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Introduction “Throughout the years, students in my school have known and been fond of the characters in the stories and texts we use in English classes. For the first time, the characters have come alive to interact with the students.” (a primary English teacher participating in the SCOLAR Drama-in-Education English Alliance Programme) “My teacher used to stand there like a piece of log. His way of teaching English made us sleepy.” “We seldom laugh in class. The teacher just talked and talked. Then we answered and answered, and wrote and wrote.” “Using drama to learn English, it is more life-like.” “Now my teacher has become livelier. I found my teacher more attractive.” (primary students participating in the Programme)
I. How this book has come about The journey of publishing this book started two years ago when the Standing Committee for Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) launched an Alliance Programme introducing to Hong Kong primary teachers the use of drama as a classroom resource in teaching English. The aim of the Programme was: … to assist primary schools to promote English drama as a means to arouse students’ interest in English language learning and to improve their English language skills (Guidelines & Specifications for Submission of Proposals, Dramain-Education English Alliance, 2008). Hong Kong Art School was engaged as one of SCOLAR’s programme partners from 2008 to 2010, working with more than 300 teachers from a total of 62 schools, with onefourth of these teachers (from 27 schools) joining the Programme for two consecutive years. The Alliance teachers participated in teacher development courses to equip themselves with knowledge and skills in Drama-in-Education, and were further given schoolbased support by Hong Kong Art School instructors in co-planning and writing English lesson plans adopting drama as pedagogy, and implementing the plans with upper primary students in their schools. One of the outcomes of the Alliance Programme was having each school producing at least one unit plan that had been trialed and proven successful in local classrooms.
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
We conceived the publication of some of these plans with a wish to provide more resources for local English teachers. Although the field of drama education has been rapidly developing in Hong Kong in the last decade, local teaching materials are still a scarcity. We hope this collection of unit plans will allow us to share the Alliance’s experiences with more teachers who wish to enliven their English curriculum with drama. Owing to limited resources, we can only publish some of the plans. In making the choices, we have endeavoured to balance considerations on: a. Grade levels – including an even number of unit plans from all three grade levels at Key Stage 2 (although a lot more Primary 5 plans were available as most of the Alliance schools had opted to work with this grade level); b. S ource materials/pretexts – balancing the choice of textbook materials and readers, the two major sources of texts in the local English curriculum; c. Themes and topics – from exploring classic literature to current social issues, from subject matters of the personal/moral to those of the social/political… etc; d. Approaches to planning – demonstrating different choices of structures, roles and situations, even with the same source materials (thus you can find two different unit plans on The King’s New Coat which are approaching the same story in quite different ways). Language Alive is the outcome of a two-year collaborative and reflective experimentation in which all the participating teachers and students have played a key role. The insights we gained from the Programme have become useful input as we compile and edit this collection of works – insights as related to circumstances teachers face in second language education within the Hong Kong context, the needs of local students and teachers, and how drama can help meet their needs. We are indebted to the invaluable contributions of all the Alliance schools, whether or not their plans have been included in this book.
II. How to Use this Book This book consists of three main sections. The Introduction lays down the rationales for using drama in teaching English and provides background understandings of concepts and terminologies used in the writing of the unit plans. The main body of the book comprises 12 elaborated unit plans with detailed steps, teaching notes and rationales. The final chapter details all the drama strategies used in the book and suggestions on their use, particularly highlighting how they could benefit second language classrooms with young children.
A Note about Language While we have made every effort to polish our writing and avoid grammatical mistakes,
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Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
you may find the English in this book still far from being perfect. We hope you understand that the majority of the authors are non-native English users. Like all the children taking part in the Alliance Programme, drama has provided us with a meaningful task and we took on the positive challenge of writing in a language other than our mother tongue. The desire to communicate and share ideas has out-weighted our fear of making mistakes, and encouraged us to do our best, all the time acknowledging there is still always room for improvement.
III. What are the benefits of using drama in the English classroom? Drama and language are close acquaintances – both media require the use of verbal and non-verbal skills for communicating ideas and expressing meanings. Traditional ways of teaching often require students to acquire language in cognitive, abstract manners. Drama, by its visible actions and kinesthetic modes of expression, helps students, particularly young children, turn abstract ideas into concrete experiences, allowing them to understand what they have learned a lot better. Numerous literatures have been written on how drama enhances second language learning (Kao & O’Neill, 1998; Stinson, 2008; Stinson & Freebody, 2006; Wagner, 1998). In our Alliance Programme, teachers and students also pointed out a range of benefits that echo these literatures. In focus group interviews conducted as part of the end-ofprogramme evaluation, they shared their observations on many positive student changes – from passive to motivated, from silent to lively, from bored to interested, and from the impossible to possible. a. Drama enhances the motivation to learn English Students and teachers shared that drama made learning more relaxing and enjoyable. Students were allowed to move about and interact instead of just sitting to listen to teacher talk. “We don’t doze off in a drama lesson like we normally do in English lessons!” said some students. They also identified the unpredictability of drama lessons as one of the sources of motivation – when students were not required to stick with the textbooks but allowed to create new episodes in the story or even new endings, they felt much more engaged. b. Drama enhances the confidence to speak When students are engaged in drama activities, they are more willing to take risks as the fiction provides a safe environment for expressing ideas. The Alliance participants found that drama had provided more opportunities for the students to speak up in class. Some students who were usually quiet and unconfident in English classes were observed to be more willing to try and speak out loudly as they had become less selfconscious when doing drama. The abundance of group tasks in drama also enabled
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
more student exchange than teacher talk so there were more chances to practise speaking English. c. Drama improves writing The acting out of roles and situations in a drama provides students with more ideas to write. Process Drama allows for ample space for students to create something of their own. The students in the Programme appreciated such freedom which had made them more willing to express themselves. Teachers pointed out that the students became less anxious of making mistakes as they were no longer pressured to look for model answers. d. Drama provides a context to use language authentically Students engaged in dramatic contexts were given (fictional) purposes to communicate authentically, for example, by speaking to characters in the story face-to-face. The medium of drama itself also encouraged students to communicate more clearly and expressively because they knew they were doing drama rather than having an ordinary English lesson. e. Drama helps students embody learning Drama employs multiple means of expressions (verbal and non-verbal) which are essential in second language acquisition. Teachers and students found that by communicating with more facial expressions, gestures and non-verbal expressions, students were able to understand and express ideas much more effectively, and were able to memorise better what they had learned. f. Drama caters for individual differences The weaker students were found to become more engaged in lessons as the drama strategies provide for differentiation of learning tasks (e.g. weaker students could be given only one sentence to speak, or help the group in showing ideas with body language). The teachers and students also recalled incidents in which the more capable students offered help to weaker ones in group works. This not just helped the weaker students to learn, but also brought about satisfactions in the stronger students. g. Drama nurtures higher, and more active participation in learning The participative nature of drama makes way for more interactions amongst students and their teachers. The students had more chances to do group discussions and got more even chances to speak. Also, compared with performance-based drama, where only a few students would get the chance to perform in the play, Process Drama allows for more even opportunities to perform. h. Drama improves teacher-student relationship
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Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
The teachers found that they got to know their students better through drama, realising many student potentials unnoticeable in usual lessons. Drama involves teacher and students to act together, laugh together and share humor together. The students found their teachers less boring, friendlier, and even more “attractive”, to quote from one of the students. i. Drama improves learning attitudes Drama was also found to be helpful in nurturing more supportive and appreciative attitudes amongst students as they were always required to work cooperatively. The students enjoyed watching each other’s presentations, and got to appreciate others’ creativity which was not often observed in usual English classes.
IV. How are learning experiences structured in Process Drama? What is Process Drama? Process Drama is an approach of work growingly adopted by educators worldwide as progressive pedagogy. Traditional approaches to drama rely on an end “product” (a performance or a production) by reading and acting out scripted texts for an external audience. Process Drama, on the contrary, places its emphasis on the “process” of developing responses to human situations, usually without a watching audience. Process Drama has a few characteristics: 1 It is unrehearsed and improvisational in nature, providing opportunities for engagement with imagined roles or situations as if events are being experienced at real life’s pace. This kind of engagement is quite different from that in rehearsing a piece of scripted text, where dramatic actions are predicted and dialogues are generally prescribed. 2 It stresses the collective construction of holistic, authentic dramatic contexts for learning instead of the use of single, deconstextualised theatre games or enactment of play skits. 3 It employs a range of carefully sequenced drama strategies (also known as drama conventions) rather than relying on script reading and rehearsals only. 4 It often adopts the strategy of Teacher-in-role where the teacher negotiates meaning with students within the dramatic context, engaging in interactive learning and teaching processes. Although Process Drama does not put emphasis on an end performance, it does not preclude the possibility of doing so. Process Drama has often been used by drama educators as an approach for collaborative playbuilding to create performance texts that young people take ownership of. (See examples in the unit plans where the Process Drama works
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
culminate in a playscript or a performance at the end of the units.)
A Framework for Planning Planning Process Drama is a task that is easy to learn but difficult to master. If you are new to Process Drama, you will find it hard to start from scratch (and that is why we are publishing this book). There are many useful books on how to plan good Process Drama. If you are interested in developing yourself in this area, we recommend that you read Making Sense of Drama (Neelands, 1984), Planning Process Drama (Bowell & Heap, 2001) and Pretending to Learn (O’Toole & Dunn, 2002). While we do not intend to go into details about planning drama in this book, we acknowledge the need for readers to understand how the 12 unit plans in this book have been conceived and designed. We are therefore showing you the framework for planning that has been based on in the Alliance Programme. It is a framework our Programme Team put together by consolidating what we have learned from the three key texts listed above.
Preliminary Considerations W h a t p r e t e x t (s o u r c e material) will help bring about such learning/explorations/experiences?
(textbook chapter, reader, other materials)
My Goals What do I want my students to learn/explore/ experience in the drama? (language goals, drama goals, themes/topics/issues)
What dramatic contexts and roles will bring about such learning /explorations/experiences? (who
will the students be in the drama? What situations will the characters encounter?)
Planning the Drama Deciding on a pretext Choosing/creating dramatic contexts and roles (according to your language/other teaching goals)
Choosing the strategies/drama conventions Deciding on structures
(sequencing of learning tasks; choosing and diversifying class structures – individual, paired, small group or whole class)
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Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
The Three Phases of Process Drama The steps in the unit plans are organised into three phases: the Initiation Phase, the Experiential Phase and the Reflective Phase. These phases are interconnected yet serve different functions and purposes.
Initiation Phase
(building belief/becoming somebody else in a fictional world) • Establishing/clarifying the basic facts about the story (the people, the place, the era, the situation, the problems or concerns of the characters… etc). • Getting students to step in, explore and create (something of their own) in order to build belief in roles and situations. • “Planting seeds” for what will happen later during the Experiential Phase.
Experiential Phase
(Something happens! What now?) • Something happens that requires the roles to make some kind of decision(s). W hat factors are of concern? (At least some of these shou ld be “ bui lt in”/“planted” during the Initiation Phase.) What choices are there? What are the consequences? • Goes back to the teaching goals for the lesson: What do you want students to explore and experience? • The experiences ensure that students are not just jumping to a decision/conclusion, but are going through a vigorous process of confronting dilemmas, tackling challenges, dealing with difficulties by means of negotiation/rationalising within or amongst themselves. This usually requires some good questioning and prompting on the teacher’s part. • If the students have been helped to build enough belief earlier on, they should be making such decisions in role, in context (not just giving the teacher a response because they think that is what s/he wants).
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
Reflective Phase
(What have been learned from the experiences?) • Experiences are processed to make meaning; implicit feelings and tacit understandings are turned into explicit knowledge. • At the end of the unit, it is important to set aside time for reflection. The students have been getting more and more into the fictional world and roles; they need to step back out and see (feel) how things relate to their world and themselves. • Throughout the lessons, the students will also step in and out of role at different times and take opportunities for reflection. • Opportunities for extension work, especially writing tasks.
Some Last Notes on the Use of Space The class structures and suggested use of space have been specified for each step in all the unit plans in this book. Good management of space is one of the keys to conducting successful drama lessons. Yet it is also one of the biggest challenges we face in the limited space of Hong Kong classrooms working with large class sizes. The unit plans in this book had been variedly implemented in the activity room, the school hall or ordinary classrooms. The activity room is the ideal space for drama, as it is spacious enough for students to move about, and is also contained enough to keep students focused. It also provides flexibility for accommodating different ways of grouping the students.
Students doing drama in an activity room
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A teacher using partitions in a school hall to confine activity space
The school hall is another spacious place that the school can employ for drama activities. Depending on physical and acoustic design, some school halls may be too big to keep students focused. You may find it easier to confine the children’s activities in one part of the hall. If you have got a stage large enough to accommodate the whole class, you may also conduct your drama lesson on the stage with the curtain closed.
Sometimes when activity rooms and school halls are difficult to book, or when class time is too limited for students to travel from their classroom to other places, the classroom can still be effectively managed and transformed into a useful space for drama. Below are a few examples of classroom configurations that teachers in the Alliance Programme have used:
Desk Chair Teacher or Teacher-in-role Student Teacher’s Desk
Students working as a whole class – with space in the middle for presentations or activities that require students to move about
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
Another configuration for students working as a whole class
Small groups in their own space, with empty space in the middle
Some drama strategies required specific space arrangements, and needs more thoughtful considerations when the class size is big, for example, Conscience Alley:
Conscience Alley with a small class
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Conscience Alley with 40 students, with students working in pairs
Of course the examples are by no means exhaustive and there are bound to be infinite possibilities when you let your imagination flow! We hope you will find this book useful in bringing your English classrooms to life! Chan Yuk-Lan Phoebe & Lam Yin Krissy
References Bowell, P., & Heap, B. S. (2001). Planning Process Drama. London: David Fulton Publishers. Kao, S. M., & O’Neill, C. (1998). Words into Worlds: Learning a Second Language through Process Drama. London: Ablex. Neelands, J. (1984). Making Sense of Drama: A Guide to Classroom Practice. Oxford: Heinemann Educational Books. O’Toole, J., & Dunn, J. (2002). Pretending to Learn: Helping Children Learn through Drama. Frenchs Forest: Pearson. Stinson, M. (2008). Process Drama and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Lang uages.In M. Anderson, J. Hughes & J. Manuel (Eds.),Drama and English Teaching: Imagination, Action and Engagement (pp. 193-212). Oxford University Press. Stinson, M., & Freebody, K. (2006). The DOL Project: An Investigation into the Contribution of Process Drama to Improved Results in English Oral Communication. Youth Theatre Journal, 20, p. 27-41. Wagner, B. J. (1998). Educational Drama and Language Arts: What Research Shows. Portsmouth: Heinemann.
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
Drama Strategies used in this Book A DAY IN THE LIFE It is a whole-group or individual improvisation technique in which the students create the details of the character(s)’ daily activities in twenty-four hours. The acting out of the daily life helps students explore the central character of the drama or the roles they are playing more deeply.
How is it done? The students find their own space in the room to mime the actions while the teacher stays on the side to observe and call out the time. Teacher can call out the time hour by hour or selectively. Students respond to the time by changing their characters’ actions accordingly. If students are playing group roles like villagers, colleagues in a workplace or refugees in a camp, they can interact with each other during the improvisation to create the atmosphere of the dramatic place. However, we suggest the interaction only to be done at a later stage of the activity when the students have already got a certain level of engagement in their roles.
CIRCLE OF LIFE This technique helps students build roles for the drama. By creating the details of different aspects of the role, students generate richer and more specific information to which the dramatic experience will relate. It deepens their engagement and reflection in the drama.
How is it done? Students may work individually to create their own roles, or work in small groups to create a character. A piece of paper of A4 size or larger is given. Lines are drawn on the paper to divide the area into 4 quarters. A circle is drawn in the centre (see an example in the diagram on the right). The circle will contain the basic information of the person, including his/her name, age and gender. The 4 quarters will each be labeled with different aspects of life such as Family, Living
Home
Occupation
Hobbies
Name: Age: Gender:
Favourite thing in the village
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
Space, Hobbies, Occupation, Favourite Food, Greatest Fear, Most Unforgettable Memory, Dream and Wishes… etc, depending on the theme of the drama. Students can draw and/or write in each quarter to indicate the information in that area.
COLLECTIVE DRAWING Drawing is a very good way of generating ideas about places, characters or different aspects of life being explored in the drama. It is also a very good medium for students to express their responses to what happens in the drama in an abstract way. In collective drawing, students could draw as a whole class or in small groups to collectively create the details of a certain aspect of the dramatic world or the issue being explored in the drama. The collective drawings can take various forms like artifacts, posters, the design of costumes, the portrait of a monster… etc.
How is it done? Teacher gives out small pieces of paper for students to draw, and ask students to put all the drawings together to form a collage. Teacher can also prepare a very large piece of paper for all students to draw at the same time, depending on the form and the purpose of the drawing. After students have finished the drawing, teacher can ask students to give it a name or a title, or to write a sentence to describe it, to help students articulate the abstract ideas in concrete words.
CONSCIENCE ALLEY This strategy is very useful in exploring the thoughts of a character who is going through a dilemma, a crisis or a very complex mental state. Usually, students become the inner voices of the character to analyse a dilemma or to express different views on a certain issue. Students can also play different roles in the alley talking to the central character, for example, as villagers complaining to the mayor or as ministers giving advice to the King. Sometimes, the “character” walking down the alley can also be an abstract idea such as Greediness, Bullying or Schooling.
How is it done? The class is divided into two big groups, forming two straight lines facing each other to create an alley. The two lines express different views towards the situation, dilemma or issue faced by the central character (e.g. to tell the truth or not). In order to let all the voices be heard, only one person speaks at a time. The central character can be played by the teacher or by one of the students in the class. S/he walks slowly down the alley and listens to the voices when s/he passes them. Students in the two lines have to speak loudly
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
so that the whole alley can hear all the other opinions clearly.
EMPTY CHAIR This strategy is usually done individually to let students express their feelings towards a character who is represented by an empty chair. It enables students to reflect on the drama by taking on the role of the character and speaking out his/her mind (in-role reflection), or by taking on other roles and speak to the character (in-role reflection), or by speaking to the character as themselves (out-of-role reflection). The Empty Chair can be a very powerful strategy if used towards the end of a drama when students have gained a rich experience in the drama. As the strategy requires students to speak individually with a strong purpose, it creates a very good opportunity for the teacher to give input on sentence structures, language register and vocabulary.
How is it done? Teacher tells students which character the empty chair is going to represent, and what roles, if any, the students are going to take. Teacher can allow some time for students to think about what they are going to say as/to the character. Students could also write their message down on a small piece of paper and leave it on the chair after the student has spoken it aloud to the whole class. This way, the students could spend time after the drama to go over what the others have written and further ponder on the drama.
GOSSIP MILL Gossip Mill is a useful technique to generate an atmosphere for students to exchange ideas or even rumours about a situation being explored. In the process of exchanging ideas in Gossip Mill, students are engaged in speaking as well as active listening. As the students do not need to speak loudly in front of the teacher and the whole class, it takes away the fear of making mistakes and having to speak loudly enough to be heard. As the activity progresses, students can change what they say by passing on better rumours that they have heard from other people.
How is it done? Students are given time to think about their opinions about the situation, or to even write it down on a piece of paper and to practise saying it as a preparation for the Gossip Mill. When all students are ready, teacher tells the students to get in role (usually group roles like villagers, colleagues or palace people). Students mill around individually and quietly in the space. Upon a signal given by the teacher, which could be a clap or the sound of a musical instrument, students stop milling and find the closest person to gossip
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
with by whispering into his/her ear. Teacher gives just the sufficient time for the students to exchange ideas, and tells them to mill around again until another signal is given for them to talk to another person. They keep changing partners each time when they stop to gossip. Teacher can repeat the cycle for a number of times depending on the class size. A simple report back can be done at the end of the Gossip Mill to find out what rumours the students have heard. It gives students an opportunity to remember and speak aloud what they have heard.
INTERVIEW An interview can be done through a Teacher-in-role with the whole class or a Paired Role-play amongst students. This strategy is useful in generating information, verbally or non-verbally, about a situation or a role being explored. It provides a very good opportunity for students to practise questioning skills.
How is it done? In the Interview, one party will provide information on a situation while the other party will ask questions to obtain as much information as they can. Students could be given time or even a worksheet to prepare the questions before the interview. They are also encouraged to take notes during the interview. Time could be given after the interview for students to organise the information they have generated in the improvisation, and a whole class sharing could be done afterwards.
MEETING Meetings usually involves the whole class in-role, and they can be done with or without a Teacher-in-role. Usually a meeting takes place in a drama when the group needs to make a decision or find a solution to a problem they are facing. Meetings allow students to share their thoughts and feelings, discuss about issues or make a group decision. The group discussion and decision making process stimulates higher order thinking.
How is it done? Teacher explains to the class the situation that the group is facing in the drama, and that a meeting will be held for a specific purpose, e.g. to find a solution to a pressing problem, or to make a decision on whether to take an action. Teacher explains how s/he is going to signify the start of the meeting (e.g. by teacher getting in role or by giving a signal). Depending on the purpose of the meeting and the development of the drama, teacher can require the students to come up with a decision within a given time, or to continue the discussion until sufficient ideas have been heard. An out-of-role sharing can be done after
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
the meeting to help the students reflect on the experience. The advantage of doing a Meeting with a Teacher-in-role is that the teacher can take part in creating and navigating the mood, tension and content of the meeting. However, sometimes it is also useful to empower the students by letting them manage their own meeting with the teacher acting only as the observer outside the drama. Whenever necessary and appropriate, teacher can facilitate the meeting by pausing the drama to clarify certain things before letting the students continue with the meeting.
MIMIMG There are many different styles of mime in theatre; some involve a set of specific skills. In Process Drama, Miming usually only refers to students using their bodies to create physical movements, shapes, gestures and actions to represent activities in life. No words are used in miming, but sound effects or music could be added. Students can work individually, in small groups or as the whole class. Miming is useful in helping students build roles, establish the context, the mood or the environment for the drama.
How is it done? Miming can be done in different ways depending on the purpose of the activity and the development of the drama. It can be done with teacher narrating the situation on the side while the students mime individually in their own space. Students can also work in small groups to devise their own mime sequences and take turns to show them in front of the class. Apart from miming realistic daily activities of people, students can also use repetitive and abstract movement sequences to represent actions done by machines, climatic phenomenon like typhoon or flooding or even non-realistic scenes like a nightmare or certain emotions.
OBJECTS This strategy allows students to articulate their understanding of the drama or to make responses to the drama in a 3-dimensional and abstract way. It is particularly useful for depicting relationships amongst different characters in a story. Objects commonly used would be chairs, pens, props used by the main characters in the drama, or anything that the teacher find handy and appropriate. When working with objects, students can maintain a distance with the drama, and at the same time organise and reflect on it through manipulating or sculpting the objects. This creative process helps students translate abstract ideas into more concrete, physical and visual works first, before they could articulate them in words.
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
How is it done? Teacher tells students what objects they are going to use and what responses or representation they are going to make, e.g. use chairs to represent different characters and re-create the moment Cinderella entering the Prince’s ball room. Students work in small groups to make the sculpture or representation of the scene (or an idea, e.g. family violence) with the objects provided. Teacher can even ask each group to give a name to the work that they have created. The whole class then takes a look at each group’s work. Teacher should encourage and help students give description to what they see, ask questions about what they do not understand, and clarify ideas they are trying to communicate.
PAIRED ROLE-PLAY In a Paired Role-play students get in role and interact in pairs spontaneously. As no audience is involved and all the pairs in the class work simultaneously, the strategy is relatively easy for both teachers and students to manage. Being improvisational in nature, Paired Role-plays are more likened to real life encounters than planned, rehearsed scenes. It thus provides students with more authentic contexts to use language and opportunities to get more authentic feelings in the shoes of the character(s) in the drama.
How is it done? Students get in pairs and space out in the room to minimise distraction from one another. Before the role-play, teacher gives enough information about the characters and the situations they are facing (e.g. Red Riding Hood wants to go to the forest alone to visit grandma. Her mother is unsure if she should let her go alone.) Students will be given a few seconds to prepare for the characters by choosing a starting position or gesture. Teacher signals the start of the role-play and students improvise what happens in the scene. If teacher wants students to explore another viewpoint, after the pairs have improvised for a while, teacher can ask the pairs to swap their roles to continue with the improvisation. This strategy is called Role Reversal and it helps students to see an issue from two different perspectives.
PAPER LOCATION Paper Location is very useful for engaging the whole class to create the place/location for the drama. It allows students to create a visual understanding about the place collectively. Drawing the objects helps students think carefully about what actually can be found in the place and helps build belief in the drama. It also gives an opportunity for students to use and learn vocabulary for objects. When all the drawings are put together to create
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
the place, students could get a chance to make careful observation and practise giving descriptions to what they see.
How is it done? Teacher tells students the place that they are going to create together. Teacher can have a quick brainstorming with the students to help them think about what can be found in the place. Pieces of A5 paper are given out for drawing and only one object can be drawn on each (so that they can be put in different parts of the collective place). If time allows or if the class size is small, students can be given another piece of paper to draw another object. After finishing drawing, students can give a name to what they have drawn, and come out one by one to put the drawing in the designated space in the room representing the place. Students decide where to put their own drawings in relation to the physical setting and objects already placed by other students (e.g. there is a public square in the centre of the village; the farmland is near to the river). When all the drawings have been placed, students can negotiate and adjust the places of the drawings in order to make the picture believable to the whole class. Sometimes if the dramatic place to be created consists of different parts, (e.g. an apartment with different rooms, a palace with different areas), the students can work in small groups to do the paper location with each group working on one particular part of the place. Their drawings are then put together to create the complete picture of the place. When the place has been created, teacher can invite students to talk about how they feel about the place, and to make descriptions about the place.
OBJECTS OF CHARACTER The objects owned by a character will give students clues about what kind of a person s/he is. This strategy allows students to use their capacity for imagination, making associations and logical thinking to develop an understanding about a character. The objects that the character own can tell a lot about his/her external behaviour and inner thoughts. Teacher should carefully select the objects so they provide room for imagination yet are informative enough for students to make logical deduction. This strategy gives students a very good opportunity to make descriptions about things and to give reasons for their speculations.
How is it done? Before the lesson, teacher has already made a thoughtful selection of objects. These objects are presented to the students (in a box, a bag… etc) either as a whole class, or in small groups with one set of objects for each group. Students are then given time to examine the objects carefully and to talk about what the objects tell them about the person who
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
owns them. Teacher facilitation (by means of questioning) may be required in the discussion. After the discussion the students can present their findings verbally or in writing.
RITUAL Rituals are usually stylised and symbolic. They create very strong moods and are therefore very powerful in engaging students and to make belief of a drama. Rituals usually involve the whole class and may take different forms; e.g. greeting the King, putting on a badge to take on a new identity, saying a spell, taking an oath, dancing a repetitious sequence…etc. The ritual can be designed by either the teacher or the class, depending on the purpose.
How is it done? Teacher demonstrates the ritual, and gets the whole class to do it together. Teacher can explain the purpose of the ritual, and get the students to work in small groups to create a ritual with words, sound, music and repetitious movements. This can be done with each group performing a segment of the ritual to the rest of the class, or with the whole class doing one ritual altogether. It is important that enough time is spent on practising the ritual and making sure everybody knows what s/he needs to do. Such practise will make the actual performance of the ritual more formal so that the right mood is created.
ROLE-ON-THE-WALL Role-on-the-wall is a very useful strategy in generating a clear understanding of the character(s) in the drama. Students can work as the whole class, in small groups or even individually to write about a character. It provides a very good opportunity for students to think about different aspects of a character(s) and to use suitable vocabulary to describe them. When students work in groups, ideas and knowledge can be exchanged, gathered and built on. Students can thus learn from each other and write with a bigger resource of words and ideas. The different aspects of the characters(s) may include age, gender, physical appearance, occupation, behaviours, personality, things that s/he likes or dislikes, relationships with people, hobbies. Some of the facts of the characters may already be known, while some are to be further created by the students.
How is it done? There are many ways of doing Role-on-the-wall. Outline(s) of the character(s) are provided on a large piece of paper. Descriptions of what can be seen about the character(s) are written outside the outline. The thoughts, feelings or even inner struggles of the character(s) are written inside the outline. Sometimes, Role-on-the-wall is used to help
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
students build their roles in a drama. Sometimes it is used for consolidating their understanding of a given character. If the class is working on different characters, students work individually or in small groups and each person/group creates one character. If they are working on one central character in the drama, they either work as a whole class, or in small groups where each group comes up with its own understanding of the character.
SHORT SCENE Short scenes are building blocks of a drama which are separated in place and time. When student create a short scene, they need to consider three main Ws: Who are in the scene? Where are they? What are they doing? Preparation for short scenes usually takes time because it involves a lot of brainstorming, negotiation, experiments and practice. Students have to manage the content of the drama, the space, their physical movements, language and sometimes even props and furniture.
How is it done? Teacher has prepared the themes for the shorts scenes that the students are going to create in small groups. Sometimes it is useful to assign different circumstances for each group by changing the place, time or perspective of the event, so that students find it more interesting to watch other groups’ works. Students will be given enough time to prepare for the short scenes. Teacher goes around the groups to check on the progress, give advice and support where needed (on the content, use of the space, or even to facilitate group dynamics). It is important to remind students to or help them find a beginning and an end to each scene. Before presenting their scenes, it is useful to ask all the groups to do a final “simultaneous rehearsal” in their own space so that they can finalise their works. The groups then present their works one by one. How the performance space is managed will depend on the setting of the room. Sometimes each group takes turn to go out to a designated area to present the scenes. Sometimes they can stay where they are and let the rest of the class sit on the floor to watch. After the presentation of each scene, teacher can invite the audience to have a brief discussion about the scene to consolidate their understanding. Sometimes, however, the interruption may affect the mood of the drama and an overall discussion after all the scenes are presented would be more appropriate.
SIMULATION In a Simulation, an event in real life or an event described in the drama is being simulated so that students get to experience the event physically, affectively and even intellectually to develop a better understanding about what the characters have gone through
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
in the drama, and to establish identification with the character or the problem. A simulation does not form any part of the dramatic action (students are not in role), but their real experiences will help them gain a better understanding of the drama. An example of a simulation can be found in the unit plan Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in which the students get to experience how it feels like to win or not win a golden ticket.
How is it done? It very much depends on the purpose of the Simulation. Students can work individually or in small groups. It is important for the teacher to have a reflective discussion with the students after the simulation, to find out what they have experienced and learned, and to link the activity back to the drama.
SOUNDSCAPE Sound is an important element of drama. Creating the soundscape for a place or an environment helps students develop an understanding of places, moods or themes that are less effectively depicted in words, for example, a forest at night, a modern city, a small village, a haunted house... etc. Adding sound to a movement sequence, a Still Image or a Short Scene will greatly enhance the mood of the drama, which will help make it more engaging. Soundscapes are always created collectively, and sometimes need to be “conducted” by the teacher, especially when the group is not very experienced with the strategy.
How is it done? Teacher explains to students the theme, place or mood that they are going to create for the drama. Students can use their voices, whistles, bodies, footsteps, musical instruments, percussions or any objects that can make sounds to create the soundscape. The whole class can stand in a big circle to create the soundscape together, or they can work in small groups to create soundscapes of different places in the drama. When they take turns to present their soundscapes to the rest of the class, the effects will be enhanced if the audience can listen with their eyes closed. After the activity, teacher can facilitate a sharing of feelings or visual images elicited as a result of listening to the soundscapes.
SPECTRUM OF DIFFERENCE This strategy allows students to concretise people’s views by taking up a visible and physical position on an issue. It helps students see that people’s opinions over an issue do not just take two sides, but can spread out over a spectrum. By learning about other’s decisions and opinions, the strategy helps students get a more complex reflection on the issue being explored in the drama. This strategy also provides a very good opportunity for stu-
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
dents to practise how to express their opinions and to give reasons to their opinions.
How is it done? Teacher defines the position of a line on the floor across the room (imaginary or real, depending the students’ ability to imagine). The two ends of the line represents two opposing choices or opinions, e.g. to re-develop the village Vs to preserve the village. Each student in the class decides how much s/he prefers the two choices by positioning himself or herself on the line. The closer the student stands towards one end of the line, the more the student supports that choice or opinion. When all the students have chosen their positions, teacher can invite people on different positions to share their reasons. If the students’ ability is strong, the teacher may even ask students at different positions to debate and defend their views.
STILL IMAGE A Still Image captures and frames a very specific and significant moment of an action. Students are required to think carefully about the details of that moment using precise gestures, facial expressions, space, levels and facing. It is also very useful to encourage the rest of the class to observe the details carefully. Since these are frozen moments of the story, it becomes easier for the students to give descriptions of them. The description and discussion on Still Images can be very good speaking exercises for students.
How is it done? Still Image can be done individually, in pairs, in small groups or even with the whole class. Sometimes, several Still Images can be created to tell different parts of a story. The Still Images can also be brought to life for 5 or 10 seconds through improvisation to explore a little more about what would happen afterwards. In creating a Still Image, students work on a very specific moment of the drama. They use their bodies to create whatever exists in that moment which are meaningful and crucial to represent the event. Students are encouraged to use their bodies to represent not only the people, but also objects, environment or even abstract things in the moment. If available, students can also use simple furniture to define the space and to create levels. Teacher gives time for students to prepare, and could signify the freeze of action by counting down from 5 and call out “Freeze!” The class then views the different Still Images to describe the details and read their meanings. It is very important that teacher does not turn this into a guessing game. Guessing what an image is can only produce one “correct” answer, while reading it in different ways can open up many different interpretations. Sometimes those who created the
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
image would gain deeper insights by hearing how others interpret their work differently. Students do not talk in a Still Image, but it is useful to combine Thought Tracking with this strategy so that students can share their characters’ thoughts or feelings in-role.
STORY WHOOSH! Story Whoosh! is a strategy that allows students to act out a piece of teacher (or student) narration. It provides a very good opportunity for students to get engaged in active listening and physical enactment of the story, through which students practise English listening skills and develop a much better understanding of the story. Students learn from one another in the process by sharing ideas and words that are explicitly explained through physical actions and shapes rather than teacher’s verbal explanation.
How is it done? Usually the whole class is involved. Teacher stands together with the whole class in a big circle. Teacher narrates the story slowly and dramatically to the whole class. Students listen to the teacher carefully, and volunteer to come out to take up different roles and mime what happens in the story (sometimes they can add simple dialogues). Anyone in the group can take on any role at any time to complete the whole story together. Apart from the characters in the story, students can also work as a chorus to create the environment of the story, e.g. the ocean, a cave, a busy market, a crowd. Teacher maximises participation by encouraging different students to act out different parts of the narration. Teacher can also repeat the Story Whoosh! to enhance students’ understanding of the story. After the first round, teacher can invite some students to read the story for the rest of the class.
TEACHER NARRATION Teacher narration is the story-telling in a drama. It can serve many purposes, like introducing the drama in the beginning, linking different scenes, introducing a time jump in the drama or creating the mood in the drama. A teacher narration can be aided with storybooks, pictures, puppets or music.
How is it done? Students stand or sit in a big circle, in small groups, or in a setting that is appropriate to the drama. They may even lie on the floor to listen to the narration. Sometimes it may help to switch off the lights or ask students to close their eyes to help them get more engaged. Teacher then gives the narration with a tone and voice that is suitable for the story.
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
TEACHER-IN-ROLE In Teacher-in-role the teacher takes part in the drama together with the students by getting in role as someone in the drama. It is a very effective and engaging drama strategy. It allows the teacher to manage the mood, the tension, and the action in the drama without breaking or stopping the drama. It also provides a very good opportunity for the teacher to demonstrate appropriate language, or apply target language items through interacting with the class. The role that the teacher takes can be of higher, equal or lower status to the roles that the students take, depending on the purpose of the drama. Below are some common uses of Teacher-in-role: 1 To provide information – The teacher can play a person in the story to be interviewed by the class who takes the role of interviewers or someone who have a need to know (e.g. police officers, detectives or journalists). 2 To ask for advice or assistance – The teacher lifts up students’ status by seeking help from them in-role. Their roles could be a helpless child and his/her friends, a confused King and his advisors, a helpless mother and a social worker etc. 3 To facilitate an in-role discussion with the students about a certain issue or dilemma being explored in the drama, done through a meeting.
How is it done? Teacher tells the class that s/he is going to take part in the drama with the students by taking on a role. Teacher uses a prop to signify his/her role (e.g. a scarf, a crown, a jacket, a pair of glasses… etc) and demonstrate to the class how s/he gets in and out of role by putting on or taking off the prop. Teacher may need to explain or demonstrate the signal of getting in role a couple of times if the students have no prior experience with the strategy. The teacher reminds the students of their role and their purpose of talking to the Teacher-in-role, and steps in role to interact with the students until sufficient opinions have been heard or a conclusion has been come up.
TELEPHONE CONVERSATION The major characteristic of this strategy is that it emphasises on the dialogues between two people or two parties. As people cannot interact physically in a telephone conversation, they have to rely mainly on the spoken language to communicate with each other. The two parties may be having a discussion about a matter being explored in the drama, or having a negotiation over a problematic situation. Students can be given time or even given a worksheet to guide them to prepare for the conversation. The Telephone Conver-
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
sation can be done with a Teacher-in-role in which the teacher plays one party and the class plays the other party as a collective role. It can also be done in pairs in which two students pretend to talk to each other on the phone.
How is it done? Students get in pairs. One person is A the other is B. A and B are assigned roles to play in the telephone conversation. Teacher explains to the students the situation and what the two characters want to achieve in the conversation. The students can have some time to think and prepare before they start the conversation. Students should keep the conversation going until teacher gives a signal to stop. The same preparation is needed if the Telephone Conversation is done with a Teacher-in-role.
THOUGHT TRACKING Thought Tracking is quite often used together with Still Image in which the thoughts and feelings of the characters in the Still Image can be tracked. Students will get the opportunity to speak aloud in-role. What the character speaks may support or contrast with the physical gesture. It therefore helps students explore the dramatic moment in greater details and develop better understanding about the characters by revealing his/her subtext. As only a few words or one sentence is spoken in Thought Tracking, the amount of speaking is thus made much more manageable for most students.
How is it done? When the group is frozen in their Still Image, teacher taps on each student to let them speak up their thoughts or feelings without moving the body. It is often useful to allow a bit of time for the students to think of something to say, or sometimes they could relax from their Still Images and write down their ideas before resuming their images again for Thought Tracking. After listening to the characters, teacher could let the group relax and have a short discussion with the audience on what they have made out of the image and the characters’ thoughts.
WHOLE GROUP IMPROVISATION As the name indicates, this strategy involves the whole class. It helps create the lifestyle and the relationship of the people in a certain community, more details about a dramatic context or a dramatic event. Through the improvisation, the students also get to find out more about the roles they play. It can be challenging sometimes to get the whole class involved especially when the class size is big. In that case, teacher may consider splitting the class into two big groups to take turns to do the improvisation, with the other group
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
observing on the side. Also, it is often useful for the teacher to take part in the improvisation as Teacher-in-role so that s/he is able to monitor the dramatic action from within.
How is it done? Teacher tells students what collective role they are playing, e.g. villagers in a poor village, explorers lost in a forest, workers in a factory. Depending on the development of the drama and the purpose of the whole group improvisation, teacher can ask students questions to help them make their roles a bit more specific, e.g. How old are you? How do you walk? What is your job? What tool do you use for work? How do you feel now? What are you concerned about? Teacher tells students to find their own space in the room to get ready for the improvisation. Teacher can signify the start with the sound of a musical instrument or an instruction. It is important for the teacher to observe the improvisation carefully to make sure that it does not go too far from the focus of the drama.
WRITING-IN-ROLE This strategy gives students very strong purposes for writing and therefore helps them generate good ideas for the writing. When students write in role as the characters, they make use of all the experiences gained in the drama to generate ideas for writing. And since the writing is very purposeful within the dramatic context, it is much easier for students to think of what to write. Writing-in-role is particularly useful as an in-role reflection, in the form of a diary or a letter, when students have experienced a major event in the drama. Writing-in-role can also take the form of other text types such as advices, recipes, procedures, advertisements or posters.
How is it done? Teacher can prepare templates for the text type that the students are going to write inrole in order to help the weaker students to manage the format and the structure of the writing. Usually the writing is individual, however, the process of the writing can also be broken down into smaller steps to help students generate and organise ideas collectively before they go ahead to do a bigger piece of writing. Ideas can also be collected from the whole class through a discussion before the students do their writing individually.
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
G r ad e L P r i m a e v e l: Nu m b ry 4 er les s o o f ns: 10 (35 m i n ea c h)
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School
Authors: Fung Sin-Kwan, Lai Cheuk-Wah, Li Hoi-Kei, Tsang Shuk-Kuen Yvonne (Instructor)
Background Pretext Expected Learning Outcomes Text Types Involved Drama Strategies Involved Materials/Equipment The Unit Plan: Lessons 1-2 (double lesson) Lessons 3-4 (double lesson) Lessons 5-6 (double lesson) Lessons 7-8 (double lesson) Lessons 9-10 (double lesson) Worksheets: Worksheet for Character Profile Worksheet for Role-on-the-wall (Baby Bunny) Worksheet for Role-on-the-wall (Momma Bunny) Worksheet for Role-on-the-wall (Poppa Bunny) Worksheet for Still Image and Thought Tracking (with an example of student’s work) Activity Sheet Worksheet for Script Writing Worksheet for Diary Writing – the Bunnies Worksheet for Diary Writing – the Friends Worksheet for Critique Worksheet for Journal Writing
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The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School)
Grade Level: Primary 4 Number of lessons: 10 (35 min each)
H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School
Authors: Fung Sin-Kwan, Lai Cheuk-Wah, Li Hoi-Kei, Tsang Shuk-Kuen Yvonne (Instructor)
Background: This plan has been implemented in four classes of P.4 students to arouse their interest in English and improve their collaborative and communicative skills, involving altogether about 100 students including a remedial class. Based on the school-based reading programme, the reader The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo has been selected as the pretext. This reader has been used as the school-based reading material for years and students love the Bunnies very much. Therefore, it is an effective pretext that captures students’ interest. Instead of having a reading lesson on the reader, four language skills are enhanced throughout the whole teaching and learning process. Students’ works were displayed in each classroom throughout the unit. At the end of the school year, students from different classes worked together and performed a play on the school open day.
Pretext: The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (Story by Sue Denim, Pictures by Dav Pilkey, Scholastic Inc.)
Expected Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to: 1. devise a short scene collaboratively. 2. write and read a script based on the short scene they have devised. 3. use the simple past tense to write a diary. 4. describe ideas and feelings experienced during the drama. 5. reflect on what they have learned in the drama.
Text Types Involved: 1. Character Profile 4. Mind Map
2. Diary 5. Script
3. Journal 6. Story
Drama Strategies Involved: 1. Empty Chair 4. Role-on-the-wall 7. Story Whoosh! 10. Thought Tracking
2. Paired Role-play 5. Short Scene 8. Teacher-in-role 11. Writing-in-role (diary)
3. Paper Location 6. Still Image 9. Teacher Narration
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School)
Materials / Equipment: Lessons 1-2: Some scrap paper
Lessons 3-4: Lessons 5-6:
Lessons 7-8: Lessons 9-10:
Colour pencils The storybook PowperPoint on the adapted version of the story (optional) Worksheet for Character Profile Worksheet for Role-on-the-wall (A3 size) Worksheet for Still Image and Thought Tracking Bunny’s headband for Teacher-in-role The storybook Activity Sheet Worksheet for Script Writing Paper slips Worksheet for Script Writing Worksheet for Diary Writing Worksheet for Diary Writing (completed) Worksheet for Critique Worksheet for Journal Writing Three chairs
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Learning Experiences
Teaching Notes
Paper Location (25 min)
Focus: to create the place in the drama
Step 2:
Besides animals, remind students that there are other things/people that they can see at a zoo.
Record students’ ideas in a mind map on the board.
After visiting the zoo, teacher may ask questions to develop students’ understanding on the place they have created, e.g. • What do you think about the
Grouping: whole class 1 Teacher asks each student to draw one thing Space: big empty space s/he can see at a zoo on a piece of scrap pa- Materials: pieces of scrap paper, colour pencils per. 2 Students put their pictures in the ‘”Zoo” (an area in the classroom) according to the loca- Teacher reminds students that tion of those animails, facilities... etc in the they can draw different things like facilities, animals… etc. zoo. 3 Teacher takes students to visit the zoo (walk around the pictures) and share their ideas Teacher may invite some students to re-arrange the pictures about the zoo. if necessary.
mind map to brainstorm ideas about what they can see at a zoo.
Brainstorming (5 min)
Initiation Phase Focus: to introduce the place in the drama Grouping: whole class Teacher facilitates the whole class to construct a Space: students in their own space Step 1:
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 1-2 (double lesson)
Rationale:
Paper location allows students to present their understanding on the physical environment of a zoo and to create their own dramatic place. This will deepen their belief and engagement in the drama.
Rationale:
The construction of the mind map is a warm up activity that relates to students’ previous experience.
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The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School)
Story Whoosh! (30 min)
Step 3:
Group 2: “There were three special visitors at the Funny Zoo. They were Poppa Bunny, Momma Bunny and Baby Bunny. When they got to the zoo, Baby Bunny said, ‘Momma, the f lowers are nice. I want some!’ ‘Sure!’ said Momma Bunny.
1 Teacher shares the story The Dumb Bun- Materials: the storybook/ PowerPoint on the adapted vernies Go to the Zoo (p.1-19) with students. 2 Teacher reads the story aloud while students sion of the story (optional) in small groups enact spontaneously differFor less able students, teacher ent parts of the story in front of the class. shows the PowerPoint of the story to students to help them Teacher Narration understand the story. Group 1: “One morning in April, we paid a visit to the Funny Zoo. ‘Let’s go!’ We arrived at the Funny Teacher reminds students that Zoo. There were many interesting things at they can be any objects/characthe zoo. Next to the entrance, there were a lot ters in the story. of colourful f lowers. They smelt good! Inside the zoo, there were a lot of people lining up in front of the kiosk. We could buy different kinds of snacks there. The most amazing place was the Animal Zone. We could find elephants, giraffes, lions, monkeys, birds, gorillas and many other animals.”
Focus: to introduce the characters in the Grouping: 6 groups Space: big empty space drama
zoo? • Which part of the zoo do you like the most? Why? • What animals do you like? The Stor y Whoosh! brings the reading activity alive and helps students of dif ferent language abilities comprehend and visualise the text. It allows students to experience the story themselves and facilitates them to engage in the drama. It also serves as an active listening practice. This story is long enough to involve all the students in the Whoosh. Inviting the whole class to enact the last part of the story helps create the chaotic mood in the drama. The story is written in past tense to demonstrate to students the use of past tense.
Rationale:
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School) 5
Group 6: “Then the Bunnies saw a bird. ‘Poppa, what’s that animal?’ asked Baby Bunny. ‘It’s an elephant.’ Baby Bunny and Momma pointed at a butterf ly. ‘What’s that animal?’ ‘Oh, it’s a lion.’ Suddenly, the ‘ lion’ f lied to Momma’s arm. ‘Look, Momma! The lion is on your arm!’ Momma looked and screamed. ‘HELP! HELP!
Group 5: “Next they arrived at the Animal Zone and saw a lovely giraffe. ‘What animal is this?’ asked Baby Bunny ‘It’s a rabbit,’ answered Poppa Bunny. Baby Bunny asked the giraffe, ‘Are you hungry, rabbit?’ Then he gave it some grass and said, ‘Try it, rabbit!’ ”
Group 4: “ ‘Let’s go to see the animals!’ They headed off to the Animal Zone. ‘I didn’t know that the Funny Zoo has a large blackboard .’ Poppa Bunny picked up a crayon to draw. ‘Hey, Baby! Come and look at my drawing!’ Poppa Bunny said.”
Group3: “Mommy Bunny saw the ice- c ream stall . ‘Honey,’ she said, ‘I want an ice-cream.’ Baby Bunny said, ‘Me too!’ Then Poppa Bunny ran to the kiosk and pushed the people. ‘Don’t jump the queue!’ They stared at the Bunnies. The Bunnies got some ice-cream and began to look around.”
Then she picked a bunch of flowers.”
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The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School)
Teacher encourages students to imagine and create the characteristics of the role they are assigned.
Teacher goes through each item on the profile with students.
One-third of the class works on the character profile of Poppa, one-third on Momma, and the rest on Baby.
Each student fills out one of the three character Space: home profiles (Poppa, Momma and Baby) at home Materials: Worksheet for Character Profile and brings it back the next day.
Focus: to create the profile of the characters Grouping: individual
Learning Experiences
Focus: to review and create the characters
Steps
Step 5:
Grouping: students in 3 groups
Teaching Notes
The Unit Plan - Lessons 3-4 (double lesson)
Homework: Character Profile (10 min)
Step 4:
All the groups: “All at once the zoo was in a panic. Everyone ran off screaming. ‘The lion is loose!’ Poppa and Baby Bunny ran to each of the animal cages and opened the doors.”
THE LION HAS ESCAPED!’”
This take-home assignment sustains students’ interest in the drama and enables them to exercise their imagination, creativity and to explore more about the characters.
Rationale:
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School) 7
Homework (5 min)
Reflective Phase Step 7:
Still Image + Thought Tracking (55 min)
Focus: to enact what happens in the zoo
Experiential Phase Step 6:
Grouping: individual work Students draw a picture of their Still Image and Space: home write 3 sentences of Thought Tracking at home. Materials: Worksheet for Still Image and Thought Tracking
Focus: to reflect on the drama
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Grouping: groups of 6 Teacher recalls the story and invites students Space: each group in its own space to anticipate what will happen at different locations in the zoo after the Bunnies open Teacher assigns each group a location in the zoo (e.g. toilet, the animal cages. Teacher assigns each group to construct a kiosk, Animal Zone, box office, inStill Image of what happens at a location in formation centre, entrance… etc). the zoo. While one group presents their image, other Teacher helps students by asking groups read the images and share what they questions like: • Who/What are you? see happening. Teacher pats on students’ shoulders for • Where are you? • What are you doing? Thought Tracking. • How do you feel?
1 Students with the same profile get together on-the-wall (A3 size) and take turns to share their profiles in their Teacher posts the Role-on-thegroup. 2 Students write the characteristics of the wall on the board and students roles on the “Worksheet for Role-on-the- take turns to write on it. wall”. 3 Teacher invites a few students to introduce Put the facts about the characters outside the outline of the the characters to the whole class. characters, and their personality inside.
in the drama by pooling students’ ideas Space: each group in its own space Materials: Worksheet for Roletogether
Role-on-the-wall (10 min)
This take-home assignment helps students to review what has happened in the drama and sustains their interest in the drama.
Rationale:
This activity allows students to create and crystallise their ideas into concrete images which is a sign to be interpreted or read by the observers. This requires students to make reflections and do analysis as they form the images as well as in reading them. It helps students gain deeper understanding of the situation.
Rationale:
Rationale:
The Roll-on-the-wall helps build a deeper understanding of the roles and enables students to explore the roles’ personality and behaviour. The sharing is a speaking exercise to develop students’ presentation skills.
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The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School)
Teacher Narration + Teacher-in-role (10 min)
4 The Bunny discloses that the police said his/her family might be sent to prison if they don’t correct their mistakes in 3 days.
“Hello, f riend s. I’m ver y f rightened . I don’t know what to do. I want to go home. I don’t want to be sent to prison…” (pause for students to ask questions)
2 Teacher tells students that they are going to become the Bunnies’ friends and meet one of the bunnies to find out what problems the Bunnies have. 3 Teacher puts on a headband and takes the role of one of the Bunnies. S/he interacts with the students and discloses the trouble s/he has. Below is how the conversation may start.
Teacher uses his/her non-verbal expressions to portray an attitude of ignorance – the Bunnies didn’t intend to do what they did; they just had no idea that what they did was wrong. This attitude will help arouse empathy in the students so they are more willing to help the Bunnies.
Teacher encourages students to ask the Bunny what problems s/ he has when they meet him/her.
taking off the prop, s/he is out of role.
facing teacher Materials: Bunny’s headband for “After the bunnies opened the animal cages Teacher-in-role at the zoo, they got into big trouble. They were all very sad and worried. They didn’t Teacher brief s st udents t hat know what to do and asked their friends to when s/he puts on the prop, s/ help them.” he is in role as the Bunny. When
1 Teacher narrates the next part of the story,
Focus: to help the Bunnies solve their prob- Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space lem
Experiential Phase Step 8:
Teaching Notes
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 5-6 (double lesson)
Rationale:
In meeting the Teacher-in - role, the students try to find out more about the Bunny by actually talking to him/her. It invites students’ involvement and provokes tension. This is also an authentic situation that elicits students’ spontaneous responses. This activity provides a chance for teachers and students to lay aside their actual roles and work together within the drama.
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School) 9
Short Scene (40 min)
Step10:
Discussion (10 min)
Step 9:
1 In small groups, the students prepare their Space: each group in its own space Short Scenes on helping the Bunnies to corTeacher helps students to create rect their mistakes. 2 Each group takes turn to perform their the scene by asking question like: Short Scene. Teacher gives instant feedback. • Where are the Bunnies? • What mistake are they making? • What should they do? • W ho/ W hat a re you in the scene? • What are you going to tell the Bunnies?
Focus: to present ideas of helping the Bunnies Grouping: small groups of 6
1 Teacher shows the pictures in the storybook Materials: the storybook, Activand helps the students recall and discuss ity Sheet what mistakes the Bunnies have made (picking the flowers, feeding the animals, litter- Teacher provides language input ing, graffiti, poor eating manner and jump- such as: • They should… ing the queue). 2 Students in their small groups choose one • They should not… mistake the Bunnies have made and write down what they should do in the “Activity Sheet”. 3 Each group reports what they have written down to the rest of the class.
Focus: to prepare Short Scenes on helping Grouping: small groups of 6 Space: each group in its own space the Bunnies
But they have no idea what has gone wrong. The Bunny begs the children to help them. 5 Teacher takes off the headband and steps out of role when the students agree to help.
Students are allowed to experience, visualise and verbalise the ideas they have created by acting out the story. It provides an opportunity for them to speak and interact with each other as well as exercise their creativity and imagination.
Rationale:
This group activity allows students to get stimulation from each other to create a part of the story. It involves students in speaking, listening and writing.
Rationale:
10
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School)
Grouping: small groups of 6 1 Teacher distributes some paper slips for each Space: each group in its own space student to write down what they have said Materials: paper slips, Worksheet for Script Writing in the Short Scene. 2 Teacher asks students to stick what they have written onto the “Worksheet for Script Writing” in order.
Focus: to write the script
Reflective Phase
Language Practice (10 min)
Step 13:
Possible prompting questions: • Where did you go yesterday? • Whom did you meet? • What did you see? • What did you do?
Grouping: individual Teacher asks students to write a diary in role as Space: students in their own space
Focus: to write a diary in role
1 Teacher reviews the Short Scenes the students performed the day before and focuses on the use of simple past tense by asking what their characters did in the zoo yesterday.
Grouping: small groups of 6 Space: each group in its own space Materials: paper slips, Worksheet for Script Writing
Teaching Notes
Focus: to review the usage of simple past Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space tense
1 Students continue to work on the script. 2 Students in groups read the script again.
Focus: to complete the script
Step 12:
Script Writing (20 min)
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 7-8 (double lesson)
Script Writing (10 min)
Step11:
Teacher may also invite the audience to comment on the scenes.
Rationale:
This writing exercise records what students have done in the Short Scenes. It is always said that students lack ideas to write. In fact, if opportunity is offered for them to create, to experience, they will have a lot to write. The Short Scene serves as a good means for them to generate ideas for writing.
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School) 11
Teacher reminds students to use simple past tense to write the diary.
Teacher goes through the questions on the worksheet with students.
the Bunnies or the friends who have helped Materials: Worksheet for Diary them correct their mistakes. Writing
Paired Role-play (15 min)
1 Teacher informs students that the police Materials: Worksheet for Diary needs to check the Bunnies so that they Writing (completed) can decide whether they should send the Teacher demonstrates how to inBunnies to prison or not. 2 Students work in pairs. One of them takes terview the Bunnies or the friend the role of a police officer to interview the by asking: other as the Bunny or the Bunnies’ friend. • What did you do in the zoo yesterday? They talk about what they did in the zoo by • Who helped you?/Who did referring to their diaries. you help? 3 Students vote whether the Bunnies should • How did they help you?/How be sent to prison or not. did you help them?
Focus: to review the drama by sharing the Grouping: pairs Space: students in their own space diaries
Step 15:
Teaching Notes
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 9-10 (double lesson)
Writing-in-role (diary) (40min)
Step 14: This in-role writing activity helps students deepen their understanding on the events in the drama. It serves as a writing practice on simple past tense and provides a purpose for students to write.
Rationale:
12
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School)
Out-of-role
Step 17:
In-role Reflection: Empty Chair (35 min)
Step 16:
Students as audience may lose p a t i e nc e w h i l e l i s t e n i n g t o others. The critique helps students pay attention to others and appreciate each other.
Teacher may need to provide language input like: • Thanks for… • Thanks for teaching me/us to… • Thanks for teaching me/us not to… • I feel… because…
Grouping: individual 1 Teacher encourages students to share what Space: students in their own space
Focus: to reflect on the drama
4
3
2
1
Grouping: small groups of 3 Three chairs are set for “Poppa”, “Momma” Space: 3 chairs in front of the class and “Baby” Bunnies. Students, three by three, stand behind the Materials: 3 chairs, Worksheet empty chairs to speak out what the Bunnies for Critique would say to their friends after the whole Teacher helps students by asking: event. The audience choose the best piece of shar- • If you were the Bunnies, would you like to thank the helper? ing by filling in the “Worksheet for Cri• What have you learned? tique” while listening to the Bunnies. At the end of the activity, students pass the • How would you feel? • What would you say to them? worksheet to the person they have chosen.
Focus: to reflect on the drama
Teacher may ask some of the pairs to share their conversations.
A good reflection is very important in a Process Drama. Both inrole and out- of- role reflections (steps 16 & 17 ) help students make sense of the experience and to learn from it.
Rationale:
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School) 13
Reflection: Writing a Journal (20 min)
they have learned from the drama. Materials: Worksheet for Journal 2 Students write a journal to record their ideas Writing and feelings.
14
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School)
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School)
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo Worksheet for Character Profile
Name:
(
Class:
Complete the profile for your character.
Profile Name: Poppa Bunny / Momma Bunny / Baby Bunny (please circle) Sex: M / F (please circle) Date of Birth: Place of Birth: (Draw and colour)
Favourite food: Favourite hobbies: Height:
cm
Weight:
kg
Appearance:
eyes
teeth
a
nose
ears
Personality:
helpful others:
kind
naughty
)
15
16
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School)
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo Worksheet for Role-on-the-wall (enlarge to A3 size)
Group members: Name: Class: Class:
Baby Bunny
(
)
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School)
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo Worksheet for Role-on-the-wall (enlarge to A3 size)
Group members: Name: Class: Class:
Momma Bunny
(
)
17
18
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School)
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo Worksheet for Role-on-the-wall (enlarge to A3 size)
Group members: Name: Class: Class:
Poppa Bunny
(
)
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School)
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo Worksheet for Still Image and Thought Tracking (with an example of student’s work)
Name: Class:
What happened after the cage was opened at the zoo? Draw and write in speech bubbles.
(
)
19
20
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School)
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo Activity Sheet
Group members: Name:
(
)
Class: Class:
The Bunnies did something wrong in the zoo. What did they do? The Bunnies . What should they do? Why? • They should/should not because
.
• They should/should not because
.
• They should/should not because
.
• They should/should not because
.
• They should/should not because
.
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School)
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo Worksheet for Script Writing
Group members: Name: Class: Class:
Situation: Role:
Played by:
Script (Stick your sentence strips below.)
(
)
21
22
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School)
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo Worksheet for Diary Writing – the Bunnies
Name:
(
Class:
YOU ARE BUNNIES. You are going to write the diary about what you did and what you learned from your friends. Write the diary with the help of the following questions. Write in about 60 words. • • • • • •
Where did you go? Who did you go with? What did you do there? What have you learned from your friends? How did you feel? What should you do in the future?
Date:
Weather:
I am ashamed of my misbehaviour. Today
)
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School)
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo Worksheet for Diary Writing – the Friends
Name:
(
Class:
THE FRIENDS OF THE BUNNIES. You are going to write the diary about what the Bunnies did and how you helped them. Write the diary with the help of the following questions. Write in about 60 words. • • • •
Where did you go? Who did you go with? What did the Bunnies do? How did you correct their misbehaviour?
Date:
Weather:
I am so happy that I helped the Bunnies today.
)
23
24
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School)
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo Worksheet for Critique
Name:
(
)
Class: * I like “
’s sharing the best. He/She said, “
.
* I like it because… it is creative. he / she speaks loudly. it is touching. it is easy to understand. Others:
.
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (H.K.T.A. Y.Y.I. Shek Wai Kok Primary School)
The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo Worksheet for Journal Writing
Name:
(
)
Class:
1. Do you like drama lessons? Yes / No. Why do / don’t you like the lessons? It is because... (You can tick more than one box.) It is interesting. I enjoy watching the performance of my classmates. I can perform in front of my class. I can write my script. Others:
.
2. What activities do you like the most? Draw or write in the box below.
3. Who is the best performer in your class? I think speaks with feeling. works well with others. gives a lot of ideas. Others:
is the best performer because he /she performs well. is friendly. speaks loudly.
25
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
G r ad e L P r i m a e v e l: Nu m b ry 4 er les s o o f 4 (40 m ns: i n e ac h)
Looking in the Past Baptist (Sha Tin Wai) Lui Ming Choi Primary School
Authors: Cheung Sau-Yi Connie, Ho Wing-Chi Joey, Marie Luo, Ting Ho Maggie, Wong Wing-Yin Dorothy, Cheung Kit-Ying Natalie (Instructor)
Background 2 Pretext Expected Learning Outcomes Text Types Involved Drama Strategies Involved Materials/Equipment The Unit Plan: Lessons 1-2 (double lesson) 3 Lessons 3-4 (double lesson) 5 Worksheets: Worksheet for Character Profile 9 Worksheet for Letter Writing (with examples of students’ work) 10
2
Looking in the Past
Looking in the Past (Baptist (Sha Tin Wai) Lui Ming Choi Primary School)
Grade Level: Primary 4 Number of lessons: 4 (40 min each)
Baptist Lui Ming Choi (Sha Tin Wai) Primary School
Authors: Cheung Sau-Yi Connie, Ho Wing-Chi Joey, Marie Luo, Ting Ho Maggie, Wong Wing-Yin Dorothy, Cheung Kit-Ying Natalie (Instructor)
Background: This unit is designed for a group of students who have some prior drama experience. The original textbook chapter is about lives in the past and the present. The story has been re-written as one about pulling down an old village to give way to a modern shopping outlet. It mirrors the topical social issue on the construction of the high speed rail that leads to the need of demolishing Choi Yuen Village. The adaptation aims to relate students’ learning to current affairs and their real life experiences. In the drama, the students create and use verbal, non-verbal and written language as characters dwelling in an old village. They describe their occupations and their own living spaces, and give reasons for their support or opposition to the government’s proposal of demolishing the village. The unit finishes with a letter writing task. These letters may be shared with the whole class as a follow up activity after the unit.
Pretext: Book Chapter on “Looking in the Past” (Integrated Primary English 4B. (TOC Edition). Hong Kong: Longman.)
Expected Learning Outcomes: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Students use “Wh-” questions. Students describe places, people and activities. Students write a short letter. Students consider issues related to knocking down the old to give way to the new.
Text Types Involved: 1. Character Profile
2. Letter
3. Report
Drama Strategies Involved: 1. A Day in the Life 4. Still Image 7. Teacher Narration
2. Conscience Alley 5. Soundscape 8. Writing-in-role (letter)
3. Miming 6. Teacher-in-role
Materials / Equipment: Lessons 1-2: Small pieces of paper
Lessons 3-4: Worksheet for Character Pro-
Big poster paper Picture of a village Worksheet for Character Profile Occupation cards Projector
file (completed) A jacket for Teacher-in-role Small pieces of paper Worksheet for Letter Writing
Learning Experiences
Teaching Notes
Step 3:
Miming + Soundscape (20 min)
Step 2:
Brainstorming + Drawing (15 min)
At the end of this step, teacher takes away the city pictures and asks students to focus on the village ones.
Grouping: two big groups Space: each group on one side of the room Teacher prompts students to thin k about anima ls, plants, transportation, peoples’ activities and the tools people use.
Focus: to build students’ roles in the drama Grouping: 5 groups
1 Teacher asks students to think of activities they can see in cities and villages, and to show them with movements and sounds. 2 Students are divided into two groups. The “City” group shows movements and sounds in the city. Then the “Village” group shows movements and sounds in the village. 3 Teacher draws students’ attention to the “Village” group, and tells them this drama is about people living in a village.
Focus: to establish the place in the drama
1 Teacher asks students to think about the Space: students in their own space Materials: small pieces of paper, differences between cities and villages. 2 Teacher d ivides students into t wo big two big poster paper groups. One group draws what they can see in cities. The other group draws what they Teacher prompts students to can see in villages. Students draw each of th i n k of a ni ma ls, f urniture , these things on one small piece of paper. buildings, plants and facilities in The drawings are then stuck onto two big their drawings. These vocabulary types may vary according to posters on the board. 3 Teacher leads a discussion on the differences needs. between cities and villages.
Initiation Phase Focus: to help students relate to the theme Grouping: two big groups, then whole class Step 1: of the drama
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 1-2 (double lesson)
This activity helps students gain an embodied understanding on the life in cities Vs villages through kinesthetic expressions.
Rationale:
Contrasting villages with cities helps students to focus on specific features of village life. The use of drawing helps them visualise ideas before putting them in words.
Rationale:
Rationale:
The success of this drama relies on students’ capacity to identify with the role of villagers. Yet as city dwellers, they may find it hard to imagine how village life is like. Thus a considerable time is spent on the first few steps to help them build belief in their roles. Looking in the Past (Baptist (Sha Tin Wai) Lui Ming Choi Primary School) 3
Out-of-role
Reflective Phase Step 5:
A Day in the Life (10 min)
Experiential Phase Step 4:
Drawing + Character Profile (30 min)
Teacher helps students with the vocabular y they need for the Character Profile.
Teacher asks students to think about the life of the families and draw the houses and furniture according to their family’s needs.
The 5 occupations are: fishermen, farmers, hunters, hawkers and butchers.
Space: each group in its own space Materials: village picture, large paper, Worksheet for Character Profile, occupation cards, projector
Grouping: 5 groups Teacher asks students to describe how life is Space: each group in its own space like as people living in the village.
Focus: to consolidate ideas
Grouping: 5 groups 1 Teacher tells students to imagine what the Space: each group in its own space villagers’ daily lives are like. 2 Students, in their family groups, mime the Teacher reminds students to condaily activities of their characters at differ- sider the occupation and age of ent times of the day, as the teacher cries out their roles in the drama. the time around the clock. It will be good to start the time at 1:00a.m.
Focus: to let students embody their roles
1 Teacher projects a picture of a village onto a screen and tells students that they will take the role of people living in this village. Students give a name to the village. 2 Teacher divides students into 5 groups. Each group will become a family in this village. Each family has a particular way to make a living. The students draw a card from the teacher to decide on their occupations. 3 Teacher gives each group a big piece of paper and asks students to draw the house and furniture of this particular family. 4 Students in each group decide on their roles in the family by filling out the “Worksheet for Character Profile”. 5 The groups take turn to introduce their family and their house. The rest of the class asks them questions using “wh-” words.
The previous activity will give students some concrete experiences to talk about in this step.
Rationale:
This step further builds roles by asking students to consider the details of their characters’ daily activities. Body movement is a good way for helping students build belief in roles.
Rationale:
Rationale:
Students give their own village a name, design their own houses and choose their own roles to gain ownership of the story. The different occupations give variety to the students’ works. They will be motivated to ask each other questions as their houses are all different.
4
Looking in the Past (Baptist (Sha Tin Wai) Lui Ming Choi Primary School)
Learning Experiences
Teaching Notes
Teacher Narration + Movement (20 min)
Step 7:
Still Image (10 min)
“Your village’s harvests this year are very good. You are going to hold a campfire gathering to celebrate this. In the celebration, you will do a dance to thank the Gods for the good harvests and to wish for blessings for the next year.”
1 Teacher projects a picture of good harvests. 2 Teacher narrates,
Focus: to build the bondage of the villag- Grouping: 5 groups ers by e n a c t i n g a c a mpf i re d a nc e f or Space: students in a big circle with their groups good harvests
1 Teacher gives back the Character Profiles Materials: Worksheet for Character Profile (completed) from the last lesson to each family group. 2 Teacher asks students to prepare a Still Image of the family at a place they like most in the village. 3 Each group shows their image and the rest of the students describe what they see and suggest why the family is fond of that particular place in the village.
Initiation Phase Focus: to build the characters’ commitment Grouping: 5 groups Space: each group in its own space Step 6: to their land
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 3-4 (double lesson)
Discussion (5 min)
The cohesiveness of the villagers developed here will make their dilemma stronger in the later part of the drama when the villagers are asked to separate from each other.
Rationale:
The activity not only helps students get back in role, but also builds their characters’ commitment to their land – something they need later in the drama when they consider whether to leave the village or not.
Rationale:
Looking in the Past (Baptist (Sha Tin Wai) Lui Ming Choi Primary School) 5
Narration + Teacher-in-role (20 min)
Experiential Phase Step 8:
Materials: a jacket (or a clipboard if it is difficult to find a suitable “While the villagers are having their celejacket) bration, someone appeared. He is a government official from the city. He brings the Make sure the students undervillagers a piece of news.” stand that as the teacher puts the jacket on, s/he is taking on the 2 Teacher tells students that s/he is going to role of the government official. take on the role of the government official to announce the news. S/he puts on a jacket Do not just announce the news to signify the government official, steps in straight away. Let students ask role and interacts with the villagers as he questions and interact with the tells them the followings: government official. a. The government has decided to build a grand shopping outlet at where the village To heighten the tension of the is. drama, the government official b. The village has been chosen because it is holds an arrogant attitude, thinka nice piece of land, but the village is old ing the old village is of no value. and dirty. c. All houses in the village will be pulled d ow n , a nd t he w ho l e pl a c e w i l l b e changed into a big shopping outlet. d. The villagers will be moved to different parts of the city. They can no longer live together.
1 Teacher narrates,
Teacher prompts students to think of movements specifically related to their occupations.
Focus: to introduce the problem for the vil- Grouping: whole class Space: students sit in a big circle lagers
3 Each family group creates a 30-second dance piece for the campfire gathering. 4 Each group takes turn to present their dance piece in the middle of the circle. The others follow their movements.
The timing of the government official’s arrival and his arrogant attitude create tension in the drama. The information given by the government official provides students with ideas to consider in the next step.
Rationale:
6
Looking in the Past (Baptist (Sha Tin Wai) Lui Ming Choi Primary School)
Step 10:
Conscience Alley (15 min)
Reflective Phase Step 9:
To further arouse the villagers’ emotions, the government official can refer to the houses students drew in the last lesson and the favourite places students named in Step 6, and make negative comments on them, like “These are useless! These are so old and so ugly! These should be gone!”… etc.
Focus: to reflect on the theme of the drama Grouping: individual
1 Teacher steps out of role and explains to the lines facing each other students that the villagers hold different Materials: small pieces of paper views towards the government’s decision. Some support it; some do not, and some cannot make up their minds. 2 Split the class into two halves. One group thinks of reasons why the villagers would support the government’s decision. The other group thinks of reasons for not supporting the decision. Each student writes down a sentence to explain his/her views. 3 Students stand on two sides of an alley. One If the class size is big, the stuside represents “support the decision” while dents can work in pairs and read the other represents “do not support the aloud one sentence together. decision”. Teacher takes the role of a villager who cannot make up his/her mind. S/he walks down the alley to hear both sides of reasons as the students read aloud what they have written.
Focus: to consider the pros and cons of the Grouping: two big groups Space: students standing in two government’s decision
e. A large sum of money will be given to the villagers for compensation. f. He thinks that it is good for the villagers to get the money and leave this “old dirty village” to live in the “new modern city”. g. He also thinks that building the shopping outlet will be good for the whole country as it will attract tourists.
The students respond to the theme of the drama from different perspectives. Having students write down their ideas first will give them more confidence to speak up in the Conscience Alley.
Rationale:
Looking in the Past (Baptist (Sha Tin Wai) Lui Ming Choi Primary School) 7
Writing-in-role (letter) (15 min)
Step 10:
Space: students in their own space 1 Students stick their sentences onto the Materials: Worksheet for Letter board. Writing 2 Teacher tells students that the villagers will write to the government to express their Teacher can find an example of opinions on whether the village should be the “Worksheet for Letter Writkept or not. Each student writes a short ing” at the end of this plan. They letter in role as the character s/he created may modify its format according earlier on. They can select sentences on the to their students’ abilities. board and use them to write the letter. They finish writing the letter as a piece of homework.
by writing a letter to the government The sentences on the board give the students a range of sentences to use in writing the letter. Ideas generated collectively will facilitate students’ individual writing tasks.
Rationale:
8
Looking in the Past (Baptist (Sha Tin Wai) Lui Ming Choi Primary School)
Looking in the Past (Baptist (Sha Tin Wai) Lui Ming Choi Primary School)
Looking in the Past Worksheet for Character Profile
Name:
(
Class:
The
Family
Role
Name
Age
Personality
e.g. Mother
Mary
35
Nice and patient
Roles to choose from: Mother, Father, Elder Daughter, Elder Son, Younger Daughter, Younger Son, Grandmother, Grandfather
)
9
10
The King’s New Coat (S.T.F.A. Leung Kit Wah Primary School)
Looking in the Past Worksheet for Letter Writing (examples of students’ work)
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
G r ad e L P r i m a e v e l: Nu m b ry 4 er les s o o f 8 (30 m ns: i n e ac h)
The Troll Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School
Authors: Chui Siu-Cheong Ray, Lo Ka-Man Carman, Lo Yuen-Yee, Siu-Ting Connie, Wong Me-Chu Jennifer, Tsang Shuk-Kuen Yvonne (Instructor)
Background Pretext Expected Learning Outcomes Text Types Involved Drama Strategies Involved Materials/Equipment The Unit Plan: Lesson 1 (single lesson) Lesson 2 (single lesson) Lesson 3 (single lesson) Lesson 4 (single lesson) Lesson 5 (single lesson) Lesson 6 (single lesson) Lesson 7 (single lesson) Lesson 8 (single lesson) Worksheets: Worksheet for Character Profile Worksheet for Role-on-the-wall Questionnaire about Good Habits Worksheet for Describing Neighbours in the Forest Story Chart Worksheet for Journal Writing Worksheet for Scriptwriting
2
3
4 6 8 9 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
2
The Troll
The Troll (Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School)
Grade Level: Primary 4 Number of lessons: 8 (30 min each)
Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School
Authors: Chui Siu-Cheong Ray, Lo Ka-Man Carman, Lo Yuen-Yee, Siu Ting Connie, Wong Me-Chu Jennifer, Tsang Shuk-Kuen Yvonne (Instructor)
Background: This unit is designed for a group of students of mixed ability, who are enthusiastic, energetic and eager to participate in various classroom activities. The story of the Troll has been chosen from the textbook as the pretext because it is a very interesting piece of material. Four language skills are enhanced throughout the whole teaching and learning process with the introduction of modal verbs, adverbs/adverbial phrases of frequency and vocabulary on daily habits, which are the major language items listed in the original textbook unit. By creating the situation of helping an unbeloved neighbour to be accepted and welcomed by others, students are requested to reflect on their own attitudes towards that kind of neighbours and to look into their own personal hygiene status at the same time. The teaching and learning process helps cultivate love and care in the students and encourage them to plan something practical to keep personal hygiene based on their own life experiences. The most difficult aspect to handle in this unit was the space as there was not enough open area inside the classroom for all the students to move around. Therefore, some of the drama activities were modified to reduce the space needed. Students’ work was displayed in each classroom throughout the Process Drama. After the students finished writing their scripts, an in-class competition was held. The best group represented their class in a public performance during the school’s English Week.
Pretext: Book chapter on “Good Habits” (Wilson, A., Clarke, K., Hall, E., & Sieh, M. (2005) Primary Longman Express 4B. Hong Kong: Longman.)
Expected Learning Outcomes: 1. Students will be able to use “ought to” and adverbs/adverbial phrases of frequency to talk about their daily habits. 2. Students will be able to devise a short performance in English based on the story. 3. Students will be able to create a short scene of helping the Troll. 4. Students will be able to write and read their own scripts in English. 5. Students will be able to share drama with others by participating, listening and watching. 6. Students will be able to reflect on the themes in the story.
The Troll (Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School)
Text Types Involved: 1. Character Profile 4. Script
2. Journal 5. Short Story
3. Mind Map
Drama Strategies Involved: 1. Gossip Mill 4. Paper Location 7. Short Sence 10. Teacher Narration
2. Meeting 5. Role-on-the-wall 8. Story Whoosh!
3. Miming 6. Still Image 9. Teacher-in-role
Materials / Equipment: Lesson 1: Lesson 2: Lesson 3: Lesson 4:
Lesson 5: Lesson 6: Lesson 7: Lesson 8:
Wall paper Flash cards Worksheet for Character Profile Worksheet for Role-on-the-wall (A3 size) Questionnaire about Good Habits Questionnaire about Good Habits (completed) A big picture of the forest Scrap paper Colour pens Blu-tack Worksheet for Neighbours in the Forest Worksheet for Neighbours in the Forest (completed) Animal headbands Signs of the meeting places in the forest Bandage for Teacher-in-role Animal headbands Story Chart Story Chart (completed) Worksheet for Journal Writing Worksheet for Scriptwriting
3
Learning Experiences
Teaching Notes
Story Whoosh! (15 min)
1 Divide the class into two groups. First group the class in a semi-circle, others in a line facing the other group of students stand in a semi-circle.
Initiation Phase Focus: to introduce the characters in the Grouping: two big groups Space: big empty space, half of Step 2: drama
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lesson 2 (single lesson)
Introducing Vocabulary using Miming (30 min)
1 Teacher facilitates the whole class to con- Materials: wall paper, flash cards struct a mind map to brainstorm ideas about Record students’ ideas on a piece good habits in everyday life. 2 Review the mind map constructed and of wall paper. show students corresponding flash cards to further consolidate the vocabulary on good Teacher may ask students to read aloud the good habits in chorus habits. 3 A representative from each group takes turn or individually. to mime one good habit. The other groups guess what habit it is and write it down. 4 Group leaders from each group take turns to read aloud the habits written on the record sheet. The group with the most correct answers will be the winner.
Focus: to relate the students to the theme Grouping: small groups of 6 Space: each group in its own space of the drama
Before the Drama Step 1:
Teaching Notes
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lesson 1 (single lesson) Rationale:
The construction of the mind map is a warm up activity that relates to students’ daily life. Reviewing the mind map with flash cards provides students with vocabulary input for the drama. The miming competition is a warm up exercise for students to get a taste of acting out and it also serves as a consolidation of the language input.
4
The Troll (Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School)
‘How often do you brush your teeth?’ asked Gavin . ‘Once a week ,’ said the t roll . ‘ You ought to brush your teeth twice a day. Look at
‘How often do you change your socks?’ Gavin asked. The troll came up to the surface and said, ‘Once a month… maybe.’ ‘You ought to change your socks every day,’ said Gavin.
‘I won’t eat you. I just want to be your friend,’ said the troll. Gavin was surprised. He went closer to the bridge. He saw two huge feet in smelly dirty socks. There were files buzzing around.
Gavin did not listen to his brother. One morning he tried to cross the bridge. ‘Who’s crossing my bridge?’ shouted a voice. ‘I’m just a little goat. Don’t eat me,’ replied Gavin.
Teacher narrates, “Once upon a time there were three goats. They were brothers. They lived together beside a river and some big trees. The youngest goat, Gavin, wanted to eat the sweet grass across the river. His brothers told him not to go there. ‘The troll under the bridge will eat you,’ said his brothers.
2 Teacher reads out the first part of the story while students jump into the centre to enact the story. The second group sits in a line as audience. 3 Invite the second group to repeat the above with the rest of the story. The Whoosh is called the second time so as to get the second half of students involved in the activity.
Students not only can take up the roles of living things, but also objects or parts of the setting.
Rationale:
The Stor y Whoosh! brings the reading activity alive and helps students of dif ferent language abilities comprehend and visualise the text. It also serves as an active listening practice.
The Troll (Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School) 5
Students fill in the “Worksheet for Character Materials: Worksheet for CharacProfile” at home and bring it back in the next ter Profile lesson. Teacher goes through each item on the profile with students and asks them to write about one of the characters in the story. Encourage students to imagine and create the characteristics of the character they choose.
Focus: to create a profile of a character in Grouping: individual Space: students in their own space the drama
Teaching Notes
1 In small groups, students write the char- on-the-wall (A3 size) acteristics of certain characters on the “Worksheet for Role-on-the-wall”.
Learning Experiences
Focus: to create the characteristics of cer- Grouping: small groups of 6 Role-on-the-wall tain characters in the drama by pooling Space: each group in its own space Materials: Worksheet for Role(15 min) students’ ideas together
Step 4:
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lesson 3 (single lesson)
Character Profile (15 min)
Step 3:
The troll was angry. ‘I don’t want to make friends with you anymore!’ shouted the troll. He tried to catch Gavin but Gavin was faster than him. ‘You ought to do more exercise!’”
your hair! You ought to wash it four times a week. You ought to…,’ said Gavin.
This take-home assignment sustains students’ interest in the drama and enables them to exercise their imagination and creativity.
Rationale:
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The Troll (Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School)
Language Practice (15 min)
Step 5:
Teacher goes through the questionnaire with students.
1 Teacher recalls the Troll’s habits and draws Materials: Questionnaire about students’ attention to the patterns shown in Good Habits the textbook: “How often do you... in a week / month / Teacher asks students questions on the Troll’s habits like: “How year?” of ten does he brush his teeth “...once/twice/three times…” / wa sh his hair / change his “…ought to…” socks?” 2 Students finish the “Questionnaire about Teacher asks students: “What Good Habits” at home. are the things that the Troll ought to do?”
Outside the outline of the characters, put down facts about the characters. Inside, the characters’ personality, and in the heart, the characters’ feelings.
Teacher reminds students in the same group to compromise on one character to be put on the “wall”, and to take turns to contribute ideas.
Focus: to practise “How often”, adverbs of Grouping: individual Space: students in their own space frequency and “ought to”
2 A representative from each group reads out the characteristics of that character.
Name of the character:
Roll-on-the-wall
Rationale:
This activity provides students with language input to talk about good habits in the drama.
The Roll- on-the -wall helps build a deep understanding of the role and enables students to explore the role and its behaviour.
Rationale:
The Troll (Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School) 7
Homework (5 min)
Reflective Phase Step 8:
1 Students think about what kind of neigh- scribing Neighbours in the Forest bours they want to have and whether the neighbours are good to others. 2 Students fill in the “Worksheet for Describ- Teacher goes through the items
Teacher may ask students to take a look (in groups) at the forest they have created and invite them to rearrange the pictures if necessary.
Space: students in their own space, then gather around the “forest” Materials: a big picture of the forest including the Troll, scrap paper, colour pens, blu-tack
Focus: to draw students’ attention to the Grouping: individual criteria of good neighbours and further de- Space: students in their own space Materials: Worksheet for Develop the dramatic context
1 Students decide what animals they feel like to play based on the habits they have. 2 Students draw on scrap paper the place/ home (e.g. a cave, a tree, wherever they like) where their animal would like to stay in the forest. 3 Students place their homes in the “forest” and take turns to tell the class “why” their animals like to stay in those parts of the “forest”. 4 Students take another piece of paper home and draw a sign of the animal they have decided to be, make a headband with it and bring it back in the next lesson.
Step 7:
Paper Location (15 min)
Focus: to build students’ roles in the drama Grouping: individual
Recap: Oral Report (10 min)
Focus: to revisit the language input
Step 6:
Teaching Notes
Grouping: individual Students orally report on their daily habits ac- Space: students in their own space Materials: Questionnaire About cording to the questionnaire they filled in. Good Habits (completed)
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lesson 4 (single lesson)
Paper location helps students build an understanding of the physical environment and create their own dramatic place. This will deepen their belief and engagement in the drama. Making of the headband facilitates students to engage in the drama too.
Rationale:
Rationale:
This warm up activity serves as a practice on presentation skills and recalls students’ daily habits which help them build their roles in the drama as well.
8
The Troll (Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School)
on the worksheet and helps students by asking questions like: a. Who do you want to live closely with? b. Why do you want to live closely with them?
Gossip Mill (15 min)
Step 10:
Sharing (5 min)
Focus: to recall the dramatic context
Experiential Phase Step 9:
Teaching Notes
1 Divide the students into 5 groups. Each group forms a peer animal group in a meeting place of the forest. The students put on their animal headbands when they get in role. 2 First, the members in each group whisper to each other their feelings and thoughts about the Troll. 3 Then, mill around in the meeting places one by one. (Begin with sending one member off to the next group to do the gossip. When the the first round is done, the member comes
Focus: to build the character of the Troll
The teacher may need to provide language imput here, e.g. • I think the Troll is dirty. • I think the Troll is lonely.
Grouping: 5 groups Space: classroom divided into 5 zones in the forest Materials: anima l headbands, signs of different parts of the forest (e.g. beside the river, beside the pond, under the tree, on the grassland, on the muddy ground)
Grouping: individual Teacher recalls what was discussed in the previ- Space: students in their own space ous lesson and invites students to share if they Materials: Worksheet for Deare good neighbours or if they have good neigh- scribing Neighbours in the Forest (completed) bours around.
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lesson 5 (single lesson)
ing Neighbours in the Forest” at home.
Rationale:
Rationale:
The Gossip Mill and the Still Image in Step 12 allow students to generate the background information or rumour about the Troll in the drama. It helps students to start thinking about what attitudes the animals hold towards such a problematic neighbour.
Besides helping students to extend their belief in the drama outside the classroom, the worksheet is also a grammar practice exercise.
The Troll (Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School) 9
Each group reports their findings by having members picking up one thing they have heard and presenting a Still Image of what the animals think/feel about the Troll.
If time allows, teacher could perform Thought Tracking on the Still Images so that students get an opportunity to speak in-role.
Focus: to conclude the findings in Gossip Grouping: 5 groups Mill and show the animals’ feelings/atti- Space: each group performs in front of the class tudes towards the Troll
Only one member from each group gossips at one time as it is quite difficult for all the 36 students to mill around in the classroom.
• The Troll is so ugly and smells nasty.
Teacher Narration (3 min)
“There was a typhoon last night. It rained heavily and the wind blew strongly. All animals stayed at home to keep themselves safe. Unluckily, a big tree fell down and the bridge which the Troll lived under was broken. The
Teacher narrates the next part of the story,
Before the narration, teacher reminds students where the Troll lives in the forest.
Space: students in their own space
Focus: to bring in the character, the “Troll” Grouping: whole class
Step 12:
Teaching Notes
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lesson 6 (single lesson)
Still Image (10 min)
Step 11:
the first round is done, the member comes back and shares the new ideas, if any. Repeat the steps with other members.)
This narration brings students to the central action of the drama – the problem that needs to be solved. It also serves as an active listening exercise.
Rationale:
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The Troll (Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School)
Writing a Story (20 min)
Step 14:
Teacher-in-role + Meeting (7 min)
Step 13:
1 Teacher gets out of role and tells students Materials: Story Chart that the animals finally decided to let the Troll stay with them – only if he will make Teacher goes through the items in the Story Chart to review what himself clean.
In the conversation, the Troll admits he has a lot of bad habits, and he promises he will do his best to make a change and learn the good habits if the animals would offer him a place to stay. The Troll does not give up until the animals agree to help.
Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space facing the Troll Materials: bandage for Teacherin-role, animal headbands
A f ter t he na r ration, tea cher checks students’ understanding by asking questions like: a. What happened in the forest last night? b. What happened to the Troll?
Focus: to design a training programme for Grouping: 5 groups Space: each group in its own space the Troll
1 Teacher tells students that s/he will take on the role of the Troll to meet the other animals in the forest. Teacher reminds students that when s/he puts on the prop (bandage), s/he will become the Troll. When the prop is taken off, s/he is out of role. 2 Teacher and students put on their props (bandage and headbands) altogether and get in role. 3 Teacher-in-role as the Troll meets the other animals in the forest (students) and pleads them to let him stay in their houses. Here is what the Troll may say to start the conversation: “Hello, everyone. The bridge where I live under was broken last night. I am badly injured and have lost my home. Could you let me stay in your home? Please…”
Focus: to meet the Troll
Troll lost his shelter and hurt his arm.”
Students get to meet the Troll to find out more about him by talking to him directly. It helps students to engage in the drama by creating an opportunity to interact in role. They use language authentically in such a “real” encounter.
Rationale:
The Troll (Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School) 11
Teacher guides students to write the stor y by asking questions like: a. What animal are you? b. What is your training programme? c. What tools do you need? d. What is the first step? e. Who is going to carry out the first step? f. What difficulties do you have in the training?
students should do.
Short Scene (10 min)
Focus: to present the Short Scenes
Step 15:
Teaching Notes
Teacher may invite the audience to give feedback on the Short Scenes too so that ever ybody needs to observe the performances more closely.
Grouping: 5 groups Each group takes turn to perform the Short Space: each group performs in Scene they have created. Teacher gives instant front of the class Materials: Story Chart (completed) feedback accordingly.
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lesson 7 (single lesson)
2 Teacher discusses with students what good habits the Troll should learn and lists them on the board. 3 Students work in family groups as animals. Each family is assigned with a training programme for the Troll to help him build up good habits. 4 Teacher picks one habit as an example to show students how to use imperative to give instructions. E.g. “First, take off your socks. Then, put them in the water. Next, wash them with the washing powder…” 5 Each group creates a story, using the “Story Chart” provided, about what would happen during the training programme.
Rationale:
Students experience, visualise and verbalise the ideas they have created by acting out the story.
In this part of the drama, students work together to help the Troll solve his problem. The group writing activit y allows students to get stimulation from one another in creating a part of the drama which is not written in the original story. It involves students in speaking, listening and writing.
Rationale:
12
The Troll (Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School)
Grouping: individual 1 Teacher encourages students to share what Space: students in their own space Materials: Worksheet for Journal they have learned from the Troll drama. 2 Students write a journal to record their ideas Writing and feelings.
Focus: to reflect on the drama
Rehearsal (10 min)
Step 18:
Scriptwriting (20 min)
Focus: to write a short script
Experiential Phase Step 17:
Teaching Notes
The in-class presentation can be a competition or a showcase.
Grouping: 5 groups Students rehearse their scenes for the in-class Space: each group in its own space Materials:Worksheet for Scriptpresentation that follows the unit. writing (completed)
Focus: to rehearse the play
Teacher invites group leaders to talk about what they have taught the Troll in the previous lessons. Teacher explains how to complete the Worksheet for Scriptwriting.
Grouping: 5 groups With reference to the story each group has cre- Space: each group in its own space ated, students write their own scripts with the Materials: Worksheet for Scriptwriting help of some given guidelines.
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lesson 8 (single lesson)
Journal Writing (20 min)
Refelective Phase Step 16:
Rationale:
Rationale:
This is a writing exercise that recalls and summarises what the students have done and prepares them for the in-class presentation. It is much easier for students to write the script after they have presented the scenes in the last step. This way, students start thinking in terms of concrete actions and dialogues, rather than ab stract written words.
A good reflection is very important in a Process Drama. It helps students to make sense of their experience and to learn from it. Good guiding questions (instead of model answers or conclusions provided by the teacher) are required to help students summarise or analyse their experience.
The Troll (Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School) 13
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The Troll (Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School)
The Troll
Worksheet for Character Profile
Name:
(
Class:
Topic / Title: Name: Age:
Sex:
Height:
Nationality: Weight:
Colour of hair: Colour of eyes:
This is:
Where does he/she live?
How many family members does he/she have? Who are they?
What does he/she like doing?
What does he/she hate doing?
What do you think about him/her? (Use at least TWO adjectives to describe him/her.) I think
)
The Troll (Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School)
The Troll
Worksheet for Role-on-the-wall (enlarge to A3 size)
Group members: Name: Class: Class:
Name of the character:
(
)
15
16
The Troll (Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School)
The Troll
Questionnaire about Good Habits
Name:
every day
)
Class:
1. How often do you do the following things? Put a “ box . How often do you…?
(
once twice a week a week
” in the correct
three others: times (please specify) a week
change your socks? wash your hair? do English revision? go to the library? read newspaper? do sports? 2. Do you think you have good habits? 3. If no, what do you ought to do to improve your habits? a) I ought to
.
b)
.
c)
.
The Troll (Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School)
The Troll
Worksheet for Describing Neighbours in the Forest
Name:
(
)
Class:
Imagine you are an animal in the forest. Answer the following questions. 1. What are your daily habits? Who are you? Where do you live? Why do you live there? I am a / an
. I live in / on / at / under / near because .
2. Who is your neighbour? Ask your animal neighbours and fill in the table. Name of the animals
e.g. a snake
1.
2.
3.
Location
e.g. under the tree
1.
2.
3.
Name of 4. the animals
5.
6.
7.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Location
3. What does a good neighbour do? Write sentences about a good neighbour. The words in the box may help you. helpful polite gentle generous considerate honest kind nice unselfish patient friendly
e.g. A good neighbour is polite. He always smiles at me.
1.
.
2.
.
3.
.
4.
.
17
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The Troll (Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School)
The Troll Story Chart
Group members: Name:
(
)
Class: Class: You are a member of an animal group. Now your group needs to help the Troll to build up a good habit. You will invite him to your place to start a training programme.
The ’s Training Programme for the Troll 1. Task: (What do you want the Troll to learn to do?) We want the Troll to learn to 2. Now choose one member in your family to pretend to be the Troll, and the rest of you be the helpers*. Then try out your training programme. Record the steps below. (*Helpers can be anything: animals, a tree, a table, a chair…)
Wish you success!!! We are the
group. We want to help the Troll to learn to . We invite the Troll
to our place. We will train him in the Here are our steps:
.
The Troll (Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School)
The Troll
Worksheet for Journal Writing
Name:
(
)
Class:
Part A The Troll has many bad habits before. Write his bad habits and problems in the bubbles below. Troll’s bad habits
Troll’s problems
1. Do you like the Troll? Why? I (like / don’t like) him because . 2. What have you learned from the story of the Troll? (List at least TWO things.)
Part B In this unit, we did many activities. Which activity(ies) did you like most? Why? Miming game Questionnaire Meeting the Troll Story Whoosh! Moving into the forest Story-writing Character Profile Gossip Mill Role-on-the-wall I like (it / them)
most because .
19
20
The Troll (Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School)
The Troll Worksheet for Scriptwriting
Group members: Name:
(
)
Class: Class:
Writing a Script Now you know how to help the Troll to build up a good habit. Just imagine what will happen when you teach him. What will you tell him? How will he respond? Try out your training programme again and record all the dialogues. 1. Rules: 1) Each person says at least 2 lines. 2) The script must contain at least 15 lines. 3) Write no less than 160 words. 2. Characters: Write down the names of the characters in the list below and the names of the people who play the characters.
Group ( Character
) Student’s name & Class no.
played by
(
)
played by
(
)
played by
(
)
played by
(
)
played by
(
)
played by
(
)
played by
(
)
played by
(
)
The Troll (Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School)
The Troll Worksheet for Scriptwriting
Name: Class:
3. Writing your script: Please write your script in the space provided. e.g. Lily the rabbit: Troll, your hands are very dirty. The Troll: What should I do?
(
)
21
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
G r ad e L P r i m a e v e l: Nu m b ry 4 er les s o o f 8 (35 m ns: i n e ac h)
Touring Around Hong Kong Kowloon Bay St. John the Baptist Primary School
Authors: Cheung Pui-Man Carmen, Kwok Lai-Ngor Hilda, Lee Wai-Yee Sophie, Leung Wing-Kwan Vien, Wong Lam Sofina, Karl W.Suriya (Instructor)
Background Pretext Expected Learning Outcomes Text Types Involved Drama Strategies Involved Materials/Equipment The Unit Plan: Lessons 1-2 (double lesson) Lessons 3-4 (double lesson) Lessons 5-6 (double lesson) Lessons 7-8 (double lesson) Worksheets: Travel Agency Badge Template (with examples of students’ work) Letter from Coco Word Bank Booklet (with an example of student’s work) Worksheet for Touring Itinerary Activity Cards Role Cards Worksheet for List of Precautions Script Template
2
3
4 6 8 10 14 15 16 20 21 22 23 24
2
Touring Around Hong Kong
Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John the Baptist Primary School)
Grade Level: Primary 4 Number of lessons: 8 (35 min each)
Kowloon Bay St. John The Baptist Primary School
Authors: Cheung Pui-Man Carmen, Kwok Lai-Ngor Hilda, Lee Wai-Yee Sophie, Leung Wing-Kwan Vien, Wong Lam Sofina, Karl W.Suriya (Instructor)
Background: Touring Around Hong Kong was designed to engage and motivate students of beginner level English proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, writing and performing. In the drama students took on roles as tour guides preparing for a guest visiting Hong Kong from another planet. The unit was conducted to five P4 classes over a period of 2 months, in the school’s Activities Room. There were at least 2 teachers present at every lesson to facilitate each class of about 35 students. Unit 4 from the P4 Longman syllabus was specifically chosen as the pretext as it was the next scheduled unit to be taught in accordance with the school curriculum. Moreover, the planning team agreed that it consisted of materials and vocabulary which directly applied to the students’ background as Hong Kong locals and would be ideal to explore through drama, as the first attempt. Each lesson comprises specific target language focus and aims which follow the Longman unit that is used. The lessons engage the young learners experientially with the content of the unit, and culminate in the students producing their own scripts, rehearsing and finally performing short scenes for their peers in other classes.
Pretext: Book Chapter on “Touring Around Hong Kong” (Wilson, A., Clarke, K., Hall, E., & Sieh, M. (2005) Primary Longman Express 4B. Hong Kong: Longman.)
Expected Learning Outcomes: 1. Students use target language items through a variety of experiential drama activities and tasks in different modes of writing and action. 2. Students produce a script using the target language focus items (i.e. names of places/ connectives/modals/future tense/verbs). 3. Students engage in independent enquiry into places in Hong Kong.
Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John the Baptist Primary School)
Text Types Involved: 1. Letter 4. Role Cards 7. Song
2. List of Precautions 5. Script 8. Touring Itinerary
Drama Strategies Involved: 1. Empty Chair 4. Short Scene 7. Teacher-in-role 10. Writing-in-role (itinerary)
2. Letter 5. Still Image 8. Telephone Conversation
3. Name Badges 6. Short Story
3. Miming 6. Story Whoosh! 9. Thought Tracking
Materials / Equipment: Lessons 1-2: Letter from Coco
Lessons 3-4:
Lessons 5-6:
Lessons 7-8:
PowerPoint of map of Hong Kong Computer and projector Travel Agency Badges 5 word cards of names of places of interest in Hong Kong Word Bank Booklet A4 paper Colour pencils or markers TV Box Hand puppet for Teacher-in-role PowerPoint of song lyrics Computer and projector 5 word cards of names of places of interest in Hong Kong Worksheet for Touring Itinerary 5 word cards of names of places of interest in Hong Kong Activity Cards Role Cards Worksheet for List of Precautions TV Box Hand puppet for Teacher-in-role A chair Scrap paper Story Whoosh! Narration Card Script Template
3
Learning Experiences
Teaching Notes
Drawing (25 min)
Step 2:
A Letter from Coco (10 min)
places (Sai Kung, Stanley, Lantau 1 Students get in 5 groups. 2 Teacher gives each group a card with the Island, Mai Po, The Peak), A4 paname of a place in Hong Kong. Teacher per, colour pencils or markers elicits responses from students on what they can see at the different places and writes students’ ideas on the board.
Focus: to help students visualise a place Grouping: 5 small groups in Hong Kong and the things that can be Space: each group in its own space Materials: 5 large word cards of found there
1 Teacher tells the class that in this drama, Materia ls: Letter from Coco, they will be in role as tour guides of KBSJB PowerPoi nt of m a p of Hon g Kong, computer and projector Travel Agency. 2 Teacher reads aloud a letter Coco sent to the KBSJB Travel Agency. Coco is an alien who lives on Planet BiBi. After hearing a song about Hong Kong, she plans to visit Hong Kong with 2 friends and she needs suggestions on places to visit. 3 Teacher tells students that they are going to be tour guides for Coco but first they need to decide where they will take her. 4 Teacher introduces the names of 5 places of interest in Hong Kong (Sai Kung, Stanley, Lantau Island, Mai Po, The Peak) with the help of a map on PowerPoint.
Initiation Phase Focus: introducing the pretext and the tar- Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space get vocabulary (names of places) Step 1:
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 1-2 (double lesson)
Rationale:
The new vocabular y (names of places) and the grammar item (modal verb: can) are used in the descriptions of places made by students as they prepare for their roles as tour guides. The drama gives students purposes to use the vocabulary and grammar items.
4
Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John the Baptist Primary School)
Teacher-in-role + Telephone Conversation (25 min)
Experiential Phase Step 3:
1 Teacher distributes the Travel Agency Badges to students. 2 Teacher informs students that they are going to have a meeting with Coco from Planet BiBi. This will be done through videoconferencing. The travel agents will provide suggestions of places for Coco to visit. 3 Students get into their small groups again and think of questions they will ask Coco in order to get enough information to decide what are the places that she will like to visit. 4 Teacher tells students that s/he will set up the TV box on the desk and get in role as Coco using the hand puppet. Teacher shows the puppet to the students. With the use of the TV box, the Coco hand puppet
whole class Space: each group in its own space Materials: Travel Agency Badges, T V box (simple cardboard cutout), a hand puppet for Teacherin-role
The badges are made by students during the Art lessons before this drama lesson. The basic design of the badges will be given, as seen in the template. Students have to write down the name of the travel agency, K BSJB Travel Agency, on the badges together with the names of their roles. Students will
Focus: to find out from Coco what she likes Grouping: sma ll groups, then
3 On a piece of A4 paper, each student draws one thing that they can find at the place that they are given (e.g. Sai Kung – fish). 4 Teacher writes two model sentences on the board and students write them below their pictures: a. You can find in . b. I think (the thing in the drawing) is great for tourists because . 5 When finished, teacher can invite some students to present the drawings to the rest of the class, and explain what is so special or wonderful about the things they have drawn. This activit y provides a chance for students to further practise the target language items in the conversation through role -play. It also allows students to practise asking questions to collect information. Teacher-in-role is fun and attractive to students because the teacher takes part in the drama together with the students. It provides a purposeful and engaging experience for students to learn from the teacher and from each other.
Rationale:
Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John the Baptist Primary School) 5
Teacher gets out of role and gives the “Word Materials: Word Bank Booklet Bank Booklet” to students. S/he explains that they will have to look up more information (text and pictures) about different tourist spots in Hong Kong and introduce them in the booklet.
Focus: students gather more information Grouping: individual Space: students in their own space about places in Hong Kong on their own
To answer students’ questions, teacher should prepare for the Teacher-in-role by creating the b a c k g rou nd i n f or m a t ion of Coco (e.g. what Coco likes, what her planet is like, what she would like to do in Hong Kong etc).
draw the faces for their roles on the badges. They can also decorate the badges with colour pencils.
Still Image (10 min)
Teacher calls out verbs that are associated with with the whole class; if there are activities people can do at the different places 2 teachers, there may be 2 circles in Hong Kong such as, hiking , building a with 1 teacher facilitating each sandcastle, eating noodles, shopping, etc. Each
Initiation Phase Focus: to warm up and introduce the idea Grouping: whole class Space: teacher standing in a circle of Still Image to students Step 5:
The Unit Plan - Lessons 3-4 (double lesson)
Homework (10 min)
Reflective Phase Step 4:
appears to be having a teleconference with the agents. Teacher uses a different voice as Coco. 5 Students put on their Travel Agency Badges and get in role as the travel agents. They ask questions and provide suggestions to Coco on places to visit based on Coco’s likes and dislikes. Students will take notes during the meeting to gather information.
This warm up activity not only prepares students for making Still Images, but also introduces vocabulary related to people’s activities for students’ use in Steps 7 and 8 below.
Rationale:
The homework serves as a preparation for the activities in the next lesson, so that students will come back with more knowledge about different places for creating the itinerary for Coco.
Rationale:
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Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John the Baptist Primary School)
Still Image + Thought Tracking (25 min)
Experiential Phase Step 7:
Singing a Song (10 min)
Step 6:
Grouping: 5 small groups 1 Teacher tells students that they will need to Space: each group in its own space prepare some photos (Still Images) for Coco Materials: word cards (names of before her visit. The photos show the things places: Stanley, Lantau Island, The Peak, Mai Po, Sai Kung) or people at the different places. 2 Students remain in their small groups, discuss and create a Still Image that shows activities that can be done at their assigned tourist spot. Every student in the group must have a role to play in the Still Image. 3 Each group takes turn to show its image to Teacher can ask the following the rest of the class. The teacher may use a guiding questions to help studigital camera to actually take a photo while dents describe the Still Images: the students remain in postions. The rest of a. What can you see in the photo? the class reads the images and describe what b. Where is this place? they see (e.g. I can see Tommy watching c. Who are there in the photo? birds in Mai Po. I can see Mandy hiking d. What are they doing?
Focus: to prepare photos for Coco
1 Students get back into the small groups that Materials: PowerPoint of song they worked with in the last lesson. Each lyrics, word cards (names of placgroup is in charge of a place which was also es: Stanley, Lantau Island, The Peak, Mai Po, Sai Kung) assigned in the last lesson. 2 Students sing the song from the textbook (lyrics displayed on PowerPoint) to revise the vocabulary they have learned. 3 Each group takes turn to do the actions while singing about their respective places.
Focus: to revise names of places, actions Grouping: 5 small groups Space: each group in its own space and the modal verbs “can/will”
student strikes a still pose that represents the activity that the teacher calls out. This may go on for as long as the teacher feels necessary.
Making the Still Images allows students to turn verbal or abstract ideas into physical visual images in the three - dimensional space. Through physical and emotional engagement students comprehend and explore ideas in greater details. When an idea comes alive as a 3-D photo, it also contains much richer content for students to observe and describe.
Rationale:
This step activates students’ kinesthetic intelligence in learning and making meaning of the action words through physical engagement.
Rationale:
Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John the Baptist Primary School) 7
Grouping: 5 small groups 1 Students remain in their groups. They dis- Space: each group in its own space cuss and choose 4 places to take Coco to. Materials: Worksheet for Touring They are free to choose any 4 places from Itinerary the Still Images the groups have created. 2 The groups finish the “Worksheet for Touring Itinerary”. Each group takes turn to present it to the rest of the class and state reasons for the choices. The group members can read aloud the itinerary altogether. (e.g. We will take Coco to Aberdeen in the morning to have congee for breakfast. Next, we will take her to see the f ishing boats… ).
Focus: to write up an itinerary for Coco
e. How are they feeling?
Miming (15 min)
Experiential Phase Step 9:
1 Teacher gives each student an activity card Materials: Activity Cards (one and reminds them not to show it to anyone. for each student) 2 Students read the activity on the card and
Focus: warm up and practise in mime to Grouping: whole class Space: big empty space prepare for improvisation
The Unit Plan - Lessons 5-6 (double lesson)
Writing-in-role (itinerary) (25 min)
Reflective Phase Step 8:
there too). 4 Teacher goes to individual students in the Still Images and taps them on the shoulder to ask about their feelings, their actions, their thoughts or what they are actually saying at that moment.
Rationale:
After creating, showing, looking at and describing all the Still Images, students would have clearer ideas about what places are good for Coco, how to describe those places, and why they are good. Writing and presenting the itinerary allows students to make use of the target vocabulary and grammar items. The drama provides a strong purpose to write as the travel agents would like to help Coco who is their special customer from another planet.
8
Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John the Baptist Primary School)
Short Scene (35 min)
Step 10:
1 Teacher gets students into their respective groups and gives each group the name of a place. 2 Teacher tells the students that as very responsible professionals, the travel agents want to remind Coco of dangers or problems she may come across at the tourist spots. They imagine what kind of problems may happen when Coco and her friends, Momo and Soso, go to visit the places. 3 Teacher tells the class that they will create a 3-minute Short Scene showing what is in the travel agents’ mind. Teacher gives each group the Role Cards with simple information about some characters (Coco and her 2 friends, 2 tour guides and 2 other people at the place). 4 Students discuss amongst themselves what will happen in the scene, and create dialogues based on the likes and dislikes of the characters. They rehearse the scene. 5 The groups perform their Short Scenes for the rest of the class.
Materials: word cards (names of places: Stanley, Lantau Island, The Pea k, Mai Po, Sai Kung), Role Cards
After the presentation of all the Short Scenes, teacher guides students to identify the problems that may happen during Coco’s trip. Teacher gets students to t h i n k about precautions for Coco and her friends.
Focus: envisaging potential problems that Grouping: 5 small groups Space: each group in its own space Coco may encounter
think of an action to show it. 3 Students move around the space and do the actions on their cards. 4 Without talking, students try to find 2-3 other students that are doing the same activity as they are.
Students practise employing not only language skills, but also interpersonal skills, story-telling, dialogue creation and group presentation skills through devising a Short Scene. Basic information is provided to facilitate the devising process.
Rationale:
Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John the Baptist Primary School) 9
1 Teacher tells students that as professional travel agents, each group should come up with a list of things that Coco and her friends need to be careful with during their stay in Hong Kong, in order to have a safe and happy holiday. They work in small groups to fill in the “Worksheet for List of Precautions”. 2 Students sit in a semi-circle. Teacher puts an empty chair in the middle and places the TV cut-out and hand puppet inside. 3 Each group takes turn to hold the microphone and speak to “Coco through the TV monitor” to tell her the precautions during her stay in Hong Kong.
circle Materials: a chair, scrap paper, TV cut-out and Coco hand puppet, Worksheet for List of Precautions
Focus: to give advice to Coco on potential Grouping: 5 small groups Space: students sitting in a semi problems
Story Whoosh! (15 min)
Experiential Phase Step 12:
1 Students stand in a big circle. Teacher ex- circle plains to the students that they will have to Materials: Story Whoosh! Narralisten to a story carefully in order to partici- tion Card pate in this activity. 2 Teacher reads the following story dramatically, while students take on different roles and jump into the middle of circle to mime
Focus: to warm up and prepare students for Grouping: whole class Space: students standing in a big creating and performing Short Scenes
The Unit Plan - Lessons 7-8 (double lesson)
Empty Chair (20 min)
Reflective Phase Step11:
The Story Whoosh! prepares the students for creating Short Scenes by providing them with a framework of a Short Scene. It also warms up the students for performing by giving them an opportunity to act out different roles and objects in the space. Story Whoosh! is also a very good exercise for practising active listening.
Rationale:
By giving students a responsibility to think about precautions for Coco and her friends, students are further engaged in the drama. In giving advice to Coco, they use the target language with a strong purpose.
Rationale:
10
Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John the Baptist Primary School)
They are now at a beach on Cheung Chau island. Coco is collecting sea shells, Momo and Soso are building a sandcastle. Ken and Sally feel very hot so they go for a swim in the sea. A life guard tells them to be careful. There are some children who are curious about Coco and her friends. They go to them and ask where they come from. The children are surprised to hear that they are from another planet. Suddenly it starts to rain. They all run for shelter. (All exit)
They are in Aberdeen. Ken, Sally, Coco, Momo and Soso are in a restaurant having a seafood lunch. Coco is eating a crab, Momo is using chopsticks to eat f ish and Soso is eating noodles. Ken and Sally eat a bowl of rice. They all eat hungrily. A waiter goes to the table to serve their drinks. They all drink. Soso offers to pay the bill and gives money to the waiter. (All exit)
“Coco, Momo and Soso arrive at Hong Kong Airport. They are very tired. They carry heavy bags with them. The tour guides Ken and Sally wave to them. They walk over to the visitors, shake their hands and help to take their bags. Ken and Sally are shocked that the bags are so heavy. (All exit)
the actions of the roles, the objects or the environment. (The following is a suggestion on the narration. Its content can be modified according to students’ needs.)
Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John the Baptist Primary School) 11
Rehearsal (30 min)
1 Students are given a “Script Template” and Materials: Script Template teacher allocates a different place and time for each groups’ scene to occur in. 2 Students prepare the script by discussing and
Focus: to use language and grammar items Grouping: small groups of 6 or 7 Space: each group in its own space Script Writing + learned and write a script for a scene
Step13:
3 After the Story Whoosh! teacher points out to the students that there is a pattern in the narration. In each paragraph, there is information about the followings: a. The people in the scene. b. The place where the scene is happening. c. The activities of the people there. d. The feelings of the people. 4 Teacher explains to students that these information will be important when they write their own Short Scenes.
They are all very tired. Coco, Momo and Soso thank Ken and Sally for a wonderful day. Ken shows them the timetable for the next day. They wave goodbye. (All exit) ”
They are now at The Peak. Coco, Momo and Soso admire the beautiful view. They point at the buildings and take photos of each other. Ken and Sally take them shopping in the shopping mall. They all walk in the shopping centre and look at the items on sale. Coco wants to buy a souvenir and asks the shopkeeper for the price. She bargains and buys the souvenir. (All exit)
Rationale:
Students have already gained a very clear understanding about Coco’s trip to Hong Kong in the last few lessons. It provides good input for the writing of the script. The script - writing activity involves, e n ga g e s and motiva t e s eve r y student in creating the scene, using target language items in a structured way within the dramatic context.
12
Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John the Baptist Primary School)
Short Scene Presentation (25 min)
Step14:
front of the class 1 Each group takes turn to act out its scene. 2 Teacher gives comments for each group. S/ Materials: students’ scripts he congratulates students on their work, and tells them that they will show their work to other classes.
Focus: to perform a short play involving Grouping: small groups of 6 or 7 Space: the g roups perform in different scenes
filling in the “Script Template”. They use information learned in the previous lessons. 3 Students rehearse speaking and performing their scripts. Rounding up the unit with a collective performance gives students a sense of achievement.
Rationale:
Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John the Baptist Primary School) 13
Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John The Baptist Primary School)
Touring around Hong Kong Travel Agency Badge Template
KBSJB Travel Agency
KBSJB Travel Agency KBSJB Travel Agency
(with examples of students’ work)
KBSJB Travel Agency
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Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John The Baptist Primary School)
Touring around Hong Kong Letter from Coco
15
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Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John The Baptist Primary School)
Touring around Hong Kong Word Bank Booklet
(with an example of student’s work)
Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John The Baptist Primary School)
Touring around Hong Kong Word Bank Booklet
(with an example of student’s work)
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18
Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John The Baptist Primary School)
Touring around Hong Kong Word Bank Booklet
(with an example of student’s work)
Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John The Baptist Primary School)
Touring around Hong Kong Word Bank Booklet
(with an example of student’s work)
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20
Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John the Baptist Primary School)
Touring around Hong Kong Worksheet for Touring Itinerary
Group members: Name:
(
Class: Class:
Place Date
Time
Where will you go? What will you see? What will you eat? Place: Things to do:
Place: Things to do:
Place: Things to do:
Place: Things to do:
Reason (Why is it good to go there?)
)
Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John The Baptist Primary School)
Touring around Hong Kong Activity Cards
Swimming
Swimming
Swimming
Hiking
Hiking
Hiking
Eating seafood
Eating seafood
Eating seafood
Taking pictures
Taking pictures
Taking pictures
Cycling
Cycling
Cycling
Barbecuing
Barbecuing
Barbecuing
Doing watersports
Doing watersports
Doing watersports
Shopping
Shopping
Shopping
Watching the birds
Watching the birds
Watching the birds
Building sandcastle
Building sandcastle
Building sandcastle
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Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John The Baptist Primary School)
Touring around Hong Kong Role Cards
Coco Likes • shopping • eating seafood
Dislikes • hiking • visiting temples
Momo Likes • watching animals • visiting theme park
Dislikes • swimming • riding on the roller coaster
SoSo Likes • doing water sports • visiting Chinese buildings
Dislikes • watching birds • eating fish
Tour guide Ken
Other character:
Tour guide Sally
Other character:
Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John the Baptist Primary School)
Touring around Hong Kong Worksheet for List of Precautions
Group members: Name:
(
)
Class: Class:
1. You have to be careful about
because
. 2. You have to be careful about
because
. 3. You have to be careful about
because
. 4. You have to be careful about
because
. 5. You have to be careful about
because
.
23
24
Touring Around Hong Kong (Kowloon Bay St. John the Baptist Primary School)
Touring around Hong Kong Script Template
Group members: Name:
(
Class: Class: Characters: Coco, Momo, Soso, Tourist Guide Ken, Tourist Guide Sally, Narrator, Others: Time:
Place:
Character e.g. Ken: Coco:
Line This is Cheung Chau. It is beautiful!
)
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
G r ad e L P r i m a e v e l: Nu m b ry 5 er les s o o f 6 (40 m ns: i n e ac h)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Oblate Primary School
Authors: Adam So, Fred Chan, Gertrude Poon, Lillian Poon, Wendy Delich, Karl K.Suriya (Instructor)
Background Pretext Expected Learning Outcomes Text Types Involved Drama Strategies Involved Materials/Equipment The Unit Plan: Lesson 1 (single lesson) Lesson 2 (single lesson) Lesson 3 (single lesson) Lesson 4 (single lesson) Lesson 5 (single lesson) Lesson 6 (single lesson) Worksheets: Student Task Book Worksheet for Recalling Ups and Downs in Life Worksheet for Designing a New Room in the Chocolate Factory
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3 4 6 8 10 12 14 17 22 23
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School)
Grade Level: Primary 5 Number of lessons:6 (40 min each)
Oblate Primary School
Authors: Adam So, Fred Chan, Gertrude Poon, Lillian Poon, Wendy Delich, Karl K.Suriya (Instructor)
Background: The unit plan for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has been conceived, planned and conducted over a period of three months with four P5 classes. The teachers of this school are very enthusiastic about using drama pedagogy, for the first time, to engage students in the exploration of a classic storybook. The students are already familiar with a number of English children’s stories that the school employs in the English curriculum. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is chosen as the pretext for its colourful characters and universal themes. The unit is structured in a way where each lesson starts with reading one part of the story, followed by drama strategies that explore that part of the story. The Process Drama serves as a platform for character study, exploration of narrative and themes, language acquisition, spontaneous dialogue and interpersonal interaction. To deal with the mixed levels of English proficiency amongst the four classes, the teachers of weaker classes modified and supplemented the lessons with guided worksheets and teaching aids. Each class of about 35 students was divided and taught separately by two teachers (the Local English Teacher and the Native English Teacher) in the Activities Room/Hall and the English Room. This enabled teachers to engage and facilitate a more manageable class size of 15 students, through the 40-minute lessons.
Pretext: Dahl, R. (2001). Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. (Adaptation first published by Penguin Books 2001. Penguin Young Readers Level 3: Pearson Education Limited.)
Expected Learning Outcomes: 1. Students will gain interest and understanding on the story by sharing ideas, presentation, teamwork and critical thinking through a variety of drama strategies. 2. Students grow in confidence in English usage by engaging in speaking, writing, listening and reading through the dramatic process.
Text Types Involved: 1. 3. 5. 7.
Cartoon (in the Student Task Book) Family Tree Room Layout Story Summary
2. 4. 6. 8.
Coupon (golden ticket) Map Story Short Message (in the form of a wish or inner thoughts of the characters)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School)
Drama Strategies Involved: 1. Collective Drawing 4. Interview 7. Paper Location 10. Simulation 13. Teacher Narration
2. Conscience Alley 5. Meeting 8. Ritual 11. Still Image 14. Thought Tracking
3. Empty Chair 6. Objects 9. Short Scene 12. Teacher-in-role 15. Writing-in-role (inner thoughts)
Materials / Equipment: All lessons:
Lesson 1:
Lesson 2:
Lesson 3: Lesson 4:
Lesson 5:
Lesson 6:
Student Task book The storybook CD of the story CD player Colour pens A large piece of colour paper Pieces of A5 paper Colour blocks Pieces of golden paper Students’ storybooks 4 golden tickets hidden in students’ storybooks A3 paper Colour pens Bars of chocolate Strips of paper Paper money (prop) Microphone (optional) Colour pens A large piece of colour paper Pieces of A5 paper A long piece of brown cloth Worksheet for Recalling Ups and Downs in Life A hat for Teacher-in-role Colour pens Large pieces of paper Big colour paper with students’ drawings from the previous lesson Worksheet for Designing the New Room in the Chocolate Factory A chair
3
Learning Experiences
Teaching Notes
Paper Location (10 min)
Step 2:
Teacher Narration (10 min)
1 Teacher asks students to brainstorm ideas Materials: big colour paper, A5 on what could be found in the city where paper, colour pens Charlie lived. 2 Teacher sticks a big piece of colour paper on Teacher needs to help students the board and draws one thing suggested understand this is a story set in by students on a piece of A5 paper (e.g. a Europe some time in the past. school). Teacher asks them to suggest where This will affect what they will it is located in the city and places the draw- see in the city. For example, there is more likely to be a church than ing on the colour paper accordingly. 3 Each student draws one thing that could a Chinese temple; and more likebe found in the city on a piece of A5 paper. ly to be small houses than highThey stick the pictures on the big colour risers.
Focus: students imagine and visualise the Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space city where Charlie lived
1 Teacher shows the storybook cover and introduces Roald Dahl and his publications to the students. 2 Students share ideas on what they know about the story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 3 Teacher teaches some new vocabulary to students and narrates the beginning of the story (p. 3-5 of the storybook) which introduces Charlie’s family background.
Initiation Phase Focus: to introduce the pretext and elicit Grouping: whole class Step 1: students’ background knowledge of the Space: students in their own space Materials: storybook Lead-in and story
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lesson 1 (single lesson)
Rationale:
This activity helps students get a sense of the place and time of the story as they visualise what they can see in the city and put together the map collectively.
Rationale:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a famous classics and it is likely that the students would have heard of it, read it, or seen the movie version of it before. It is thus useful to first elicit students’ background knowledge about the story for the teacher to assess what they already know.
4
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School)
Out-of-role Discussion + Writing (10 min)
Reflective Phase Step 4:
Grouping: individual, then whole 1 Teacher tells students everyone has his/her class own wish, and asks them what their wishes Space: students in their own space Materials: A5 paper are. 2 Teacher gives each student a small piece of paper. They write down their wishes using the sentence structure: “If I had just one wish, I would…” 3 Students read their wishes to the class and stick their wishes on the board. Other students have to say “Hope your wish will come true” after someone has read out his/her wish.
Focus: students write a wish
1 Students form groups of 4 or 5. Teacher Materials: colour blocks (1 set of gives a set of colour blocks to each group and 7 blocks for each group) tells them that they represent the 7 characters from Charlie’s family (Charlie, Dad, There should not be any fixed Mom, Grandpa Joe, Grandma Josephine, answers as to how students see the family’s relationships. HowGrandpa George & Grandma Georgina). 2 Students place the blocks in a configuration ever, teacher may need to remind to show how they see the relationship be- the students that Grandpa Joe should be quite close to Charlie tween the 7 characters. 3 Teacher leads students to discuss the feel- as he is very fond of his grandson ings and thoughts of this family living in and always tells him stories. poverty. S/he brings the students to note Charlie had a wish: He wished he could go inside the chocolate factory and see how it was like!
Focus: to explore Charlie’s family and their Grouping: groups of 4 or 5 Space: each group in its own space Objects (10 min) relationship
Step 3:
paper and introduce them to the class.
Students relate to the characters in the story by identifying a personal wish of their own. By acknowledging each other’s wishes and blessing each other, a friendly and supportive atmosphere is created within the classroom. This activity also gives practice in making sentences using conditionals.
Rationale:
In using the colour blocks to depict the characters, students not only get f amiliarise d wit h t he names and characteristics of the people in the story, but also explore the background of Charlie’s family and their relationship. It is always easier for young children to first present their ideas in visual and symbolic forms, and then find the words to describe those ideas.
Rationale:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School) 5
Teacher asks students to finish Part A and B of Materials: Student Task Book the “Student Task Book” at home. Teacher tells students the task can teach them about the rela- Depend i ng on t he st udent s’ needs, teacher may show them tionships in the Bucket family. examples of Family Trees.
Focus: to consolidate learning outcomes of Grouping: individual Space: home the lesson
Learning Experiences
Teaching Notes
Collective
Experiential Phase Step 7:
Lead-in (8 min)
Grouping: small groups of 5-6 1 Teacher asks students what the golden Space: each group in its own space ticket in the story looks like. What infor- Materials: pieces of golden paper, mation does it carry? How big is it? What is
Focus: to create the golden ticket
1 Teacher asks some students to read aloud Materials: storybook, CD & CD p. 3-6 of the storybook to the class, and player helps students recall what they have learned Teachers should try to invite difin the last lesson. 2 Teacher introduces some new vocabulary to ferent students to read the story students and broadcasts the story (p. 7-11) in different lessons. for students to listen. In this part of the story, Willy Wonka announces that he will allow five children who gets golden tickets from his chocolate bars to visit his factory, four children have already found the tickets.
Initiation Phase Focus: to recall the previous lesson and Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space Step 6: continue with the story
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lesson 2 (single lesson)
Homework (2 min)
Step 5:
Starting each lesson with a reading of the part of the stor y explored in the previous lesson, the teacher is able to assess students’ understanding of what they have learned. It also helps students get a sense of continuity between the different lessons.
Rationale:
6
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School)
Simulation (8 min)
Step 9:
Still Image + Thought Tracking (15 min)
Step 8:
Drawing + Writing (10 min)
1 Teacher tells students that s/he has hidden 4 Materials: 4 golden tickets, stugolden tickets randomly in 4 of their story- dents’ storybooks books. 2 Students take their storybooks from the teacher, and look for the golden tickets. 3 Teacher then invites the 4 lucky students to share their feelings at the moment they found the golden tickets.
If there is one more member in the group, s/he can be the parent of one of the above characters.
Each member of the group will take one of the following roles: Aug ustus, Violet, Veruca and Mike
Focus: to elicit student feelings similar to Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space Charlie’s disappointment
1 Teacher discusses with students how the first 4 golden ticket winners in the story reacted when they found the tickets. 2 In small groups of 4, students make a Still Image to show how the 4 winners looked when they knew they got the golden tickets. Students prepare the images in groups. 3 The groups take turns to present their Still Images. Teacher taps the shoulders of some of the characters and asks them to speak out their feelings in-role.
Focus: to consider the feelings of the four Grouping: small groups of 4 Space: each group in its own space lucky children
it made of? bars of chocolate, A3 paper, co2 Teacher shows some chocolate bars of dif- lour pens ferent sizes and some golden paper to help students think about how they are going to design the golden tickets. 3 In small groups of 5-6, students design golden tickets on A3 paper, and present their work to the rest of the class.
Rationale:
The simulation activit y, though not part of the story, elicits real feelings in the students that are similar to the characters’. It effectively helps students understand Charlie’s feelings, which is quite complicated to explain in words.
Rationale:
Rationale:
This activit y kinesthetically en gages students as the characters in the story. Students are given practice in expressing the character’s thoughts using adjectives of feelings.
By designing an item from the story, students take ownership of the story. This group task also helps students gather ideas for their individual homework task following this lesson.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School) 7
Teacher asks students to finish Part C of the Materials: Student Task Book “Student Task Book” at home.
Focus: to consolidate learning outcomes of Grouping: individual Space: home the lesson
Learning Experiences
Teaching Notes
Experiential Phase Step 12:
Lead-in (10 min)
Grouping: small groups 1 In groups, students create a 1-minute Short Space: each group in its own space Scene based on page 12 of the storybook,
Focus: students explore a moral dilemma
p. 7-11 of the story to recall what the class Materials: storybook, CD & CD player has learned. 2 Teacher introduces some new vocabulary to students and broadcasts the story (p. 12) Teachers should try to invite diffor students to listen. This part of the story ferent students to read the story talks about Charlie finding a fifty pence in different lessons. piece on his way home on a cold winter day.
Initiation Phase Focus: to recap and continue with the story Grouping: whole class 1 Teacher asks some students to read aloud Space: students in their own space Step 11:
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lesson 3 (single lesson)
Homework (2 min)
Reflective Phase Step 10:
4 The other students share how they feel realising they did not get the golden tickets. Teacher explains to them that this was how Charlie felt when he opened the only chocolate bar his family could afford for his birthday.
8
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School)
Writing-in-role (inner thoughts) (5 min)
Reflective Phase Step 13:
Short Scene (15 min)
1 Teacher raises the different questions Char- Materials: strips of paper lie might consider: • Is it right to use the money? • Should I have to report it to the police? • Would my family need this money more than I do? • But I am very hungry, and I love chocolate! 2 Teacher gives out strips to students and asks them to write down whether they will keep the money or not if they were Charlie. They also write down a reason for their decision. They use conditionals and modals with the sentence structure, “If I were Charlie, I would keep/not keep the money because…”.
Focus: students ref lect on Charlie’s moral Grouping: individual Space: student in their own space dilemma
where Charlie found the fifty pence piece. Materials: storybook, pieces of In the Short Scene, one student must take paper as prop for the money (one the role of Charlie and consider how he felt for each group) when he found the money in the snow, and whether he decided to keep it or not. The Prompt: these characters could other students in the group take on other be a police officer, a homeless roles and interact with Charlie when he person, a shopkeeper… etc. found the money. 2 The groups prepare their scenes and take Students would need at least 5 turns to present them. minutes to rehearse a 1-minute scene. They should show the actions clearly besides using dialogues. (e.g. A passerby may stare at Charlie rather than talk to him.)
Rationale:
The writing task helps students get prepared for the Conscience Alley in the next step. It is much easier for the students than asking them to improvise on their feet. They are given time to organise their ideas, ask the teacher for words they do not know, and practise their sentences before they do the Conscience Alley.
Students examine an aspect of the story by creating and enacting a scene. This provides a chance for deeper exploration of roles and situations. Both verbal and nonverbal expressions are stressed in the Short Scenes to widen students’ means of expression. This is also a good way of engaging students with different abilities – some students are better at nonverbal expressions than speaking, and some the vice versa.
Rationale:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School) 9
1 Students stand in two rows facing each rows facing each other, microother. The students who feel that Charlie phone (optional) should take the money stand in one row. Those who think otherwise stand in the If the space is big, it will be usef u l to pa ss on a microphone other row. 2 Teacher chooses one student to be Charlie while the students speak. This who walks down the alley to hear both sides way, the class will be able to hear of his inner voices as the students in the two each other clearly, and it also gives a clear focus on who should rows take turns to speak to him. 3 Teacher asks students to comment on the be speaking. views they have heard. S/he then asks “Charlie” what his decision would be and why.
Focus: students consider multiple views on Grouping: whole class Space: students standing in two a moral dilemma
Learning Experiences
Teaching Notes
Lead-in (10 min)
p. 12 of the story to recall what the class has Materials: storybook, CD & CD player learned. 2 Teacher introduces some new vocabulary to students and broadcasts the story (p. 13- Teachers should try to invite dif16) for students to listen. This part of the ferent students to read the story story talks about how Charlie finally won in different lessons. a golden ticket and was invited to visit the chocolate factory, and the different things the children saw in the factory.
Grouping: whole class Initiation Phase Focus: to recap and continue the story 1 Teacher asks some students to read aloud Space: students in their own space Step 15:
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lesson 4 (single lesson)
Conscience Alley (10 min)
Step 14: After considering the moral dilemma individually in the last step, here the students get the opportunity to listen to what the others think. Considering multiple perspectives is an important step in moral reasoning.
Rationale:
10
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School)
Ritual (15 min)
Focus: students relate a theme of the story to their own lives
Experiential and Reflective Phases Step 17:
1 Teacher brings students’ attention to the chocolate river from the story and tells students that it represents challenges in life. We all have to cross “rivers” sometimes in our lives. 2 Each student gets two pieces of colour paper representing one happy time and one sad/ difficult time in his/her life. They write an example of those experiences on the paper. 3 Teacher places a long piece of brown cloth in the centre of the space to symbolise the chocolate river. 4 In groups, students devise a set of movements to cross the river in a positive way, symbolising how they may overcome difficulties in their lives. They first rehearse the movements in their own groups and then perform them to the whole class. After the presentations, teacher congratulates the class for their courage in crossing the river.
1 Teacher sticks a big piece of colour paper on the board and asks students to look up from the storybook what the children found inside the chocolate factory (i.e. rooms or things inside). Each student draws one thing on a piece of A5 paper and names it. 2 Students take turns to present and stick their drawings on the colour paper, indicating where the object is in the factory.
Grouping: individual, then small groups Space: each group in its own space, with a large space in the middle of the room Materials: colour paper, a long piece of brown cloth
Space: students in their own space Materials: a large piece of colour paper, A5 paper, colour pens, storybooks
Focus: to create the chocolate factory visually Grouping: individual
Paper Location (15 min)
Step 16:
This activity invites students to relate to the story using a symbol. It deepens identification with the story and ignites critical thinking on a theme of personal growth. The ritual of crossing the river with the support of each other gives the students a sense of achievement and empowerment.
Rationale:
This activity serves as an active comprehension exercise, where students make use of ideas and vocabulary from the storybook to describe places and objects.
Rationale:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School) 11
Teacher asks students to finish the “Worksheet Materials: Worksheet for Recallfor Recalling Ups and Downs in Life” at home. ing Ups and Downs in Life
Focus: to consolidate learning outcomes of Grouping: individual Space: home the lesson
Learning Experiences
Teaching Notes
Teacher-in-role + Interview (10 min)
Experiential Phase Step 20:
Lead-in (10 min)
1 Teacher tells students that they are going teacher to meet Willy Wonka who wants to invite Materials: a hat for Teacher-in-role more children to go into his factory to help him invent new snacks for kids. He wants to design new rooms for the new snacks.
Materials: storybook, CD & CD player, the big colour paper with students’ drawings from the previous lesson
Focus: to understand what Willy Wonka Grouping: whole class Space: students seated facing the wants
13-16 of the story to recall what the class has learned. Teacher shows the big colour paper (with students’ drawings from the previous lesson) of rooms in the factory. 2 Teacher introduces some new vocabulary to students and broadcasts the story (p. 17-27) for students to listen. This part of the story is about the “Inventing Room” in the factory and the different kinds of creative snacks produced in the factory.
Initiation Phase Focus: to revise and continue with the story Grouping: whole class 1 Teacher asks some students to read aloud p. Space: students in their own space Step 19:
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lesson 5 (single lesson)
Homework (2 min)
Reflective Phase Step 18:
12
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School)
Collective Drawing (10 min)
Step 21:
1 In groups, students design a new room for Space: each group in its own space the chocolate factory by drawing it on a Materials: large pieces of paper, large piece of paper with annotations. They colour pens also have to decide on a kind of snack that
Teacher adopts the voice and gestures of Willy Wonka to help engage the students. S/he may also take up a bossy and picky attitude – the students will like it on finding themselves positively challenged!
Focus: designing a new room for the factory Grouping: small groups
However, I am aware that children are now eating too much junk food. Therefore, I would like you to help me think of some kind of healthy snack…”
I want to have something really original, something that people have never seen before…
We need to invent completely new snacks…
“I’m bored with producing chocolate only…
2 Students will have to ask Willy Wonka for more information about the chocolate factory to design the new room and the new snack. 3 Each student finds a partner and spends some time preparing for the questions they would ask in the meeting. 4 Teacher tells students that s/he is going to take the role of Willy Wonka by putting on a hat. S/he turns around and puts on the hat, and interacts with the children in-role, as the students ask Willy Wonka for information about the chocolate factory. During the interview, Willy Wonka provides the following information:
Rationale:
T h e dra win g and annot a tio ns help students gather and organise ideas collectively before they meet Willy Wonka for a proper presentation.
The Interview engages students in spontaneous conversations, and provides a purpose for them to ask good questions. This part of the drama does not exist in the original story. It has been derived from the original plot to activate students’ imagination and creativity. As Willy Wonka wants to have an invention that is entirely new, students must think out of the box to create something not mentioned in the storybook. The requirement of inventing a healthy snack gives them an even bigger challenge, and also gets them to consider more health-conscious options for snacks.
Rationale:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School) 13
Teacher may ask the following questions to help students create their rooms: a. What is the name of the room? b. How is it decorated? c. What kind of snack is produced here? d. How is it produced?
Learning Experiences
Teaching Notes
Lead-in (10 min)
p. 17-27 of the story to recall what the class Materials: storybook, CD & CD
Grouping: whole class Initiation Phase Focus:to revise and continue the story 1 Teacher asks some students to read aloud Space: students in their own space Step 24:
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lesson 6 (single lesson)
Homework (2 min)
Focus: to consolidate learning outcomes of Grouping: individual Space: home the lesson
Reflective Phase Step 23:
Teacher asks students to finish the “Worksheet Materials: Worksheet for Defor Designing the New Room in the Chocolate signing the New Room in the Chocolate Factory Factory” at home.
Teacher takes on the role of Willy Wonka again Materia ls: drawings from the and asks the groups to present their ideas and last step, a hat for Teacher-inconvince him that their idea is the best. He may role invite the other groups to ask questions about each others’ design.
Meeting (10 min)
Focus: presenting the designs to Willy Grouping: groups of 4 or 5 Space: each group in its own space Teacher-in-role + Wonka
Step 22:
will be produced in this room. 2 Students also prepare for a presentation for Willy Wonka. The presentation should inform Willy Wonka of the room design and the type of snack produced there.
Rationale:
The collective efforts of the groups in the previous steps will provide students with stimulation and input for this individual take-home task.
H a vin g st u d e nt s p re s e nt t h eir designs to the Teacher-in-role as Willy Wonka provides them with an authentic context to give formal presentations. They must speak clearly and convincingly to impress Willy Wonka!
Rationale:
14
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School)
Empty Chair (10 min)
Reflective Phase Step 26:
Still Image + Thought Tracking (20 min)
Experiential Phase Step 25:
Grouping: whole class 1 The class stands in a circle with the teacher. Space: students stand in a circle A chair is placed in the middle of the circle with an empty chair in the middle with the storybook on it. Materials: storybook 2 Teacher talks through the story again highlighting some key points to help students
Focus: student reflect on the story
1 Teacher asks students to look at the picture of Charlie’s old house on page 30 of the storybook. Teacher tells students that Charlie’s old house is falling down (dilapidated) but he now owns the chocolate factory. Teacher asks students to think about the new life that Charlie and his family are going to have. Students consider the differences between their old and new lives. 2 Teacher asks students to make a Still Image to show how Charlie and his family feel now. Students discuss ideas and prepare for their Still Images. 3 The groups take turns to present their Still Images. Teacher taps students’ shoulders and asks them to express the characters’ thoughts and feelings.
Focus: students consider the feelings of the Grouping: groups of 8 Space: each group in its own space characters and express their thoughts
has learned. player 2 Teacher introduces some new vocabulary to students and broadcasts the story (p. 28-30) Teachers should try to invite diffor students to listen. This is the final part ferent students to read the story of the story in which Willy Wonka decided in different lessons. to hand over the factory to Charlie.
Rationale:
The physical enactment invites students to express the characters’ feelings in a three - dimensional manne r, makin g us e of f a cial expressions, gestures, as well as simple monologues.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School) 15
Homework (2 min)
Step 27:
Teacher tells students to refer to Task D & E in Materials: Student Task Book the “Student Task Book” and write a paragraph about their thoughts on the story.
The recap of the story is necessary, as it is quite a long story and has been told in segments over a couple of lessons.
Focus: to consolidate learning outcomes in Grouping: individual Space: home a writing task
recall Charlie and his family’s journey. 3 Each student chooses one character from the story and uses a sentence that ref lects his/her journey. The sentence starts with “Looking back at my journey, I…” 4 Students take turns to go to the chair. They tell the class which character they have chosen and speak aloud their reflections using the sentence pattern. Inviting the students to reflect on the story through the eyes of different characters provides the whole class with different perspectives on the story.
Rationale:
16
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School)
Treasures in the Woods Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Worksheet for Interrogation Student Task Book
Name:
(
)
Class:
17
18
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Name:
(
Class: A. Draw a family tree of the Bucket Family.
B. Charlie had a wish – “If I had just one wish, I would go inside that factory.” If you had a wish, what would you like to do?
C. Imagine that Willy Wonka asked you to design the golden ticket he will use for his contest. Draw the golden ticket below and write the following information on the ticket. WONKA’S GOLDEN TICKET Greetings to you the lucky finder of this golden ticket from Mr. Willy Wonka! Present this ticket at the factory gates at ten o’clock in the morning of the first day of October and do not be late. You may bring with you one member of your own family… and only one… but no one else. In your wildest dreams you cannot imagine the marvelous surprises that await you.
)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Name:
(
Class: D. Look at the pictures carefully. Write a story about the pictures, using the words given below. Give a title to the story.
)
19
20
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Name: Class:
(
)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Name:
(
Class: E. Self Evaluation - What do you think about the story? Colour the chocolate bars. The more you colour the more you agree. The story is interesting I enjoyed the story This story was easy to read I will recommend this story to others I have successfully completed all tasks
A letter from your teacher Date: Dear You have done
, an excellent job /
a good job /
well.
You have tried hard, but you need to be more careful with
Happy reading! Your teacher,
)
21
22
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Worksheet for Recalling Ups and Downs in Life
Name:
(
Class:
In our lives, we always have ups and downs. Do you remember what they are? Please share them with us by colouring the masks and writing about what happened.
Happiness
Sadness
Finally, we ha ve t o b e strong er t o overcome all the obstacles in our lives.
)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Oblate Primary School)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Worksheet for Designing a New Room in the Chocolate Factory
Name: Class:
I want to have a new room in my chocolate factor y. Please help me design a new room and a new snack.
The name of the new room: Draw your design of the new room and the new snack below:
What is the new snack? Why do you want to make the new snack?
(
)
23
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
G r ad e L P r i m a e v e l: Nu m b ry 5 er les s o o f 8 (30 m ns: i n e ac h)
Human Migration The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School
Authors: Cheung Kam-Yan, Mak Yuen-Yee, Su Shu-Ting, Shee Shing-Chung Eddie (Instructor)
Background Pretext Expected Learning Outcomes Text Types Involved Drama Strategies Involved Materials/Equipment The Unit Plan: Lessons 1-2 (double lesson) Lessons 3-4 (double lesson) Lessons 5-6 (double lesson) Lessons 7-8 (double lesson) Worksheets: Worksheet for Occupation Worksheet for Packing Your Bag Letter from the Kidnapped Question Cards for Interviewing the Released Member Worksheet for Rescue Plan Worksheet for Report Writing Evaluation
2
3
4 6 10 13 16 17 18 19 20 21 23
2
Human Migration
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School)
Grade Level: Primary 5 Number of lessons: 8 (30 min each)
The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School
Authors: Cheung Kam-Yan, Mak Yuen-Yee, Su Shu-Ting, Shee Shing-Chung Eddie (Instructor)
Background: This unit is written for a group of students who have no drama experience. The theme of space exploration is chosen from the textbook as the pretext as the teachers involved in the Alliance Programme believe the adventure theme is conducive to engaging students in their learning experience. Through the exploration of the issue about human migration, teachers aim at guiding students to learn more about the environmental problems on the Earth and to develop more concern about our home planet. As drama is about exploring, discovering and creating, students are encouraged to communicate in English, to express ideas in the language and consolidate their grammar and vocabulary within the dramatic context. During the unit, the students experience different scenarios in the drama and do short pieces of writing, which are used at the end of the drama to write a full report. An end-of-unit evaluation form is also included in this plan.
Pretext: Book Chapter 7 on “Adventures in Space” in (Smith, Anne & Ling, Judy. (2005) My Pals are Here! English for Hong Kong 5B. Hong Kong: Educational Publishing House Ltd & Marshall Cavendish Education.)
Expected Learning Outcomes: 1. Students will learn vocabulary concerning environmental problems, names of different planets and occupations. 2. Students will revise how to use adverbs of frequency to show how often something happens. 3. Students will revise how to use the connective “because” to state the reason for an action. 4. Students will revise how to describe feelings. 5. Students will revise how to use “Wh-” words to ask questions 6. Students will revise how to write instructions. 7. Students will make a decision and justify it with supporting arguments. 8. Students will write a report. 9. Students will have the opportunity to apply generic skills including problem-solving skills, creativity and communication skills.
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School)
Text Types Involved: 1. Letter
2. Name Badge
3. Report
4. Rescue Plan
Drama Strategies Involved: 1. Collective Drawing 4. Letter 7. Ritual 10. Teacher-in-role 13. Whole Group Improvisation
2. Conscience Alley 5. Meeting 8. Short Scene 11. Teacher Narration 14. Writing-in-role (report)
3. Gossip Mill 6. Miming 9. Still Image 12. Thought Tracking
Materials / Equipment: Lessons 1-2: Projector
Lessons 3-4:
Lessons 5-6:
Lessons 7-8:
Computer Video clip showing environmental problems on the Earth Pictures of different planets and occupations Name badges Worksheet for Occupation Worksheet for Packing Your Bag Name badges made by students Pieces of A5 paper Colour pencils Blu-tack Word cards of feelings (optional) Some scrap paper Name badges made by students Letter from the Kidnapped Bags of question cards A jacket for Teacher-in-role Worksheet for Rescue Plan Some scrap paper Name badges made by students A cap for Teacher-in-role Some scrap paper Worksheet for Report Writing Drawings/photos/writings from the previous lessons
3
Learning Experiences
Teaching Notes
Designing a Badge (15 min)
Step 2:
Teacher Narration (15 min)
Grouping: individual 1 Teacher asks students to decide on their Space: students in their own space Materials: name badges, Workroles by choosing the occupations to play. 2 Each student designs a badge for their role sheet for Occupation using the “Worksheet for Occupation”. 3 Teacher tells students that it is important for each role to define a goal for himself or
Focus: to construct roles for the drama
2 Teacher introduces words of different planets and occupations by showing some pictures on the board.
The scientists are going to recruit a group of people with different occupations to join the research project, called ‘Human Migration’, to investigate the possibility of migrating to other planets.”
mental problems on the Earth and narrates,
Materials: projector, computer, video clip showing environmental “Our planet, the Earth is seriously polluted. problems on the Earth, pictures of Human beings are facing environmental different planets and occupations problems and may not be able to live on the Earth in fifty years’ time. A group of top scientists from different countries is going to explore the possibility of migrating to other planets.
Grouping: whole class Initiation Phase Focus: to build the context of the drama 1 Teacher shows a video clip about environ- Space: students in their own space Step 1:
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 1-2 (double lesson)
Designing badges allows students to create background information about their roles. The badges also act as a symbol for them to get inrole in the steps below.
Rationale:
Rationale:
The visual input from the video and pictures provides stimulation and information for students to start thinking about the theme of the drama and their roles.
4
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School)
Whole Group Improvisation + Thought Tracking (15 min)
Step 4:
Whole Group Improvisation (15 min)
Step 3:
1 Teacher tells students that they are going to Space: big empty space take part in the research project called Hu- Material: Worksheet for Packing man Migration to investigate the possibil- Your Bag ity of migrating to Mars. In order to avoid overloading the spaceship, each member can only carry a limited amount of luggage. Each of them has to decide on two things that will be most useful for the whole team. 2 Using the “Worksheet for Packing Your Bag”, students draw and write about the two things they will bring, and explain the reasons for bringing them, using the sentence
Focus: to decide on what is useful for the Grouping: individual, then whole class research trip
1 Students write 3 sentences on the “Work- Material: Worksheet for Occupasheet for Occupation” to describe their job tion duties, Teacher reminds students to act e.g. I always/ usually/ often/ frequently/ out their roles by walking and sometimes/ seldom/ never . talking as if they are someone with their occupations. 2 Students put on their badges and wa l k around in the room to greet each other inrole, introducing themselves and describing their job duties to the others. Students take off their badges to get out of role to finish this step.
Focus: to introduce the roles in written, Grouping: whole class Space: big empty space verbal and physical forms
herself as a researcher in the project Human Migration.
This activity further builds belief in the drama by asking students to consider what will be useful in their expedition. The constraint of having a weight limit on the luggage they can bring onto the spaceship introduces a sense of collectivism – the team members must consider what will be most useful for the good of the whole team.
Rationale:
Physical enactment of the roles helps students to build belief in their roles by turning written and verbal ideas into physical forms. It also allows the teacher to actually see what the students have created in their minds.
Rationale:
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School) 5
with me . Teacher reminds students to talk to as many people as possible.
Warm up (Miming) (10 min)
1 Students stand in a circle. Each student describes his/her job and mimes it with an action while others repeat the action and the
Focus: to help students recap the roles they Grouping: whole class created in the last lesson and to warm them Space: students stand in a big circle up for this lesson
Step 5:
Teaching Notes
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 3-4 (double lesson)
3 Students put on their badges again to get in-role and walk around in the room. They share their ideas with the other members of the Human Migration Team about what they will bring along with them. 4 A f ter a l lowing some time for sharing , teacher asks students to freeze in their roles and Thought Tracks some of them who will express what is going through their mind. Students take off their badges to get out of role. 5 Teacher tells the students that in the next lesson the research team will travel to Mars.
e.g. I will bring because
structure:
6
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School)
. I usually .You usually
. .
Collective Drawing (10 min)+
1 Teacher tells the students, “You are now Space: big empty space landing on Mars. You find a lot of things Materials: pieces of A5 paper, codif ferent f rom the Earth. What do you lour pencils, blu-tack find?” Teacher can ask the following guiding
Focus: to create the environment of Mars Grouping: individual, then whole class collectively
1 Teacher demonstrates a movement that sig- circle nifies the travel, e.g. turning around two Materials: badges made by the times with his/her palms touch each other students in the last lesson above his/her head. S/he then invites the class to suggest a sound effect to the movement. Teacher practises the ritual with the class until everybody has got familiar with it. 2 The students put on their badges and get in role as the members of the Human Migration team. They do the ritual together to pretend that they are all traveling in a spaceship to Mars. When they land, they will all sit down on the floor.
Experiential Phase Step 7:
Ritual (5 min)
Focus: to create a ritualistic movement for Grouping: whole class Space: students stand in a big the spaceship travel
Step 6:
2 When the miming has gone through the whole circle, teacher tells the students that the research team has got on a spaceship and is about to start their journey
a. I am a b. You are a
sentence altogether. The target sentence patterns are:
Since not much is known about Mars, this activity allows the students to exercise their creativity. It motivates the students to talk in English, as they will be curious in knowing what the others have drawn. Asking them to report on what they have heard from the others is also a good way of engaging them in active listening.
Rationale:
Rationale:
The symbolic nature of the ritual helps students make belief in the drama, as traveling on a spaces hip is n o t s o m e t hin g p e o p l e would normally do in their daily lives! It is a lot of fun to act out, and helps create a good atmo sphere to engage the students.
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School) 7
Gossip Mill (10 min)
4 Students get in a circle and report what they have heard from the other team members. Students stick their papers on the board when their objects are mentioned by their classmates. Finally teacher tells all the students to stick their drawings on the board to let the whole class take a look at the complete picture on what has been found on Mars.
As I was walking around, I found . I think it is . I heard that somebody saw .
questions to help students imagine what they may see: • What is the colour of Mars? • Is it hot? Is it cold? • How does the landscape/environment look like? • Are there plants or animals? How do they look like? 2 Teacher asks students to draw what they would see on Mars on small pieces of paper. Each person draws one thing on one piece of paper and names it. 3 Teacher tells students to walk around as if they are on the planet and talk to others about what they’ve found, using the sentence structure:
Teacher collects the drawings for
When all the drawings are posted on the board, teacher can get students to describe Mars by asking guiding questions like: a. Is the planet safe or dangerous? b. What are good for humans on the planet? c. What are dangerous for humans on the planet?
8
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School)
Round Up (5 min)
Step 9:
Still Image (20 min)
Step 8:
Students get out of role by taking off their badges. Teacher forecasts that in the next lesson, the research team members will come across a problem.
Teacher collects the paper with the sentences written by students for use in the final lesson of this unit. S/he may also take pictures of the Still Images for the same purpose.
Focus: to get out of role at the end of the Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space lesson
2 Students are divided into groups of 4 to 6. Each group chooses a sentence that they have written and create a Still Image for the sentence. The images must show the object as well as the team members’ feelings. Every student in the group must have a role to play. 3 Each group takes turn to present the Still Image. The rest of the class describes the image.
1 Students are asked to express the research Materials: some scrap paper, word team members’ feelings towards Mars.Stu- cards of feelings (optional) dents write down their feelings in-role, usTeacher may use word cards of ing the sentence structure of: feelings to help the students if a. The (object) makes me (feeling) . they have difficulty with the vob. When I see (object) , I feel (feeling) . cabulary.
Focus: to explore how the project team Grouping: small groups of 4 to 6 Space: each group in its own space members feel towards Mars
use in the final lesson of this unit.
The teacher’s forecast of the next part of the story sustains students’ interest in the story.
Rationale:
This step further helps students create a solid understanding of the planet, as well as engages students more deeply in their roles as they consider the different kinds of feelings of the team members.
Rationale:
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School) 9
Teacher Narration + Letter (10 min)
We found this so amazing that we decided to get some samples. We chose a bright pink
As we walked around, we noticed some strange plants. We had never seen anything like them before. They were very colourful, and they glittered and glowed. We went closer to take a good look. As we were approaching the plants, rays of bright light hit them. Then, the plants disappeared completely! A few minutes later, they appeared again!
It was our second day on Mars. The ground was hard and rocky. Nobody was there except some strange creatures.
‘Help! We have been kidnapped by some aliens! Please come to save us!
“As you were doing research on Mars, someone discovered that three members of your team had gone missing. The captain of your team received a letter from them. This was what they wrote in the letter:
1 Teacher narrates the development of the M a t e r i a l s : L e t t e r f r o m t h e Kidnapped story,
Focus: to introduce the problem in the dra- Grouping: whole class Space: students sitting in a circle ma – some members are kidnapped
Step 10:
Teaching Notes
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 5-6 (double lesson)
The dramatic context here, the kidnap, creates a problem for the team to solve. It instills tension in the drama to engage the students.
Rationale:
10
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School)
Teacher Narration+ Teacher-in-role + Meeting (20 min)
Step 11:
2 Teacher tells the students that s/he is going to get in role as this person. The team members will try to find out what has happened by asking him / her questions. 3 Students form small groups to prepare for the meeting. Teacher gives a bag of question cards to each group. Each group needs to
“While the team was discussing what they should do, one of the kidnapped members has escaped and he has come back to the base. The team members decided to meet him at once in order to find out what has happened.”
1 Teacher narrates,
Focus: to interview an escaped member
2 Te a cher a sk s que st ion s to c he c k st udents’ understanding, or invites students to a sk que stions to cla r i f y what t he y do not understand. Ask them to think about how the research team members may feel when they read the letter. What would they want to do?
plant with green f lowers. Suddenly two aliens came and kidnapped us. We were very frightened and scared. The aliens used their long arms to tie us up. We could not move. They forced us to eat some strange plants and we could not speak . Please, please, come and save us!!! Help!’”
Grouping: sma ll groups, then whole class Space: each group in its own space, then in a big semicircle Materials: bags of question cards, a jacket for Teacher-in-role, badges of the team members
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School) 11
Short Scene (25 min)
Step 12:
. . .
3 Each group prepares a Short Scene to demonstrate how they will save the members. Each group takes turn to present its scene. After the presentations, the class chooses the best rescue plan.
First, Next, Then,
1 Teacher tells the students that the team space members decided to save the kidnapped Materials: some scrap paper members. In order to make sure that everybody will be safe, they have to make very good rescue plans. 2 Students in small groups create rescue plans Student write the 3 steps on scrap paper. with 3 steps each:
If the team members are reluctant to agree on saving the other kidnapped members, the Teacher-in-role can make stronger pleas by saying that they are his good friends and they are now in grave danger. S/he can also assure the team members that with joint efforts, the rescue will succeed.
Focus: to create the rescue plan for the kid- Grouping: small groups of 4 to 6 Space: each g roup in its own napped members
choose some relevant questions from the bag to ask the escaped member. Each group also needs to think of one extra question. 4 Students put on their badges and get in role as the research team members. Teacher takes on the role of the released team member by putting on a jacket. He answers the team’s questions and leads the team members to consider the possibilities for saving the other two persons. After the meeting, teacher and students take off their props and get out of role.
Rationale:
Cre ating t he rescue plan is a highly engaging problem solving task because it provides space for creativity and it is adventurous. The potential danger of the rescue action motivates students to consider their plans carefully and thoughtfully. Having students create and act out the rescue plan helps them to concretise the ideas through physical actions. Also the ideas become visible to the rest of the class which will help students give much bet ter and relevant feedbacks.
Rationale:
The use of Teacher-in-role gives the students a purpose for asking good questions. It enables the teacher to take part in the drama together with the students and makes the drama more exciting and engaging.
12
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School)
Students finish the “Worksheet for Rescue Plan Material: Worksheet for Rescue Plan at home.
Focus: to consolidate students’ learning ex- Grouping: individual Space: home perience
Teacher-in-role + Meeting (In-role Reflection) (10 min)
Reflective Phase Step 15:
Grouping: whole class Space: students stand in a circle
Teaching Notes
Grouping: whole class 1 Teacher tells the students that the Captain Space: students sit in a big circle of the research team has called for a meeting Materials: a cap for Teacher-into evaluate the trip. S/he tells the students role, badges of the team members that s/he will take the role of the Captain and when s/he puts on a cap s/he is in role. 2 Students put on their badges; teacher puts on the cap, and everybody gets in role. The Captain says,
Focus: to evaluate on the space journey
2 Teacher leads students to perform the ritual of riding on the spaceship to signify that the research team members return to the Earth.
“After the great efforts of the research team, the kidnapped team members were finally saved. The research team returns to the Earth by spaceship.”
1 Teacher narrates,
Focus: to recap the drama
Step 14:
Teacher Narration + Ritual (5 min)
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 7-8 (double lesson)
Homework (5 min)
Step 13:
Rationale:
Asking the students to get into role and to share their views in a meeting chaired by the Captain provides them with a more authentic context for expressing ideas.
Rationale:
The ritual signifies the end of the expedition, bringing the students back from the exciting actions of space exploration to the more rational evaluation of the trip in the steps to follow.
Rationale:
After acting out the plans in the previous step, it becomes easier for students to articulate the plans in wo rds as t h ey wo u l d h a ve gained a much more solid understanding on the plans and the sequence of the actions they have to take.
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School) 13
Conscience A l le y (O ut- ofrole Reflection) (15 min)
Step 16:
2 The two groups form two lines, each standing on one side of the teacher. The two lines face each other to form an alley. Teacher puts on a cap and walks down the alley in role as the Captain. Each student on each
finished, teacher collects all the paper for use in the next step.
1 The class is divided into two big groups. lines facing each other One group thinks of reasons in support of Materials: some scrap paper the idea of human migrating to Mars. The other group thinks of reasons in opposition If time is not enough or if the to the idea. Each student writes on a piece of class size is too big, the students paper one sentence to express his/her view. can work in pairs in the Conscience Alley in order to reduce The sentence structure could be: the length of the alley. We should migrate to Mars because . We should stay on the Earth because . When the Conscience Alley is
Focus: to explore the pros and cons for hu- Grouping: two big groups Space: student standing in two man migration
The Captain invites the research team to share their views. When different ideas have been heard, teacher takes off his/her cap and cuts the meeting. Students take off their badges.
“Welcome back to the Earth, my team! Our project, ‘Human Migration’ has to come to an end now. Our mission was to explore the possibility of migrating to Mars. Although some accidents have happened, you have solved it brilliantly. Now, we must draw a conclusion. Should humans migrate to Mars? Why, or why not?”
Getting the students to write down their opinions and reasons before the Conscience Alley would make them feel more confident in speaking. Assigning the students to two groups without allowing them to choose sides can challenge them to think of reasons for what they may not agree. It also generates equal amount of reasons on both sides so the students get more ideas to write about in their reports.
Rationale:
14
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School)
Writing-in-role (report) (30 min)
Step 17:
1 Teacher tells the students that the team Materials: Worksheet for Report members are going to publish a report about Writing, drawings/photos/writings this project of exploring Mars. Each of them from the previous lessons will write one report. For students with lower abilities, 2 Teacher distributes the “Worksheet for Report Writing” to the students. Students to make the task more managewrite their reports by answering the ques- able, teacher can get them in small groups, and each group can tions. 3 Teacher displays students’ drawings, photos write one paragraph only using or writings from the previous lessons for the guiding questions. students to refer to as they write. • Paragraph 1: name badges, “Worksheet for Occupation”, “Worksheet for Packing Your Bag” • Paragraph 2: the drawings and photos (if any) from Step 7 • Paragraph 3: “A Letter From The Kidnapped”, “Worksheet for Saving the Kidnapped Members” • Paragraph 4: the paper from Step 16 on Conscience Alley
Focus: to summarize and ref lect on the Grouping: individual Space: students sit in a big circle whole journey
side takes turn to speak out his/her opinion.
The questions given and the breakdown of the paragraphs are useful in guiding the students to write the report. For students with higher abilities, teacher can encourage them to write other things that are not asked in the guiding questions.
Rationale:
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School) 15
16
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School)
Human Migration Worksheet for Occupation
Name:
(
)
Class: Situation: The Earth is seriously polluted. Humans may not be able to live on it in fifty years’ time. Some scientists are going to recruit a group of people with different occupations to join a research project called “Human Migration”, to investigate the possibility of migrating to Mars. Tasks: 1. Decide a role to play. 2. Make a badge to represent your role. 3. Write 3 sentences to describe your job duty. e.g. I always/usually/often/frequently/sometimes/seldom/never
My job duty
Name: Age: Occupation: Goal:
Sex:
.
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School)
Human Migration Worksheet for Packing Your Bag
Name:
(
)
Class:
Situation: You are invited to join the “Human Migration” research project and to investigate the possibility of migrating to Mars. In order to avoid overloading the spaceship, each team member can only carry two things to use to help everyone survive. Tasks: 1. Decide which two things you will bring along with you. 2. Explain the reasons for bringing those two things. e.g. I will bring with me because 1
[draw the object here]
2
[draw the object here]
.
17
18
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School)
Human Migration Letter from the Kidnapped
Help! We have been kidnapped by some aliens! Please come to save us! It was our second day on Mars. The ground was hard and rocky. Nobody was there except some strange creatures. As we walked around, we noticed some strange plants. We had never seen anything like them before. They were very colourful, and they glittered and glowed. We went closer to take a good look. As we were approaching the plants, rays of bright light hit them. Then, the plants disappeared completely! A few minutes later, they appeared again! We found this so amazing that we decided to get some samples. We chose a bright pink plant with green flowers. Suddenly two aliens came and kidnapped us. We were so frightened and scared. The aliens used their long arms to tie us up. We could not move. They forced us to eat some strange plants and we could not speak.
Please, please, come and save us!!! Help!
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School)
Human Migration
Question Cards for Interviewing the Released Member
Do you want a cup of tea?
What should we be careful with?
What are your hobbies?
What are the aliens afraid of?
How did you go to the aliens’ place?
Who else can help us?
Did you like the aliens?
Where are the other two members now?
What is the best time to go?
What should we bring?
19
20
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School)
Human Migration Worksheet for Rescue Plan
Group members: Name:
(
Class: Class:
Situation: Three team members were exploring Mars. Suddenly two aliens came and kidnapped them. They were very frightened and scared. The aliens used their long arms to tie them up. The aliens forced them to eat some strange plants and they could not speak. Tasks: 1. Think of a method to save them. 2. Use 3 instructions to explain your rescue plan. . e.g. First, . Next, . Then,
Rescue Plan
)
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School)
Human Migration Worksheet for Report Writing
Name:
(
Class:
Write a report about your visit to Mars. Your entry will be published.
Paragraph 1: 1. What was your name? What was your occupation? What did you usually do? 2. When you were invited to take part in the “Human Migration” project. How did you feel? 3. What was the aim of the “Human Migration” project? 4. How many team members did you have? What did they do? Who was your captain? 5. How did you get to Mars? 6. What did you bring to protect yourself or to help your team?
Paragraph 2: 1. What did you see/find when you were walking around? How did you feel? 2. What did you bring back to the Earth for study?
Paragraph 3: 1. What happened to your team members? 2. How did the aliens look? 3. Did you want to save your team members? Why? 4. How did you save your team members?
Paragraph 4: 1. Should humans migrate to Mars? Why? 2. What have you learned from this journey?
)
21
22
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School)
Human Migration Worksheet for Report Writing
Name: Class:
The Human Migration Project Report written by .
(
)
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School)
Human Migration Evaluation
Name:
(
Class: A. Student’s Evaluation Task
Rate your performance (rare) (often)
01
1. I was able to design a badge to represent my occupation. 2. I was able to write about my job duty using adverbs of frequency (e.g. usually, always, sometimes, seldom, never).
1
2
3
4
5
02
3. I was able to use the connective “because” to state reasons.
1
2
3
4
5
03
4. I was able to use adjectives to describe feelings.
1
2
3
4
5
04
5. I was able to use “first”, “next” and “then” to show the order of events.
1
2
3
4
5
05
6. I was able to write a report about my visit to Mars.
1
2
3
4
5
1. What did you find most interesting? Why?
2. What did you find most difficult? Why?
B. Parent’s Comment
Student’s Signature:
Parent’s Signature:
)
23
24
Human Migration (The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School)
Human Migration Evaluation
C. Teacher’s Feedback Critical thinking skills (4):
Content (4):
Study skills (4):
Language (4):
Information technology skills (4):
Total Marks:
Comments:
/ 20
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
G r ad e L P r i m a e v e l: Nu m b ry 5 er les s o o f 8 (35 m ns: i n e ac h)
The Imperial Notice Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten Authors: Bryan Bradley, Leung Ka-Wai, Leung Yuk-Mui, Ma King-Kwan, Shee Shing-Chung Eddie (Instructor)
Background Pretext Expected Learning Outcomes Text Types Involved Drama Strategies Involved Materials/Equipment The Unit Plan: Lessons 1-2 (double lesson) Lessons 3-4 (double lesson) Lessons 5-6 (double lesson) Lessons 7-8 (double lesson) Worksheets: Worksheet for Princess’ Diary Worksheet for Emperor’s Diary Worksheet for Role-on-the-wall Worksheet for Short Speech Worksheet for Writing the Procedures Worksheet for Letter to the Emperor
2
3 4 8 12 15 20 21 22 23 24 25
2
The Imperial Notice
The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten)
Grade Level: Primary 5 Number of lessons: 8 (35 min each)
Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten
Authors: Bryan Bradley, Leung Ka-Wai, Leung Yuk-Mui, Ma King-Kwan, Shee Shing-Chung Eddie (Instructor)
Background: The classes engaged in this unit comprised students of different nationalities, such as Indians, Pakistanis, Nepalese, Chinese, etc. Therefore, this drama unit was specially designed to provide students with a learning experience which would help them develop better understanding and greater appreciation of different cultures and gain confidence and enjoyment in expressing ideas and feelings freely and creatively. Most of the students were already quite fluent in English. They had no difficulty in communicating in English and understanding English instructions for drama activities. The class size was about 35 students per class. Although the students had no previous experience in drama before this unit, they showed very high creativity and quick responses to activities in general. As a result, the original version of the unit plan was very tight and challenging comprising many drama activities and different versions of the story, with each version of the story being explored in one double lesson. However, in order to make the unit plan more accessible for local students, the authors of this book have adapted it to become a full-length Process Drama which lasts continuously for 4 double lessons, using the ideas of the original plan and the story.
Pretext: Book Chapter on “Interactive story: The Emperor’s Challenge” (Wilson, A., Clarke, K., Hall, E., & Sieh, M. (2005). Primary Longman Express 5B. Hong Kong: Longman.)
Expected Learning Outcomes: 1. Students practise using the conjunctions “because”, “so” “but” and “although”. 2. Students describe good things about people using adjectives such as “handsome, sociable, honest, patient, etc”. 3. Students write procedures of making things using “first, then, next, after that and finally”. 4. Students develop better understanding and greater appreciation of different cultures.
Text Types Involved: 1. Diary 4. Procedures
2. Letter 5. Short Speech
3. Notice
The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten)
Drama Strategies Involved: 1. Collective Drawing 4. Role-on-the-wall 7. Teacher Narration
2. Conscience Alley 5. Short Scene 8. Thought Tracking
3. Gossip Mill 6. Still Image 9. Writing-in-role (diary, formal notice, letter)
Materials / Equipment: Lessons 1-2: Text for narration
Lessons 3-4:
Lessons 5-6: Lessons 7-8:
Some A5 paper Colour pens Strips of paper with descriptions of the 7 Still Images Some scrap paper Worksheet for Princess’ Diary & Worksheet for Emperor’s Diary Completed worksheets from last lesson Text for narration Poster paper (A3 size) Some A5 paper Colour pens Worksheet for Role-on-the-wall (A3 size) Worksheet for Short Speech Worksheet for Writing the Procedures Text for narration Some scrap paper Worksheet for Letter to the Emperor
3
Learning Experiences
Teaching Notes
Collective Drawing (15 min)
Step 2:
Lead-in and Teacher Narration (5 min)
1 Teacher tells students that they are going to create this SUPERB country together. 2 Students get into groups of 5. Each group is responsible for drawing things of different aspects of the culture of this SUPERB country. Each student draws one object on a piece of A5 paper and names the object. If time allows, each student can draw one
then all groups come together to sit in a big circle Materials: pieces of A5 paper, colour pens Teacher may need to remind students that what they draw must fit the time and place of the story -
Focus: to create the SUPERB country col- Grouping: small groups of 5 Space: each group in its own space, lectively
“Once upon a time, in ancient China, there was a SUPERB Country, in which there was a SUPERB Emperor ruling the Country. The SUPER B Emperor lived in a SUPER B palace. He had a SUPERB Princess who was very beautiful and gentle. The people in the country lived happily and they all loved their SUPERB Empe ror and the SU PER B Pr incess ve r y much.”
Teacher tells students that they are going to ex- Materials: the text for narration plore the story of The Imperial Notice together in the coming lessons, and the story took place in a very SUPERB country. Teacher narrates how the country was like:
Initiation Phase Focus: to introduce the pretext and the Grouping: whole class Space: students sitting a big circle Step 1: main characters in the drama
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 1-2 (double lesson)
As the theme for this drama is about developing an awareness and appreciation for different cultures, it would be useful to create the culture of the country where the story is taking place. Drawing the objects helps students gain a visual understanding of the country. It also allows students to use vocabulary for things in different aspects of daily life.
Rationale:
Rationale:
Starting the drama with Teacher Narration brings students into the world of the story directly. A simple, brief and lively narration captures students’ attention and arouses their interest quickly. It is also a very good exercise for active listening.
4
The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten)
Teacher Narration (5 min)
Experiential Phase Step 3:
1 Teacher tells students to stay in their groups in a big circle of 5 and remain seated in a big circle while Materials: the text for narration listening to the next part of the story. Teacher can lead a brief discus2 Teacher narrates the following, sion after the narration by asking “The Emperor’s daughter, the beautiful the following questions: Princess, was called Ming Yi. Her mother, a. How old do you think Ming the Queen, died when she was only a little Yi was when the Queen died? girl. Ming Yi was quite lonely because the b. Do you think Wang was older Emperor was always very busy, but she had a or you nger t ha n M i ng Yi? good friend, Wang, who was the Cook’s son. How much older or younger?
Teacher could ask the following guiding questions to help students build a stronger and clearer understanding on the country that they have created: a. What is this object used for? Can you demonstrate how it is used? b. Is it used or owned by the common people or by the royal family? c. Apart from “SUPERB”, what other words would you use to describe this country and the life of the people?
Ancient China (say, there should not be any computer games or McDonald’s!)
Focus: teacher narrates the next part of the Grouping: whole class Space: students sitting in groups story
more object on another piece of paper. The types of things about the country’s culture could include: • Clothing • Buildings/houses • Food • Vehicles for transportation • Musical instruments • Festivals • Games that children play 3 Teacher tells each group to put all the drawings together on the f loor to give a more complete picture about the culture of this country. Teacher leads a discussion with the students while taking a look at all the drawings.
The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten) 5
Teacher Narration
Step 5:
Still Image + Thought Tracking (20 min)
Step 4:
1 Teacher narrates the following,
circle
Focus: teacher narrates the next part of the Grouping: whole class Space: students sitting in a big story
1 Students show how Princess Ming Yi grew Materials: the 7 moments for Still up by creating Still Images of the following Images on strips of paper moments, a. The Queen died when Ming Yi was only a Teacher reminds students that apart from people, they can also very little girl. b. The Emperor was very busy and Ming Yi be objects in the Still Images. However, whatever the students was feeling lonely. play, each student must be prec. Ming Yi playing with Wang in the palace. pared to spea k one sentence. d. Ming Yi playing with Wang on the beach. Teacher goes around to each e. Ming Yi playing with Wang in the forest. f. Wang had grown up. The Emperor told group to give support and advice the cook and Wang that Wang would be when they are forming the images. sent away to study. g. Ming Yi saying goodbye to Wang the day he was leaving. 2 Each group takes turn to show the images in the correct order. Teacher Thought Tracks the characters or objects in the images.
c. What games would Wang and Ming Yi play together? (Teacher can remind students of the games that they drew about in the last step.) d. How old do you think Wang was when he was sent away to study in another country?
Focus: to explore the relationship between Grouping: small groups of 5 Space: each group in its own space Ming Yi and Wang
They liked to play together and they grew up together. The years passed. Wang grew up to become a very intelligent and handsome young man. The Emperor decided to send Wang away to study in another country. Ming Yi was very sad.”
Rationale:
It is important to explore the relationship between Ming Yi and Wang so that students understand, in the next part of the story, how unwilling Ming Yi was to get married with a stranger arranged by the Emperor. Creating the Still Images also allows students to clarify and consolidate their understanding of the story through negotiating and working with the group. While students are creating the Still Images, they have the time to think about what they are going to say. It makes the speaking part easier to handle. In Thought Tracking, students get an opportunity to speak out the characters’ thoughts and feelings. Not only does it allow students to practise their English speaking skills, but it also helps them explore the characters more deeply.
6
The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten)
Writing-in-role (diary) (20 min)
Step 6:
(5 min)
1 Teacher splits the class into two big groups. One group plays Princess Ming Yi. The other group plays the Emperor. 2 Within each big group, students work in pairs to write a short note to express their thoughts and feelings after the conversation. Each pair writes their idea on a piece of paper. 3 Teacher tells students to use the conjunctions
Examples of sentences can be given: a. A lthough I should follow my
Materials: some scrap paper for the short notes, Worksheet for Princess’ Diary, Worksheet for Emperor’s Diary
If the teacher does not want to be the only person who keeps doing the narration, s/he can invite some students to read the story or have the whole class read it aloud together. It can engage the class to participate in more reading activities.
Materials: the text for narration
Focus: to allow students to generate and ex- Grouping: two big groups Space: students in their own space press ideas in-role
2 Teacher leads a brief discussion with the students on what the characters are thinking and feeling by asking: a. Why was Princess Ming Yi so sad when she heard that she had to get married? b. Why did the Emperor want Princess Ming Yi to get married? c. What would be the problem if Princess Ming Yi did not get married by 18 years old? d. Why did the Emperor want to find a husband for Ming Yi?
“After Wang had left, Ming Yi was very sad everyday. Very soon, Ming Yi turned 18. One day, the Emperor went to see Ming Yi. ‘My daughter, you have turned 18. I think I must find a husband for you.’ The Princess did not want to get married. She ran to her room and cried. The Emperor explained to her, ‘I know you’re sad but you’re 18 now. You must get married.’ ”
Rationale:
Unfolding the story bit by bit helps students keep track of the development of the story. Also, it helps elicit more authentic responses in the drama when the students do not know what is going to happen next in the story.
The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten) 7
If students cannot finish the diaries during the lesson, they can finish it at home and bring them back in the next lesson.
father’s decision, I can’t marry a stranger. b. I am her father so she should listen to me. c. I don’t want to marry a stranger because I don’t know him. d. Her husband will be a stranger but she can still get along with him after the marriage.
Sharing the Diaries (10 min)
1 Students get in pairs of Emperor and Prin- a big circle cess to share what they have written in the Materials: completed worksheets from the previous lesson diaries from the last lesson. 2 Teacher then invites some students to read Teacher can encourage the stutheir diaries aloud to the rest of the class. 3 A fter listening to the diaries from the dents to read aloud their partners’ Emperor and the Princess, teacher helps
Focus: students share the diaries they have Grouping: pairs, then whole class Space: students sitting in pairs in written
Step 7:
Teaching Notes
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 3-4 (double lesson)
“although”, “but”, “so”, and “because” to write the short notes. 4 Teacher collects all the notes and put them up on the board in two big columns – the Emperor and the Princess. Teacher can read aloud the notes to the whole class. 5 Teacher tells the class that now each person will write a diary on the “Worksheet for Princess’ Diary” or the “Worksheet for Emperor’s Diary”. Each person in the Princess group will write a diary as the Princess. Each person in the Emperor group will write a diary as the Emperor. As they are writing, students can go out to take a look at the notes on the board to get more ideas for writing.
Asking students to share the diaries in pairs gives them an op portunity to read another person’s writing and to share one’s own writing. It is a very good reading exercise. Also, it acts as a very effective activity to recap what happened in the last lesson.
Rationale:
The in-role writing is done in pairs to help students generate, discuss and organise preliminary ideas with their partners. It also helps the less able students manage the writing task more easily. When all the notes are collected and put on the board, students will be able to get more ideas from the other pairs, and even from the oppo site group, to help them write the dairy. This process – from shorter sentences to longer paragraphs; from group brainstorming to an individual task – provides a scaffolding for the students in writing. Writing in role as people in the story also helps them understand the characters better.
Rationale:
8
The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten)
Writing-in-role – Designing the Imperial Notice (25 min)
Step 9:
Teacher Narration (5 min)
Step 8:
1 Teacher tells students that the Emperor space needs an Imperial Notice for him to spread Materials: big pieces of poster pathe news to as many people as possible. Any- per (A3), colour pens one of any nationality can join the contest. 2 Teacher asks the students to take the role of Here is an example of an Impethe Emperor’s ministers to write the Impe- rial Notice which teacher may rial Notice. In groups of 5, the students in show as reference: role as ministers design an Imperial Notice By the SUPER B order of our for the Emperor. SUPER B emperor of this SU3 Teacher asks students to suggest the most PERB country, I announce in all important information that must be put on of the towns a SUPERB contest. the Imperial Notice. (e.g. the name of the Our SUPERB Emperor is looking
Teacher can write the three tasks on the board, or show them in a PowerPoint to make sure that all students get the idea.
Materials: the text for narration
Focus: to create the Imperial Notice collec- Grouping: small groups of 5 Space: each g roup in its own tively
“After thinking for a few days, Ming Yi went to see the Emperor and asked, ‘Can I choose a husband myself?’ Her father smiled. ‘How will you choose a husband?’ he asked. ‘The first nobleman to complete three tasks in a contest can marry me,’ said Ming Yi. ‘That’s a good idea!’ said the Emperor. The Emperor and Princess Ming Yi set out the three tasks and they were, • Wrapping fire in paper, • Wrapping wind in paper, and • Using wind to make music.”
Teacher narrates,
diaries within their pair in order to practise reading.
Focus: teacher narrates the next part of the Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space story
students recap what happened in the last lesson.
Rationale:
Creating the Imperial Notice is a collective writing task which allows students to practise writing a notice with peer support. The drama provides the need for “the ministers” to write concisely and accurately. It is important to have the whole group reading out loud the Imperial Notice together to give a sense that it is indeed a formal notice. It also helps the less confident students to feel supported and to speak more confidently.
The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten) 9
Teacher Narration + Role-on-the-wall (15 min)
Step 10:
2 Teacher divides the class into groups representing noblemen from different countries. Each group represents one nobleman from a different country (e.g. India, the Philippines, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka). If the students are of mixed ethnicity, teacher puts students with different nationalities in one
Teacher asks students questions and give them vocabulary input to help them describe the noblemen:
whole class is Chinese, teacher ca n si mply cho ose d i f ferent countries from any continents.
space Materials: Worksheet for Role“The news of the Imperial Notice spread on-the-wall (A3 size), colour pens rapidly and very soon some noblemen from different countries came to the palace to Teacher may choose countries take part in the contest, hoping to marry that are actually countries from beautiful Princess Ming Yi.” where the students come. If the
1 Teacher narrates,
So says our SUPERB Emperor.
The Emperor will marry our SUPER B Princess Ming Yi to the winner. Contestants should meet in the dining room of the SUPERB Imperial Palace on the first day of the 10th moon.
Wrap some fire in paper. Wrap some wind in paper. Use wind to make music.
for a HERO among his SUPERB regions who can finish the following 3 tasks:
Focus: to create the noblemen from differ- Grouping: small groups of 7 Space: each g roup in its own ent countries
contest, the purpose of the contest (to find a husband for the beautiful Princess Ming Yi), the description of the 3 tasks, the date, time, and place of the contest… etc.) 4 Each group gets a big piece of poster paper and some colour pens to write and decorate the Imperial Notice. 5 After finishing the writing, each group of ministers takes turn to read aloud the Imperial Notice. All the group members should take part in reading out the Imperial Notice together to make the announcement loud and clear.
The Role-on-the-wall activity helps students create details about the noblemen from different countries. It gets them thinking about the characteristics of people from different cultures, and the good characteristics of each culture which make the noblemen noble. This exercise pools students knowledge together to create their character. It helps students exchange and make use of adjectives and other descriptive phrases. It also pro vides a very good opportunity for teacher to give inputs of vocabulary at a time when the students need them for the drama.
Rationale:
10
The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten)
Collective Drawing (15 min)
Step 11:
1 Teacher tells students to think about the no- Materials: pieces of A5 paper, coblemen’s countries. Students draw the things lour pens that are special and wonderful about their culture and name them. Teacher reminds students that they can draw things related to the following aspects of life: • Clothing • Buildings • Food • Musical instruments • Festivals • Treasures of the country
a. What is good about your persona lit y? Brave? Cheerf u l? Responsible? Kind? Honest? Adventurous? b. What are you good at? Writing poems? Doing mathematics? Cooking? Playing music? Hunting? Inventing things?
Focus: to explore the culture of the coun- Grouping: small groups of 7 Space: each group in its own space tries from where the noblemen come
group instead of putting the same nationalities together. 3 Each group takes a big piece of poster paper with the profile of a nobleman on it. The group works out the characteristics of the nobleman and writes down descriptions for this man around the profile. Things related to his personality go inside the profile, things related to his appearance and behaviours go outside the profile. Students can also use drawings to show the appearance, the clothing or the accessories the nobleman wears. 4 Each group then takes turn to present its “Role-on-the-wall” to the rest of the class. Teacher puts all the posters on the board to let the whole class see them clearly.
This activity gets the students to us e t h e k now l e d g e t h ey h a ve about a certain country. It allows t h e m t o exc h an g e k n ow l e d g e about the culture of the country so that students can learn from each other. Drawing and naming the wonderful things about the culture will help students introduce the noblemen in the next lesson.
Rationale:
The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten) 11
Short Speech (20 min)
Step 13:
Warm up (10 min)
1 Teacher reminds students that in the last space lesson they created the noblemen a nd Materials: Worksheet for Short the wonderful things about their countries. Speech However, Princess Ming Yi does not know much about all that. Therefore the noblemen
Focus: the noblemen introduce themselves Grouping: small groups of 7 Space: each g roup in its own to the Princess
Making use of the drawings from the last les- Space: big empty space son, teacher calls out group sizes and names of objects or activities the students have drawn. Some of the objects from the Students act out the objects with their bodies. drawings may be: They can work individually, in pairs or small • a flute • a weaving machine groups. • a temple • a tool used in a religious ritual • a special kind of food
Focus: to warm up students physically for Grouping: small groups of different sizes the lesson
Step 12:
Teaching Notes
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 5-6 (double lesson)
2 Teacher collects the “Role-on-the-wall” and the drawings from the groups, and tells students that they will be useful in the next lesson when the noblemen have to introduce themselves for the first time to Princess Ming Yi.
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The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten)
5
4
3
2
must introduce themselves to Princess Ming Yi when they meet her for the first time. Using the information created in Steps 1011 (Role-on-the-wall and Collective Drawing), each group of students work together to write a short speech to introduce the nobleman they have created and his country. Teacher can help students to write the speech by asking them to include the following information: a. What is your name? Where do you come from? b. What is good about your personality? c. What are you good at? d. Why should Princess Ming Yi marry you? e. What are the beautiful things in your country? f. What are the great things to do in your country? g. What is famous in your country? h. What do you appreciate about the Princess’ country? When students have finished writing the short speeches, teacher asks them to think about how they will present the speeches in an impressive way. Teacher tells students to underline the words they should stress in the speech, and practise the speech by giving proper stresses to those words. Each group takes turn to play the nobleman collectively and to deliver the short speech Teacher reminds students that the first speech of self-introduction is very important, because it gives the first impression to the Princess. No one knows who will be able to complete the 3 tasks successfully, but in case more than one person does, then the Princess has to choose, and the first impression will count!
Rationale:
The students must work out how to write a good speech and how to present it in the best way to impress the Princess. It thus gives them very strong reasons to polish the writing, stress their key points, and use good intonation for the delivery of the speech.
The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten) 13
Writing the Procedures (15 min)
Step 15:
Short Scene (25 min)
Step 14:
1 Teacher tells students in each group to work Materials: Worksheet for Writing together to write down the procedures of the Procedures the solution which they have just acted out. 2 Teacher gives each group the “Worksheet Teacher should go around the for Writing the Procedures”. groups to give help and advice on 3 Teacher tells students to use the following the students’ writing process. sequence connectors “first”, “then”, “next”,
Focus: students turn ideas into written Grouping: small groups of 7 Space: each group in its own space words collectively
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4
3
2
1
Grouping: small groups of 7 Students stay in the same groups, as the Space: each group in its own space same noblemen from the same countries. Teacher tells students that after the intro- Teacher should encourage studuction, the noblemen have to complete the dents to express themselves pothree tasks set by the Emperor. Teacher re- litely, listen to others patiently, try to take others’ opinions into minds the students the three tasks are: consideration, and to solve the • Wrapping fire in paper, problems collaboratively with • Wrapping wind in paper, and their group members. • Using wind to make music. Each group chooses one task to work on, and must come up with their original solution which must be different from the ones mentioned in the textbook chapter. Each group will have time to practise how to act out the solution of the tasks. They create Short Scenes using creative movements, pretending to be different objects and tools in showing the solutions. Each group takes turn to show the solutions to the rest of the class.
Focus: to complete the three tasks
of self-introduction together.
Rationale:
Writing the procedures gives students an opportunity to organise their ideas systemaically and to practise using sequence connectors.
Acting out the solutions allows students to realise and to show their ideas physically. Students are encouraged to use their imagination to pretend to be different objects and tools in order to show the solutions. The physical actions will help students visualise, organise and write the procedures in the next step. Without acting out the processes, it would be hard for students to imagine the procedures step by step.
Rationale:
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The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten)
Teacher Narration (10 min)
2 Teacher asks students questions to check if they understand the narration and to find out what they think the characters were feeling at the moment when Wang’s identity was revealed.
“Eventually, only the last noblemen managed to solve all the 3 problems. He made a lantern, a paper fan, and a wind chime. When Princess Ming Yi looked at the wind chime, she remembered collecting shells on the beach with Wang. She looked closely at the young man. ‘Take off your hat,’ she said. Slowly he took off his hat. The Emperor gasped. ‘You’re the cook’s son!’ ”
1 Teacher narrates the ending of the story – Materials: the text for narration extracted from Longman Express p.70:
Focus: teacher narrates the next part of the Grouping: whole class Space: students sit in a circle story
Step 16:
Teaching Notes
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 7-8 (double lesson)
“after that” and “finally” to write the procedures. 4 If time allows, teacher can invite some groups to read aloud the procedures to the rest of the class.
The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten) 15
Gossip Mill (20 min)
Step 17:
1 Teacher tells students that after the Em- Materials: some scrap paper peror found out that the last nobleman who managed to solve all the problems was actu- It i s ver y i mp or t a nt for t he ally the cook’s son Wang, he did not know teacher to remind students that what to do. He needed time to think care- the palace people must gossip quietly and carefully because if fully. While the Emperor was still thinking in his room, the people in the palace could the Emperor hears what they say they may be punished or even not help but gossiped about the event. 2 Teacher tells students that they are going killed. However, they are really to become the palace people and will gos- concerned about Princess Ming sip about what has happened. They will Yi’s happiness and marriage, so exchange their opinions quietly and secretly they cannot help gossiping. because they are afraid that the Emperor would hear what they say. Teacher can a lso remind stu3 Teacher gives students some time to think dents that some of the people in about their roles and their opinions quietly the palace are probably friends to on their own. They can write their opinions Wang, or Wang’s father. What down on some scrap paper if needed. The would these people think? If opinion should be limited to one sentence Wa ng ca n rea l ly get married only. with Ming Yi, would people feel 4 When the students are ready, teacher tells jealous or happy? Who are these them to mill around in the space in role as people? W hat wou ld they be the different palace people they have decided talking about in the palace? for themselves. Teacher helps them engage in role by asking: How do people walk in the palace? How does a soldier walk? How does a minister walk? How does a maid walk? How does a gardener walk?... etc. 5 When teacher gives a signal, students stop walking and find a partner next to them to
Focus: to elicit different opinions on the Grouping: whole class Space: big empty space matter
This activity also prepares students for ideas on what they may say in the Conscience Alley in the next Step.
Rationale:
Gossip Mill is a very good speaking and listening exercise because it takes off the pressure of having to speak in front of the whole class. It is very manageable even for students with soft voice. It is a ver y good listening exercise because it is a one on one exchange, and the fact that they are exchanging gossips increases students’ curiosity to listen carefully. Giving students some time to prepare for the opinion by writing it down on a piece of paper helps them organise their thoughts in advance, and helps them articulate their opinions more clearly in the Gossip Mill.
Rationale:
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The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten)
Conscience Alley (20 min)
Reflective Phase Step 18:
1 Teacher tells students that the Emperor is Space: student stand in two lines still thinking very hard in his own room. He facing each other does not know whether he should let Prin- Materials: some scrap paper cess Ming Yi marry the cook’s son Wang. 2 Teacher tells students that now they are going to become the voices in the Emperor’s head. Half of the voices does not want to let Ming Yi marry Wang. Half of the voices thinks Ming Yi should marry Wang. Teacher divides the class into two halves to represent the two sides of voices respectively. 3 Teacher gives students time to prepare and Students can write their ideas on to think of a reason why the Emperor should some scrap paper first if needed. or should not let Ming Yi marry Wang, acThe Emperor only listens to the cording to the side they have been assigned. 4 When students are ready, the two groups voices, he does not talk back. form two lines standing opposite to each other creating an alley in the middle. Teacher plays the Emperor and walks down the alley slowly. The voices on the two sides take turns
Focus: to go through the Emperor’s struggle Grouping: two big groups
exchange their opinions quietly, making sure that the Emperor will not be able to hear them. When the teacher gives another signal, the palace people pretend nothing has happened and walk around in the palace again. The cycle can go on for several times. 6 Teacher tells all the students to come back to sit down in a circle, and share what they heard from the other people in the Gossip Mill.
Rationale:
The Conscience Alley allows students to explore and pros and cons of a situation deeply and carefully and to go through the struggle that the Emperor is facing. It is a speaking exercise as well as a listening exercise be cause students will hear what the other voices are saying to the Emperor.
The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten) 17
(letter) (20 min)
1 Teacher tells students that the news about Materials: Worksheet for Letter Wang winning the contest has been spread- to the Emperor ing quickly over the country. A lot of people in the country know what has happened Teacher can ask students the foland they are all concerned about Princess lowing questions to help them Ming Yi’s happiness. The Emperor still write the letter to the Emperor: cannot make up his mind. People in the a. How do you introduce yourself? country are getting anxious. They are going b. What are you most concerned to write letters to the Emperor to tell him about? their opinions. 2 Teacher tells students that they are going to c. Do you agree that Princess M i ng Yi shou ld ma rr y the become the people in the country now, peocook’s son Wang? ple who come from outside the palace. They cannot meet the Emperor and they can- d. What are your reasons? not talk to the Emperor directly. They can e. What suggestions do you have for the Emperor? only write him letters. Each person is going to write a letter to the Emperor to express their concern and opinions about Princess Remind students to make use of Ming Yi’s marriage. Some support that she ideas from Steps 17-18 for their should be married to Wang; some do not writing. support this idea. Different people have different reasons and opinions. 3 Students write the letters individua lly. Teacher goes around to help and give input whenever necessary. 4 If time allows, teacher can invite some students to share the letters by reading them
Focus: to consolidate students’ learning ex- Grouping: individual Space: students in their own space Writing-in-role perience
Step 19:
to speak out the reasons loudly to the Emperor when he walks pass them.
Rationale:
Since the people in the country all love Princess Ming Yi very much, the in-role writing exercise gives students a purpose to express their opinions. As the letter is going to be read by the Emperor, they have to be careful about using the right words and getting the spellings right as much as they can.
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The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten)
aloud. Or teacher can invite all the students to share the most important sentence in the letter, so that all the students can get a chance to share. 5 Round up the lesson by sharing with the students what the Emperor decided to do in the original story.
The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten) 19
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The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten)
The Imperial Notice Worksheet for Princess’ Diary
Name:
(
Class:
How do you feel after talking to your father? Why? Do you want to marry a stranger? Why? What do you want to say to your father?
The Princess’ Diary:
)
The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten)
The Imperial Notice Worksheet for Emperor’s Diary
Name: Class:
How do you feel after talking to your daughter? Why? Why is it so important for her to get married at 18? What are you going to do?
The Emperor’s Diary
(
)
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The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten)
The Imperial Notice Worksheet for Role-on-the-wall (enlarge to A3 size)
Group members: Name: Class: Class:
The country where the nobleman comes from:
(
)
The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten)
The Imperial Notice Worksheet for Short Speech
Group members: Name: Class: Class:
What is your name? Where do you come from? What is good about your personality? What are you good at doing? Why should Princess Ming Yi marry you? What are the beautiful things in your country? What are the great things to do in your country? What is famous in your country? What do you appreciate about the Princess’ country?
Good day Princess Ming Yi, it is a great honour to meet you. Please let me introduce myself. My name is
(
)
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The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten)
The Imperial Notice Worksheet for Writing the Procedures
Group members: Name:
(
Class: Class:
Task:
First, . Next, . Then, . After that, . Finally, .
)
The Imperial Notice (Delia English Primary School & Kindergarten)
The Imperial Notice Worksheet for Letter to the Emperor
Name:
(
Class:
You are one of the people in the country. You are worried about Princess Ming Yi’s happiness and marriage. The Emperor still cannot make up his mind. You are going to write him a letter to tell him your opinions. 1. How do you introduce yourself? 2. What are you most concerned about? 3. Do you agree that Princess Ming Yi should marry the cook’s son Wang? 4. What are your reasons? 5. What suggestions do you have for the Emperor?
Dear SUPERB Emperor,
)
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Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
G r ad e L P r i m a e v e l: Nu m b ry 5 er les s o o f 6 (40 m ns: i n e ac h)
The Royal Dinner S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School Authors: S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School English teachers & Cheung Tik-Ming Ralph (Instructor)
Background Pretext Expected Learning Outcomes Text Types Involved Drama Strategies Involved Materials/Equipment The Unit Plan: Lessons 1-2 (double lesson) Lessons 3-4 (double lesson) Lessons 5-6 (double lesson) Worksheets: Speech Bubble Worksheet for Designing the Royal Family’s Menu
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The Royal Dinner
The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School)
Grade Level: Primary 5 Number of lessons: 6 (40 min each)
S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School
Authors: S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School English teachers & Cheung Tik-Ming Ralph (Instructor)
Background: This unit plan is designed for the whole Primary 5 grade level. The students have not received any drama training before. There are about 28-35 students in each class. The pretext The Royal Dinner has been chosen because it is the most dramatic reader that the P5 students have. There are a lot of opportunities to develop writing skills and to have in-depth discussion about health issues. Students will develop a short drama play at the end of the unit.
Pretext: The Royal Dinner (Story by Brenda Parkes, illustrations by John Burge, Mimosa Publications, 2001)
Expected Learning Outcomes: 1. Students reflect on their personal experience to evaluate how we can show appreciation to those who work for us in daily life. 2. Students are engaged actively to be critical readers and thinkers while they explore in depth the characters in the text and the given situations from different perspectives. 3. Students develop skills in interacting in English in group activities. 4. Students learn to speak with different tones according to the status of their roles and different situations.
Text Types Involved: 1. Certificate
2. Menu
3. Speech Bubbles
4. Story
Drama Strategies Involved: 1. Miming 4. Still Image 7. Teacher Narration
2. Paired Role-play 5. Story Whoosh! 8. Thought Tracking
3. Short Scene 6. Teacher-in-role
Materials / Equipment: Lessons 1-2: PowerPoint
Computer and projector A list of adjectives to describe people’s personalities Worksheet for Speech Bubble Paper doll and clothing items
The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School)
Lessons 3-4: Sentence strips
Lessons 5-6:
A crown for Teacher-in-role Flash cards of food items & baskets Worksheet for Designing the Royal Family’s Menu Sentence strips
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Learning Experiences
Teaching Notes
Discussion (10 min)
Step 2:
Warm up (Grandmother’s Footstep) (10 min)
A f ter t he g a me , teacher ca n point out to students that in the coming drama lessons, there are times when they need to follow rules of games, to be alert, and to control their bodies, just like what they did in the game.
If the group size is not too big, teacher can be stricter on picking out those who are not able to “freeze” well.
1 Teacher shows PowerPoint slides/photos of a Materials: Powerpoint, computer King, a Queen, a Prince, a Princess, a maid, and projector, a list of adjectives to describe people’s personalities a waiter and a cook. 2 Discuss the social status of the people being shown, their occupation, what they usually say and do at work (e.g. giving orders/taking
Focus: to introduce the characters in the Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space drama and related adjectives
1 Divide the class into two big groups. One group plays the game first while the other group watches on the side. 2 Teacher becomes the grandma (or grandpa) who stands at one end of the activity area while one group of students stands at the opposite end in a line. 3 Teacher turns his / her back to all students. Students’ mission is to sneak up on grandma. But at any point, the grandma can turn around. When she does so, everyone has to freeze. 4 Anyone seen moving by grandma is either “out” or sent back to the starting point again. Teacher cheers with the class for the winners. 5 Repeat the game with group 2.
Initiation Phase Focus: to physically warm up students for Grouping: 2 big groups Space: big empty space Step 1: the drama lesson
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 1-2 (double lesson)
With the help of the pictures, students talk about the different characters with different social status. This is a very good opportunity for the teacher to give language input for describing people of different social status and with different personalities.
Rationale:
Rationale:
Warm up games ser ve as ice breakers and prepare students for working in drama. It is particularly important if students are unfamiliar with the activity approach of learning. It is also a good opportunity for the teacher to explain to students what will be expected of them in the coming drama lessons.
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The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School)
Step 4:
Dialogue Writing + Paired Role-play (15 min)
Step 3:
Focus: to take students into the fictional Grouping: whole class
1 Teacher distributes the “Worksheet for Materials: Worksheet for Speech Bubble Speech Bubble” to students. 2 In small groups, students fill in the speech bubble to list out what they would say when asking for food. 3 Each student chooses a sentence from the Teacher reminds students to use list. In pairs, they take turns to say the sen- different tones and manners in tence they have chosen to ask for food in different situations. different situations: • as Mum to Dad • as Dad (after a hard day) to Mum • as a child to Mum • as a child to a maid • as a customer to a waiter • as a King/Queen to his cook 4 Invite some of the students to share their work in front of the class. The audience comment on the tones of the characters being enacted. Teacher reminds students to pay attention to the tones of their roles in the drama that follows.
Focus: to stimulate students’ imagination Grouping: sma ll groups, then by relating them to the situation in the dra- pairs Space: each group in its own space ma
orders… etc). 3 Students sug gest adjectives to describe people in the photos (e.g. bossy, powerful, proud, impolite, rude, submissive, nice, polite, professional… etc). In preparation for this drama, it is useful for students to understand that people of different status may have different tones and manners. The enactment allows the students to actually show and see the differences in order to deepen and concretise their understanding about tones and status.
Rationale:
The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School) 5
Story Whoosh! (10 min)
So the King told the Cook, ‘I want ham for my dinner, ham for my dinner or it’s OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!’ The Cook quickly took out his pen and paper and jotted down the King’s order. Then the Queen told the Cook, ‘I want cheese for my dinner, cheese for my dinner or it’s OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!’ Again, the Cook wrote down what
1 Teacher shows the book The Royal Dinner and helps students recall the plot and the characters. 2 Teacher asks students to stand in a circle and explains to students that they are going to listen to a story very carefully, and they will take on the role of different people/objects, and jump into the centre of the circle to act out the story together. Different people can play different roles at different times. 3 Teacher reads out the story while students enact the story. Each student must participate at least once in the Story Whoosh! The following narration has been adapted by teachers with original lines extracted from the reader. “Once upon a time, there wa s a Royal Family. There was a bossy King, a wicked Queen, a fuzzy Prince and a ‘ beautiful’ Princess. Every day, the Cook prepared good food for this Royal Family but they didn’t like it because they were bored by good food.
world through listening and enactment
Teacher may modify the narration according to students’ English level.
Teacher narrates the story dramatically with effective use of voice and tones, in order to make the story more vivid and help students gain a better understanding of the story.
Space: students in a big circle Story Whoosh! provides an opportunity for students to turn the text into physical actions which helps consolidate their understanding of the characters and the situations in the story. It is also a very good exercise for active listening.
Rationale:
6
The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School)
‘We hope we all like it,’ the Royal Family said . ‘ We hope we all like it or it’s OFF
At the dining room, there sat the Royal Family. They were all waiting for their dinner impatiently. The Cook told the King, ‘I have a dish to please. It has ham, tomato, onion, and the Queen’s special cheese.’
Back in the kitchen, the Cook told his assistants, ‘They all want something different! They all want something different or it’s OFF WITH MY HEAD!’ He was puzzled and upset. He didn’t know whose order he should follow. So he puzzled and he pondered. He looked and he read. He read and read until he found the perfect recipe. ‘This is it!’ he said. So the Cook and his assistants all worked hard in the kitchen. They stirred and rolled and peeled and sliced. They chipped and chopped and grated and diced. The Cook put the final dish in the oven. Then he mopped his brow and said, ‘I hope they all like it or it’s OFF WITH MY HEAD!’
the Queen wanted. On his way to the kitchen, the Cook met the Prince. He told the Cook, ‘I want tomato for my dinner, tomato for my dinner or it’s OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!’ Next to the Prince was the Princess. She told the Cook, ‘I want onion for my dinner, onion for my dinner or it’s OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!’
The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School) 7
Designing a Uniform for a Cook (10 min)
Experiential Phase Step 6:
Discussion (5 min)
Reflective Phase Step 5: Teacher helps students understand that we should not judge anyone by one’s occupation or the amount of salary one earns. We should respect people from different walks of life and the value of an occupation lies in whether the person respects his/ her job duties.
1 Teacher elicits from students the job nature Materials: paper dolls and clothing items of a cook. 2 Teacher introduces some vocabular y of clothing items (“toque” – a chef ’s hat, a necktie, an apron, a white, double breasted jacket, steel-toe capped shoes).
Focus: to introduce the job nature of a cook Grouping: small groups Space: each group in its own space and the image of a decent cook
1 Teacher asks students what they want to be when they grow up. Students express their choices and the reasons behind. 2 Teacher asks how many students in the class would like to be a cook when they grow up. S/he then leads a discussion on why we need to have cooks in the society, and whether they find the Cook in the story respectful of his job and why.
Focus: to get students thinking about dif- Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space ferent occupations
‘Hmm,’ said the King. ‘It tastes delicious!’ ‘Hmm,’ said the Queen. ‘It tastes nutritious.’ The Prince and the Princess said, ‘This is just right!’ And they ate that pizza to the very last bite. The nervous Cook asked the Royal Family. ‘Is it OFF WITH MY HEAD?’ ‘No,’ they all shouted. ‘We’ ll crown you instead!’”
WITH YOUR HEAD!’ The Cook presented his dish.
Rationale:
In the discussion, teacher will get the students start thinking about cooking as a professional job. This helps build the Cook’s character in the drama.
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The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School)
Round up (5 min)
Reflective Phase Step 8:
Still Image (15 min)
Step 7:
1 Teacher leads a discussion: a. W ho is the cook at your home? (e.g. Mum/Maid/Dad). b. Whom do they cook for? c. How should we treat them? Why? (e.g. We should respect them. They cook for us and take care of us. We should appreciate their work.)
In the presentations, teacher helps students to use the new vocabulary to describe the objects being shown in order to help students get familiarised with the new vocabulary items.
Focus: to explore and consolidate the Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space theme of the lesson
1 Teacher asks students what they can find in the Royal Kitchen. Teacher introduces some vocabulary (e.g. stove, sink, oven, countertop ... etc) of a kitchen. 2 Students work in small groups and use their bodies and simple furniture to create the image of the Royal Kitchen. They can be the objects in the kitchen or the people who are working in the kitchen. 3 Students present their work and teacher invites the audience to describe what the actors are doing.
Teacher guides students to think about the look of a cook who is very decent, respects and loves his job very much.
Focus: to create the work environment of Grouping: small groups Space: each group in its own space the Royal Kitchen
3 Teacher gives out paper dolls and some clothing items to the students. Working in groups, the students spend 5 minutes to design a uniform for the Royal Cook. Each group suggests the use of each item. 4 Students present their design and teacher comments on their works.
Rationale:
This step helps students to understand that being a cook could be a hard job and it is worth people’s respect.
Students can create the kitchen setting in the 3-dimensional space through group work using their bodies and simple furniture or props. When the class is observing and describing the Still Images, they get to use the vocabulary items they have just learned with a purpose.
Rationale:
Creating the look of a decent cook is a role-building process which helps students build up a strong and solid understanding about the central character in the story.
Rationale:
The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School) 9
Still Image (20 min)
Step 10:
Warm Up (Mill around and Miming) (10 min)
1 Teacher guides students to look at a few epi- Materials: sentence strips of the episodes sodes from the story: a. The Cook gets the King’s order. b. The Cook gets the Queen’s order. c. The Cook and his assistants feel frustrated in the kitchen. d. The Cook works hard to cook the meal. e. The Cook presents the meal to the Royal
To encou ra g e pa r ticipation, teacher can take part in the game in the first 2 or 3 rounds as demonstration.
Focus: to review and sequence the story Grouping: 6 small groups Space: each group in its own space that they have learned
1 Students mill around in the room and space out as they do so. 2 When teacher says “freeze”, students stop moving. When teacher says “walk’” everyone walks again. 3 After a few rounds, teacher changes action (run, jump, hop, swim… etc) or asks students to create a gesture of different characters (a movie star, a soldier, a monster… etc)
Focus: to prepare students’ body and mind Grouping: whole class Space: big empty space for the drama
Experiential Phase Step 9:
Teaching Notes
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 3-4 (double lesson)
2 Teacher writes down the keywords the students said on the board.
Students can physicalise ideas and review the story in making and sequencing the Still Images. Teacher can generate more English speaking opportunities among the audience when s/he invites them to describe the images. This can also keep the audience in focus.
Rationale:
Rationale:
In this warm up exercise, students practise again how to control their bodies and to stop moving when teacher calls out “freeze”.
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The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School)
Teacher-in-role (10 min)
Step 11:
The following questions may be asked to help students describe the images: • Where are these people? • Who is this person? (pointing at one of the characters) • Why do you think s/he is a…? • What is s/he doing?
1 Teacher tells students that they are going to meet the King/Queen. S/he is worried about the Prince and the Princess who are not very healthy. They are very picky with food and they eat too much junk food and pizza. 2 Teacher tells students that they are going to get in role as doctors who will give suggestions to the King/Queen. 3 Before stepping in role, teacher elicits ideas from students on what the doctors may advise the King/Queen. Teacher can collect ideas from brainstorming and write them on the board. Some of the ideas may include asking the Prince and Princess to: • do more exercise
To make the Teacher-in-role effective, teacher should remind students the manner of ta l king to the King/ Queen or it’s OFF W ITH YOUR HEADS. The whole class can work out a specia l gesture for greeting the King/Queen (e.g. kneeling down).
Space: students in their own space facing teacher Materials: a crown for Teacherin-role
Focus: students give advice in role as doctors Grouping: whole class
Family. f. The Queen crowns the Cook. 2 Students work in groups to make Still Images of the 6 episodes, each group working on one. All the students in the group must participate to be part of the image. 3 The groups show the Still Images in correct order. 4 When the groups are presenting their works, teacher asks the audience to describe the images.
Students can practise using their knowledge about healthy food and lifestyle to give advice to the King/Queen. This Teacher-in-role activity provides students with an opportunit y to become experts and think in a different perspective.
Rationale:
The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School) 11
Teacher Narration + Discussion (10 min)
Step 12:
Teacher should show the worry of the King/Queen in the meeting, and elicit ideas by asking questions like: • What should my children do more? • What should they eat more? • What should they eat less?
2 Teacher tells students that they are going to get in role as the Cook’s assistants. The assistants will collect food items to design the healthy menu. 3 Teacher gives out f lash cards of different food items, including healthy food, snacks and junk food. Students, in role as the Cook’s assistants, distinguish the healthy food items from the unhealthy ones. They use a basket to collect the healthy food items to be used as the ingredients of their dinner dishes.
Grouping: small groups Space: each group in its own space 1 Teacher steps out of role and narrates, Materials: f lash cards of food “After the meeting, the King/Queen follows items, baskets the doctors’ advice and asks the Cook and his assistants to design a healthy menu for the Prince and the Princess.”
Focus: to identify healthy food items
“Doctors, I am really worried about my children. They have become very unhealthy recently…” (pause for students to ask questions or give advice, and start interacting with them)
• eat more healthy food • go on a diet 4 Teacher tells students that when s/he puts on a crown, s/he becomes the King/Queen. S/he puts on the crown and steps in role to interact with the doctors played by the students. The conversation may begin like this:
As the students work together to collect useful items for the menus, they learn to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy food items.
Rationale:
12
The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School)
Teacher narrates to students what happens to Space: students in their own space the Prince and Princess in the story in the end, Materials: the storybook and helps students understand the importance of having a healthy and balanced diet.
Focus: to consolidate the theme of the lesson Grouping: whole class
1 Teacher introduces the composition of a Materials: f lash cards of food menu (appetizer, soup, main course, dessert) items, Worksheet for Designing with reference to students’ English dictionary. the Royal Family’s Menu 2 Students work in groups, each to work out a menu with the help of the “Worksheet for Designing the Royal Family’s Menu”. 3 Each group reads aloud what they have written in Part 3 of the worksheet. As they do so, the other groups act as the Royal Family members and comment on the dinner plan.
Focus: to create and present the healthy Grouping: small groups Space: each group in its own space menus
Learning Experiences
Teaching Notes
Warm Up (Traffic Light) (10 min)
1 Divide the class into two big groups. One group plays the game first while the other group watches on the side. 2 Teacher stands at one end of the room while students stand at the other end. Teacher
Initiation Phase Focus: to prepare students’ body and mind Grouping: 2 big groups Space: big empty space for the drama Step 15:
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 5-6 (double lesson)
Round Up (5 min)
Reflective Phase Step 14:
Writing + Presentation (25 min)
Step 13:
Rationale:
The menu design and presentation provide an opportunity for the students to practise writing, reading and speaking skills in role as the Royal Cook and his assistants. Also they can speak in role as the Royal Family members to comment on the menu. This way, all the students get plenty of opportunities to speak in role as different people using different tones.
The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School) 13
Story Whoosh! (10 min)
Step 16:
Teacher changes to more advanced instructions when students get more familiar with the game.
Grouping: whole class Teacher tells the students s/he will read aloud Space: students in a big circle an extended version of the story, Af ter the Royal Dinner, based on what they created in New ideas are added to the origithe last lesson. As s/he reads the story, students nal story to extend beyond the enact the characters and actions in a Story ending of the story. Whoosh! This version of the story has been again adapted by the teachers based on the orig- Teacher uses his/her voice and inal story, with some original lines extracted tones to give a dramatic narration of the story in order to help from the reader. students act out the story more “In the dining room, the Royal Family ate their vividly. pizza happily to the last bite. They were very happy with the food made by the Cook. They Again, the content of the narradid not shout OFF WITH YOUR HEAD! They tion can be modified according crowned the Cook instead. to students’ English level.
Focus: to recap the story
6
5
4
3
becomes a traffic light and call out the colours red or green. Students respond to the colours. When teacher calls out “green light”, the students move towards teacher. When teacher calls out “red light”, students stop where they are. Teacher varies the instructions by saying “green light – walk quickly/slowly/sideways/ jump/skip/hop”… etc. Teacher then calls out “orange light” which means going backwards. Students must move in the same manner they were moving in previously but backwards. Repeat the game with group 2.
Teacher brings students new ideas based on details they already know from the original story.
Rationale:
Rationale:
Students undergo ice-breaking activities while they learn to control their bodies, listen to and follow teacher’s instructions.
14
The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School)
Therefore, the Cook and the assistants got back to the kitchen again. They put their heads together to think of a good menu for the Royal
One day, when the Cook and his assistants were making pizza again for the Royal Family, the King and the Queen came to the kitchen to see them. All the people in the kitchen were very surprised and happy, for it was the first time the King and the Queen were in the kitchen. However, the King and the Queen were not happy. They were worried. They told the Cook and the assistants that they were worried about the Prince and the Princess who were getting fatter and unhealthier each day, for they had eaten too many pizzas. The King gave his order, ‘My cook, I now order you and your assistants to work out a menu with healthy food for my son and daughter. Healthy food for our dinner or it’s OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!’
The day after the Royal Family crowned the Cook, the Cook and his assistants went to see the Royal Family. The Cook and his assistants knelt down and asked what they would like for dinner. Before the King and the Queen could give an answer, the Prince and the Princess shouted out their orders, ‘We want pizza for my dinner, pizza for my dinner or it’s OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!’ The Royal Family then ate pizza that night. The same thing happened again and again for weeks.
The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School) 15
Still Image + Thought
Experiential Phase Step 17:
1 Teacher invites some students to make Still Materials: sentence strips of the Images of some new episodes from the story. episodes a. The Royal Family ate the pizza to the last
Focus: to enact the extended version of the Grouping: 6 small groups Space: each group in its own space story using Still Image
Then the Royal Family started their dinner. The nervous Cook asked the Royal Family, ‘Is it OFF WITH MY HEAD?’”
At the dining room , the re sat the R oyal Family. T he y we re all wait ing for the ir dinne r impat ie ntly. T he P r ince and the Princess wondered if they could eat their favour ite pizza again . The King and the Queen wished to have something healthier. The Cook told the King, ‘Your Majesty, we are proud to present your dinner tonight. We hope you will have an enjoyable dinner.’
The Cook and his assistants started working hard to cook the meal. They stirred and rolled and peeled and sliced. They chipped and chopped and g rated and diced . They worked hard for hours until the Cook put the f inal dish on the dining table. Then he mopped his brow and said, ‘I hope they all like it or it’s OFF WITH MY HEAD!’
Family. They read many books. They tried out many dishes. The Cook did not say YES to all the sug gestions until they came up with a real good menu . The Cook shouted happily, ‘This is it!’
16
The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School)
Reflective Discussion (10 min)
Reflective Phase Step 18:
Tracking (20 min)
Based on the ending that the students have created in the last step, teacher leads a ref lective discussion: a. Why were the Prince and the Princess still
Teacher encourages the group enacting “Image f ” to create the new ending – who in the Royal Family likes the new menu, and who does not? How would their reactions be?
Teacher encourages the group enacting “Image e” to make use of the knowledge about menu writing in Step 13. Get them to think about what the new dish could be.
Focus: to consolidate students’ experiences Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space in the drama
bite. b. The Prince and the Princess ate pizza everyday and became very unhealthy. c. The worried King and Queen talked to the Cook in the kitchen. Everybody was surprised. d. The Cook and his assistants worked hard together to invent another new healthy menu. e. The Cook presented the new healthy meal to the Royal Family. f. The Royal Family told the Cook whether they like the dinner. 2 Students work in groups to make Still Images of the episodes, with each group working on a different one. Groups who have done similar episodes before should choose a different image this time. 3 All the students in the group must take part in the images. They could be a person, an object, a piece of furniture or other elements. 4 Students present their Still Images. Teacher taps on the shoulders of the characters for Thought Tracking.
Rationale:
S t u d e nt s revis e t h e s kills an d knowledge they learned in previous lessons by enacting a different version of the story. The Still Images allow students to consolidate their understanding of what they have heard through acting it out physically. Creating the Still Images is also a preparation for the students to create a Short Scene.
The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School) 17
Performance of a Collective Short Play (10 min)
Step 20:
Short Scene (20 min)
Experiential Phase Step 19:
Grouping: small groups 1 The groups perform all the episodes in one Space: each group in its own space go in correct order. 2 Teacher congratulates the class for putting together a short play collaboratively.
Focus: to do a short play collaboratively
1 Students turn their Still Images into Short Materials: sentence strips of story Scenes. Every student in the group must episodes take part in the scenes. Each student should speak at least 3 lines. 2 Students create and rehearse their scenes, while the teacher goes around the groups to help them with staging, blocking, or use of tones… etc., according to each group’s specific needs.
Teacher guides the students to consider the importance of a balanced diet with a wide variety of food, and that it is crucial to do enough exercise.
Focus: to transform the Still Images into Grouping: 6 small groups Space: each group in its own space Short Scenes
unhealthy after the Cook invented the pizza? Was there anything wrong with the pizza? b. Would the Royal Family become a healthy family with the new dish that the cook has invented? Why? c. What problems does the Royal Family have in their eating habits? Why were the Prince and Princess still unhealthy after the Cook has worked so hard to invent new menus? d. What should they do to become healthy?
Students experience how to make and perform a play collabora tively. Rounding up the unit with this performance gives students a sense of achievement.
Rationale:
T h e S till I m a g e s an d T h o u ght Tracking in Step 17 help students develop their Short Scenes as they start thinking in terms of action and dialogues in a focused way.
Rationale:
18
The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School)
The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School)
The Royal Dinner Worksheet for Speech Bubble
Group members: Name: Class: Class:
What do we say when we ask for food?
(
)
19
20
The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School)
The Royal Dinner Worksheet for Designing the Royal Family’s Menu
Group members: Name:
(
)
Class: Class:
Part 1: The Royal Family wants different food. The Cook needs to prepare a menu for them. Match the pictures with the names in the following. Write the letters in the brackets. A. B. C. D. E. F. G.
onion soup cheese burger apple pie sushi chicken curry spaghetti with meat sauce pork chop with vegetables
H. I. J. K. L. M.
N.
1.
hot lemon tea chocolate ice-cream coffee beef curry soft drinks soup noodle cheese cake
O. P. Q. R. S. T. U.
2. (
)
4.
3. (
)
5. (
)
7.
(
)
10.
)
(
)
13.
)
(
)
16.
)
(
)
19.
)
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
18. (
)
20. (
)
15.
17. (
(
12.
14. (
)
9.
11. (
( 6.
8. (
egg and ham sandwich green salad French bread pizza onion rings hot dog tomato salad
21. (
)
The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School)
The Royal Dinner Worksheet for Designing the Royal Family’s Menu
Name:
(
Class:
Part 2: Can you design a menu for the Royal Family with their favourite food? Use the information in Part 1 and the Heinle Dictionary (p.82-102) to help you.
Menu Starter Soup Main Course Dessert Drink
)
21
22
The Royal Dinner (S.K.H. Tak Tin Lee Shiu Keung Primary School)
The Royal Dinner Worksheet for Designing the Royal Family’s Menu
Name:
(
Class:
Part 3: Presentation – your group is going to present the menu to the Royal Family. Use the following script to help you.
“Your Majesty, we are proud to present your dinner tonight with (food) as the starter with (food) soup. The main course is (food). For the dessert, we have prepared (food). Your drink tonight will be
(drink).
We hope you will have an enjoyable dinner.”
)
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
G r ad e L P r i m a e v e l: Nu m b ry 6 er les s o o f 7 (45 m ns: i n e ac h)
The Happy Prince Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School
Authors: Wong Ka-Lo Caroline, Wong Lok-Yan Julia, Lam Yin Krissy (Instructor)
Background Pretext Expected Learning Outcomes Text Types Involved Drama Strategies Involved Materials/Equipment The Unit Plan: Lesson 1 (single lesson) Lessons 2-3 (double lesson) Lessons 4-5 (double lesson) Lessons 6-7 (double lesson) Worksheets: Worksheet for Circle of Life Worksheet for Diary of the Poor Worksheet for Preparation for Conscience Alley Worksheet for the Swallow’s Report Worksheet for Reflection
2
3 4 6 12 16 22 23 24 25 26
2
The Happy Prince Grade Level: Primary 6 Number of lessons: 7 (45 min each)
Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School
Authors: Wong Ka-Lo Caroline, Wong Lok-Yan Julia, Lam Yin Krissy (Instructor)
Background: This unit has been written for a group of students with some drama experience in the school’s extracurricular drama activities and in the English lessons last year. This is the second year in which the teachers have taken part in the Alliance Programme. The reader The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde has been selected as the pretext for the drama unit plan because all the teachers involved found it a beautifully written children literature which is very engaging and moving with deep meaning and human issues for students to explore. As it is a reader, there is high flexibility in the language focus. The main objective of this unit plan is to create an engaging experience for the students to explore the moral issues in the story which are about poverty and sacrificing oneself to help others. The teachers also wanted to extend the exploration to the society in which the students are living nowadays, to guide them to look at the causes of poverty and the imbalance distribution of resources in the world.
Pretext: The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde
Expected Learning Outcomes: 1. Students enjoy and learn the famous children literature, The Happy Prince, by the renowed British writer Oscar Wilde. 2. Students experience the struggles of the characters and explore the moral issues in and through the story of The Happy Prince. 3. Students use English meaningfully through playing different roles in the story. 4. Students extend the knowledge learned in the story to reflect on their daily lives.
Text Types Involved: 1. Character Profile
2. Diary
3. Report
4. Story
The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School)
Drama Strategies Involved: 1. Circle of Life 4. Short Scene 7. Teacher-in-role 10. Whole Group Improvisation
2. Conscience Alley 5. Spectrum of Difference 8. Teacher Narration 11. Writing-in-role (diary)
Materials / Equipment: Lesson 1:
Lessons 2-3:
Lessons 4-5:
Lessons 6-7:
A profile of the Happy Prince Shiny paper in silver, gold, blue and red Scissors and glue Blu-tack PowerPoint of Prince’s image (optional) PowerPoint for narration Story book Swallow hand puppet The Happy Prince statue made by the class Worksheet for Circle of Life A scarf for Teacher-in-role Worksheet for Diary of the Poor The Happy Prince statue made by the class Worksheet for Preparation for Conscience Alley Worksheet for the Swallows’ Report Swallow hand puppet PowerPoint for narration (optional) The Happy Prince statue made by the class Swallow hand puppet Self-stick memo pads Worksheet for Reflection Computer with internet access Projector A chair Some blank paper
3. Empty Chair 6. Still Image 9. Thought Tracking
3
Learning Experiences
Teaching Notes
Step 2:
Making the Happy Prince Statue (20 min)
1 Teacher asks questions to get students
Students are encouraged to create their own design for the Happy Prince Statue. They do not have to follow the pictures on the story book strictly. They can add more details to the Happy Prince.
Materials: a big Happy Prince profile, shiny paper in silver, gold, blue and red colour, scissors and g lue, blu-tack for sticking the shiny paper onto the image, PowerPoint to show what a prince is and how a prince looks like (optional)
Focus: to create the life of the Happy Grouping: small groups of 4-6 Space: each group in its own space Prince when he was still alive
to learn a story called The Happy Prince. Teacher can ask students if they know anything about the story, whether they know what is a Prince and how a Prince looks like. 2 Teacher shows a large blank outline of the Happy Prince Statue drawn on a big piece of paper, about the height of the board. Teacher sticks the outline on the board for all the students to see clearly. Students work in small groups, each group is responsible for designing and decorating one part of the Happy Prince’s body with shiny colour paper. The students cut the paper into small pieces in any shape, and stick the paper onto the part of the statue they are responsible for. 3 Students spend 10 min to decorate the part of the statue that has been assigned to each group. Afterwards, teacher puts all the parts together to form the Happy Prince Statue. The Happy Prince Statue will stay in the classroom until the end of the teaching unit.
Grouping: small groups of 4-6 Initiation Phase Focus: to create the Happy Prince Statue 1 Teacher tells students that they are going Space: each group in its own space Step 1:
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lesson 1 (single lesson) Rationale:
The purpose of getting the whole class create one Happy Prince Statue together is to give the students a strong sense of ownership towards the Happy Prince Statue. The Statue belongs to the whole class, just like the Statue belongs to the town in the story. The fact that the Statue will be displayed in the classroom until the entire unit is finished would help increase the sense of ownership, and help remind the students of the story and the main character.
4
The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School)
Brainstorming (5 min) + Still Image (20 min)
thinking about the life of the Happy Prince when he was still alive. Students stay in the small groups. They can brainstorm ideas about the Prince’s life and report their ideas to the whole class. Teacher can give a few minutes for the students to think about the questions before getting them to share the ideas. 2 Teacher could ask the following guiding questions to help students generate ideas: a. Why was the Prince called the Happy Prince? b. What did he do in the Palace? c. Why did people make him a beautiful gold statue and put it in the centre of the town? d. How long has the statue been standing there in the town? OR How many years ago did the Prince die? 3 Teacher collects all the groups’ ideas and writes them on the board. Teacher tries to get as many ideas as possible about what the Happy Prince used to do in the Palace when he was still alive, and let each group choose one idea to create a Still Image. No idea should be repeated. Students spend 10 min to prepare the Still Images. Each group then takes turn to present their Still Image to the rest of the class. If students are really stuck with getting enough ideas, teacher can prompt them by asking them what the Prince would do in the following places/events in the Palace: • Dining room • Ball room • Garden • Living room • Bedroom • Birthday party
It is important for the teacher to refrain from telling the students directly what the Happy Prince’s life was like when he was still alive. Teacher should ask guiding questions to let students come up with the ideas by themselves.
Rationale:
After creating the statue, the students explore the background of the central character of the story, the Happy Prince, in order to get to know more about his life and what kind of a Prince he used to be. The understanding of the character would develop in the students a stronger empathy for the character which would deepen their engagement in the drama. Therefore teachers should do their best to help students generate their own ideas, rather than telling them directly how the Happy Prince used to live in the Palace.
The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School) 5
Teacher Narration (5 min) + Discussion (5 min)
Experiential Phase Step 4:
Still Image (10 min)
Focus: to learn Still Images
Step 3:
Teaching Notes
Mater ia ls: t he Happy Pri nce Statue made by the class, swal“Winter was coming. A swallow was on low hand puppet, PowerPoint of his way f lying to warm Egypt. One night, the narration for comprehension, he saw the statue of the Happy Prince and story book decided to sleep there. But when the Swallow was putting his head under his wing, Teacher manipulates the hand a large drop of water fell on him. Then puppet in the narration to show another drop fell. He looked up, and found the story. that the Prince was weeping. The Swallow asked the Prince why he was crying. The
1 Teacher narrates the following,
Focus: to learn more about the Happy Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space Prince’s city
Grouping: groups of different sizes Teacher calls out the names of different ob- Space: empty space jects/scenes. Students use their bodies to create the objects/scenes and freeze. The game can be Ideas for Still Images: done from pairs to bigger groups of 6 or even 8 Knife and fork, a chair, a fan, a people. After calling out the size of the group house, an airplane, a dinosaur, and the name of the object/scene, teacher will a wolf catching some chicken, a count down the time while students are form- group of children playing footing the images. When the teacher calls out ball, a car accident… etc. “Freeze”, everyone must freeze and teacher can check if anyone is moving. Teacher can choose images with clear body and facial expressions and stress to the class that this is what makes good Still Images.
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 2-3 (double lesson)
The purpose of this warm up activity is to get students more familiarised with the idea of freezing their bodies while pretending to be different things and people. It is not necessary to actually teach the term “Still Image”. It is more important that students learn how to play different roles/objects with clear body and facial expressions.
Rationale:
6
The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School)
Still Image + Thought Tracking (20 min)
Step 5:
1 Students work in small groups of about 6 people. Each group creates a Still Image for one of the sad things that the Happy Prince saw, i.e. the sick boy and his poor mother, the writer who was very cold, and the match girl with no shoes. 2 The whole class can be divided into 6 groups. Two groups will work on the same theme. Apart from the main characters in the scene who were shown in the pictures of the story book, students can also create other characters who may appear in the picture. Besides, they can also act as objects or other things in order to help enrich the meaning
In the discussion, teacher asks questions to check students’ understanding about the narration as well as the reader. Teacher can tell students to look at the story book again to find out what misery the Prince saw. (In the story book, what the Prince saw were: a sick boy and his poor mother, a writer who was too cold to write, a match girl who had no shoes.)
Focus: to create the unhappy lives of the Grouping: small groups of 4-6 Space: each group in its own space people in the Happy Prince’s city
2 Teacher leads a discussion by asking the following guiding questions: a. Where was the Swallow flying to? Why? b. Why did the Swallow choose to sleep on the Happy Prince Statue? c. Why was the Prince crying? d. What were the sad things that the Prince had seen in the city? What was happening to the people?
Prince said he cried because now he could see all the misery in the city which he had never imagined before.”
The Still Images allow students to concretise their understanding of the miserable lives by enacting them physically. This would contrast with the life they have just created in Step 2 about the lives of people in the Palace. The bodily enactment gives students deeper understand about the people and the situations.
Rationale:
The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School) 7
1 Teacher tells the students that having ex- Materials: Worksheet for Circle plored the lives of the people in the Palace of Life and the city, the whole class is going to do a drama together. The students can choose Students can draw and/or write any role they want to play – anyone from the in the worksheet. The square Palace or from the city. They decide on who about the view towards poor they are by completing the “Worksheet for people is important because it Circle of Life”. helps prepare the students for the 2 Teacher can ask students to share what they next step. Teacher could suggest have written/drawn about their characters roles for the students if they are with someone sitting next to them. Teacher really stuck, but should do his/ can also ask some of the students to share her best to leave more space for what they have written/drawn with the the students to create their own whole class. roles.
Focus: to prepare students for the role they Grouping: individual Space: students in their own space are going to take
Whole Group Improvisation
Step 7:
1 Teacher tells students that now they are go- Materials: a scarf for Teacher-ining to enact a scene altogether. The classroom role
Focus: to get students think about if they Grouping: whole class Space: big empty space Teacher-in-role + would offer help to people in need
Circle of Life (15 min)
Step 6:
of the pictures. 3 Students will be given time to prepare the Still Images, as well as Thought Tracking. Teacher tells the students that they will be allowed to talk in the picture even when they cannot move. Each student thinks about what his/her character would say in the scene. Each group will then take turn to show the Still Image. The teacher taps each person in the image and asks him/her to speak out his/her line.
Before meeting the Teacher-in-role, it is important to prepare the students for the role they are going to play, so that they understand who they are and how they are going to interact with the Teacherin-role.
Rationale:
8
The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School)
(15 min)
The Teacher-in-role interacts with the students in role. When the improvisation has
“Good morning everybody. I am very poor. I live in a very small and smelly house with my son. My son is sick a nd we have no money to buy anything. Can you give me something to eat?”
will become the marketplace in the city. They will all be in the marketplace in role as the people they have just created. Teacher asks the students to find their own places in the marketplace and think about what they do there. 2 When the students have found their places, the teacher tells the students that s/he is going to play a very poor, crippled, dirty and smelly woman, whose son is very sick. She has no money to take her son to see a doctor. She does not even have the money to buy any food for her son. She has come to the marketplace to ask for help. Teacher tells the students to react to the poor woman in the roles they have created. 3 Teacher tells students that when she wears the scarf, she becomes the poor woman and she is not the teacher anymore. 4 The scene starts with students in role as people in the marketplace doing everyday activities. The teacher then gets in role as the poor woman. These could be her opening lines: In order to prevent students from giving over-simplistic responses to the situation, it is useful to remind them that people in the real world do react to a poor woman like this very differently. We do not always need to be “good” people in a drama, and refusing to help the old woman does not necessarily mean the person is bad. The teacher can guide students to consider: a. Is your character rich or poor? b. How would s/he react to the dirty, smelly woman on seeing her? What would you say? c. Does your character like poor people? Why?
Teacher can divide the marketplace into different areas for the interaction, depending on the students’ ability and class size. When the marketplace is divided into zones, the people will be able to interact with the poor woman in small groups. Before meeting the Teacher-in-role, the small groups could be given time to think about what they would say to the poor woman, and how they would react to her. The purpose of this improvisation is to let students explore the struggle of whether to help the poor woman, why they decide to help or not to help, and what do they do to help, according to the different roles that they are playing in the drama.
Rationale:
The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School) 9
Teacher Narration (5 min)
Step 9:
Reflective Discussion (5 min)
Reflective Phase Step 8:
Teacher tells students that there were many Materials: the Happy Prince Statpoor people in the city who needed help. The ue made by the whole class, the Prince saw them all, so he asked the Swallow to swallow puppet help him. Teacher wears or holds the swal“The Happy Prince asked the Swallow to bring low hand puppet and takes away the poor mother the ruby out of his sword-hilt, the ruby and the eyes from the so that she can buy some food for her son who prince statue while narrating the is sick. The next night, when the Swallow was story. starting for Egypt, the Prince asked him to stay for one night longer. The Prince said he saw a young writer who could not write anymore because it was too cold and his fingers were frozen. The Prince said he had no ruby anymore and now only his sapphire eyes were left. He
Focus: teacher narrates and animates the Gouping: whole class Space: students in their own space story
The teacher leads a reflective discussion on the above scene by asking students the following questions: a. was the role that you played? b. Why did/didn’t you help the poor woman? c. How did you react when she went close to you? Why did you react that way? d. How did you help her? Why did you help her?
d. Is your character able to help the poor people? Why?
Focus: to reflect on the choices and actions Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space in the drama
carried on for long enough for different voices to be heard from the class, the teacher steps out of role by taking off the scarf.
Rationale:
The physical animation of how the Swallow takes away the ruby and the eyes of the Happy Prince will deeply engage the students, who have made the statue themselves.
Rationale:
It is important that the teacher holds a reflective discussion with the students after acting out the above scene. It helps them gain deeper understanding of the choices and actions of different people, as well as looking at different ways of helping the poor woman.
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The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School)
Writing-in-role (diary) (10 min)
Step 10:
Gouping: individual 1 Teacher tells the students they are going to Space: students in their own space get in role as one of the poor people that Materials: Worksheet for Diary the Prince had helped. (e.g. the sick boy, the of the Poor writer, the poor woman or the match girl). They have received help from the Swallow, Prompts: and it totally changed their day, or even a. Who are you? their lives. They write a diary to express b. What happened to you? their feelings and their thoughts about what c. What was the problem you has happened. were facing? How did you feel? 2 When the students have finished writing, d. How did you feel when you some of them can be invited to share the received something so valuable diary with the class. If the students cannot from the Swallow? finish writing the diary in class, they can e. How did you use the ruby/sapfinish it at home and bring it back in the phire? next lesson. Teacher can also ask students to share whether they have been helped by people when they were in need.
Focus: to think and write in-role
Afterwards, the Swallow was getting ready to start for Egypt again. But the Happy Prince asked the Swallow to stay for one more night. The Prince said this time he saw a little match girl who had no shoes. Now he has only one eye left, he asked the Swallow to pluck out his eye and give it to her. The swallow did what Happy Prince told him to do.”
asked the Swallow to pluck out one of his eyes and take it to the writer, so that the writer could buy some charcoal to warm up his house. The Swallow did what the Happy Prince told him to do.
Rationale:
Through writing a diary, students express feelings and thoughts inrole as the poor people. It helps them to consider how it feels like to be helped when they are most in need. When teacher extends the sharing to the students’ real life experiences, it will also help them appreciate further the kind and generous people who would offer help to others.
The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School) 11
Recap of the last lesson + Discussion + Preparation for the Conscience Alley (15 min)
2 Teacher asks students to discuss: a. What would happen to the Swallow if he didn’t join the team to fly to Egypt? b. What would happen to the Prince if the Swallow leaves? c. If you were the Swallow what would you do?
In the discussion of what would happen to the Swallow and to the Prince, teacher can write dow n st udents’ idea s on t he board. Students can later on use them for writing the reasons on
1 Teacher shows the Happy Prince statue Materials: the Happy Prince Statue, Worksheet for Preparation for from the last lesson and says, Conscience Alley “In the last lesson, we learned that the little Swallow helped the Happy Prince a lot. Do you remember what the Swallow did to help the Prince?” (students’ answer) “Yes, the Swallow helped the Prince pluck out the ruby on his sword-hilt and his sapphire eyes and gave them to the poor people. So now, the Prince has no eyes, and he cannot see anymore. However, the Swallow himself got something very important to do. Children, do you still remember?” (pause for students’ answer) “Right! The Swallow needed to join its team and f ly to warm Egypt before the winter came. Can you imagine if the Swallow did not fly to Egypt, what would happen to him?”
Focus: to recap the last lesson and to pre- Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space pare for the Conscience Alley
Step 11:
Teaching Notes
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 4-5 (double lesson)
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The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School)
Conscience Alley (20 min)
Step 12:
1 After students have finished writing, teacher tells students to stay with their partners. The pairs which have decided to stay will take their chairs and go to the right side of the room. The pairs which have decided to leave for Egypt will take their chairs and go to the left side of the room. 2 All the pairs on the right side of the room form a straight line with their chairs – each pair stands behind one chair. Similarly, all the pairs on the left side of the room will form a straight line with their chairs, facing the line on the right – each pair stands behind one chair. 3 When the students are ready, teacher tells the students that now the Swallow will fly through the alley, “When the Swallow flies next to you, you and your partner have to read aloud your opinion to the Swallow, Teacher w i l l ma nipu late the swallow puppet and make it f ly through the alley. The Swallow will not speak but only listen to the opinions, as if the students were his thoughts or inner voices.
Teacher has to remind students that they are speaking in role as the Swallow.
For more able students, teacher may encourage them to write down deeper reasons.
ing each other Materials: completed Worksheets for Preparation for Conscience Alley, swallow hand puppet
the worksheet. This writing is to prepare them for the Conscience Alley, when they have to convince the Swallow to stay or to leave.
Focus: to explore the dilemma of choosing Gouping: pairs Space: students in two lines facmy own life or many other people’s life
Would you stay to help the Happy Prince? Or would you leave immediately to f ly to Egypt? Why? 3 Teacher tells students to find a partner who has the same opinion (stay or leave) and stay with the partner to form a pair. Each pair writes down their decision and reason on the worksheet provided. Students spend about 5 minutes to write the ideas down.
The purpose of the Conscience Alley is to let students explore why the Swallow would stay to help the Happy Prince by risking or even sacrificing its own life, and to explore what pros and cons the Swallow had considered.
Rationale:
By working in pairs, students have a partner to discuss with and to come up with an idea together. The preparation is important to help the students think more carefully about their opinions and reasons, and to articulate their ideas clearly with words. The preparation will also help them feel more confident in the Conscience Alley when they have to speak as the Swallow. Having the students speak in pairs can help increase their confidence level, as well as save time for the Conscience Alley, especially when the class size is big.
Rationale:
The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School) 13
Discussion + Short Scene (30 min)
Step 14:
Teacher Narration (5 min)
Experiential Phase Step 13: Materials: PowerPoint for the narration (optional)
1 Students work in small groups of 4 to 6. Teacher asks students what other miserable things could be happening in the city. Students spend 2 or 3 minutes to brainstorm ideas. Teacher then asks the groups to share their ideas and writes down all the ideas collected on the board. 2 When all the groups have shared their ideas, there will be many ideas on the board. Each group can then choose one idea to work on. However, no idea should be repeated. Each
It is ver y important to a l low time for students to come up with their own ideas, and teacher should do his/her best to acknowledge the students’ ideas, or
Materials: students are encouraged to use their imagination to use whatever objects which are available in the classroom as props in the Short Scenes
Focus: to understand more about the mis- Gouping: small groups of 4-6 Space: each group in its own space erable lives of the people in the city
“At last, the Swallow decided to stay because he was deeply moved by the Happy Prince. Now the Happy Prince could not see anymore. The Swallow wanted to stay with him and continue to help him. The Happy Prince wanted the Swallow to f ly to different places in the city, to find out more about the lives of the people in the city and to report to him the misery that the people were experiencing.”
Teacher narrates,
Focus: to announce the Swallow’s choice Gouping: whole class Space: students in their own space and reveal the next part of the story
and to do your best to convince him!” Teacher tells students that s/he will wear the swallow puppet to play the Swallow again. The Swallow flies through the alley to listen to all the pairs’ opinions and reasons.
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The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School)
group will create a Short Scene to show a certain aspect of the miserable lives of the people in the Happy Prince’s city. 3 Students spend 10-15 min to prepare their Short Scenes. Each group takes turn to present its Short Scene at its own space while the rest of the class sit on the f loor as the audience.
Tips for classroom management and for the preparation of the next task: Before the presentation of the Short Scenes, teacher tells all the groups that they must watch the other groups’ Short Scenes very attentively, carefully and quietly, because later they will play the Swallow and report all the stories back to the Prince.
While the students are preparing for the Short Scenes, teacher can go to the groups to help them by asking the following questions: a. Who could be there in the scene? b. Are there only the poor people in the scene? Are there also the rich people? c. What are the people doing? d. Where are they? e. W hen is it happen i ng? At night? In the morning? f. What is so miserable about the scene?
to help students articulate their ideas by asking good g uiding questions.
Rationale:
The miserable lives of the people are not described in the stor y book. This provides a very good space for the students to use their imagination to fill in the blank parts of the story. The acting out of the misery will help students understand more about why the Happy Prince would decide to sacrifice his own body to help the poor people.
The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School) 15
After watching the scenes, students organise and write down what they have learned about the miserable lives of the people. They write the report as if they were the Swallow and read aloud their reports to the Prince.
Focus: to report the misery to the Prince Gouping: small groups of 4-6 Space: each group in its own space Materials: the Happy Prince Statue, Worksheet for the Swallow’s Report
Teacher Narration (10 min)
Focus: to narrate the ending of the story
Step 16:
Suddenly, the people in the city realized that the Happy Prince Statue was looking very ugly Someone sug gested pulling down the statue,
Soon, the winter got colder and colder. It snowed a lot every day. What happened to the Swallow? It died because of the cold and snowy weather. The Swallow fell on the Prince’s feet.
When teacher narrates the part about the Swallow dying, teacher takes off the swallow puppet, stuck it on the bottom of the statue. Then when it gets to the part about the statue being pulled
came dull and grey.
Teaching Notes
Grouping: whole class Teacher wears the swallow puppet and narrates, Space: students in their own space Materials: the Happy Prince Stat“Day after day, the Happy Prince told the ue, swallow hand puppet Swallow to take off his golden skin and give it to the poor people. (Teacher uses the Swallow During the narration, teacher puppet to tear off the golden skin of the Happy animates the actions with the Prince statue made by the class, and let the stu- swallow puppet and the Happy dents see the beautiful prince is no longer beau- Prince Statue, to let the students tiful and shiny.) Now the statue was dull and see the changes happening to the grey and the Swallow was very tired. statue and how it gradually be-
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 6-7 (double lesson)
Report Back (20 min)
Reflective Phase Step 15:
This part of narration needs to be animated in order to create a very engaging experience for the students. Since they have made the Happy Prince Statue themselves, and they have been working with the swallow puppet for several lessons, they have special ownership and connection with the two characters, and it would allow students to understand the story affectively. This affective experience will create the opportunit y for deeper reflection in the next step.
Rationale:
The report back helps students organise what they have seen through writing as a group. Acting out and watching the Short Scenes help them articulate their ideas.
Rationale:
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The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School)
Empty Chair (20 min)
Step 17:
2 Students will be given time to write down what they want to say on the memo paper provided by the teacher. 3 While students are writing, teacher prepares an empty chair and puts it in front of the
“So, the Happy Prince Statue and the Swallow disappeared from the city forever. And very soon, people even forgot about the Happy Prince. Children, how do you feel about what has happened to the Happy Prince and the Swallow? What do you think about what they have done to help the poor people? Would you do the same if you were them? If you could talk to the Prince or the Swallow, what would you say to them? Do you have questions that you want to ask them? Now, let’s write something in remembrance of them. You can write down whatever you want to tell them.”
1 Teacher says,
If time allows, teacher can let the students read aloud what is written
Materials: self-stick memo pads, a chair
down, teacher pulls down the statue so that it disappears from the blackboard.
Focus: to commemorate the Happy Prince Grouping: individual Space: students in their own space and the Swallow
Suddenly, the people in the city realized that the Happy Prince Statue was looking very ugly Someone suggested pulling down the statue, especially the rich people; they did not like the statue anymore because it had become very ugly. So the people pulled down the statue. On the bottom of the statue, they found the dead body of a swallow and they threw it away.”
Rationale:
Af ter experiencing the drama, the students have explored the lives of the people in the Palace, the misery of the poor people in the city, the feelings of receiving help when one is in need, and the dilemma of choosing one’s own life or other people’s lives. Now, when they learn about the ending of the story, they get a chance to look back at the whole story, and to reflect on the choices and actions done by the Prince and the Swallow. The ritualistic activit y provides a channel for students to process their emotions upon hearing a sad story about death.
The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School) 17
Spectrum of Difference (20 min)
Step 18:
“Now children, I would like you to think about how much you agree with the Prince and the Swallow’s choice. Imagine there is
1 Teacher asks students: a. Why did the Prince and the Swallow give up their own lives to help the people in need? b. Do we have this kind of people in our daily lives? Who are they? c. If you were the Prince or the Swallow, would you do what they have done? Why? 2 Teacher says,
Focus: to think about one’s personal values
class. When students have finished writing, 4 Students will be given time to write down what they want to say on the memo paper provided by the teacher. 5 While students are writing, teacher prepares an empty chair and puts it in front of the class. When students have finished writing, teacher explains to the students that the empty chair represents the place where the Happy Prince Statue used to be in the city. Two students will be invited each time to come out to stick the memo papers on the empty chair as an act to commemorate the Happy Prince and the Swallow. 6 Afterwards, teacher may read some memos aloud to the class. Teacher can keep the chair in the classroom for a day, so that students can take a look at what the others have written during recess or lunch time.
Teacher can allow students to write down their ideas in Part 1 of the “Worksheet for Reflection” to help them do the sharing.
Gouping: individual Space: students stand along the spectrum Materials: Worksheet for Reflection
This is a ritual to commemorate the Happy Prince and the Swallow. Therefore it should be done with an appropriate mood in which the students are seriously expressing their feelings and opinions about what the Prince and the Swallow have done. It is thus important for teacher to use a sensitive tone and ask good questions to help students reflect.
on the memo before they stick the memos onto the chair. Teacher could let students use the microphone when they read aloud the content on the memo so that they can keep a gentle tone.
After saying something to commemorate the Prince and the Swallow, it is still worthwhile for the students to explore their own values by thinking about how much they would agree or disagree with what the Prince and the Swallow have done.
Rationale:
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The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School)
Out-of-role Reflection – Part 1 (20 min)
Step 19:
2 Teacher shows a video (of his/her own choice) that shows the very varied and contrasting living conditions of people from different parts of the world. 3 After watching the video, students give examples on the followings and discuss the
The fill-in-the-blank exercise aims to help students understand
Grouping: small groups of 4-6 Space: each group in its own space 1 Teacher says, Materials: a computer with access “In the story, the people in the Palace were to the internet, a projector rich. They could enjoy good food and happy lives. People in the city were poor. They had very miserable lives. Now, let’s watch a short video clip which is about our world today. See if you can f ind any common ideas between the story and the video.”
Focus: to extend the learning to real life
3 When students have all found their places, teacher can invite them to share their opinions by letting them use the microphone. If time is tight, then teacher can choose just some of the students to share.
a ruler in the room, the end of the left side represents 0 and the end of the right side represents 10. If you totally disagree with what the Prince and the Swallow have done, you can stand on 0. If you totally agree with the Prince and the Swallow, you can stand on 10. And if you are some where in-between 0 and 10, please find the best place to stand.”
The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School) 19
Out-of-role Reflection – Part 2 (20 min)
Step 20:
“Do you know how the poorest people live in Hong Kong? Do you know some people in the third-world countries work very hard but earn only very little money? Do you remember the earthquakes in Sichuan and Haiti? As one of the people in this world, what can we do to make our world a better place?”
1 Teacher says,
Focus: to think about one’s personal values
5 Teacher asks students to get in small groups to discuss these questions.
“What has the video told us? Do you think that all the people in the world are happy and healthy? Do all the people live safely and peacefully? Why? Why are some countries and some people so rich, while some are so poor? Is it just because of luck? What have we done to make that happen?”
4 Teacher asks students to consider,
Rich people Rich countries e.g. _______, ______ Poor people Poor countries or countries in wars or after natural disasters e.g. ______, _______ The Happy Prince Donors The Swallow Volunteers
similarities between the story and the video.
Teacher can encourage students to share their ideas with their parents when they go home.
Gouping: small groups of 4-6 Space: each group in its own space Materials: blank paper for writing
In the discussion, it is important to ask good questions and to let students express their original opinions.
some of the dramatic symbols in the story. The characters and their situations represent people with different social status, different communities or even different countries.
After reflecting on the values and extending the learning to real life, this task gets students to think about practical actions they can take in their daily lives to help the poor people in their community or even in the world.
Rationale:
This part of reflection allows students to extend the understanding and the exploration of the story of The Happy Prince to the real life. The characters in the story not just represent different communities in the society, but also different countries in the world. It takes students to go beyond the reader and to apply the exploration and learning they have gained through the reader to learn about their real lives.
Rationale:
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The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School)
2 Students work in small groups to talk about what they can do to make the world a better place. As children in Hong Kong, what can they do everyday to help the poor people in other countries? Each person should think of at least one social action to do. Each group will take turn to share their ideas by reading aloud their social actions.
The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School) 21
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The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School)
The Happy Prince Worksheet for Circle of Life
Name:
(
Class:
OCCUPATION
HOME
What is your job? What do you do in the city? Do you like your job?
How does your home look like? Who are there in your family?
Name: Job:
WISH What is your wish /dream?
Age:
VIEW ABOUT POOR PEOPLE IN THE CITY Will you give anything to the poor people? Why? What will you give?
)
The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School)
The Happy Prince Worksheet for Diary of the Poor
Name:
(
)
Class:
Imagine you were the sick boy, the poor mother, the writer or the match girl who received help from the swallow, what would you write in your diary? The following questions may help you: 1. Who are you? 2. What happened to you? 3. How did you feel today? 4. How did you use the ruby/sapphire?
Dear Diar y, fterened. This morning/a pp ha l ia ec sp ry ve ng To da y, somethi , as w noon/evening, when I . a e m ve ga d an a swallow came . and I felt hy it had come from, and w w lo al sw e th re he w I did not know poor, I did not think so as w I . le ab lu va gave me something so to e th ed us st ju I h. muc . Now, I am
.
ld like to say thank ou w ly al re I , w lo al sw If I could talk to the you to it!
23
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The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School)
The Happy Prince Worksheet for Preparation for Conscience Alley
Group members: Name:
(
Class: Class:
If you were the Swallow, what would you do? Would you stay or would you leave? Why?
STAY I will stay to help the Happy Prince, because
.
LEAVE I will leave and join my team to fly to Egypt, because
.
)
The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School)
The Happy Prince Worksheet for the Swallow’s Report
Group members: Name:
(
Class: Class:
The Swallow reports to the Happy Prince:
Dear Prince, this is what I have seen in the City. There was
.
)
25
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The Happy Prince (Christian Alliance S.Y. Yeh Memorial Primary School)
The Happy Prince Worksheet for Reflection
Name:
(
)
Class:
Reflective Exercise 1 How much do you agree with the Prince and the Swallow? Please tell us where you stand and what your reason is. I choose to stand on . ( 0 – 10 ) Reason(s): It is because
.
Reflective Exercise 2 As children in Hong Kong, what are the actions your group will take in the future to help the poor people? Our social actions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
G r ad e L P r i m a e v e l: Nu m b ry 6 er les s o o f 5 (45 m ns: i n e ac h)
The King’s New Coat Cumberland Presbyterian Church Yao Dao Primary School Authors: Lam Man-Yee Connie, Lam Yin Krissy (Instructor)
Background Pretext Expected Learning Outcomes Text Types Involved Drama Strategies Involved Materials/Equipment The Unit Plan: Lessons 1-2 (double lesson) Lessons 3-4 (double lesson) Lesson 5 (single lesson) Worksheets: Worksheet for Character Design Worksheet for Special Gift Worksheet for Order of Sentences Worksheet for Reflection
2
3 7 11 14 15 16 17
2
The King’s New Coat Grade Level: Primary 6 Number of lessons: 5 (45 min each)
Cumberland Presbyterian Church Yao Dao Primary School Authors: Lam Man-Yee Connie, Lam Yin Krissy (Instructor)
Background: This unit is designed for a class with no experience in drama and a rather wide range of English abilities. The teacher, as a Year One teacher in the Alliance Programme, did not have any drama experience before. She selected this textbook unit because it was relatively dramatic compared with others. Through this drama, the teacher wanted the students to practise giving opinions using “should”, and giving reasons using “because”. The teacher also wanted the students to explore the theme of whether to tell the truth. Rather than directly following the original story, the drama explores roles and situations created around the story to allow for more space for explorations.
Pretext: Book chapter on “The King’s New Coat” (Unit 2 of Step Up 6B. (2005). Hong Kong: Educational Publishing House Limited.)
Expected Learning Outcomes: 1. Students use “should” and “because” to give opinions and reasons. 2. Students speak English in-role as people in the palace. 3. Students explore the moral values on whether to tell the truth.
Text Types Involved: 1. Character Profile
2. Short Speech
3. Story
Drama Strategies Involved: 1. Circle of Life 4. Short Scene 7. Story Whoosh! 10. Thought Tracking
2. Gossip Mill 5. Spectrum of Difference 8. Teacher-in-role
3. Mime 6. Still Image 9. Teacher Narration
Materials / Equipment: Lessons 1-2: Worksheet for Character Design
Worksheet for Special Gift A crown for Teacher-in-role Lessons 3-4: PowerPoint for Teacher Narration (optional) Strips of paper with different parts of the story written on them Worksheet for Order of Sentences Worksheet for Reflection Cue card for narration Lesson 5: Worksheet for Reflection
Learning Experiences
Teaching Notes
Still Image + Miming + Thought Tracking (10 min)
Step 3:
Circle of Life (15 min)
Step 2:
Warm Up Game: Clumps (10 min)
Guiding Questions: a. What colour do you like? b. Which month is your birthday in? c. What gift do you want to get for your birthday?
1 After finishing the worksheet, teacher in- Materials: Worksheet for Characvites students to create Still Images of their ter Design (completed) characters in the space. 2 Students imagine the space has become a
Focus: to create the dramatic context and Grouping: individual Space: students in their own space further create roles through actions
Grouping: individual Teacher tells students that the story is going Space: students in their own space to take place in a Palace and they will play the Materials: Worksheet for Characpeople in the Palace. Teacher asks each student ter Design to create his/her own character in the Palace by completing the “Worksheet for Character De- Hints of jobs in the Palace that sign”. They can write and/or draw on it. If time can be provided to the students: allows, students can share their works with • cooking (cook) other classmates. • watering the plants (gardener) • marching (soldiers) • having meetings (officers)…
Focus: to create the roles in the Palace
tions and students with the same answer cluster together and form a group. 2 After question c is asked, students need to give one reason why they like that gift for their birthday.
Grouping: whole class Initiation Phase Focus: to move around and interact 1 Students walk around. Teacher asks ques- Space: big empty space Step 1:
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 1-2 (double lesson)
Circle of Life helps students create roles by looking specifically at different aspects of the roles. The writing and drawing are preparations for the next step in which students act out their roles.
Rationale:
The activity warms up the students physically and at the same time star ts them thinking about the content of the drama – the idea of birthday gifts.
Rationale:
The King’s New Coat (Cumberland Presbyterian Church Yao Dao Primary School) 3
Teacher-in-role (10 min)
Step 4:
“Good morning my lovely people!
1 Teacher tells students that they will get Materials: a crown for Teacherin role as the Palace people and meet the in-role Queen who is played by the teacher. 2 Tell the students that the Queen will give The Teacher-in-role has been dethem a task and they must listen to her care- signed as the Queen because the fully and talk to her respectfully. teacher in this plan is female. If 3 Teacher could teach students to greet the the plan is to be used by a male Queen by saying “Good morning, your Maj- teacher, the teacher can change esty” and “Goodbye, your Majesty”. t he Tea cher-i n-role i nto t he 4 Teacher tells the students to sit properly King. and get in role together as the Palace people. When the students are ready, teacher steps in role by turning around and putting on the crown. 5 Here is what the Queen would say,
This step mainly serves to help students embody their roles individually. Presenting their works for others is less important.
Te a c her cou ld a l so p er for m Thought Tracking on the roles by calling out freeze and asking simple questions, such as: a. What are you doing in the Palace? b. Who are you? c. Do you like your job?
Focus: to get in role and to introduce the Grouping: whole group Space: students facing the Queen problem
Palace where the King and the Queen live. They walk around in the Palace to mime their characters’ daily activities. 3 After the miming, teacher invites several students to share information about the characters they have created. Students could read out the details in the “Worksheet for Character Design”.
Rationale:
Rationale:
The purpose of the Teacher-in role is to introduce the problem/ t he t ask in an aut he ntic wa y, to fur ther engage the students in the drama. The greeting for the Queen will be a very good and simple way to create mood. While in role, it is important for the Queen to emphasise that the King is ver y rich and he wants something really special for his birthday. This could help students stretch their imagination.
It is important for the students to act out the roles that they have created in order to put the ideas into physical actions and gain a better understanding of the roles and the mood in the Palace. The miming allows the students to physicalise and concretise the roles in the space and also to create the dramatic world as a group. This context- and role- building process in the Initiation Phase is important for deeper engagement in the later parts of the drama.
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The King’s New Coat (Cumberland Presbyterian Church Yao Dao Primary School)
6 The Queen checks if the Palace people have any questions about the task. If not, the Teacher-in-role turns around, takes off the crown and gets out of role.
I am looking forward to seeing your great ideas! Work hard and goodbye!”
But remember, the King is already very very rich. He can buy all the things he likes. So, he really wants something very very special from you!
You can prepare the gift with your friends.
The King will also give a very valuable reward to the winning group, which is a VIP card to attend the Birthday Party!!
Of course, I am the Queen. I want to make my honey happy. So I will give a very big reward to the group which can think of the most special gift for the King!
As you all know, the King’s birthday is coming! He likes special things very much. This time he really wants all the people in the Palace to prepare him wonderful special gifts.
A f t e r s t e p p i n g o ut o f r o l e , teacher can ask some questions to check students’ understanding on the story: a. Whose birthday is coming? b. What does he want to get for his birthday? c. What would the King give to the ones who can prepare him the most special gift?
The King’s New Coat (Cumberland Presbyterian Church Yao Dao Primary School) 5
Teacher-in-role (5 min)+ Short Scene (25 min)
Step 6:
Designing the Gift + Writing a Short Speech (15 min)
Experiential Phase Step 5:
2 The Queen then asks each group of Palace people to take turn to act out the gifts and introduce the gifts to her. 3 After all the presentations have been done, the Queen tells the Palace people that all the ideas are ver y good and she finds it ver y
The Queen can ask questions to help clarify the students’ ideas. The Queen should also be generous about giving encouragements or compliments to good ideas wherever appropriate.
Grouping: small groups of 4-6 1 Teacher gets in role again as the Queen and Space: each group in its own space says, facing the Queen Materials: Worksheets for Special “Thank you for preparing the gifts for the Gift (completed) , a crown King, but I am sorry to tell you that the King is not in the Palace now. He has gone During the presentation, stuto another country for a very important dents are encouraged to try their meeting. However, don’t be upset. I myself, best to convince the Queen that the Queen, will help him choose the most their group’s gift is the most spespecial gift. Are you ready to show me the cial. gifts?”
Focus: to present the gifts
1 Students get in groups. Each group is given Materials: Worksheet for Special a “Worksheet for Special Gift” for the de- Gift sign of the gift for the King’s birthday. They draw the gift on the worksheet and write a The students have to give a name short speech to describe the special features to the gift and write as a group of the gift. the description of its specialties. 2 Students practise how to give the speech and They should also think about present the gift. One group member will be how to use their bodies to create responsible for giving the short speech de- and to act out the gift. scribing the specialties of the gift, while the others will act out the gift.
Focus: to create a special birthday gift for Grouping: small groups of 4-6 Space: each group in its own space the King
Rationale:
The presentation of special gifts by the Palace people never exists in the original story. It thus provides a big space or the students to be creative and to use English meaningfully. Also, it helps emphasise how difficult it is to please and satisfy the King! It makes the King’s character more vivid.
Rationale:
All the group members will create the speech and the gift together. The joint effort in the process allows students to get well prepared for the presentation in front of the Queen.
6
The King’s New Coat (Cumberland Presbyterian Church Yao Dao Primary School)
If the presentation of gifts cannot be completed within this lesson, they can be continued in the next lesson.
Teacher Narration (5 min)
Step 8:
Warm up (10 min)
Focus: to warm up and to recap Still Image
Step 7:
Teaching Notes
Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space 1 Teacher narrates, Materials: PowerPoint for the “Although the King enjoyed the special gifts narration (optional) a lot, he was still unhappy. Do you know why? He was worried about the parade on his birthday. He should be happy but when he thought about the coat for the parade, he
Focus: to reveal the next part of the story
Grouping: small groups of differTeacher asks students to form groups in dif- ent sizes ferent sizes to create Still Images on different Space: big empty space themes given by the teacher. The last Still Image should have a theme that matches with that Ideas for Still Images: in the drama in order to bring the students back a. a fish/a swimming fish b. a fan/a turning fan into the story. c. a mirror and the King
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 3-4 (double lesson)
difficult to make the decision right away. She will need some time to think about it and she will let them know the results very soon. 4 Teacher gets out of role, and tells the students that the lesson is ending there. They will come back in the next lesson and find out what happens next in the story.
The King’s New Coat (Cumberland Presbyterian Church Yao Dao Primary School) 7
Still Image + Thought Tracking (30 min)
Step 9:
Strip 4: After two weeks, the two brothers came to the Palace and pretended to take out a coat from a big bag. “Only clever people can see it. Stupid people wouldn’t see anything,” said the
thoughts.
Students work in 9 small groups. Each group Materials: 9 strips of paper with creates a Still Image on the given paragraph one paragraph on each written on a strip of paper: Each group is required to make a Strip 1: The King was worried because he didn’t Still Image for each paragraph. have a special coat for his birthday. His officials were unhappy too. To save time, all students need Strip 2: Two cunning brothers pretended to to sit on the floor when they are be the best tailors and told the King that they getting ready. When it comes to their turn, they just need to would make him a special coat. stand up and make the image. Strip 3: The two brothers knew that the officials would see what they were doing at home. Teacher may tap on some imSo they pretended to make the coat at home. ages to check the characters’
“Although some of the Palace people had made him very special coats, the King still thought they were not good enough for the grand parade.”
If some of the gifts presented in the last lesson were coats, the teacher may add this to the narration:
Focus: to comprehend the story through Grouping: 9 small groups Space: each group in its own space Still Images
2 After the narration, teacher asks some questions to check students’ understanding about the story: a. What is the King worried about? b. What does he want for the parade?
was worried. He really wanted to look special on his birthday, because all the people would come out and watch the parade. So the King really wanted to have a new and special coat.”
Rationale:
Rationale:
The sentences are taken from the textbook. Instead of spending too much time on going through the story that is already quite wellknown to the students, the teacher lets the students show and concretise the meaning of each part of the story through the making of physical images (Still Image), and speaking out the characters’ thoughts (Thought Tracking).
This part of narration does not exist in the original story. It actively engages students in listening to a new scenario, which shows how difficult it is to please the King and how desperate the King wants to look special on his birthday. It somehow explains why the King would get cheated by the two tailors later on.
8
The King’s New Coat (Cumberland Presbyterian Church Yao Dao Primary School)
Teacher Narration (5 min)
Step 11:
Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space Teacher narrates, Materials: PowerPoint for the “Af ter the two brothers had lef t, the King narration (optional) started to think about whether the coat was real or not. He looked at himself in the mirror for a whole day but he really couldn’t see the
Focus: to hear about the King’s feelings
Sequencing (10 min)
Focus: to sequence the fragments
Teacher can g ive easier paragraphs to students with lower language proficiency to cater for different abilities in the class.
Grouping: individual After looking at the Still Images, teacher asks Space: students in their own space students to put all the sentences in correct or- Materials: Worksheet for Order der on the “Worksheet for Order of Sentences”. of Sentences
Step 10:
Strip 9: The King gave a lot of jewels and diamonds to the two brothers and they left the country happily.
Strip 8: “Your Majesty, it looks wonderful on you. I’ve never seen such a beautiful coat before!” said one of the officials. The Queen and the other officials nodded their heads.
Strip 7: “How do I look?” the King asked the officials and the Queen.
Strip 6: The King couldn’t see the coat, but he didn’t want to look stupid. He looked at the mirror and smiled.
Strip 5: The brothers pretended to help the King put on the new coat. As the Queen didn’t want to look stupid, she pretended to help the King too.
cunning brothers. The officials didn’t know what to do.
The King’s New Coat (Cumberland Presbyterian Church Yao Dao Primary School) 9
Gossip Mill (10 min) + Report Back (5 min)
Step 13:
Preparation for Gossip Mill (15 min)
Step 12:
Students mill around in the space as Palace people walking in the Palace. Teacher signals them to freeze and quietly find a partner next to them to gossip with. When they exchange gossips, they must make sure their partners could understand the gossip. They also need to listen to the gossip carefully and remember it well. The exchange of gossips could be done for several times. Then the teacher can tell the students to sit back in a circle to do a simple report back.
Focus: to pass on and collect gossips
Teacher could instill tension by reminding the students that they must pass on the gossips quietly because they do not want the King to hear them!
Grouping: whole class Space: mill around in a big empty space, then students in a big circle Materials: Worksheet for Reflection with Part A completed
Grouping: individual 1 Teacher asks students to get in role as the Space: students in their own space Palace people they created in the last lesson, Materials: Worksheet for Reflecand to think about the following questions: tion a. What will happen if the King doesn’t eat anything for a few more days? b. What will happen if the King really wears his new coat on his birthday? c. What would you say to the other people in the Palace? 2 Students write down a short complete senetence in Part A of the “Worksheet for Reflection” to be used in the next step.
Focus: to think in role as the Palace people
coat. He didn’t know whether he was really stupid or whether he had been cheated by the two brothers. He was sad. He didn’t want to eat. He didn’t want to sleep. He didn’t want to see anyone either. He became thinner and his health condition was getting worse.”
This prepares students for Gossip Mill by giving them time to write down what they think and feel, so they are more confident in speaking in Gossip Mill.
Rationale:
This narration also does not exist in the original story. It was made up to make the King more human and three-dimensional. It arouses deeper concerns from the Palace p eople and will help students stay more deeply engaged in the drama.
Rationale:
10
The King’s New Coat (Cumberland Presbyterian Church Yao Dao Primary School)
Story Whoosh! (10 min)
Students stand in a circle. Teacher reads out the Space: big empty space last part of the story and asks students to jump Materials: cue card for narration into the space to act it out. The Stor y Whoosh! could be “The King’s birthday came. All the people lined done for several times if time alup on the street to see the King’s new coat. The lows. Teacher can ask other stuKing came out from the Palace, riding on a dents to read the ending aloud horse. Everyone saw the King but no one said for the class to act out. anything. Suddenly, a boy in the crowd pointed at the King and shouted, ‘Mum, the King isn’t wearing a coat. He’s only wearing his underwear!’ The mother was very scared. She tried to stop her son but she couldn’t. Then everybody started laughing. The King was so embarrassed that he rode back to the Palace quickly.”
Focus: whole group enactment of the ending Grouping: whole class
Step 14:
Teaching Notes
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lesson 5 (single lesson)
In the report back, the teacher can ask the students the following questions: a. What have you heard from the other people? b. How did you feel when you heard that piece of gossip? Why?
The ending of the story involves a big crowd. It suits the mood to enact the ending with the whole class. It also provides a dramatic comprehension of the ending in a time-saving way.
Rationale:
The King’s New Coat (Cumberland Presbyterian Church Yao Dao Primary School) 11
Spectrum of Difference (10 min) + Reflection (15 min)
Step 16:
Preparation for Spectrum of Difference (10 min)
Reflective Phase Step 15:
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Tell truth
2 After students have made up their minds and chosen the places to stand on the spectrum, teacher invites some of them standing on different positions to share their opinions and the reasons why they have chosen a certain percentage.
Not tell truth
Grouping: individual 1 Students are then asked to stand on a line Space: big empty space which shows their intention to tell the King Materials: Worksheet for Reflecthe truth. tion (completed)
Focus: to share opinions and reasons
2 Teacher asks students to think about how much they agree that they should tell the truth by expressing it in percentage. Teacher tells the students to write down the percentage and the reason in Part B of the “Worksheet for Reflection”.
Grouping: individual 1 Teacher narrates, Space: students in their own space Materials: Worksheet for Reflec“Now, let’s imagine we are back to the day tion before the King’s Birthday Parade. The King was still in the Palace thinking about whether he should wear the new coat tomorrow or not. As one of the Palace people, would you tell the King the truth? What would happen if you told him the truth? What would happen if you didn’t tell him the truth?”
Focus: to reflect and make a decision
Rationale:
By looking back at the crucial moment of the story, students have to make decisions in-role as the Palace people again on whether they should tell the King the truth. The process of decision making and writing of reasons help students articulate their ideas more clearly before they present them in the next activity.
12
The King’s New Coat (Cumberland Presbyterian Church Yao Dao Primary School)
3 Teacher tells students that this is the end of the drama The King’s New Coat. If time allows, teacher can ask students what they think they have learned in this unit. After going through all the dramatic events in the story, the reflection allows students to explore moral values, and to express deeper and more sophisticated ideas using the English language. The students also get to listen to other classmates’ opinions.
Rationale:
The King’s New Coat (Cumberland Presbyterian Church Yao Dao Primary School) 13
14
The King’s New Coat (Cumberland Presbyterian Church Yao Dao Primary School)
The King’s New Coat Worksheet for Character Design
Name:
(
Class:
Design your character (You may either write or draw): What do you do in the Palace every day?
NA ME: AG E:
Do you like working in the Palace? Why? Why not?
What is the tool that you use for your job?
JOB:
Who is/are the person(s) you always see in the Palace?
)
The King’s New Coat (Cumberland Presbyterian Church Yao Dao Primary School)
The King’s New Coat Worksheet for Special Gift
Group members: Name:
(
)
Class: Class: Think of a special gift you have prepared for the King. Draw your gift in the box.
Name of the gif t: Your group will have 1-2 minutes to tell the King about your gift. To have better preparation, write down what is special about your gift. 1.
.
2.
.
3.
.
4.
.
5.
.
6.
.
15
16
The King’s New Coat (Cumberland Presbyterian Church Yao Dao Primary School)
The King’s New Coat Worksheet for Order of Sentences
Name:
(
Class:
Read the sentences below and put them in correct order. Write
2-9.
(
)
The two brothers knew that the officials would see what they were doing at home. So they pretended to make the coat at home.
(
)
The brothers pretended to help the King put on the new coat. As the Queen didn’t want to look stupid, she pretended to help the King too.
(
)
Two cunning brothers pretended to be the best tailors and told the King that they would make him a special coat.
(
)
After two weeks, the two brothers came to the Palace and pretended to take out a coat from a big bag. “Only clever people can see it. Stupid people wouldn’t see anything,” said the cunning brothers. The officials didn’t know what to do.
)
The King was worried because he didn’t have a special coat for his birthday. His officials were unhappy too.
(
)
“How do I look?” the King asked the officials and the Queen.
(
)
The King couldn’t see the coat, but he didn’t want to look stupid. He looked at the mirror and smiled.
(
)
“Your Majesty, it looks wonderful on you. I’ve never seen such a beautiful coat before!” said one of the officials. The Queen and the other officials nodded their heads.
(
)
The King gave a lot of jewels and diamonds to the two brothers and they left the country happily.
(
1
)
The King’s New Coat (Cumberland Presbyterian Church Yao Dao Primary School)
The King’s New Coat Worksheet for Reflection
Name:
(
)
Class: (A) The King is sick. He feels that he is cheated. He doesn’t want to eat or sleep. As an official in the Palace, how do you feel? Why? What would you do?
I feel
because .
I think we should . (B) We are back to the day before the King’s birthday. As an official in the Palace, how much do you think you will tell the King the truth? Why? Please circle the percentage below.
Not tell truth
Tell truth 0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
It is because .
17
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
G r ad e L P r i m a e v e l: Nu m b ry 6 er les s o o f ns: 10 (35 m i n ea c h)
The King’s New Coat S.T.F.A. Leung Kit Wah Primary School
Authors: Lau York-Chee Vivian, Lui Pui-Kwan Jessica, Chow Pik-Ha Noel (Instructor)
Background Pretext Expected Learning Outcomes Text Types Involved Drama Strategies Involved Materials/Equipment The Unit Plan: Lesson 1 (single lesson) Lessons 2-3 (double lesson) Lessons 4-5 (double lesson) Lessons 6-7 (double lesson) Lessons 8-9 (double lesson) Lesson 10 (single lesson) Worksheets: Still Image Cue Cards Worksheet for Reflection (1) Short Scene Cue Cards Worksheet for Short Scene Worksheet for Reflection (2)
2
3 4 6 9 11 12 14 15 16 17 18
2
The King’s New Coat
The King’s New Coat (S.T.F.A. Leung Kit Wah Primary School)
Grade Level: Primary 6 Number of lessons: 10 (35 min each)
S.T.F.A. Leung Kit Wah Primary School
Authors: Lau York-Chee Vivian, Lui Pui-Kwan Jessica, Chow Pik-Ha Noel (Instructor)
Background: This unit is designed for a class of mixed ability. Students live through the story of The King’s New Coat to explore feelings and thoughts of the different characters and reflect on the question of honesty. Such exploration helps them make oral presentations in and out of role, and create short scenes of the story which will lead to a script writing task at the end of the unit.
Pretext: Book chapter on “The King’s New Coat” (Unit 2 of Step Up 6B. (2005). Hong Kong: Educational Publishing House Limited.)
Expected Learning Outcomes: 1. Students explore the story of The King’s New Coat. 2. Students describe ideas and feelings in role and out of role. 3. Students reflect on the question of honesty.
Text Types Involved: 1. Script
2. Short Speech
Drama Strategies Involved: 1. Conscience Alley 4. Objects of Character 7. Story Whoosh! 10. Thought Tracking
2. Meeting 5. Short Scene 8. Teacher-in-role
3. Story 3. Miming 6. Still Image 9. Teacher Narration
Materials / Equipment: Lesson 1:
Lessons 2-3:
PowerPoint Pictures of ancient village Music CD CD player A c row n a nd a co at f or Teacher-in-role Large pieces of paper in the shape of coats Colour pens Colour papers Scissors
Lessons 4-5: Story cue card for teacher Lessons 6-7: Lessons 8-9: Lesson 10:
Props bags Still Image Cue Cards Worksheet for Reflection (1) Short Scene Cue Cards Worksheet for Short Scene Worksheet for Reflection (2)
Learning Experiences
Teaching Notes
Miming + One Short Line (20 min)
Step 2:
Teacher Narration (10 min)
1 Teacher divides students into 5 groups: Space: each group in its own space woodcutters, farmers, fishermen, butchers and bakers (or any other occupation stu- Teacher asks students to suggest what jobs people may usually do dents suggest). 2 Each group designs a series of movements to in an ancient village. Teacher represent their occupations. All students in may ask the whole class to mime the group repeat the same set of movements. their movements together, or ask 3 Teacher may then ask each group to add one each group to take turn to show
Focus: to build students’ roles in the drama Grouping: small groups
3 Teacher asks students to suggest what else they can find in a village. 4 Invite students to suggest a name for this special village.
Materials: PowerPoint, pictures, place in a village. 2 Teacher asks students to imagine the differ- music, CD player ent places in the classroom as different parts Teacher plays some music or of a village, narrating, shows some visual aids such as “For example, on this side of the village we pictures of a river or a small hut can see a hill. There is a river on the oppo- to focus students’ attention to site side. That is the entrance of the village, the dramatic context. and on this side you can see the community hall where villagers usually have their meetings”.
Grouping: whole class Initiation Phase Focus: to establish the place in the drama 1 Teacher introduces that the drama will take Space: students in their own space Step 1:
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lesson 1 (single lesson)
The drama star ts by engaging students in the villagers’ perspective and it is worth spending time to build these roles. Movement is an effective way of building roles. Vocabulary of occupations and simple sentence structures can also be introduced in this activity.
Rationale:
Students engage in the drama more easily when they can imagine the dramatic place. This activity also introduces vocabulary of places and positions.
Rationale:
The King’s New Coat (S.T.F.A. Leung Kit Wah Primary School) 3
1 Tell the students that as villagers in this drama they will see the King soon. 2 Ask students to imagine what the villagers would do when they meet the King. The whole class decides on a movement to greet the King.
Some students may suggest bowing or kneeling down. Teacher may encourage them to think of creative (but believable) ways to greet their King in their unique village.
Focus: to establish relationships of roles in Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space the drama
Make sure students are interacting with each other in role, instead of reading sentences aloud like what they usually do in an oral lesson.
their movements.
Teaching Notes
Meeting (10 min)
1 Teacher tells the students that s/he will step Materials: a crown and a coat for in role as the King and the students will in- Teacher-in-role teract with the King as the villagers. 2 Teacher puts on a crown and a coat to signi- Teacher explains to students that fy that s/he has stepped in role as the King. when s/he puts on the crown and
Learning Experiences
Focus: to introduce the situation in the Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space Teacher-in-role + drama
Step 4:
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 2-3 (double lesson)
Miming (5 min)
Step 3:
short line to the movement and bring the whole village to life.
Rationale:
Students need to relate to the main character (the King) and have a task to complete in order to get engaged in the drama.
Rationale:
This activity helps students recognise the status of their roles in relation to the King’s. This helps them understand the villagers’ behaviours in the later part of the drama.
4
The King’s New Coat (S.T.F.A. Leung Kit Wah Primary School)
Drawing + Short Scene + Teacher-in-role (40 min)
Experiential Phase Step 5:
1 Teacher asks students to get in the groups they formed in the last lesson again and design a coat for the King’s birthday, using the materials provided. 2 When the design is done, the small groups prepare for a presentation for the King. 3 Students in role as villagers present their designs to the King (Teacher-in-role) and explain why their design is the best.
Focus: villagers present their designs
The King asks for a few suggestions from the villagers.
“My dear villagers, I really hate the coat I am wearing. It is not fashionable at all. People always laugh at the way I look. My birthday party is around the corner. I’ d like all of you, villagers, to design a new coat for me. I’ll give a bag of gold to the best design. Understand? Bakers, f ishermen, tailors, soldiers and my off icials, do you have any idea on the design?”
Students as villagers greet him with the movement they designed in the last session. 3 The King (Teacher-in-role) says,
Each group may send one representative to put the coat on (as a model) as the others explain to the King and fellow villagers why
Teacher can help the groups to work out the vocabular y and sentence structures that they will need in the presentation.
Grouping: small groups Space: each group in its own space Materials: a large piece of paper for each group (in the shape of a coat), colour pens, colour papers, scissors, crown & coat for Teacher-in-role
the coat, s/he will be in role as the King and the students will be in role as villagers.
Rationale:
The design task helps students generate ideas for their presentations. Thinking first in visual terms and then in words helps students produce richer ideas. Having the King “there” to listen to ideas also gives an authentic purpose for the presentations.
The King’s New Coat (S.T.F.A. Leung Kit Wah Primary School) 5
Grouping: small groups Teacher-in-role as the King gives comments on Space: each group in its own space the designs. Although he appreciates the villagers’ efforts he thinks that more professional The King can be a little bit picky tailors may give him better designs for the im- on the villagers’ design here – portant occasion. He tells the villagers that he the tension will engage students has invited two tailors from another village to better. He can a lso stress his design a new coat for him. He demands the vil- admiration for foreign profeslagers to welcome them and show their hospi- sional tailors – this will make his tality. foolishness stand out more in the later part of the drama.
Focus: furthering the action in the drama
Warm up: Mirror Game (15 min)
Focus: recap of the drama
Step 7:
Teaching Notes
Grouping: pairs 1 Students get in pairs. One student plays the Space: each pair in its own space King and the other plays the mirror. Teacher asks the King to move as if he is trying on Teacher recaps the comments the coats the villagers made for his birthday. the King made in the last session The mirror must copy the King’s movements about the designs. and facial expressions. After 2 to 3 minutes, swap roles. 2 Teacher recaps the drama and asks students to suggest what the King may say to the mirror and why the King invites the foreign tailors to come to the village.
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 4-5 (double lesson)
Teacher-in-role (20 min)
Step 6:
their design is the best.
Rationale:
The game not only helps warm up students for the drama class, but also links up the last lesson with this one.
The drama needs to move on here by introducing the other two main characters (tailors) in the original story.
Rationale:
6
The King’s New Coat (S.T.F.A. Leung Kit Wah Primary School)
Story Whoosh! (10 min)
Step 9:
Teacher Narration + Objects of Character (30 min)
Step 8:
Encourage students to make different g uesses and give sound reasons.
Grouping: small groups Space: each group in its own space Materials: a few bags with different items inside: several masks, a map, the King’s picture, a few receipts from the pawn shop or a warning letter from the loan shark (any item that suggests the two tailors are fakes)
“There lived a King who needed a new coat for his birthday. His villagers designed some good ones. The King tried the coats on one by one but he did not quite like them.
Grouping: whole class Students stand in a big circle. Teacher reads the Space: students in a big circle story while students come to the centre of the Materials: story cue card for teacher circle to enact the story.
Focus: listening to the story
2 Students guess what they may find in the tailors’ bag. 3 Students get in small groups. Each group is given a props bag. They examine the different items in the bags and guess what kind of people the two tailors are. 4 Students discuss in pairs or in small groups, and report their ideas to the class. 5 Ask students to guess what the two tailors may do to the King.
“Two days later, the two tailors came. They promised the villagers they would make the most beautiful coat in the world. All the villagers were looking forward to it. The next day, the villagers gathered in the community hall. The two tailors were not there. They had gone to take the King’s measurements but they had left their bag in the community hall.”
1 Teacher narrates the next part of the story:
Focus: instilling tension in the drama
The speculation engages students by arousing their curiosity about what will happen next. It also motivates students to speak, and to give reasons for their speculations.
Rationale:
The King’s New Coat (S.T.F.A. Leung Kit Wah Primary School) 7
Reflective Phase
Instead of reading this passage, teacher may choose to read out the scripts from p.12 and 14 of the textbook.
Invite different students to be the King, the tailors, the soldiers and officials at different times to maximise class participation.
Focus: considering the situation from mul- Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space tiple perspectives
So the King gave a bag of gold and jewels to the tailors. They said goodbye to the King and left. They could not stop laughing on the way home.”
The King could not see the coat but he did not want to look stupid so he pretended to try it on. He asked the soldiers around him, ‘How do I look?’ All the soldiers and officials kneeled down. They said, ‘It looks wonderful on you, your Majesty.’
A week later, the tailors went to the Palace again. They asked the King to try the new coat on. One of the tailors said, ‘Your Majesty, this is the most beautiful coat in the world. Only clever people can see it. Do you like it?’
The King was very happy hearing that. He ordered them to make a special coat for his birthday. The tailors took the King’s measurements. The King promised to give them gold and jewels. The tailors laughed happily. All the other soldiers and officials looked worried.
He invited two tailors f rom anothe r village to come and make a special coat for him. The tailors told the King that they were the best tailors from Wonderland. They said they could make the most beautiful clothes in the world. The activity engages students in active listening, and helps them comprehend the story by means of physical enactment.
Rationale:
8
The King’s New Coat (S.T.F.A. Leung Kit Wah Primary School)
Teacher asks students to discuss the following questions: 1 If you are the soldiers or officials, how do you feel when you see the King trying his new coat on? Why? 2 If you are the soldiers or officials, will you tell the King the truth at that moment? Why? 3 Why does the King still try the new coat on? 4 If you are the villagers and see the King on his birthday, how may you feel? What will you do? Teacher encourages students to think about the situation from different characters’ angles.
Step 12:
Still Image (individual) + Thought Tracking (10 min)
Focus: the villagers’ response
Experiential Phase Step 11:
Teaching Notes
Focus: exploring the characters’ feelings
Grouping: small groups
Grouping: students in two big Teacher invites half of the class to make a Still groups Image to show the villagers’ response when Space: each big group on one side they see, for the first time, the King wearing his of the room “new coat” on his birthday parade. Each student makes his or her own image. The rest of Teacher may also Thought Track the class read the images and describe who the some of the villagers. characters are and how they feel. Then the two halves swap positions and teacher facilitates another discussion.
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 6-7 (double lesson)
Out-of-role Discussion (15 min)
Step 10:
Rationale:
This activity not only helps warm up the students, but also gets them used to describing and expressing characters’ feelings which is the main focus of this part of the drama.
Rationale:
Asking the students to consider the situation from the eyes of different roles helps them see things from multiple perspectives.
The King’s New Coat (S.T.F.A. Leung Kit Wah Primary School) 9
Worksheet and sharing (25 min)
Reflective Phase Step 13:
Still image (small group) + Thought Tracking (35min)
Ask students to fill in “Worksheet for Reflec- Materials: Worksheet for Reflection (1)” and share the most impressive mo- tion (1) ments with someone sitting next to them. Students who are not good at writing may draw a picture instead. Teacher can help them turn ideas into words afterwards.
Focus: ref lecting on the story by sharing Grouping: individual, then pairs Space: students in their own space most impressive moments of the story
1 Students get in small groups. Each group Space: each group in its own space makes one of the following Still Images: M a t e r i a l s: St i l l I m a g e Cue a. The two cunning tailors took the mea- Cards surement of the King. (The King was happy but the soldiers and officials looked Teacher defines the rehearsal space and gives students 5 to 8 worried and did not know what to do.) b. The King tried the new coat on. (The tai- minutes for rehearsal. lors looked happy. Some soldiers looked sad while some officials could not stop Teacher offers help to individual groups on the use of space and laughing) c. The King went on the birthday parade in adjectives on describing feelings. the village. All the villagers were eager to see the King’s new coat. When they saw For more able or creative stuthe King… (some felt excited while the dents, teacher may give them fewer prompts (by skipping the others felt sorry for the King) d. It rained suddenly. The King got wet. The words in brackets). villagers saw that his underwear got all wet through. (The King was embarrassed.) 2 Each group presents its Still Image. Teacher asks the audience to identify the characters and describe how they feel. 3 Teacher does Thought Tracking on some of the characters to understand their feelings.
Having listened to a long story, it is a good time to consolidate students’ learning by asking them to reflect upon their experience.
Rationale:
Rationale:
In forming the Still Images, the students turn the story from page to stage. In reading each others’ images, they describe what they see and understand. In Thought Tracking, they express the characters’ feelings as the first person. The Still Images help crystalise students’ ideas.
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The King’s New Coat (S.T.F.A. Leung Kit Wah Primary School)
Short Scene (40 min)
Step 15:
Teacher Narration (5 min)
1 Students work in small groups. Each group Materials: Short Scene Cue Cards prepares for a Short Scene that depicts the moment from the King entering the village Teacher may need to tell students where the entrance and till the moment he leaves, considering: a. The roles: the King, the soldiers, the little exit of the village is in order to boy, his mother, other villagers or any help them space out during the rehearsal. other characters students can think of. b. The positions: Where will the King start Ask each student to say one line the parade and where will the Palace be? c. The actions and responses: for example, in the Short Scene. will the villagers sing the King a birthday
Space: students in their own space
Focus: exploring and enacting the scene of Grouping: small groups the parade in preparation for script writing Space: each group in its own space
2 Teacher asks students to brainstorm on what the other villagers may say and do at that moment.
“It was raining heavily. Poor King! His face turned red. He was sad and angry. A little boy from the crowd shouted, ‘Mum, the King isn’t wearing a coat! He’s only wearing his underwear!’ Then the villagers started laughing. The King ran back to the Palace with the soldiers quickly.”
1 Teacher narrates the last part of the story:
Focus: introducing the next part of the story Grouping: whole class
Experiential Phase Step 14:
Teaching Notes
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 8-9 (double lesson)
Rationale:
This step gets students to work out characters’ actions and dialogues by acting out the scene. It is an important step for helping students write their scripts later on.
The King’s New Coat (S.T.F.A. Leung Kit Wah Primary School) 11
Grouping: small groups 1 Teacher gives out the “Worksheet for Short Space: each group in its own space Scene” to each group. Each student writes Materials: Worksheet for Short down what s/he has said in the Short Scene. Scene Students further polish their work by adding a few more lines and adverbs to show their feelings. 2 Teacher may go through p.10 of the textbook on stage directions and different positions people take in a theatre production.
Focus: organising ideas as a short script
Students do not need to write their scripts at this stage. They just need to work out the scenes and practise them in action.
Out-of-role
Teacher leads a discussion about the story and Space: students in their own space asks students: a. Why didn’t the villagers, the soldiers and the
Focus: to explore multiple truths in the world Grouping: whole class
Reflective Phase Step 17:
Teaching Notes
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lesson 10 (single lesson)
Script Writing (25 min)
Step 16:
song when he enters the village? What will the King say next? Who will then respond to the King? 2 Students spend around 10 to 15 minutes to prepare and rehearse the scenes. Teacher offers help to individual groups. 3 Each group presents its Short Scene. 4 Teacher facilitates a discussion by inviting students to compare the different responses of the characters.
12
The King’s New Coat (S.T.F.A. Leung Kit Wah Primary School)
Out-of-role Reflection (15 min)
Step 19:
Encourage students to share what they have Space: students in their own space learned from the drama. Fill in “Worksheet for Materials: Worksheet for ReflecReflection (2)” and record their ideas and feel- tion (2) ings.
Focus: what have we learned from the drama? Grouping: individual
1 Students stand on two sides of an alley. One lines facing each other side of the alley represents “the boy should tell the truth” while the other represents “the Teacher may invite a few students to walk along the alley and boy should not tell the truth”. 2 Teacher walks along the alley and students listen to their classmates’ opinon each side tell the teacher why the boy ions. should/should not tell the truth.
Focus: to consider why the boy should/ Grouping: whole class Space: students standing in two should not tell the truth
Step 18:
In-role Reflection: Conscience Alley (10 min)
officials tell the King the truth? b. If you are the King, how do you feel now? Will you punish the little boy for his honesty? c. If you are the little boy or the little boy’s mother, how do you feel? d. Was it right for the boy to tell the truth? Why?
discussion (10 min)
The King’s New Coat (S.T.F.A. Leung Kit Wah Primary School) 13
The King tried the new coat on. (The tailors looked happy. Some soldiers looked sad while some of ficials could not stop laughing.)
It rained suddenly. The King got wet. The villagers saw that his underwear got all wet through. (The King was embarrassed.)
Make a Still Image of the following scene:
Group D:
Group B:
Make a Still Image of the following scene:
T he King went o n t h e bir t h d a y parade in the village. All the villagers were eager to see the King’s new coat. When they saw the King… (some felt excited while the others felt sorry for the King.)
Make a Still Image of the following scene:
Make a Still Image of the following scene:
The t wo cunning tailors took the measurements of the King. (The King was happy but the soldiers and officials looked worried and did not know what to do.)
Group C:
Group A:
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The King’s New Coat (S.T.F.A. Leung Kit Wah Primary School)
The King’s New Coat
Still Image Cue Cards
The King’s New Coat (S.T.F.A. Leung Kit Wah Primary School)
The King’s New Coat Worksheet for Reflection (1)
Name:
(
)
Class:
Draw a moment that you remember the most today.
Today I learned
.
The person I admire the most in our group is because he / she
.
I feel
.
15
16
The King’s New Coat (S.T.F.A. Leung Kit Wah Primary School)
The King’s New Coat Short Scene Cue Cards
Your group will prepare a Short Scene:
The King enters the village, goes on parade, and finally leaves the village. Characters: the King, the soldiers, the little boy, his mother, other villagers
Questions: 1. Are there other characters? Who are they? 2. Where will the King start the parade and where will the Palace be? 3. What do the villagers do when the King enters? 4. What will the King and the other characters say?
The King’s New Coat (S.T.F.A. Leung Kit Wah Primary School)
The King’s New Coat Worksheet for Short Scene
Group members: Name:
(
Class: Class: Write down what each student said in the Short Scene. Our Script: (The King arrives at the village. All the villagers welcome the King. They are standing on both sides of the road.) King: (
Boy: (
ly)
ly)
Mother: (
Soldier: (
ly)
ly)
Villagers: (
Villagers: (
ly)
ly)
(The King runs to the Palace with the soldiers quickly.) *Students do not need to follow this order of delivery strictly.
)
17
18
The King’s New Coat (S.T.F.A. Leung Kit Wah Primary School)
The King’s New Coat Worksheet for Reflection (2)
Name:
(
)
Class:
My opinions on “The King’s New Coat” Draw a moment that you enjoy / remember the most during the drama lessons this week.
I feel during drama lessons. I *want / don’t want to have drama lessons in the next term because
.
Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama (Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)
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G r ad e L P r i m a e v e l: Nu m b ry 6 er les s o o f 8 (35 m ns: i n e ac h)
Treasure in the Woods C & W District St. Anthony’s School
Authors: Au Kam-Pui Unique, Lee Hoi-Yu Albert, Ng Hiu-Yan Helen, Lam Yin Krissy (Instructor)
Background Pretext Expected Learning Outcomes Text Types Involved Drama Strategies Involved Materials/Equipment The Unit Plan: Lessons 1-2 (double lesson) Lessons 3-4 (double lesson) Lessons 5-6 (double lesson) Lessons 7-8 (double lesson) Worksheets: Worksheet for Expressing Feelings Lost Dog Poster Worksheet for Police Programme Worksheet for Interrogation Worksheet for Reflection
2
3 7 11 13 15 16 17 18 19
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Treasure in the Woods
Treasure in the Woods (C & W District St. Anthony’s School)
Grade Level: Primary 6 Number of lessons: 8 (35 min each)
C & W District St. Anthony’s School
Authors: Au Kam-Pui Unique, Lee Hoi-Yu Albert, Ng Hiu-Yan Helen, Lam Yin Krissy (Instructor)
Background: This unit is designed for the whole P.6 level with classes of different English abilities. The reader is a detective story about a group of children helping the old lady Mrs. McNab find her dog and her treasure box hidden in the woods by some thieves. Before the drama unit, students have already read the reader by themselves at home. In the drama, students play multiple roles to explore the story from different perspectives and to use English language for different purposes and meanings. Through the process of searching for the valuable things for Mrs. McNab, and investigating into the reasons why the thieves would commit crime, teachers aim at helping students identify and appreciate the valuable things in their lives.
Pretext: Treasure in the Woods (Headstart Dramatic Readers) (2010 ed.) by Marianne Lowe
Expected Learning Outcomes: 1. Students use English by adopting different roles. 2. Students create Still Images and Short Scenes with their original ideas. 3. Students express their personal feelings and opinions in English.
Text Types Involved: 1. Interrogation Report
2. Lost Dog Poster
3. Story
Drama Strategies Involved: 1. Collective Drawing 4. Soundscape 7. Teacher Narration
2. Paper Location 5. Still Image 8. Thought Tracking
3. Short Scene 6. Teacher-in-role
Materials / Equipment: Lessons 1-2: PowerPoint
Lessons 3-4:
Pieces of A5 paper Worksheet for Expressing Feelings Lost Dog Posters (A3 size) Colour pencils Paper slips for settings Worksheet for Police Programme Music for Police Programme
Lessons 5-6:
Lessons 7-8:
CD player Drawing of a big treasure box PowerPoint Worksheet for Interrogation A pa ir of ha ndcuf fs for Teacher-in-role Classroom chairs & desks Classroom chairs & desks Worksheet for Reflection
Learning Experiences
Teaching Notes
Teacher Narration (5 min)
Step 2:
Warm up (10 min)
Materials: PowerPoint to show 1 Teacher narrates, “Now, children, we are going to experience pictures of the first chapter of the the story of ‘Treasures in the Woods’ together. reader (optional)
It is not necessary for teacher to actually teach the term “Still Image”. It is more important that the students understand the idea through doing the activity.
Teacher can get students to work in pairs first and gradually proceed to work in bigger groups. Below are some ideas of objects that the teacher could call out: • an ice-cream • a flower • a tree • a treasure box • a house • a television • a car • a shark at the beach
Focus: to introduce the beginning of the Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space story
1 Teacher tells students that they are going to play a game of making objects with their bodies. 2 Teacher calls out the group size and the name of objects. Students get into groups quickly and use their bodies to make the objects named by the teacher. 3 Teacher could give students a relatively small amount of time to prepare. Then teacher counts down from 10 and when teacher calls out “freeze”, students have to freeze as the object.
Initiation Phase Focus: to warm up students with dramatic Grouping: whole class Space: big empty space Step 1: activities
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 1-2 (double lesson)
The game of making objects is a ver y good physical warm up with a lot of fun. The nature of the game itself prepares students for the other activities in the drama in which they will have to work together with other people and to negotiate, to use their bodies to represent different things, to take on simple roles, and to create Still Images. The tension of having not much time to prepare the Still Images creates a mood of excitement and makes the game more challenging and interesting.
Rationale:
Treasure in the Woods (C & W District St. Anthony’s School) 3
Soundscape (10 min)
Step 4:
Paper Location (10 min)
Step 3:
1 Teacher tells students to stand in a big circle around the “woods”
Focus: to add sound to the visual space Grouping: whole class Space: student in a big circle created
Grouping: whole class 1 Teacher tells students that they are going to Space: students in their own space Materials: small pieces of paper create the woods together. 2 Students are given small pieces of paper. On (about A5 size) each piece of paper they draw one thing that they can see in the woods. If time allows, Teacher guides the students to each student can do one more drawing on name the things and to describe the drawings and the woods. another piece of paper. 3 Students then put the drawings together on the f loor to create the woods. The whole class takes a look at the woods that they have created together.
Focus: to establish the place visually
2 Teacher asks students questions about the woods in order to get them start thinking about its environment . Some of the questions include: • What plants can you see in the woods? • What animals can you see? • What other things can you see? • What kind of sound can you hear?
The story takes place in the woods. The woods is a very beautiful place and it is the lovely summer time. Some children are having their summer holiday in their grandmother’s house in the woods. They play hide and seek and many other games in the woods. They have a lot of fun.”
Rationale:
Drawing what one can see in the dramatic place helps students to quickly create the visual image of the place. It also provides a good opportunity for students to revise the vocabulary items related to what can be found in the woods.
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Treasure in the Woods (C & W District St. Anthony’s School)
Still Image (15 min)
Experiential Phase Step 6:
Collective story-telling (5 min)
Step 5:
1 Teacher tells students that now they are Materials: PowerPoint to show going to work in small groups to create the brief descriptions of the 7 some moments that they have talked about scenes in the story. Students get into the 7 assigned groups that they norma lly work with in English lessons. Each group is given a
Focus: to enact the beginning with Still Grouping: small groups of 4 or 5 Space: each group in its own space Images
1 Teacher asks students questions to help them recall the first part of the story. This is also to get an idea about students’ understanding of the reader. 2 Teacher stops the story-telling at the point where Mrs. McNab calls the police to report that her dog is lost.
After the activity, teacher could lead a short discussion by asking the students what sounds they have heard and why they have made those sounds.
Materials: drawings done by the students
Focus: to recap students’ memory of the Grouping: whole class Space: students in their own space story
around the drawings of the woods that they have just created. 2 Teacher tells students that they are going to create the sound of the woods. Teacher asks students to close their eyes to think about what kind of sounds they would hear in the woods. They can create the sounds vocally or use their steps or any body parts to make the sounds. 3 Teacher tells students to open their eyes and create the sounds in the woods together. Teacher can act as the conductor to make changes to the volume and sequences of the sound.
Rationale:
Creating the sound for a place adds another dimension to the place and makes the dramatic place more vivid to the students.
Treasure in the Woods (C & W District St. Anthony’s School) 5
Thought Tracking (15 min)
Step 7:
Teacher reminds students that they are going to make the Still Images of the 7 scenes which means that they have to freeze and to express themselves with their body language and facial expressions. Teacher can encourage students to use simple furniture, and to use whatever props they can find in the classroom.
1 After the students have finalised their Still space Images, teacher tells the students that now Materia ls: Worksheet for Exthey will be able to speak in the Still Images. pressing Feelings It is still a frozen picture in which people cannot move, but when the teacher taps If the students have had some someone on the shoulder, that person can experience in doing Still Images and Thoug ht Track ing , or if speak. they are capable, this step can be 2 Teacher gives students the “Worksheet for
Focus: to speak up the mind of the charac- Grouping: small groups of 4 or 5 Space: each g roup in its own ters in the Still Images
moment from the story to work on. 2 The 7 moments can be: • It’s summer holiday, the children are having breakfast in Grandma’s house. • Mrs. McNab comes to ask Grandma if she has seen her dog Scotty. • The children are playing hide and seek in the woods. • The children find a tree house in the woods. • The children see two suspicious men talking underneath the tree house. • The children see a dog and follow the dog to a hut in the woods. • Mrs. McNab calls the police to help her find her dog. 3 When the groups are ready, teacher asks all the groups to show the Still Images at the same time by counting down from 10. Teacher takes a look at all the images briefly and then tells students to relax.
Rationale:
The “Worksheet for Expressing Feelings” works as a scaffolding for the preparation of Thought Tracking by providing vocabu lary and sentence structures for expressing one’s f e elings and thoughts.
Rationale:
This step helps students get a better understanding on the beginning of the stor y. Creating the key moments of the stor y with Still Image allows the students to understand the story much more deeply, not just literally but also physically and emotionally. Allowing the students to show the Still Images briefly before preparing for Thought Tracking breaks down the task into smaller and more manageable parts.
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Treasure in the Woods (C & W District St. Anthony’s School)
If time is limited, the presentation can be done in the beginning of the next lesson.
combined with Step 6.
Teaching Notes
Dog Poster (15 min)
1 Teacher reminds students that Mrs. McNab space has called the police to help her find her Materials: PowerPoint, Lost Dog dog Scotty. She really misses her dog and Posters (A3 size), colour pencils she needs some more help to find her dog. Teacher tells students that they are going to help Mrs. McNab to make some Lost Dog Posters. 2 Teacher shows students a PowerPoint of different types of dogs. Teacher asks students to think about what items/information
Learning Experiences
Focus: to create information about the Lost Grouping: small groups of 4-5 Space: each g roup in its own Designing a Lost Dog Scotty
Step 8:
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 3-4 (double lesson)
Expressing Feelings” which introduces a variety of vocabularies for expressing one’s feelings. Students write one or two lines they are going to speak as the character in the Still Image. As a group, they discuss what to write, practise saying their lines, and modify the Still Image if neccessary. 3 When the students are ready, teacher asks each group to present the Still Image to the rest of the class. Teacher taps the students on the shoulders to let them speak up the characters’ minds.
Rationale:
Creating the Lost Dog Poster helps students learn more about Mrs. McNab’s dog Scotty. It prepares them for the next part in which they will have to create a Short Scene for finding the dog. The information about Scotty created in the poster will be useful in the next step.
Treasure in the Woods (C & W District St. Anthony’s School) 7
Short Scene (30 min)
Step 9:
1 Teacher tells students that Mrs. McNab is going to appear in a Police TV Programme in order to get more help from the public. In the programme, Mrs. McNab will go to different places to ask if people have seen Scotty. 2 The students stay in their groups, make use of the information they have created for the “Lost Dog Poster”, and create a Short Scene for the Police TV Programme. 3 Each group will create a Short Scene in one of the following 7 settings: • in the shopping mall • in the park • in Mrs. McNab’s neighbourhood • in the woods • on the street/at a bus stop • in the market • in the TV station’s studio 4 Teacher reminds students that each student in the group must participate in the Short Scene. They have to think carefully about
space Materials: PowerPoint, completed Lost Dog Posters, slips of paper with the settings written on them, Worksheet for Police Programme, music for the Police Programme, CD player
The presentation will start and close with the standard “Opening” & “Closing” paragraphs in
Focus: to thin k about how much Mrs. Grouping: small groups of 4 or 5 Space: each g roup in its own McNab wants to find her Scotty
should be included in the poster, e.g. name of the dog, height, date of loss…etc. 3 Teacher shows students the template of a “Lost Dog Poster”. Students get into their assigned groups, and work together to design the poster. They use colour pencils to draw and colour the poster in the way they like.
Rationale:
The parts about “Lost Dog Poster“ and the Police T V pro gramme actually do not exist in the reader itself. Adding these parts to the drama helps students feel and understand how important Scotty is to Mrs. McNab.
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Treasure in the Woods (C & W District St. Anthony’s School)
Reflective Discussion (10 min)
Reflective Phase Step 10:
1 Teacher asks some questions to facilitate a space ref lective discussion about Mrs. McNab. Some questions could include: • Why does Mrs. McNab want so much to find Scotty? • W hy is Scott y so importa nt to Mrs. McNab? • Who did Mrs. McNab used to live with? • Why does she live alone now? • Why does Mrs. McNab keep a dog? 2 Teacher reminds students that in the story, Mrs. McNab, apart from losing Scotty, has also lost something very important. The thieves have stolen her treasure box, and have hidden it in a small hut in the woods. 3 Teacher asks students to think about what
Teacher plays the music of the Police Programme when each Short Scene begins.
the worksheet. As for the middle part, students with weaker ability can simply read out what they have written in the worksheet. For students with higher ability, teacher can encourage them to make use of the written information to devise a short scene with Mrs. McNab talking to other people in one of the 7 settings.
Focus: to understand a little more about Grouping: small groups of 4 or 5 Space: each g roup in its own Mrs. McNab
who there are in the scene. Each student should at least say one line in the Short Scene. Students will be given the “Worksheet for Police Programme” to prepare for the scene. 5 When the students are ready, each group takes turn to present the Short Scene. The other groups should watch carefully to find out what setting the group has been given for the Short Scene.
Rationale:
After learning about how hard Mrs. McNab is trying to find her dog Scotty, it is important to have a reflective discussion with the students about why Scotty is so important to Mrs. McNab. This will help students start thinking about the idea of treasurable things in someone’s life which is the main theme that has been chosen for the students to explore through the reader.
Treasure in the Woods (C & W District St. Anthony’s School) 9
Collective Drawing (15 min)
1 Students sit in a big circle. Teacher puts a dents sitting in a big circle very big empty treasure box drawing on the Materials: a big drawing of the f loor in the centre of the circle, and tells empty treasure box students that this is Mrs. McNab’s treasure box. Students are going to draw what could Tea cher ca n a sk st udent s to think about where Mrs. McNab be found inside Mrs. McNab’s treasure box. 2 Each student draws one object on one piece would put a particular object of A5 paper, and label it by writing down in the treasure box. At the botthe name of the object at the bottom of the tom? On the side? On the top? Underneath something? Next to drawing. 3 Two by two, students come out to stick the something? This way students would not just randomly throw drawings onto the treasure box. 4 When all the students have put the draw- the drawings onto the treasure ings onto the treasure box, the whole class box without thinking carefully. takes a look at the treasure box. Teacher leads a discussion on why these objects are found in Mrs. McNab’s treasure box. What do they tell us about Mrs. McNab? Why are these things so valuable to Mrs. McNab?
Initiation Phase Focus: to f ind out what is inside Mrs. Grouping: whole class Space: big empty space with stuStep 11: McNab’s treasure box
kind of things would Mrs. McNab keep in her treasure box. What are the things she would find important and valuable? 4 Teacher asks students to talk to their group members brief ly to guess what could be there inside Mrs. McNab’s treasure box. Afterwards, teacher can invite some students to quickly share some ideas. Teacher can also write the ideas down on the board.
Rationale:
The knowledge that students have learned about Mrs. McNab helps them to think about what kind of things would be important to Mrs. McNab. Drawing the objects and putting them into the treasure box concretise the ideas with a visual image. It also allows the students to actually see how many things the thieves have stolen from Mrs. McNab.
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Treasure in the Woods (C & W District St. Anthony’s School)
Teacher-in-role (20 min)
Step 13:
Group Discussion (20 min)
Focus: to prepare for the interrogation
Experiential Phase Step 12:
Teacher can ask some guiding questions to help students think about what they would like to ask the thief, e.g. a. What personal information do you need to know about the thief? b. What information do you need to know about his partners? c. What information do you need to know about how the crime happened?
Grouping: small groups of 4-5 Space: each g roup in its own space Materials: Worksheet for Interrogation
Teaching Notes
Grouping: small groups of 4-5 1 Teacher tells the students that each group Space: each g roup in its own will take turn to ask the thief questions. space The group members will all speak loudly
Focus: to interrogate the thief
1 Teacher shows the treasure box that the students created in the last lesson. Teacher reminds students that “this treasure box is very important to Mrs. McNab, but the thieves have stolen it! As we know in the story, the children followed Scotty in the woods and helped the police to catch the thieves. However, only one of the thieves has been caught, and we are going to meet him very soon.” 2 Teacher tells students that they are going to get in role as police officers. They will meet the thief and ask the thief questions. The teacher will play the thief. 3 Teacher tells students that before they meet the thief, they have to do some preparation. Students get into their assigned groups. Each group will prepare some questions that they want to ask the thief by filling in the “Worksheet for Interrogation”. Teacher reminds students to use the “Wh-” words for the questions.
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 5-6 (double lesson)
Interrogation is a rather challenging task for primary school students. Therefore it is important to allow more time for preparation. Having prepared the questions students will feel more confident in asking questions. Besides, having all the group members in each group to ask the questions aloud will help create the atmosphere for interrogation.
Rationale:
Treasure in the Woods (C & W District St. Anthony’s School) 11
Short Scene (30 min)
Step 14:
1 Teacher tells students that the thief has been space sent to the court. The thief is going to de- Materials: simple classroom furfend himself by explaining to the Judge and niture, e.g. chairs, desks the Jury why he has committed the crime. He was in a very difficult situation and he Teacher helps the students create actually had a very special reason for steal- the Short Scene by asking them the following questions: ing things. 2 Teacher brainstorms with the students on • Who are there in the scene? what could be the possible reasons for the • What is happening? thief to steal things? Teacher collects and • Where is it happening? • When is it happening? writes the ideas down on the board. • What is the problem? 3 Students get into the assigned groups. Each
Focus: to find out why the thief committed Grouping: small groups of 4 or 5 Space: each g roup in its own crime
together to ask their questions, so that the Materials: handcuffs for teacherthief can hear the questions clearly. All the in-role, Worksheet for Interrogagroups must listen to the thief very carefully tion and write down the thief ’s answer in the interrogation report (the “Worksheet for Interrogation”). 2 Teacher tells students that s/he will play the The thief does not say anything thief. When the teacher puts on the hand- apart from answering the police’s cuffs and sits down on the chair, it signifies questions. If the students cannot that s/he has become the thief, the students come up with enough questions, have become the police officers and the in- the thief can skillfully say someterrogation starts. thing to fish for more questions. 3 After the interrogation, teacher gets out of role by leaving the chair and taking off the handcuffs. Students are given time to organise the information they have collected and to complete the worksheet. It is relatively easy to imagine what would be valuable or important to Mrs. McNab. However, it is also important and interesting to find out what is valuable or important to the thief. What could make people be willing to commit crime? Everyone has something that is valuable to himself or herself, whatever situation they are in.
Rationale:
The t e a che r is pla ying a rol e with a much lower status than the students’ role, which gives more power to the students to speak up. It is important that the thief does not give away too much information easily. This will motivate the students to ask more questions. Also, giving brief answers will make it easier for the students to take notes.
Rationale:
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Treasure in the Woods (C & W District St. Anthony’s School)
Asking the groups to act out the short scenes once help them round up their work. Teacher can call out “3, 2, 1 action” to signify the start of the final rehearsal in order to engage all groups.
• What do people say and do? • Who is going to play who?
Performance (35 min)
1 Students spend 5-10 min to recap their Materials: simple classroom furniture, e.g. chairs, desks Short Scenes created in the last lesson. 2 All the groups sit on the f loor in their own
Focus: to look at all the possible reasons Grouping: small groups of 4-5 Space: each group in its own space given by the thief for his self-defence
Step 15:
Teaching Notes
Learning Experiences
Steps
The Unit Plan - Lessons 7-8 (double lesson)
7
6
5
4
group will choose a reason why the thief would steal things. They will create a Short Scene to act out the reason. Teacher encourages students to use props and furniture they can find in the room to help them create the Short Scene. Students spend about 10-15 min to prepare for the Short Scenes. Teacher goes around to help each group to develop ideas and to practise the scenes. Each person in the scene should at least speak one complete sentence. When the groups are almost ready, teacher asks all the groups to stop the preparation and to do a final reshearsal of their scenes by acting them out all at the same time in their own space. Teacher asks the students to remember the scenes very well because in the next lesson each group will take turn to perform the Short Scene to the rest of the class.
Treasure in the Woods (C & W District St. Anthony’s School) 13
Reflection and Whole Class Sharing (35 min)
Refelective Phase Step 16:
1 Teacher shows students a PowerPoint with Space: students in a big circle examples of some famous people and their Materials: Worksheet for Reflectreasurable things, e.g. David Beckham – tion World Cup; Mother Teresa – Love for poor people; Michael Jackson – Pop Music and Dance... etc. 2 Teacher asks students to think about their most treasurable things. They complete the “Worksheet for Reflection” and share what they have written with the whole class in a big circle.
Focus: to help students think about their Grouping: individual, then whole class own treasurable things
space. Each group will be invited to stand up and perform the Short Scene to the rest of the class in its own space. 3 After the presentations, teacher guides students to reflect on the reasons for the thief to steal things. a. Who did he do it for? b. What makes a person choose to commit crime? c. If they are not afraid of being sent to the jail, then what are they more afraid of? d. What is valuable to these people? The refle ctive discussion af ter watching all the Short Scenes is important. Apart from thinking about what the treasures are to the old lady Mrs. McNab, stu dents also think about what would be valuable to the thieves. It helps them to find out that everyone has his or her most treasurable thing.
Rationale:
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Treasure in the Woods (C & W District St. Anthony’s School)
Treasure in the Woods (C & W District St. Anthony’s School)
Treasure in the Woods Worksheet for Expressing Feelings
Name:
(
Class:
Scene 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 (circle) Activity: Thought Tracking 1. Each group is going to do the “Thought Tracking” in the class. 2. In groups, discuss the key/important moment of the scene again. Each of you could talk about the personal feelings of your role. 3. The following vocabulary may help you express your feelings. Think about your role and write one or two lines you are going to say. To express personal feelings/opinions Positive feelings 1. I think… because… 2. I feel… when … 3. It’s… when… 4. I like/don’t like… 5. I’m… because… 6. It’s… for me to… 7. I love… 8. I hate… 9. I want to tell you that I… It seems… to me.
excited happy joyful pleased brilliant wonderful hopeful worthy peaceful pity clever attractive patient proud smart interested glad brave strong amazed important popular friendly polite warm relaxed comfortable
Negative feelings bad shy sad hurt tired hard moody anxious suspicious unhappy tired afraid helpless worried confused exhausted mad bored disappointed rude irritated annoyed useless impatient shocked weak embarrassed nervous uncomfortable scared lonely upset
Now, think about your role and write one or two lines you are going to say in the activity. e.g. I felt upset when I lost Scotty. e.g. I think those cunning thieves have broken into McNab’s house. 1.
2.
)
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Treasure in the Woods (C & W District St. Anthony’s School)
Treasure in the Woods Lost Dog Poster (enlarge to A3 size)
Group members: Name:
(
Class: Class:
LOST DOG
BREED:
COLOUR:
SEX:
AGE:
HEIGHT: ID COLLAR/ID #: PLACE LOST: DATE LOST: PLEASE CALL:
cm WEIGHT:
pounds
)
Treasure in the Woods (C & W District St. Anthony’s School)
Treasure in the Woods Worksheet for Police Programme
Name:
(
)
Class:
You are a reporter. To help Mrs. McNab find Scotty, you are going to present the content of the poster in the police programme. Fill in the blanks below and practise saying the passage with your groupmates.
Opening
Hello, everyone! Mrs. McNab’s dog, Scotty, has been missing for few days. Here is some information of Scotty and hope everyone can help Mrs. McNab find her beloved dog.
Middle
Scotty is a in colour. It is
. It is cm tall. It weights
pounds. It is
and Mrs. McNab lost Scotty on near
. at
. It can play tricks like .
Closing
Please call 1234 4321 as soon as possible if you know where Scotty is. News reported by
. Thank you.
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Treasure in the Woods (C & W District St. Anthony’s School)
Treasure in the Woods Worksheet for Interrogation
Name:
(
Class:
Interrogation*
Mrs. McNab‘s valuable things were stolen by two thieves. Alex, Hannah and Lily found the box in a small hut. They told the police officer the details about the thieves. The police waited outside the hut the next day at midnight. The police caught one of the thieves when they met at the hut. The other one escaped. You are the police officer. You are going to interrogate the thief. Work in your groups. What question are you going to ask? List four questions you want to ask and then write down the thief’s answers below. The “Wh-” words would be helpful to make questions.
*The word “Interrogate” means to ask someone a lot of questions for a long time in order to get information.
)
Treasure in the Woods (C & W District St. Anthony’s School)
Treasure in the Woods Worksheet for Reflection
Name:
(
)
Class: Activity: Self-reflection Mrs. McNab was happier about getting Scotty back than she was about having her stolen things returned! Scotty is very valuable and treasurable to her. 1. In groups, discuss with your groupmates what you treasure most in your life. (e.g. family, friends, pet, favourite toys, favourite collections of items like old photos, stamps, game cards… etc) 2. Answer the following questions and share your ideas with the class. 1. Have you ever lost something and then found it again, like Mrs. McNab finding Scotty? How did you feel? Yes, I lost I felt
before. .
because
2. What do you think is the most treasurable thing to you? is the most treasurable thing to me because . 3. What do you want to put in your treasure box? Draw it in the box. I want to put
in my treasure box because .
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