Starting from who they are:
Understanding and designing strategies that support
underachievers in the English classroom
Franky Poon, Vice Principal
HKRSS Tai Po Secondary School
1
Objectives
• To introduce some diagnostic tools to
assess students’ language awareness and
readiness levels
• To suggest strategies which support
diverse learning needs in an inclusive
classroom
Understanding students’ needs
1.
2.
3.
4.
Making no assumptions
Starting from where they are
Linking assessment to teaching
Providing choices
Part One:
Using some diagnostic tools
Letter name / sound
High frequency words
Blending / Phonogram
C
A
N
a
n
Syllabification
Reading comprehension
Part Two: Supporting SpLD
students in an inclusive setting
1.
diagnostic-prescriptive teaching
2.
differentiated materials / learning tasks
3.
visual cues / graphic organizers
4.
multiple representations
5.
strategies to promote learner autonomy and peer encouragement
6.
task analysis techniques
7.
authentic learning activities
8.
computer-assisted learning (CAL)
9.
student strengths as the starting point
16
Prescriptive Teaching
a. Raising phonological awareness in tasks
17
b. Putting sight words in model sentences
http://www.hkrsstpss.edu.hk/subject/English/
sightwords.php
18
c. Raising students’ awareness of sight words in texts
19
2. differentiated materials / learning tasks
Read the following pages and set three
comprehension questions:
1. One for the strongest
2. One for the average
3. One for the weakest
21
Setting questions based on Bloom’s taxonomy
Easy or Difficult?
22
Easy or Difficult?
23
Easy or Difficult?
24
3. Use of visual cues
/ graphic organizers
25
a. Turning a mind map into art
26
27
b. Using mind map in exam
28
Think-Pair-Share (5)
Based on this
composition, what
skills do you think the
student has learnt?
29
4. Allowing Multiple Representations
30
31
Multiple
representations
and Creativity
Think-Pair-Share (1)
What is creativity?
Do you think this piece of
student work is creative?
Why or why not?
Can students with limited
language proficiency be
creative?
What kind of learning
tasks can nurture
creativity among students?
32
5. Promoting learner autonomy
and peer encouragement
33
Think-Pair-Share (2)
• Describe what you saw in the video
• Which scene impresses you most? Why?
6. Task analysis
Step-by-step approach to completing a meaningful task
a. Multi-media input
35
b. Vocabulary building through researching on the Internet
36
c. Using a mind map to organize ideas
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d. Use of Q/A to promote sentence writing
38
e. From sentences
to passages (an
oral presentation)
39
f. Peer assessment
40
7. Designing authentic learning activities
• Sending a post card
41
8. Computer-assisted learning
42
9. Building on Student Strengths
Have you ever seen H.W. like
this?
What would be your response?
43
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Dictation
45
Short writing（H.W.）
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Think-pair-share (3)
What does the above case tell us?
What could be the success factors in
motivating students to learn?
A question to take away …..
Poon, K.C. & Lin, A (2011) “Creating a School Programme to Cater for
Learner Diversity: A Dialog between a School Administrator and an
Academic”
Social Justice Language Teacher Education, Channel View Publications48
Capitalizing on students’ strengths
References
1. Reading a-z http://www.readinga-z.com/
2. Scholastic Phonics Booster Books
3. Ben Fax Saves the Day, Fast Forward,
Thomson Nelson
4. Raz-Kids.com
Thank you