

- NLSI Lui Kwok Pat Fong College

• To help students build strong and sound arguments in writing, it is important to show them the differences between facts and opinions and how facts can serve to support and strengthen an opinion.
• This lesson example showcases how teacher can help students differentiate evidence and personal observation/ opinions and how fact could be used to validate and strengthen students’ reasoning.