NET Scheme News 2025 Spring issue 48

15 NET Scheme News Issue 48 21st Century Conferece To begin the lesson, the teachers began with a discussion of students’ ancestral birthplaces, first sharing their own places of origin, with pictures via Nearpod . These unfamiliar locales helped spark interest and also allowed us to give examples of our own personal connections to our own ancestral birthplaces. Following this, students from all classes shared their own ancestral birthplaces via Nearpod , highlighting students’ visits to their ancestral birthplaces or some interesting stories about these places. Throughout the lessons we tried to lead with teacher examples and provide templates for some of the more complex concepts.To gauge students’ prior knowledge and measure learning, we used Nearpod to poll the class both before and after the implementation of the Treasured China unit which was then used as a springboard to talk about what students had learned. In the final ‘Action’ phase of the KWHLQA framework, we prompted students to propose actions they could take to apply their new knowledge and show appreciation for Chinese culture. Students shared a range of actions. Almost everyone wanted to eat food from different regions of China. Some students wanted to travel to their researched destinations, watch Sichuan Opera, or even learn how to cook traditional Chinese dishes! If I had to give one piece of advice it would be that authentic communication spreads. The more we asked students to share what they knew, the more engaged they became. Following our own interest as teachers and highlighting students with unique stories really drove the class further. That’s not to say that there weren’t any challenges - we had plenty! However, putting students into a position where they were curious to seek information based on their own interests and share their real-life experiences helped breathe life into what otherwise might just be another assignment. Andrew Wright, NET TWGHs Ma Kam Chan Memorial Primary School A student poll about their prior knowledge My ancestral birthplace