Lesson Idea: My Special Speech

NEW SECTION: Phonics & Vocabulary Warm-up

Rationale: This section is crucial for building foundational skills. Before students can even think about speech structure, they need the basic building blocks: words they can pronounce. Since the students are very weak, we are using a phonics-based approach inspired by their workbooks. We group words by sound (r-controlled vowels like /ar/, /or/, /er/) to make pronunciation patterns clear and memorable. This directly prepares them for the "Me and My City" speech.

Execution (15-20 mins):

Go through each sound group one by one. Use the interactive popups to show mouth shapes and give visual cues.
Listen and Say Script: For each sound, model it clearly 3 times (e.g., "/ar/, /ar/, /ar/"). Then say the word, breaking it down (e.g., "p-ark... park!"). Have students repeat chorally, then ask a few individuals. Use TPR (Total Physical Response): for 'park', make a tree shape with arms; for 'sport', pretend to kick a ball.
Practice Sentences: Model the full sentence with expressive intonation. Have the whole class repeat. Then, ask them to say it to their partner. This is their first step towards using the words in a presentation context.
My Speech Starters: Frame this as the "super useful" part. Explain that these are the sentences they will use in their real speech. Practice these multiple times.

Let's Learn The Words for Our Speech!

Sound Check: /ar/ like in c-ar 🧐

park

star

partner

Practice Sentences

I like to go to the park. 🗣️

Sound Check: /or/ like in h-or-se 🧐

sport

our

your

Practice Sentences

What is your favorite sport? 🗣️

Sound Check: /er/ like in teach-er 🧐

teacher

curly

first

Practice Sentences

First, I will say my name. 🗣️

My Speech Starters! Let's Practice!

Hello everyone, my name is ______.

First, I will tell you about Hong Kong.

I love to play a sport in the park.

Connecting to the Lesson: Building a Speech from Scratch

Rationale: This textbook content is the perfect foundation for teaching basic presentation structure. The PowerPoint asks, "What makes a good speech?". This page provides the answer: Clear, organized parts. We will use the 'fact file' activity as a template to create a simple, personal "About Me" speech. This approach is highly effective for weak ESL learners because it's concrete, personal, and provides a safe, structured topic for their first major presentation.

Lesson Flow:

Phonics Warm-up (15 mins): Use the new "Let's Learn The Words" section above to pre-teach essential vocabulary.
Concept Intro (10 mins): Use "People are different" and "People have different talents" to introduce the idea that everyone is special and has something interesting to share. This is the "why" of their speech.
Core Task - Speech Mapping (20 mins): The "Activities" box is our main focus. Frame the "fact file" as a "Speech Map". Guide them to turn each bullet point into a sentence for their speech.
Practice (10 mins): Pair-share. Students practice telling their partner their "speech" using the map.

To understand that each person is special
To understand that people are all different
To understand that people should be treated equally

Teaching Step 1: Warm-up & Vocabulary Building

Goal: To activate prior knowledge and introduce key vocabulary for the "About Me" speech in a fun, visual way.

Execution: Project this section on the board. Point to the pictures.

Teacher: "Look at these two children. Are they the same? No! They are different. What is different? Look at her hair. Is it straight or curly?" (Elicit 'curly'). "Good! We just learned that word! /er/ /er/ curly! And his hair?" (Elicit 'straight'). "Let's click the little face to see more!"

Use the first interactive popup to introduce/review words like 'curly hair', 'straight hair', 'brown eyes', 'happy smile'. Keep it fast-paced and interactive.

People look different 😊

We all look different. We have different physical features, like our eyes and hair.

Did you know? Everyone has lines on their fingers. These leave a special mark called a fingerprint. All fingerprints are different.

Teaching Step 2: Introducing Personality and Talents

Goal: To move from physical descriptions to more personal qualities. This adds depth to their speech content.

Execution: Discuss the illustrations. Mime being 'quiet' (reading a book) and 'lively' (kicking a ball). Ask students to stand up if they are lively, or put a finger on their lips if they are quiet. Then, move to talents.

Teacher: "Some people are quiet. Some people are lively. Both are good! Now, let's talk about TALENTS. Talents are things you are good at. Look! Drawing, football, writing... What is your special talent? Let's click the trophy to see more ideas!"

Use the popups to brainstorm more talents. This helps students identify something they can talk proudly about in their presentation.

People are different 💖

A boy painting a picture of a waterfall.

People can be quiet, loud, calm or lively.

People have their own personality. This is all the qualities that make them who they are.

People have different talents 🏆

People are good at different things. We all enjoy doing different things. A mixture of people makes life interesting. Everybody is special just because of who they are.

Teaching Step 3: The "Speech Map" (Core Activity)

Goal: To explicitly connect the textbook activity to the presentation structure. This is the most crucial part of the lesson.

Execution: Draw a simple mind map on the board with "ME" in the center. Explain that the 'fact file' is a plan for their speech. Go through each bullet point and model how to turn it into a full sentence.

Teacher: "Okay everyone, this is the most important part! This is your Speech Map! It shows you how to make a great speech. It's easy! Look, number 1: 'a picture of you'. For your speech, you say: 'Hello everyone, my name is [Name].' Number 2: 'your birth date'. You say: 'My birthday is on [Date].' Let's click the microphone to see our Speech Map!"

Use the "Speech Map" popup to visually reinforce the structure. Have students copy the map into their notebooks and fill in their own information. This becomes their script/cue card.

Activities 🎤

Work with a partner. Make a 'fact file' for yourself and present it to your class. It should include:
- a picture of you (you can use a photo or a drawing)
- your birth date
- age
- height
- hair colour
- eye colour
- three likes
- one dislike
Draw a picture of yourself and two friends. Write about a friend and describe his/her personality.

Teaching Step 4: Check for Understanding

Goal: To quickly assess if students understand what each part of their new "Speech Map" is about.

Execution: After students have had some time to fill in their own Speech Map, use this final interactive element as a quick review game.

Teacher: "Great work! Before we practice, let's check! I'm going to click this button. You will see some pictures. I will point to one picture... you tell me what to say in our speech! Ready?"

Click the trigger. When the popup appears, point to the trophy icon and ask, "What do we talk about for this picture?". Elicit "My talent!". Point to the eye icon, elicit "My eye colour!". This reinforces the connection between the visual cue and the speech content.