HKFYG Lee Shau Kee Primary School

How to develop students’ reading and writing skills?

P.6 School-based Curriculum

Textbook:New Welcome to English

Unit 4: PresentsUnit 7: Helping the police

Rationale: Similar topics + modular approach

Unit 4: Fun Reading (The emperor’s teapot)

Unit 7: Helping the police(Crimewatch)

Focus: Reading and Writing

Background of the students:

-weak in grammar-limited vocabulary-poor reading skills (unable to read independently)-poor writing skills (unable to manage simple sentence structures)

Strategies used:

1. Shared reading in class:

a. Show topicb. Show pictures and key wordsc. Brainstorm with the classd. Make predictionse. Ask open-ended questionsf. Divide the whole passage into small pieces (slow the pace of reading)

(Shared reading approach was used)

put it into practice?

How to

1. What are they going to do?2. What is Kiki doing?3. Will she go and play badminton?

Tying her shoelace

Where is she going?Maggie’s mistake

b. Show pictures and words

a. Show the topic

Reading: The Emperor’s teapot

• Where were they?

• Why was Mr Leung so scared?

Mr LeungMr Leung

Who were they?Who were they?

What was it?What was it?

c. Brainstorming questions(1)

• Who gave Amy the teapot?

• Who wrote the note? What was it about?

• If you were Amy, what would you do?

AmyAmy

What was it?What was it?

c. BrainstormingQuestions(2)

- ask some easy questions after readinga short paragraph - let students guess the development of the story

-students will not predict once they open their textbooks

Vs

d. Allow easy predictions

1. What are they going to do?2. What is Kiki doing?3. Will she go and play badminton?

Where is she going?

Maggie’s mistake

d. Allow easy predictions

• Who gave Amy the teapot?

• Who wrote the note? What was it about?

• If you were Amy, what would you do?

AmyAmy

What was it?What was it?

e. Ask open-ended questions

2. Support reading by picture clues(worksheet):

-divide the whole passage into small pieces-Provide picture clues (for comprehension worksheet)

Strategies used:

Last month some thieves stole a valuable teapot from a museum in Hong Kong. They took the teapot to America but the American police found it. The museum sent Mr Leung to America to collect the teapot. On the plane back to Hong Kong he noticed two men. They were watching him closely. “Perhaps they’re going to steal the teapot again. I must think of a plan,” he thought.

Strategies used:

3. Design of the worksheets

a. Be consistentb. Include various types of questionsc. Cover different reading skillsd. Extract useful words from the storye. Include sentence making f. Write simple ending for the storyg. Write a simple story with picture clues

Qs in class = Qs in worksheets

a. Be consistent

More practice in class help to answer open-ended Qs in worksheet

b. Include various types of Qs

Types of questions:

a. Wh- questionsb. Yes/ No questionsc. Open-ended questions

c. Cover different reading skills

Skills:1. Referencing skillse.g. “I’m going to buy him one. What does

“one” mean?

2. Expressing idease.g. What do you think of Mary?

Do you think Mary is clever? Why?

d. Extract useful words from the story

Why???- prepare for story-writing

Examples :a. thoughtb.whisperc. saidd.shouted

e. Include sentence making

- prepare for story-writing

Why???

Example:Maggie watched Kiki all afternoon. “Kiki looks like a thief. She talks like a thief and she walks like a thief. I’m sure she stole my watch,” thought Maggie.

Guided Writing.1a. ______________looks like ______________________.1b. ______________talks like ______________________.

f. Write simple ending for the story

Dear _________________,

This morning I found my watch in my school bag. I ______________________. I have to say ____________. I should ________________________________. I hope ____________________________________________.

Yours faithfully, _______________________

Example (1):After Maggie had found her watch, she felt very sorry. So she decided to write Kiki a letter to say sorry. Complete the letter with the help of the given words.

forgive trust sorry wrong make a mistake

Example (2):

unfriendly get angry impatientmake friends share things

Use the following words to write a short story.

Mary is _____________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Very difficult exercise for students!

Strategies used:

Supports: a. Provide picture cluesb. Provide guided questionsc. Brainstorming in class (ideas)d. Vocabulary provided by teacher

End product!!

g. Write a simple story with picture clues

Example:

Write the story. Use the guided questions to help you.

Superman

What is the name of Superman?What does he do? Where does he work?

Where was Superman? What did he see? What were the thieves going to do?

Where was Superman? What did he do?

What did Superman do?What were the thieves going to do? Draw and write the ending of the story.

Thank you!