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“SOW Inspiring” Book Gifting Competition (Learning and Teaching Materials)

The “SOW Inspiring” Book Gifting Competition (the Competition) aims to develop a zeal for reading among students, enhance their language skills, unleash their creativity and foster their development of proper values and attitudes. Students are invited to present a book of their choice as a gift to someone dear to them by writing a message with a saying of wisdom (SOW) taken from the book and creating a piece of two-dimensional (2D) artwork to enhance conveyance of meaning and visual representation of the message.

Campaign on "Promoting Positive Values and Attitudes through English Sayings of Wisdom 2024/25"

Building on the successes of the past four years, the SOW Campaign 2024/25 will continue to feature a variety of student activities and learning and teaching resources to facilitate English language learning by integrating values education into the school English Language curriculum within and beyond the classroom. With the overarching theme “SOW the Reading Seed – Inspire and Be Inspired” and four sub-themes, namely “Resilience”, “Empowerment”, “Appreciation” and “Delight” (R.E.A.D.), the campaign this year aims to:

cultivate students’ positive thinking;
enhance their English language skills by developing their reading interest and ability;
empower them to face adversity; and
nurture in them a resilient mindset and a grateful heart through reading.

RTHK Radio Programme - In the Common Room

In the Common Room, broadcast at 9:05 p.m. on Radio 3 of RTHK every weekday, is produced by Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) with the sponsorship of the Education Bureau (EDB). The programme aims to nurture primary and secondary students’ interest in learning English and widen their exposure to the authentic use of the language through a variety of engaging features. Starting from the 2024/25 school year, In the Common Room has been revamped with new or enhanced features.

Award Presentation Ceremony for the SOW Campaign 2023/24

The Award Presentation Ceremony for the SOW Campaign 2023/24 was successfully held on 5 October, 2024 (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 2023/24 school year. Around 400 students, teachers, principals and guests of honour were invited to the ceremony officiated by Ms Michelle LI, JP, Permanent Secretary for Education. 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.