In response to the school's major concerns of cultivating proper values and attitudes and a stronger sense of belonging to society and the country among students, the English teachers at Farm Road Government Primary School are dedicated to revamping the school reading and writing curriculum by incorporating elements of values education, national education (NE) and national security education (NSE) into the school English Language curriculum. Through the use of diverse text types such as travel journals, webpage articles and travel vlogs, and a range of strategies including self-directed learning tasks, e-learning activities, and life-wide learning, the P5 teachers enriched students' learning experiences, enhanced their awareness and understanding of the importance of preserving cultural heritage, and also inspired students to demonstrate love and care for our motherland.
Task: Write a travel journal in the school newsletter to share your travel experiences after going on a virtual tour to Beijing.
Lessons |
Teaching steps |
Resources |
1 |
Vocabulary building
- Teacher invited students to share their travel experiences to arouse their interest in the topic.
- Teacher introduced the target vocabulary items about travel activities, e.g. visit a cave/castle/temple, go on a boat trip, take a ride in a hot-air balloon.
- Students brainstormed some more travel activities.
- Students played a game on Quizlet to revise the vocabulary at home.
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2-3 |
Reading (text deconstruction and infusion of NE elements)
- Students read the core text, a recount about the travelling experience to Xi’an.
- Teacher deconstructed the text with students by asking them to sequence different parts of a recount on Nearpod and identify the purpose of different parts (i.e. introduction, events, personal comments).
- Teacher guided students to use Nearpod to identify the language features of a recount and explained the uses to them, including:
- the simple past tense
- time connectives
- a wide range of adjectives
- Teacher encouraged students to reflect on what the author had learnt from the trip and to share their thoughts on Xi’an after they had read the text. Some guiding questions used are listed below:
- What do you like about Xi’an?
- Xi’an is such a beautiful city in our country. How do you feel about Xi’an?
- Would you like to travel to Xi’an one day? Why/Why not?
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4-5 |
Teaching of the target reading and writing skills
- Teacher led students in guessing the meaning of a few unfamiliar words using pictorial and contextual clues.
- Students practised applying the target reading skill to deduce the meaning of some more unfamiliar words from the text.
- Teacher guided students to identify sentences employing the five senses strategy for descriptive writing in the text.
- Students looked at photos of the school picnic, then worked in groups to brainstorm ideas for describing the event using the five senses strategy.
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6-7 |
Target language items: present perfect tense
- Students broadened their reading exposure by reading several recounts in the textbook.
- Teacher guided students to find examples of the present perfect tense in the recounts.
- Teacher introduced the form and function of the present perfect tense using a timeline, highlighting how this tense is used to show actions that happened at an unspecified time in the past or have relevance to the present.
- Students were engaged in guided practices where they exchanged information about their travel experiences using the target language items:
- Have you been to… ?
- Yes, I have. / No, I have never been to…
- How many times have you been to… ?
- I have been to… once/twice/three times.
- Students were encouraged to read some suggested online readers at home to learn more about attractions in the Mainland or other countries as a self-learning task.
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8-9 |
Virtual reality (VR) tours
- Teacher assumed the role of a tour guide, virtually escorting students on a journey to explore renowned historical sites in Beijing through immersive VR 360 videos.
- Students actively participated by wearing a VR headset to enhance their experience.
- Teacher shared travel vlogs with students featuring vloggers eating and reviewing local signature dishes, providing insights into the culinary delights of the region.
- To foster learner autonomy, students were provided with both must-do and choose-to-do activities through a selection of QR codes for individual exploration.
- A short video clip about Peking opera was played to offer students a glimpse into the traditional performing arts of Beijing.
- Students evaluated what they liked most about the virtual trip and what they had learnt through the virtual exploration of Beijing.
- Teacher highlighted the message: Our country is our home. It is so beautiful.
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- VR headsets
- VR 360 videos
- Travel vlogs
- A video about Peking opera
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10 |
Infusion of the target proper values and NSE elements
- Teacher introduced the history of the Great Wall.
- Teacher displayed images depicting damage to the Great Wall and a video showing irresponsible tourist behaviour.
- Students were prompted to express their emotions upon viewing the pictures and video. Teacher used an analogy to help students connect the damage to the Great Wall with the emotional impact of witnessing harm to their own home, fostering empathy and understanding among the students.
- Students were guided to reflect on their responsibility in safeguarding national treasures and the significance of preserving cultural heritage.
- Teacher revisited the language features for writing rules, e.g. must, mustn’t and imperatives.
- Students simulated taking action to protect historical landmarks in Hong Kong by writing rules for tourists, fostering a sense of responsibility towards cultural preservation.
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11 |
Pre-writing
- Before the lesson, students completed a self-learning task. They looked for more information about things to see, eat and do in Beijing and uploaded their findings to Padlet.
- In the lesson, some students were invited to present their findings to the class while others provided feedback.
- Students brainstormed ideas and planned for their writing using a mind map and a recount framework with 5W1H method (i.e. “What”, “Who”, “Where”, “When”, “Why”, “How”) embedded.
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- Writing Booklet P.9-10
- Padlet
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12-13 |
Drafting
- Teacher supported students to understand the writing task, outline expectations and review the writer’s checklist.
- Students used the ideas generated from the recount framework to structure their writing into coherent paragraphs.
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14 |
Revising and editing
- Teacher demonstrated how they could make use of the five senses strategy to add details in their writing.
- Students revised their content using the ARMS (add, remove, move and substitute) checklist and the five senses chart.
- Students edited their use of the target language items using the CUPS (capitalisation, usage, punctuation, and spelling) checklist and the self-assessment checklist to refine and polish their written work for accuracy and clarity.
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15 |
Publishing and reflection
- Teacher gave feedback using an assessment form.
- Students reflected on their learning of the unit using the thinking routine chart (I used to think…Now I think…).
- Some students were interviewed to reflect on what they had learnt. Teacher collected qualitative data for evaluation.
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