~ Zachary Warmke
Curriculum Coordinator
The English curriculum at Kang Chiao has been developed to foster positive communication and meaningful interactions among peers. As our students develop their English language arts skills in class, we give them tasks and opportunities to work with their classmates using English. Although they are young elementary school students, these tasks help students develop communication and teamwork skills that will benefit them for their entire lives. In this article, we will outline some of the ways we guide students to work together.
Formal Collaboration in English Class
Every part of our curriculum involves collaboration. Even reading stories from our textbooks takes teamwork. We always read every story twice; once for comprehension (the “first read”) and then again to apply critical reading skills (the “close read”).
During the first read, students answer “Turn and Talk” questions with a partner. These questions are cleverly designed to make students read for information to share with their peers.
During the close read, the whole class works together. They apply a close read skill such as “analyze characters”. Students discuss the characters before underlining important text evidence, then share with the class. This model requires every student to share their thoughts in a structured but open-ended environment.
Reading projects and Achieve Writings are also designed for collaboration, even projects that focus on personal narratives. Whether a project requires challenging scientific research or an artistic touch, every student has a chance to contribute their talents to a team effort. In the end, everyone benefits in two ways. First, their projects are improved by working with others. Second, they practice using English to accomplish their goals.
More Opportunities to Communicate
In Kang Chiao Future Skills, collaboration is critical for accomplishing engineering goals. Students conduct experiments together and learn to communicate scientific ideas clearly. Whether they are building rockets, cameras, water filters, and more, everyone benefits from teamwork and sharing. Their work often requires them to travel around the school building, use tools, and build. They do it all through purposeful collaborative effort.
In English Village, students are given a role-playing task to perform. The realistic environments give them a chance to truly act out their roles. In the English Village Airport for example, students take turns being passengers, airline clerks, and bag checkers. They all work together to make the airport run smoothly.
Towards a Brighter Future
When students work together, they practice their English in a highly authentic situation. Not only do they want to get a good score, they also want to communicate to help their peers. We teachers aim to create an environment where everyone works together to learn and grow.
Even Hooked on Books, which is mostly a time for independent reading, provides chances for collaboration. Many students choose to read the same book as their classmates in informal reading groups. They often recommend their favorites to their friends. It’s great to see groups of students excitedly rushing to the library to check out new books.
We are proud of our students’ communication abilities. Whether they speak English or Chinese, they learn to help their peers, share their thoughts, and work with others towards shared goals. Our school is a positive environment for everyone to work and grow together.
From the Editor
Life-Long Skills From English
國際處主任 賴國宜
Remember when we were kids, and just before heading off to school, our parents would remind us, "Pay attention in class!" Now, as parents ourselves, do we still say the same thing to our children? Traditionally, learning was viewed as simply listening carefully, focusing on the teacher, and absorbing information. But as we grow up and face the realities of life and work, we realize that memorizing facts is only part of the equation. We need skills to analyze and organize information, communicate effectively, and work collaboratively with others in order to complete tasks successfully.
In this issue, Mr. Warmke, our Curriculum coordinator, explains how Kang Chiao's English program fosters positive communication and collaboration. Whether in reading classes, projects, Achieve Writing tasks, English Village, or Kang Chiao Future Skills courses, the curriculum is designed with collaboration at its core. These experiences not only build students' English proficiency but also give them valuable opportunities to work together, developing lifelong communication and teamwork skills.
記得小時候，每天上學前，爸媽或長輩總會叮嚀我們：「上課要認真聽喔！」現在成為家長的您，送孩子上學時，還會這樣叮嚀嗎？傳統上對「學習」的認知是：用心地打開眼睛和耳朵，專注地接收和吸收訊息。然而，當我們長大面對現實生活和職場，才發現光「記住知識」是不夠的，我們還需要具備組織和判斷訊息的能力，與他人溝通、整合和協作，才能順利完成各項任務。
本期我們邀請課研組長Mr.Warmke，為我們闡述康橋的英語課程如何致力於促進學生之間的正向溝通和有意義的互動，無論是閱讀課、專題項目、寫作任務，甚至是英語村和Kang Chiao Future Skills課程，所有內容都設計了協作環節，讓學生不僅能發展英語能力，還能與同學協作，培養終生受益的溝通與團隊合作技能。
你們家有養寵物嗎？寵物不僅能陪伴我們，照顧寵物也能培養責任心，二年級的孩子們最近在研究如何照顧寵物，讓牠們能健康又快樂的生活。歡迎您欣賞他們的作品，看看孩子們對哪些寵物感興趣，也許您也能得到一些與寵物互動的靈感喔！