1. Madam Lau Kam Lung Secondary School of MFBM English Gifted Programme – Developing the Languages, Thinking and Learning of the Gifted

2. Background  Our school is one of the Network Schools  This is a 3-year programme for enhancing the four language skills including listening, speaking, reading and writing.  Reading and writing would be the first foci in the year of 2004-2005 while the inclusion of the 4 language skills and curriculum compacting elements would be the key concern in 2005-2007.

3. Implementation Plan (2004-2005)  Teachers who have received training on Gifted Education will form the Task Group (3Ts).  Level One, Mode 1 will be adopted. Certain classes will be our target students. Strategies of enhancing students’ creativity and thinking skills in reading and writing will be carried out through the year.  Level Two will be adopted. Students who are outstanding in English would be pulled out and programmes would be designed for them by the Task Group and the Gifted Education Section.

4. Target students of the pullout programme (2004-2005)  Form: Three  Number of students involved: 10 (maximum)  Recruitment Period: late November 2004 to mid February 2004

5.  Recruitment Procedures: Late November 04 Open recruitmentAll form 3 students are welcome to join the programme. A notice will be distributed to each of the 5 classes. Late November - December 04 Teachers’ recommendation When screening the interested participants, the Task Group will seek advice from their main English Teachers and other teachers concerned. Mid February Students’ Mid- Year Examination Result (English Language) The exam result will be taken into consideration when screening students.

6. Details of the pullout programme:  Implementation period: From March 05 to May 05  Format of the pullout programme: workshops after school  Number of the workshops: 6  Venue of the workshops: one of the classrooms  Duration of the workshops: 1hr to 1 hr 30 mins  Tutors of the workshops: Members of the Task Group

7.  Focus of the workshops:  Introduce students to different reading strategies through specific genres, like stories, news articles, comics, texts and so on.  Reading materials chosen will be the ones of more challenging topics and demanding languages. Materials calling for higher order thinking skills and strategies will also be chosen.  The teaching approaches are student centered and emphasise on collaboration and sharing.

8. Schedule of the workshops: No.DateContentTasks 1a & 1b 3/3 & 17/3 Reading Strategies for Newspapers. Students will be able to:  Practise their skimming / scanning skills  Master the strategies for reading newspaper  Use the strategies to finish the tasks  Identify different text types  Identify different sections in a newspaper  Deduce language features in headlines  Identify different parts in the news report

9. Schedule of the workshops (cont.): No.DateContentTasks 2a7/4How to read and write a letter to the editor: Students will be able to:  practise their skimming and scanning skills  differentiate letters to the editor from other news articles in a newspaper  read and write letters to the editor  Peer check their work  Identify facts and opinions  Compare a news article and a letter to the editor  Identify the general types & purposes of letters to the editor  Identify the structure of a letter to the editor  Write a letter to the editor  Peer checking

10. Schedule of the workshops (cont.): No.DateContentTasks 2b28/4Anticipating what they are going to read. Students will be able to learn to anticipate "the big ideas" that will be revealed and may provide an initial "hook" that draws them into the text.  Brainstorm the criteria for choosing a book to read  Practise the Anticipating Guides  Compare their opinions after reading the book with the Anticipation Guides

11. Schedule of the workshops (cont.): No.DateContentTasks 3a5/5Comics – Students will be able to :  Spot out the special language features in comic strips  Create comic strips or parts of the comic strips with given materials  Give examples of comics they know  Compare the language used in comics with the one used in other genres  Identify different purposes of comics  Infer the message of the comic writer  Create speech bubbles & a ending for a comic strip  Create their own story using the given random frames

12. Schedule of the workshops: No.DateContentTasks 3b26/5Poetry – Students will be able to :  Spot out the special language features in poems  Create a diamante poem  Discuss language features of a poem  Read and understand a poem  Understand the structure of a poem (diamante poem)  Brainstorm some pairs of antonyms  Create a diamante poem in the same structure using a pair of antonyms