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The Creative Writing Activity for Upper Primary Students 2023/24 -
An Anthology of Students' Creative Works

To recognise schools’ active participation in the writing activity and showcase students’ creative works, an anthology has been compiled, featuring selected entries from each of the participating schools.

"In Love We Share, In Love We Grow" Animation Series

The animation series is developed to illustrate the overarching theme of the SOW Campaign, “In Love We Share, In Love We Grow”, and the six sub-themes, namely “Love Our Country”, “Love the Community”, “Love Our Family and Friends”, “Love Myself”, “Love Learning” and “Love Nature”. It comprises three animated videos based on the English sayings of wisdom, “In love of home, the love of country has its rise.” (Charles DICKENS), “To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” (Oscar WILDE) and “Friendship is a sheltering tree.” (Samuel Taylor COLERIDGE). Three sets of activity sheets are developed to facilitate and complement the use of the animation series. They are designed to engage students in interacting with and responding to the animated videos to enhance their viewing and multimodal literacy skills as well as cultivate their proper values and attitudes.

SOW Campaign 2023/24: “SOW in Love” Letter Writing Competition

The “SOW in Love” Letter Writing Competition is organised to enhance students’ language skills and multimodal literacy, nurture their creativity and foster their positive values and attitudes. Students are invited to write a letter to express their love and gratitude towards an entity with a SOW of their choice and create a piece of two-dimensional (2D) artwork to enhance conveyance of meaning and visual representation of the letter. To engage more students in the Competition, schools are encouraged to organise a preliminary competition within the school to shortlist outstanding student works across different year levels for the Competition. In support of the Competition, learning and teaching resources at primary and secondary levels will be disseminated in due course.
Announcement of Results
Primary Level Secondary Level

Poetry Remake Competition 2023/24
First launched in the 2020/21 school year, the Poetry Remake Competition is a cross-curricular activity that connects poetry appreciation and art creation. The Competition has attracted a rising number of entries over the years and 2023/24 marks the fourth run of the event. As part of the SOW Campaign 2023/24, which aims to promote positive values and attitudes, the Poetry Remake Competition is organised in this school year to promote reading and artistic creation with the use of inspiring English poetry written by Hong Kong-based poets.
Announcement of Results

English Language Resource Kit on National Security Education at the Primary Level
The resource kit features four learning topics covering cultural security, ecological security, food security and outer space security. Through engaging in multifarious English activities, students learn about the folk dances of different ethnic groups and the achievements in aerospace technology in our country, as well as the sustained efforts of our country in conserving endangered wildlife animals and stabilising food supply.

English Language Resource Materials on National Security Education at the Secondary Level
The resource materials consist of four sets covering artificial intelligence security, nuclear security, resource security and food security. A range of reading and multimodal texts are featured to help students explore different fields of national security. Through engaging in reading, viewing, writing and speaking activities, students learn about our country’s latest developments and the importance of safeguarding national security, as well as develop a stronger sense of national identity. Suggestions on cross-curricular and life-wide learning activities are also provided to enrich students’ English learning experiences.

A Poster on “Unlock the Power of Love and Growth from A to Z”
The poster aims to share examples of good habits and actions on love and growth from A to Z, echoing the overarching theme “In Love We Share, In Love We Grow” and the six sub-themes “Love Our Country”, “Love the Community”, “Love Our Family and Friends”, “Love Myself”, “Love Learning” and “Love Nature” of the SOW Campaign 2023/24.

Resource Kit on the Creative Use of English: An Animation Series
This resource kit aims to support schools in incorporating elements of the creative use of English into the English Language curriculum. It includes a collection of six posters, a total of six activity sheets and an animation series. The animation series is developed to illustrate different writing skills and techniques with explanation of real-life examples. The six animated videos, each lasting around 4-6 minutes, feature key topics on the creative use of English.

Posters on “In Love We Share, In Love We Grow”
A collection of printed posters is designed to echoe the overarching theme “In Love We Share, In Love We Grow” and the six sub-themes “Love Our Country”, “Love the Community”, “Love Our Family and Friends”, “Love Myself”, “Love Learning” and “Love Nature” of the SOW Campaign 2023/24. It comprises an A2-sized poster introducing the overarching theme and the six sub-themes and 18 posters on selected English sayings under the six sub-themes. Schools are encouraged to make effective use of the posters to create a language-rich environment for nurturing positive values and attitudes in students and enhancing English learning.

An English Animation Series “An Inspiring Journey through Chinese Fables and Tales”
The English animation series "An Inspiring Journey through Chinese Fables and Tales" together with the activity booklet is designed to enrich students’ English learning experiences and promote national education. The animations, each lasting for 4-5 minutes, feature three well-known Chinese fables and tales, namely “Fanning the Pillow and Warming the Quilt” (「扇枕溫衾」), “One Rice, Thousand Gold” (「一飯千金」) and “Yu the Great Tamed the Waters” (「大禹治水」), and enable students to learn English in an interesting and lively way. The activity booklet is developed to facilitate and complement the use of the animations. In addition to developing English language skills, students are guided to respect, appreciate and inherit Chinese culture and traditional values , including placing emphasis on filial piety, having gratitude, being perseverant, and upholding the love for our country thus cultivating a sense of national identity in them and fostering their development of proper values and attitudes.

SOW Campaign 2023/24: School-based Activity “Week of Love and Growth”
The Week of Love and Growth, which is to be held within the period of 19 February – 12 July 2024, is a cross-curricular English week in which schools organise school-based activities that echo the overarching theme and the six sub-themes of the SOW Campaign 2023/24 to create a learning environment conducive to English learning and the promotion of values education through cross-curricular collaboration. In support of the activity week, a variety of resource materials will be disseminated in due course. Experience sharing sessions will be organised to provide schools with insights into the planning and implementation of the activity week in different school contexts. School-based support for organising the activity week may also be provided by the NET Section upon request.
Registration Deadline: 6:00 p.m., 31 January 2024 (Wednesday)

SOW Year Planner 2024
A year’s harvest counts on spring; a man’s success hinges on his diligence." With a new year around the corner, it is high time for students to set goals and make plans for the coming year. The EDB has designed the SOW Year Planner 2024, which guides students to set goals and plan ahead to achieve them. The year planner showcases 14 outstanding and commendable entries of the Poetry Remake Competition (2022/23), an activity under the SOW Campaign to promote poetry appreciation and artistic creation with the use of English poetry by Hong Kong-based poets. The SOW Year Planner 2024 also features six activity sheets on the theme of the SOW Campaign in the 2023/24 school year – “In Love We Share, In Love We Grow”, encouraging students to put the six kinds of love into practice in their daily lives.

Learning and Teaching Resources on Writing a Letter to Express Love and Gratitude for the “SOW in Love” Letter Writing Competition

This set of materials for primary students comprises two learning tasks based on a reading text and a multimodal text respectively. Learning activities and teaching steps are provided to guide students to explore the positive values and attitudes embedded in the texts, write a letter to express their love and gratitude to someone or something with a SOW of their choice and create a piece of two-dimensional (2D) artwork by themselves. Teachers are encouraged to make effective use of the learning and teaching materials to develop students’ language skills, promote values education and prepare students for participating in the “SOW in Love” Letter Writing Competition.

Learning and Teaching Resources on Writing a Letter to Express Love and Gratitude for the “SOW in Love” Letter Writing Competition

This set of materials for secondary students comprises a set of presentation slides and worksheets, which guide students to write a letter to express their love and gratitude to someone or something dear to the heart. Examples are provided to help students generate ideas through connecting their reading/viewing or personal experiences with a SOW of their own choice and a piece of two-dimensional (2D) artwork created by themselves. Tips are also provided on ways to polish the language and enhance the emotional appeal of the letter. Teachers are encouraged to make effective use of the learning and teaching materials to develop students’ language skills, promote values education and prepare students for participating in the “SOW in Love” Letter Writing Competition.

A Collection of English Learning Activities for the Promotion of Values Education: Examples from the School-based Activity “Week of Positivity”

The web page A Collection of English Learning Activities for the Promotion of Values Education: Examples from the School-based Activity “Week of Positivity” showcases a collection of school practices in planning and implementing the “Week of Positivity”, a signature school-based activity under the 2022/23 SOW Campaign. Schools can make reference to the school examples and adapt the variety of learning activities to strengthen the promotion of values education in the school English Language curriculum and enrich students’ English learning experiences. Based on the examples and the resources available, schools are encouraged to organise their school-based “Week of Love and Growth” under the 2023/24 SOW Campaign.

Award Presentation Ceremony for the SOW Campaign 2022/23

The Award Presentation Ceremony for the SOW Campaign 2022/23 was successfully held on 7 October, 2023 (Sat) to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of schools and students in various SOW territory-wide competitions/student activities organised by the English Language Education Section and the Native-speaking English Teacher (NET) Section in the 2022/23 school year. More than 300 students, teachers, principals and guests of honour were invited to the ceremony officiated by Dr Gloria CHAN, Principal Assistant Secretary (Curriculum Development). Our heartfelt gratitude to schools’ support and effort in featuring a variety of learning activities to promote values education in the school English Language curriculum.

Campaign on "Promoting Positive Values and Attitudes through English Sayings of Wisdom 2023/24"
SOW Campaign 2023/24 will continue to feature a variety of student activities and learning and teaching resources to sustain the momentum and growing impacts of building a positive school culture through cross-curricular collaboration. The overarching theme of the campaign this year is “In Love We Share, In Love We Grow”. Together with six sub-themes, namely “Love Our Country”, “Love the Community”, “Love Our Family and Friends”, “Love Myself”, “Love Learning” and “Love Nature”, the campaign this year aims to engage students in exploring the various manifestations of love across different dimensions. Schools are encouraged to develop in students a sense of pride and appreciation for our country, enlighten them about the importance of self-acceptance and self-improvement as well as encourage them to put positive values into action in daily life through caring for and respecting the people and things around them.

“We Write ‧ We Sing” Music Competition
The Competition is open to primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. It aims to engage students in writing lyrics and performing songs that promote positive values and attitudes, with the use of melodies newly composed by the Hong Kong song-writer Mr NG Lok-shing, Ronald.

e-Book Traditional Chinese Festivals
This e-book aims to facilitate students in learning English at the primary level, provide resources to enrich their cross-curricular reading experiences, cultivate a sense of national identity in them, and foster their development of proper values and attitudes. It features four traditional Chinese festivals, namely Chinese New Year, the Ching Ming Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival, and includes a writing task. Besides, the interactive features of the e-book can facilitate students’ self-directed learning.

A Guide on Self-directed Learning for Secondary Students
Self-directed learning is important for nurturing students into lifelong English learners. This leaflet aims to illustrate key concepts of self-directed learning and offer some useful tips on how various English learning resources can be carefully selected and effectively used to facilitate self-directed English learning.

SOW Activity Sheet "PLAY, LEARN, THINK in SOWonderland: Fun Activities for Fuelling Positivity"
This activity sheet aims to nurture students' positive values and attitudes and to hone their language skills (e.g. speaking, writing) through fun and engaging activities. It provides opportunities for students to explore and reflect on the featured themes (i.e. "Leading a Positive Life", "Diligence", "Empathy", "Respect for Diversity" and "Cherishing Life") and selected sayings of wisdom under the SOW Campaign 2022/23, and use English to discuss and share their views on topics related to positive values and attitudes in meaningful contexts.

Learning and Teaching Resources Related to Cultivating Students’ Concern for Cleanliness
To cultivate students’ concern for cleanliness, and enhance their awareness and habit of keeping the environment clean, three sets of learning and teaching resources, including video clips and presentation slides, have been developed to support schools in developing students’ good civic awareness for building a clean campus and community:

Online Self-learning Platform on the Academic Use of English
The e-Learning Platform on Academic Use of English aims to heighten senior secondary students’ awareness of the academic use of English and facilitate their self-directed learning through interactive activities with explanatory notes and answer-checking function. The platform comprises six chapters on the common features of academic texts and language skills for reading and writing academic texts. Each chapter comes with brief notes and learning activities, which guide students to explore key concepts of academic use of English. In addition to the e-learning platform, a printable version of the materials and a collection of six posters featuring keys concepts of academic use of English are also also available for download and adaptation.

Learning and Teaching Resources on Law-abiding Education
To support schools in promoting values education (including law-abiding education), three sets of learning and teaching resources, including video clips and presentation slides, have been developed to support schools in integrating values education into the school English Language curriculum at primary/secondary level:

Schools are advised to adapt the resources with reference to the students’ needs and abilities and cultivate in them an awareness of law-abidingness and understanding of the rule of law to enable them to fulfil their civic responsibilities.

A Treasury of Literary Classics – Chinese Fables and Tales Series (2)
Chinese Fables and Tales Series (2) aims to help students develop reading skills and reflect on the moral lessons embedded in the ten inspirational Chinese fables and tales written in English. An extension activity for each story is included to encourage students to watch a relevant short video and share their thoughts and feelings. Through reading the stories and watching the videos, students can enhance their understanding and appreciation of the essence of Chinese traditions and culture as well as the latest development and achievements of China, thereby cultivating a sense of national identity in them and fostering their development of positive and proper values and attitudes. To facilitate students’ self-directed learning, an e-version with interactive features such as answer-checking functions and prompts is provided. In addition, the Chinese Fables and Tales Series (1), which was disseminated earlier, has been enriched with the inclusion of an extension activity for each story.

Fact Sheet on “Understanding the Functions of Assignments, Dictation and Assessment”

The Pamphlet on “Parents’ Tips on Effective English Language Learning through Assignments, Dictation and Assessment” and Fact Sheet on “Understanding the Functions of Assignments, Dictation and Assessment” are developed to help parents understand how to support their children at the primary level to learn English effectively. Through clarifying myths about assignments, dictation and assessment, the pamphlet illustrates how parents can play their role more fully in their children’s learning and how they can help their children learn English well through these three aspects and cultivate in their children ways to develop positive attitudes and habits of active learning, thereby enhancing their children’s self-directed learning capabilities. The fact sheet provides an overview of the functions of assignments, dictation and assessment for students, teachers and parents, so that parents can better support and guide their children.