Supporting students' learning and whole-person development through Reading across the Curriculum

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Background

In 2021/22, St. Clare's Girls' School introduced a Reading across the Curriculum (RaC) programme in S1, with an aim to enhance students' reading skills and increase their knowledge about what was happening around them locally and internationally. To plan the newly-introduced RaC curriculum, the English Language teachers reviewed the existing reading curriculum in Key Stage 3 to identify the reading strategies needed to be introduced in S1 and reinforced in the following two year levels. Since fostering students' self-learning and whole-person development were also the school's development focuses, the English Language teachers addressed these two focuses by infusing self-directed learning (SDL) elements and values education into the RaC curriculum.

Level

S1

Strategies used

When planning the RaC programme, the English Language teachers used the following four strategies to support S1 students' learning and whole-person development.

1. Using the VASK framework as the backbone of the RaC programme
   The English Language teachers adopted the VASK (i.e. Proper values and attitudes, Skills and Knowledge) framework as the backbone when planning the RaC programme (see Figure 1). This framework is characterised by the interconnected components of the curriculum framework – Knowledge in Key Learning Areas, Generic Skills, and Values and Attitudes (Curriculum Development Council, 2017). The English Language teachers ensured that the RaC programme, the learning and teaching materials, and tasks and activities designed for students could address these three domains of the framework.
   

   

   Figure 1. The VASK framework
   (Adapted from p.8 of Secondary Education Curriculum Guide Booklet 2 Learning Goals, School Curriculum Framework and Planning)

2. Fostering cross-curricular collaboration to identify and address students' learning needs
   To have a better understanding about students' learning needs in non-language subjects, the English Language teachers analysed the learning and teaching materials used in those subjects to know more about the themes and the language demands. They also consulted non-language subject teachers on the choice of reading materials and design of tasks to ensure that students' learning needs in the non-language subjects could be addressed.

3. Diversifying input, designing different tasks and using life-wide learning to enrich students' learning experiences
   The English Language teachers used a range of texts, including multimodal texts to cater for students' diverse learning interests. They also designed different tasks (e.g. oral presentations, self-reflection) that helped students develop generic skills (e.g. collaboration) and SDL capabilities, and enabled them to apply the knowledge and skills learnt in the RaC programme. Through these tasks, teachers could evaluate students' learning performance more holistically. In addition, life-wide learning, which aims to extend student learning from the classroom setting to other contexts (Education Bureau, 2024), was deployed to enable students to experience the topic in a more immersive way. The English Language teachers arranged virtual cultural visits, enabling students to deepen their understanding about the topic covered in the RaC programme.

4. Using different pedagogical practices to develop students' literacy skills in the RaC programme
   While planning the RaC programme, the English Language teachers considered how to build up students' vocabulary, develop and reinforce their reading strategies, and help them learn new grammar items more effectively. They deployed different pedagogical tools and strategies (e.g. use of visuals, recycling) to help students enhance their language skills.

What happened

1. Curriculum planning
   The English Language teachers took the steps below when designing the RaC programme:

   Steps	Domains in the VASK framework addressed	What was done
   1	Knowledge (K)	Decided to collaborate with one non-language subject at a time by taking into consideration the time frame of the project (i.e. one year) and teachers’ experience in planning and implementing RaC. Identified three non-language subjects, namely Technology and Living (TL hereafter), History, and Computer Literacy (CL hereafter) based on teachers' perceptions of students' interests and linguistic demands of the subjects.
   2	K & Generic skills (S)	Adopted the language-based approach to implementing the RaC programme, focusing on the language items that students would encounter in non-language subjects. Identified students’ learning needs (e.g. rhetorical functions, language features, note-taking) in each non-language subject by analysing the textbooks and other learning and teaching materials (e.g. PowerPoint) used in the English Language subject and the three non-language subjects. Sequenced the language items to be progressively developed by considering students’ prior knowledge, the complexity of the language items used in each non-language subject, and the transition between S1 and S2. Incorporated generic skills (e.g. communication skills) into the RaC programme.
   3	K	Mapped the learning elements of the English Language subject and each non-language subject by identifying the common theme, language items and visual representations between the two subjects. Figure 2 serves as an example to illustrate how curriculum mapping between English Language and History was conducted. Figure 2. Curriculum mapping between English Language and History
   4	Proper values and attitudes (VA)	Infused proper values and attitudes (i.e. building a healthy self, appreciating cultures and caring our city) into the RaC programme to address two of the seven learning goals, namely, national and global identity and healthy lifestyle, and the school’s framework of fostering students’ whole-person development.

   The curriculum plan was produced after the above four steps were taken (see Figure 3).

   

   Figure 3. Curriculum plan of the RaC programme




2. Instructional design
   The English Language teachers selected different kinds of texts, developed varied tasks, and incorporated a life-wide learning activity in one of the units to broaden students' knowledge base, develop their language and generic skills, and cultivate their proper values and attitudes, with an aim to support students' learning in both language and non-language subjects, enrich their learning experiences and foster their whole-person development.

   Strategies	Domains in the VASK framework addressed	Details
   Selecting different kinds of texts	K	To increase students' knowledge and cater for their learning interest, the English Language teachers selected reading texts based on three principles: authenticity of the texts, multimodality and variety. Authentic written materials published by the government (e.g. a pamphlet, a blueprint), online videos, and an online flipbook were selected. To suit students' English levels, the English Language teachers would adapt reading texts when necessary. The English Language teachers used the selected reading texts to draw students' attention to the target skills and language items, as well as to enable them to learn subject-related vocabulary. Below are some examples: Food Lab (English and TL) Ancient civilisations (English and History) Smart Living, Smart City (English and CL) Through an authentic pamphlet, students learnt to use the imperatives to propose solutions. Using an adapted foreword, students learnt prefixes (e.g. ant-, dec-) that may appear in History, facilitating them to work out the meaning of unfamiliar words. Using an authentic blueprint, students learnt CL-related vocabulary (e.g. digital identity) and compounding (e.g. broadband), a common word formation process in CL, and how to describe data and trends using adjectives and the language of approximation.
   Developing varied tasks	K & S	To develop students' generic skills (e.g. communication and collaboration skills), and enable them to apply knowledge (e.g. target language items) and other skills (e.g. research skills), the English Language teachers designed tasks in written and spoken modes:   Modes Tasks Group Written • Leaflet design • PowerPoint presentation Spoken • Oral presentations Individual Written • A mini-research project • Self-evaluation and reflection For the mini-research project designed to develop independent learning, students researched a language they were interested in by searching and identifying relevant information on their own to understand more about that language. They then used a timeline to show its development. Upon the completion of the RaC programme, students conducted a self-reflection on what was done well, what improvement could be made and what follow-up action would be taken. All these are the key elements of developing their SDL capabilities. To promote assessment for learning, the English Language teachers prepared a detailed rubric for oral presentations, enabling students to understand the assessment criteria and get feedback from their teachers.
   Using life-wide learning	K, S & VA (appreciating Chinese culture)	Due to the pandemic, it was difficult for teachers to organise life-wide learning activities outside the school. To get round the unfavourable circumstance, the English Language teachers arranged two virtual cultural visits, enabling students to understand more about oracle-bone inscription (OBI), the writing system used in ancient China, with a view to enriching student' learning experiences. Students could choose to visit Shanghai Museum and appreciate the masterpieces through watching a video, and/or to visit a virtual gallery organised by a local tertiary institution, in which they could appreciate exhibits, calligraphic works and Chinese couplets written in OBI. Students completed questions of different complexity levels to consolidate their learning after the visit. Two examples are shown in Figure 4. An easier question: Extracting information from the video A more challenging question: Translating a Chinese heptasyllabic couplet written in OBI to English after the visit to the virtual gallery Figure 4. Two questions of different complexity levels

3. Pedagogical design
   The English Language teachers deployed a variety of pedagogical tools and strategies in the RaC programme to develop students' language skills. Below are a few examples:

   1. Using recycling to help students internalise a reading strategy
      In the first unit, the English Language teachers introduced to students a previewing strategy – T.H.I.E.V.E.S., which stands for "Title", "Headings", "Introduction", "Every first sentence", "Visuals and Vocabulary", "Ending" and "Summarise thinking/So what". Students used this previewing strategy to get the gist of a reading text and anticipate what to read in the paragraphs. To internalise the strategy, students repeatedly used T.H.I.E.V.E.S throughout the RaC programme. They were also expected to apply this previewing strategy in non-language subjects and when searching information for their mini-research project.

   2. Breaking a new skill into small steps
      The English Language teachers broke a new skill or technique into smaller steps, facilitating students to learn it more easily. As an illustration, in the second unit, students learnt to plot a timeline after reading an adapted written text in four steps:

      Step 1:	Highlight numbers, words and expressions related to time.
      Step 2:	Read the line(s) before and/or after the time expression to retrieve the full description of the event. Change pronouns when necessary. (An example was given for students to understand how to change pronouns.)
      Step 3:	Follow the examples given to complete the rest of a timeline for the reading text.
      Step 4:	Provide a title for the timeline.

      In the third unit, students worked out how to list items by following six steps (see Figure 5). They were expected to use the same techniques to present listed items when preparing their PowerPoint presentations.

      

      Figure 5. Students learning a new skill through small steps

   3. Deconstructing authentic texts to increase the text comprehensibility
      It could be challenging for S1 students to comprehend authentic texts. To address the issue, the English Language teachers deconstructed those texts by:

      1. drawing students' attention to the text features (e.g. headings, visuals);

      2. looking at the function of each paragraph (e.g. to give details, to propose solutions); and

      3. analysing the language items used in the authentic texts (e.g. proposing solutions through imperatives).

   4. Using visuals to help students acquire new knowledge
      The English Language teachers helped students understand word composition and learn a new grammar item more easily through graphic organisers (see Figure 6) and the use of colours and shapes (see Figure 7) to highlight key features.

      

      Figure 6. Learning the compositions of words through hierarchical charts

      
      

      Figure 7. Learning a new grammar item through colours and shapes

   
   

   Impact

   1. Curriculum level
      The school's English reading curriculum has been systematically developed to meet the specific needs of students and subject requirements. Reviewing the existing English reading curriculum enabled the English Language teachers to identify the reading strategies that could be introduced to S1 students through the RaC programme (e.g. identifying the main ideas in a text, working out the meaning of unknown words). The enriched reading curriculum has enhanced the vertical continuity of the reading curriculum at the junior levels since students' reading strategies are developed in a progressive manner, building a smoother transition of English learning from Key Stage 3 to Key Stage 4.

   2. Teacher level

      When planning the RaC programme, the English Language teachers' knowledge about RaC grew steadily, and their capability in curriculum planning and mapping was strengthened. In addition, closer collaboration between subject departments was observed as there was more communication between the English Language teachers and non-language subject teachers when they were conducting curriculum mapping and designing materials. Cross-disciplinary collaboration was also strengthened through their joint effort to give students feedback on their oral presentations in RaC lessons (see Figure 8).

      Figure 8. A TL teacher and English Language teacher giving students feedback

   3. Student level
      First, as revealed by students' learning products in Unit 2 and Unit 3, they were able to deconstruct reading texts about the development of a foreign language through a timeline (see Figure 9). They also used the imperatives to propose solutions to address the issues identified in the school and defining relative clause to describe things (see Figure 10).

      

      Figure 9. A student using a timeline to plot the development of French for Unit 2
      (English Language and History)
      (unedited student work)

      
      

      Figure 10. A group of students applying the target language items in their PowerPoint presentation in Unit 3
      (English Language and Computer Literacy)
      (unedited student work)

      In addition, students found the skills learnt in the RaC programme useful and transferrable. Revealed by students' self-evaluation, about three-quarters of students tried to apply what they learnt in the programme (e.g. reading strategies) in other subjects (e.g. TL). Students' self-reflections also revealed that they found the reading strategies (e.g. T.H.I.E.V.E.S, working out the meaning of unknown words) and graphic organiser (timeline) taught in the programme useful.

      Finally, students' SDL capabilities were nurtured, and proper values and attitudes were cultivated in them. Allowing students to research the development of a language gave them more autonomy in learning. Self-evaluation enabled students to build up their reflective ability, enabling them to become reflective learners. In addition, students could get to know more about the importance of OBI for us, as Chinese, to learn about the past and appreciate its beauty (see Figure 11).

      

      Figure 11. A student showing her appreciation towards OBI
      (Unedited student work)

   
   

   Conclusion

   When the RaC programme was launched in 2021/22, the English Language teachers collaborated with the teachers from one non-language subject at a time. With more experience gained in running the programme and cross-departmental collaboration, the school can consider adopting a theme-based approach with a few more subjects involved at a time, enabling students to complete a project on the theme or topic agreed by both English Language and non-language subject teachers. Teachers of different academic departments can also create text sets to facilitate students' deeper understanding about a certain theme or topic. In addition, the school can consider extending RaC to S2 to support STEM education. Finally, to facilitate S1 students' learning of non-language subjects through English, the medium of instruction for most subjects offered by the school, teachers are now well poised to take one step further – moving from RaC to Language across the Curriculum in S1.

   
   

   Bibliography

   Curriculum Development Council. (2017). Booklet 2: Learning Goals, School Curriculum Framework and Planning. Secondary Education Curriculum Guide. Retrieved from:
   https://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/curriculum-development/major-level-of-edu/secondary/curriculum-guides-documents/SECG_booklet_2_en.pdf

   Education Bureau. (2024). Life-wide Learning. Retrieved from:
   https://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/tc/curriculum-development/major-level-of-edu/life-wide-learning/pamphlet_of_lwl.pdf

   
   
   

   St. Clare's Girls' School
   Janet HO (Language Support Officer)