Open Resource: A Collection of Process Drama Lesson Plans

During the many years of teaching in Hong Kong, I’ve often heard participants in drama workshops say, "I wish there are more local lesson plans available as references!" While there is an abundance of drama lesson plans from overseas, they often lack the local relevance that Asian educators need.

When I was working at Hong Kong Art School, we applied for funding from SCOLAR (Standing Committee on Language Education and Research) to support a drama education project. As part of the proposal, I advocated for the publication of lesson plans, not only in print, but also online to enhance accessibility and broaden its impact.

Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama  (link) was published as a result. It is a collection of twelve process drama lesson plans co-authored by Krissy Lam, the project participants and me. While the book primarily focuses on teaching English as a second language in primary schools, its content is flexible enough to be adapted for other grade levels and subject areas. For those interested in learning how to plan Process Drama, it also serves as a valuable resource. Although the book was written with Hong Kong educators in mind, my colleagues from Australia, the UK and Ireland have also found it relevant and applicable in their teaching contexts.

Initially, the book was shared as a free resource on the SCOLAR platform. After the platform was discontinued, I sought permission from Hong Kong Art School to continue offering it for free in this website.

Someone pointed out that universities often charge hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop teaching materials for the government. By contrast, we published this book without earning any substantial revenue—and even made it freely available to all. Does that make us naïve? I believe otherwise. If this resource helps bridge the gap in materials in Hong Kong and provide meaningful support to teachers, drama educators and their students, then what we have gained is far more valuable than money.