C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial
School
2009-2010
English pull-out programme:
Young Playwrights’ Theatre
11 June 2010
Background of our school
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial
School
Name of school: C. & M. A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial
School
Type of school: Subsidized
Location: Yuen Long
No. of classes: 24
Textbook used: My Pals are Here!
Background of our school
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial
School
Language ability: Average
Family: most students come from middle-income
families
Family support: Most parents are educated but they
have to work in the daytime. Many
students go to tutorial classes after
school.
Selection of target students
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial
School
Name of our programme:
English Pull-out Programme: Young Playwrights’
Theatre
Target level: P.5 & 6
Students are selected by:
1)Average English exam. result: Top 25% in
their levels
2)English teachers’ recommendation
3)Pre-assessment results
Pre-programme assessment
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial School
1) Written: reading and writing
2) Oral
1) Reading and writing:
- Objectives:
i) assess students’ basic knowledge about
different elements of a play script
ii) assess students’ writing and creative
abilities
- content designed based on a play they were
going to read
Design of the pull-out programme
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial School
2) Oral:
- Objectives:
i) assess students’ fluency, pronunciation
and tone of voice
ii) assess students’ knowledge about stage
directions
iii) assess students’ improvisation skills
- content designed based on a play they were
going to read
Aims and Objectives of the pull-out programme
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial School
This programme aims at:
1) developing students’ writing skills by
i) broadening students’ vocabulary bank
e.g. action verbs, adjectives and adverbs used
to describe people’s feelings, gestures or
the way they speak
ii) improving their editing skills
e.g. involving them in editing their own and their
classmates’ writing and play scripts
Aims and Objectives of the pull-out programme
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial School
This programme aims at:
2) developing students’ speaking skills by
i) teaching them to read with appropriate tone of
voice
ii) improving their fluency in speaking
iii) increasing their confidence in speaking
iv) raising their awareness of voice projection
when acting on stage
Aims and Objectives of the pull-out programme
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial
School
This programme aims at:
3) developing students’ knowledge of the
elements of a play e.g. stage directions, setting,
climax etc.
4) developing students’ acting skills e.g. gesture,
facial expressions, body movement
5) promoting students’ interpersonal and
intrapersonal skills e.g. collaboration skills and
self-confidence
Aims and Objectives of the pull-out programme
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial
School
At the end of the programme, students should
be able to:
- write up their own play script that matches
with the school’s year theme ‘ Love Your
Neighbours, Love Your School’
- act out their play script in a drama performance
and the graduation ceremony
Design of the pull-out programme
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial School
Time: Extra-curricular activities period
(Every Wed)
Duration: 55 min (2:20 – 3: 15 p.m.)
No. of lessons: 22 lessons
Read 1 storybook and 1 play script
Storybook: The Worry Website
(by Jacqueline Wilson)
Play script: “Once Upon a Fairy Tale”
(by Christina Hamlett)
Lesson Design
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial
School
From The Worry Website, the students learn:
1)To use first- and third-person narrative to create
characterisation through a character’s actions, emotions or
personalities in writing.
2)To construct meanings, share ideas and make value
judgement.
3)To analyse different characterisation techniques and create
characters with the use of characterisation techniques in
acting and writing.
4) To analyse the different elements of a plot.
5) To use facial expressions to express emotions and attitudes.
6) To concentrate on making movements in acting.
Lesson Design
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial School
From “Once Upon a Fairy Tale”, the students learn:
1)The elements and plot of a play.
2)How a playwright interacts with the readers and actors in
a play.
3) Action verbs through body movements and rewriting.
4) Characterisation in plays by focusing on stage directions
(Adjectives and adverbs)
5) To write a play script for performance
Lesson Design
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial
School
Teaching contents:
In each lesson:
- Include activities integrating the four skills;
from reading + listening  speaking + writing
(input)
(output)
-
Include acting games
Implementation of the lessons
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial School
Before the lessons:
Teachers discuss the lesson design with the Gifted
Education (GE) Section, CDI, EDB a week before
implementation
The GE Section writes up and revises the
lesson plans
Implementation of the lessons
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial School
During the lessons:
Teachers
- Mainly responsible for
teaching and giving
instructions to activities
The GE Section, EDB
- Offers help when
necessary
- Gives feedback to students’
performance
Implementation of the lessons
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial School
After the lessons:
Evaluation of the previous lessons
Planning for the next lesson
Difference from Regular English lessons
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial School
1) More time for practice: writing and acting
2) More demanding: students need to read one chapter
of a storybook every week; they need to write their
own play script
3) Wider range of vocabularies taught e.g. adjectives,
adverbs and action verbs
4) Small class learning allowed students to gain more
opportunities to practice and interact with the
teachers and classmates.
5) Approach
Evaluation
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial
School
Means of evaluation:
-
Teachers’ observation
-
Students’ group work
-
Students’ individual work
-
Questionnaires
-
Post-programme assessment
Evaluation
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial School
1) Students wrote with better use of action verbs,
adjectives and adverbs.
2) They were able to edit their scripts and their
group mates’ scripts based on the notes given to
them.
3) They were able to read fluently with appropriate
intonation.
4) They became more confident in speaking in front of
the others.
Evaluation
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial
School
5) Students knew better about the different elements of
a play e.g. setting, characters, climax, gesture etc.
40
35
30
25
20
15
Post-test
Pre-test
10
5
0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7
Results of the pre- and post-program assessment on
students’ knowledge of different elements of a play
Evaluation
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial
School
6) Students were able to write stage directions.
7) They were able to act with appropriate gesture and
facial expressions.
8) Students reflected that they learned how to
cooperate with the others.
Difficulties encountered
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial
School
1) Limitation of time:
- students could not arrive in time  over-run
- lunch recess  follow-up
2) Teachers’ preparation
- a lot of preparation required
3) Variation in student abilities
Future development
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial
School
Two directions for future development:
1) Re-run the programme
Advantages:
- Teachers can reuse the teaching materials
- As teachers have already used the materials
once, they can implement the lessons more
effectively
Disadvantages:
- The P.5 students who have joined the programme this
year can’t join it again next year, their skills
and knowledge can’t be further developed
through the programme
Future development
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial School
2) Extended module – the students who have joined
the programme for one year (P.5) will become group
leaders in the second year
Advantages:
- Some of the materials can still be reused
- The P.5 students can continue to build up
their knowledge and skills based on their
knowledge and skills built previously
- Their leadership skills can also be trained
Disadvantages:
- Teachers have to develop another set of
materials for the leaders.
The End
C. & M.A. Chui Chak Lam Memorial School
Thank you!