Tai Po Old Market Public School 3 March

Tai Po Old Market Public School 3 March 2007 1

School’s reading programs P. 1 -P. 3 P. 4 -P. 6 NET EERS EIRS 2

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Major learning targets and objectives for P 6 reading KS • To interpret and use given information through activities: predicting, explaining, comparing, sequencing, matching and drawing conclusions • To understand how simple texts are organized ES • To respond to characters and events in narrative texts through making predictions, inferences and evaluative comments IS • To participate with others in exchanging ideas and information in order to accomplish a task 4

Supported Reading to Independent Reading Ø Give students the opportunity to read, talk and think their way through a new story Ø Let students learn and practise new strategies for making sense of a story Ø Encourage students to take control of the first reading, to give a critical response, and to talk about messages and meaning in the text 5

Learner-centred teaching approach the teacher introduces what the learning strategy is, when the strategy should be used, and how to go about using it. the teacher engages in the task with the students take over the task of using the strategy with the teacher helping and intervening as needed the students independently use the strategy under the teacher’s supervision 6

Central philosophy of cooperative learning Social constructivism learning is conceived as best occurring in a social setting with support from interaction with peers and with more capable persons – including teachers and classmates. Piaget Vygotsky 7

Provide a different mode of learning Mutual Support Full participation Advantages of cooperative learning Enhance motivation in learning Authentic situation Less pressure 8

Developing Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategies Macaro (2001) Cognitive strategies Metacognitive strategies 9

Preparing for the reading activity • Selecting appropriate stories---slightly above pupils’ average level (ZPD) example : The country Mouse and the City Mouse • Planning for grouping arrangements in the classroom • Assigning different reading tasks for pupils according to 10 their abilities

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Scaffolding process in teaching and learning Group Whole class • Read the reading materials • Revise 6 Wh-questions • Teach them useful expressions • Different roles of the group members • Group demonstration Prepare the students • Prepare the questions at home • T discusses the assigned part with the students • Equip students with the language and skills need • Prepare the questions that the classmates might ask 12

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Scaffolding process with teacher and peer support • Teacher support at the pre-reading stage - teacher demonstration - explaining the learning procedures - teaching the necessary basic skills e. g. formulating questions, using formulaic expressions to facilitate discussion • Peer support at the while-reading stage - demonstration by a more competent pupil in discussing the reading contents -making predictions -questioning about the reading contents -clarifying the ambiguity in the reading contents -inviting different points of views - peers taking turns to lead the discussion - prompts and praises 14

Peer literary scaffolding strategy Student Instructor (1) (2) Student Instructor (4) (3) (Adapted from reciprocal teaching-Students take turns leading a dialogue concerning sections of a reading text) 15

Primary 6 Story: The country mouse and the city mouse • Question generation - preparing oneself to read for understanding • Clarifying - vocabulary/phrases/ideas of the text 16

Peer interaction in making sense of the story Story: The country mouse and the city mouse • Group A (in 2 mins. ) • Group B (in 5 mins. ) 17

Group A S 1: What did the country mouse feel after he go back… went back to the little hole they had come in? S 4: The question is too long. S 1: I can say it again. What did the country mouse feel after it went back to the little hole where they had come in? Who can answer this question? Denny, I think you can try. S 3: Danger…Sorry…. I think …. S 1: It’s not difficult. S 4: We don’t know that answer. S 3: Can you give me some hints? S 1: You can see third sentence in this paragraph. S 2: Which paragraph? S 1: This. Can you find it? S 2: Yes. Shaking all over. (in a low voice) S 4: We don’t know. S 3: Pardon. S 1: I can hear that you’ve say it is ‘shaking all over’. 18

Group A S 1: I want you to read the last two paragraphs…. . S 1: I want to ask why they are afraid of the old cat. Denny, I think you want to answer the question. S 3: Because the cat will eat them. S 1: This is done well. I want to ask all of you to give me some opinions. If you were the city mouse, would you like your daily life? First I would like Alex to answer the question first. S 4: I think I don’t like this life because this life is very dangerous. S 1: You try it very good and the answer is also good. David, what do you think? S 2: I want to be …. I like this life because in the city the mouse can use many machine. S 1: Such as…. S 2: Air-condition because it is very hot and you can have some cool air. S 3: If I am the city mouse, I will like the city life because the life is exciting. S 1: You all did a great job. 19

Group B S 5: Okay, some cheese would be put on the trap like this. S 7: Thank you, teacher. S 8: May I take this paper. S 5: This is mine. S 5: In paragraph 1, could the country mouse run away safely? S 6, S 7, S 8: Yes. S 5: Yes, you have done a great job. Then in paragraph 2, where did the city mouse bring the country mouse to? S 7: They will go to the cillar…cellar. S 5: Yes, your answer is right. What can you find in the shelf on paragraph 3? Can you give me some examples? S 8: I know. It is a jar of butter and cheese in the bags and out of bags. S 5: There is something else. S 7: There is some sausage and some spicy apples in barrels standing about. (S 7 re-read the paragraph. ) S 7: I don’t know, teacher. Can you say the answer… S 5: On the shelf there are cheese, butter and some sausages, apples. Do you know what does the word ‘trap’ mean? S 7: Where is the ‘trap’? S 5: T-R-A-P S 7: T-R-… (looking for the word) S 8: T-R-A … 20

(continued) S 5: Do you know what this word mean? S 7: Where? S 8: Yes, The minute the mouse touch the cheese with their teeth something comes down on their head hard. S 5: All right, I want to ask a question. Do you think the country mouse will listen to the city mouse to stop when the city mouse said there is a trap? S 7: Yes, what is a trap? Can you explain it? S 5: When a mouse comes inside the trap and touch the food on the trap, something will go …will drop down and the mouse will dead. S 7: I think the country mouse will not listen because the city mouse bring the country mouse to the city but it know it was dangerous. It also bring the country mouse to the city. That means the country mouse think the city mouse play a trick on him. So he don’t listen to it. S 8: I think the country mouse will stop because if the country mouse touch it, he will die. S 5: Okay, but there is not much time the city mouse can tell the country mouse what is a trap mean. S 7: I think the country mouse did not know what is a trap because he has never seen a trap in the country. S 5: Yes. Now what’s the country mouse think of the city? S 7: I think the country mouse think the city is dangerous. It is not suitable for the country mouse. I think it will go back to the countryside. S 5: I’ll pass the time to Jacky. 21

Developing generic skills 22

Personal and social values and attitudes • Work cooperatively with others to complete a task • Develop confidence in using English through performing tasks • Show keenness to participate in activities leading to improvement of knowledge and skills in the language and not worrying about making mistakes 23

Roles of students and teachers • Students are perceived as active learners and supporters to construct knowledge. • Teachers are to provide instruction on a need-toknow basis with flexibility and variations, i. e. teachers do not only aim at maintaining the conformity of students’ basic skills, but to make good use of pupils’ diversity of expertise and interest to enrich classroom learning. 24

Actions necessary for effective student reading • must be a long-termed practice • must have extensive practices in different contexts to promote strategy efficiency • must develop coordinated use of strategies in conjunction with knowledge of other sorts 25

Significance in peer scaffolding learning • Promotes application of cognitive and metacognitive skills • Provides the necessary experience of different points of views • Provokes pupils’ thinking • Emphasizes co-operation and fairness in social relations---a relationship of equality • Shares responsibility in collaborative interaction 26

Teachers’ observation on student learning • Able to read with speed, understanding and enjoyment. • Able to adopt different skills: skimming and scanning for ideas, re-reading to confirm meaning, clarifying unclear materials, exploring the meaning of the reading texts through questioning, elaborating ideas, inferencing, seeking help for better understanding. • Well-engaged in discussion and making more effort to contribute ideas/express own feelings. • Students can apply the classroom language that they acquire during the English lesson. 27

Difficulties and unfavourable conditions for conducting peer scaffolding learning • A lot of planning time is needed. • One teaching period for accomplishing the reading task is inadequate. • The peer scaffolding reading activity is not suitable for a class with too many less able students. • Students without basic reading skills will have great difficulty to adopt peer scaffolding. 28

References O’Malley, J. M. and Chamot, A. U. (1990). Learning Strategies in Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Garton, A. F. (2004). Exploring Cognitive Development. Oxford: Blackwell. 29

Thank you ! 30