Applause (English Declamation Piece)

Written by Ma. Angelica M. Domingo

Performed by Chia Andrea T. Tumbagahan

From Jawili Integrated School

“No! Don’t go. I promise to do anything, anything! Just stay with me, please!” “Cut!” I can hear it already, my co-stars telling me how proud they are that they have experienced acting with me. I can hear how the director congratulates me for having single takes in all my scenes. I can hear the applause, applause. I live for the applause!

“Earth to Tekla!” of course, my older sister had to wake me up from my sweet daydream. “Let’s go! We need to sell all of our veggies if you want to be home by lunch time!” She pulled my hand. “Ouch! Be gentle on my skin. You know how I need to be flawless for my audition!” I reminded her. “Whatever, your majesty! I think you forgot your to wear your malunggay crown!” my sister said, mocking me. “Just wait until I wear my crown. It will be bedazzled with diamonds, shining, sitting perfectly on my head!” I said and went back to daydreaming as we walk.

When that time comes, I will walk no more. I will have a limousine which I will ride wherever I will go. I will have a handful of servants waiting for my orders. I will have thousands of admirers and suitors, all vying for my love and attention. Most of all, I will have millions of fans with resounding applause, applause for each of my performance. I live for the applause!

“Earth to Tekla!” of course, my mother had to wake me up from my sweet daydream. “Go and wash the laundry. I have to go and join the barangay’s free Zumba sessions. “Can I join, mother? I need to be a bit slimmer in preparation for my audition.” I answered. “Well, all you have to do is give up your dinner. At least, there will be more for Toto, for Totoy, for Nene, for Inday, and for Bebe.” My mother said before she turned to leave. I was speechless but I went back to my daydream nevertheless.

When that time comes, I will gorge on tender, juicy steaks. I will drink the finest wine. I will have the sweetest dessert. I will even endorse my favorite fast food chain as my fans watch my TV ad and give it an admiring applause, applause. I live for the applause.

On the day of the audition, I was wearing my friend’s cocktail dress. My neighbour showed his support by doing my hair and makeup for free. I borrowed my sister’s school shoes. I used the trial cologne in a nearby convenience store. I asked for fare from my mother and she was generous enough to add her laughter before I go. Well, at least she wished me luck.

I wasn’t nervous at all. I live for this. I live for the applause.

I saw the TV network’s gate. There must be hundreds of hopeful girls like me waiting in line. “Hi! Is this the line for the audition?” I asked a girl with skin as white as snow. I felt a bit insecure with my dark skin. She rolled her eyes and answered, “Duh!” Then, she turned her back. How mean! “What’s that smell?” An ultra-thin girl asked as she crinkled her nose. That’s when I remembered the ibis that I packed for the guard. I heard that when you give them something, they will let you in.

I left my spot in the line and went straight to the gate. I had to squeeze and push my way in but nothing can come in the way of a determined heart like mine.

“Manong! This is for you.” I said. “Wow! Ibis! I miss this. Where are you from?” He asked. “I am from Tangalan, Aklan.” I answered. That was when he winked at me and said “I’m from Aklan too!” She motioned for me to go to the side where there was a smaller, closed gate. He let me in and gave me a number.

I walked in with my head held high. I outsmarted them. I can imagine how many times I will be able to outsmart them all until I reach the top and hear all the applause, applause. I live for the applause.

“#113!” a woman shouted. That’s my number. I walked into a room where she pointed and added a little sway to my hips as I walked. Once inside, I saw three stern looking men and a woman who was smiling warmly at me.

“What’s your name?” the woman asked. “Teresita Templo, 16, from Tangalan Aklan.” I said, ending my introduction with my signature pose. “Dance.” They said. I did. No applause was heard. “Sing.” They said “I wanna go back to the island called Boracay…” but they did not let me finish. That was just one line. No applause. “Act.” They said. “Father, mother! Where are you! Why did you leave me.” No applause. “Thank you. We’ll call you.” They said.

My heart broke a bit. I know exactly what that meant. I went out, looking at the ground as I walk. My tears started to fall. “How was it?” asked the guard. I shook my head but to my surprise he smiled. “That’s OK. There will be another audition next week.” I felt myself smile. I cheered up a bit. Well, tomorrow is another day. Another possibility to get applause, applause. I live for the applause.

"Describing a Place" Lesson Plan

Presented by

Ma. Angelica Maghinang – Domingo

I.              Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the learners should be able to:

a.    interpret given descriptions of a place through drawing

b.    identify the appropriate adjectives for particular pictures

c.    create a song and dance number using adjectives for a specific place

II.            Subject Matter:

a.    Topic: Description of a Place

b.    Reference: Teaching Guide in English II p. 18 to 29

c.    Materials: Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation and pictures

d.    Skills: listening, speaking, writing, drawing, singing, and dancing

e.    Values: imagination, creativity, appreciation of nature, appreciation for the locality, and honesty

III.           Procedure

a.    Lesson

                                          i.    Draw Me!

1.    Ask the learners to listen to close their eyes and listen to the description which will be read twice: The clear blue skies featured the radiant sun. I can smell the sweet summer blooms. I can hear chirping birds and the water flowing in steady current. It was a perfect day.

2.    After reading the description twice, ask the learners to draw what they envisioned through the description.

                                        ii.    Make Sense!

1.    Ask the learners to categorize adjectives for places according to the sense that perceives the description.

Sight	Smell	Touch	Hearing

big                   black               elegant           fragrant          stinky

breezy            cold                 smooth           silent              noisy

colorful           fruity               scorching      bumpy            quiet

                                       iii.    Discuss the three ways on how learners can describe a place:

1.    Memory

2.    Observation

3.    Imagination

b.    Generalization: How can you describe a place?

                                          i.    A place may be described through the sense of sight, hearing, smell, and touch.

                                        ii.    A place may be described through memory, observation, or imagination.

c.    Application: Ask the learners to identify the best word that describes the following places:

                                          i.    ancient           modern          cold

                                        ii.    abandoned               bustling          deserted

                                       iii.    dirty     dark    picturesque

                                       iv.    polluted          clean              safe

                                        v.    bright              creepy            crowded

IV.          Evaluation

a.    Descriptive Ad

                                          i.    Divide the class into four groups. Give each group a photo of a place. All of these are photos of a place in Tangalan.

                                        ii.    Ask each group to prepare a jingle that promotes the place in the photo. Make sure to use at least five descriptions in the jingle. Learners may use the melody of an existing song’s chorus and just replace the lyrics. Ask them to accompany each jingle with some actions. Give them five minutes to prepare.

                                       iii.    Ask each group to perform in front of the class.

V.           Assignment:

a.    Lonely Planet

                                          i.    Ask the students to make-up their own planet by using their imagination and write a vivid description of it.

                                        ii.    Ask them to consider the following in writing:

1.    Name of the planet

2.    Residents

3.    Plants

4.    Water

5.    Vehicles

RUBRICS

For the Draw Me! activity:

CATEGORY	EXCELLENT	GOOD	NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
Description (7 pts.)	At least five descriptions of the place were included	Less than five descriptions of the place were included	There was no description of the place in the jingle
Presentation (3 pts.)	The jingle was clearly sung and the actions were synchronized	The jingle was sung and the actions were not too synchronized	No jingle and actions were performed

For the Lonely Planet activity:

CATEGORY	EXCELLENT	GOOD	NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
Description and Grammar (7 pts.)	At least five descriptions of the place were included and the grammar is perfect	Less than five descriptions of the place were included and there were some minor grammatical errors	There was no description of the place and the
Presentation (3 pts.)	The jingle was clearly sung and the actions were synchronized	The jingle was sung and the actions were not too synchronized	No jingle and actions were performed

Example Weekly Lesson Plan

A lesson plan that I made:

HOW MY BROTHER LEON BROUGHT HOME A WIFE

by Manuel E. Arguilla

A Weekly Lesson Plan in English IV

COMPETENCIES

Listening

Make use of different learning strategies according to the main purposes of listening.

Speaking

Develop the ability to verbally give information and express needs, opinions, feelings and attitudes.

Reading

Demonstrate the ability to locate and synthesize information essential to one’s understanding and interpretation of his environment.

Writing

Demonstrate imagination and creativity in written form.

Literature

Express a deeper appreciation of values in literature.

GENERAL OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the week, the students are expected to:

1. predict possible continuation of the story.
2. to derive needed information from the story according to the task assigned to them
3. differentiate people living in the city and in the barrio.
4. discuss their opinions on how the father treated Maria, his daughter-in-law.
5. write a descriptive essay about a specific person who lives in the city or barrio.

Session 1

OBJECTIVES

The students are expected to:

1. to recall important events in the story

2. to commend positive values shown by the actions done by the characters

3. skillfully act out different scenes in the story

CONTENT

HOW MY BROTHER LEON BROUGHT HOME A WIFE BY MANUEL E. ARGUILLA

The story is about a young boy whose brother has become successful in the city and meets him with a cart when he returns to the barrio with his city-bred wife. The father, an old revolucionario, submits the daughter-in-law to various tests to see if she will adapt well to the ways of the barrio and the family. The young boy takes easily to the new relation, probably also thinking of himself getting a wife in the future.

INPUT

“How my Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife” by Manuel E. Arguilla

SOURCES

REFERENCES: Baul: A Collection of Philippine Literature by Leoncio P. Deriada and Isidoro M. Cruz

pp.12 – 20

MATERIALS: Tape recorder or laptop, pictures of different scenes in the story and pictures of the city

and barrio.

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Listening attentively to the story played using a tape recorder or laptop.

NEW KNOWLEDGE

Recalling dialogues heard and perform them using the students’ own words.

PROCESS

1. INTRODUCTION

A Ask the students about their experiences in the city. What are their favorite places or establishments in the city? What do they like most about the city and what do they like the least about it? Do you have friends in the city? What are they like? Ask them about their experiences in the barrio. What do they do in their free time in the barrio? What do they love and dislike most about it.? Do they have friends in the barrio? What are the like?

C. Divide the class into small groups of about 4 – 5 and ask them to discuss where they would like to live better, the city or the barrio? Have them write the majority’s choice in a manila paper and list down the reasons why. Have the group leader present what they wrote in front of the class afterwards.

II. INTERACTION

1. Reading Activity

1. Pre-reading

a. Vocabulary Web

b. Anticipation Guide Questions

· Where did the story happen?

· Who are the characters in the story?

· Why did the father treat Maria like he did?

· What was Maria like?

2. Reading: A pre-recorded narration of the story will be played.

III. INTEGRATION

1. Post pictures of the important scenes in the story and ask the students to tell the class what was happening on that specific picture.
2. Read specific lines from the story and ask the students to say “Yay!” when the character did something nice and say “Boo!” when they do something that was not good.
3. Group the students into three and ask each group to act out one of the scenes in the story, based on the pictures posted in the board.

Session 2

OBJECTIVES

The students are expected to:

1. to identify characters of the story through given description.
2. to share their own experiences in the city or barrio.
3. to express how they feel about certain scenes facially.

CONTENT

HOW MY BROTHER LEON BROUGHT HOME A WIFE BY MANUEL E. ARGUILLA

The story is about a young boy whose brother has become successful in the city and meets him with a cart when he returns to the barrio with his city-bred wife. The father, an old revolucionario, submits the daughter-in-law to various tests to see if she will adapt well to the ways of the barrio and the family. The young boy takes easily to the new relation, probably also thinking of himself getting a wife in the future.

SOURCES

REFERENCES: Baul: A Collection of Philippine Literature by Leoncio P. Deriada and Isidoro M. Cruz

pp.12 – 20

MATERIALS: Pictures of different scenes in the story placed inside a small box

PROCESS

1. INTRODUCTION

A. Ask the students to retell the story in their own words. One student will talk about a scene in the story and another will continue with the next scene as they chronologically took place in the story.

II. INTERACTION

A. Ask the students about how the different characters may feel in the beginning of the story, in the middle, and in the end.

B. Group the students into eight to ten members. Ask them to prepare a talk-show presentation with the character in the story as the guests. Have the talk show host ask questions about how they felt in the specific scenes in the story and have the host add questions of his or her own.

III. INTEGRATION

1. With the previous groupings, ask the leaders of each group to stand in front of the class and tell them about different scenes in the story based on what they picked from the box. The leader will say how the character felt during those scenes and the members will express the emotion facially.
2. Choose a few volunteers and tell them to describe each of the character in the story in front of the class without telling who they were describing. Have the class guess who the character was.
3. Homework – Write a short essay about your most memorable experience in the city or in the barrio.

Session 3

OBJECTIVES

The students are expected to:

1. to rearrange scenes in the story as they happened chronologically.

2. to debate about the father’s treatment of Maria.

3. to draw from memory a friend that they have in the barrio or in the city.

CONTENT

HOW MY BROTHER LEON BROUGHT HOME A WIFE BY MANUEL E. ARGUILLA

The story is about a young boy whose brother has become successful in the city and meets him with a cart when he returns to the barrio with his city-bred wife. The father, an old revolucionario, submits the daughter-in-law to various tests to see if she will adapt well to the ways of the barrio and the family. The young boy takes easily to the new relation, probably also thinking of himself getting a wife in the future.

SOURCES

REFERENCES: Baul: A Collection of Philippine Literature by Leoncio P. Deriada and Isidoro M. Cruz

pp.12 – 20

MATERIALS: Different scenes in the story written on pre-cut cartolina separately

PROCESS

1. INTRODUCTION

A, Have the class read their homework in front.

II. INTERACTION

A. Ask questions about what they wrote. Ask the students if they had similar experiences similar to what their classmates shared.

III. INTEGRATION

A. Post the pre-cut cartolinas wherein different scenes from the story were written separately. Ask some of the students arrange them chronologically.

B. Ask volunteers to explain what happened in each picture until they finish re-telling the story based on the pictures.

C. Divide the class into two groups and have them present a debate about whether or not the father did the right thing by treating Maria the way that he did.

D. Have the students draw their friend from the barrio or city and what they love doing together.

Session 4

OBJECTIVES

The students are expected to:

1. to explain why the characters do what they did in different scenes in the story.
2. to discuss how they felt about the different actions that a specific character did in the story.
3. to write other possible ending of the story.

SOURCES

REFERENCES: Baul: A Collection of Philippine Literature by Leoncio P. Deriada and Isidoro M. Cruz

pp.12 – 20

MATERIALS: Picture of a person living in the city and a person living in the barrio

PROCESS

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Post two pictures on the board, one with people living in the city and the other, people living in the barrio. Ask the students to describe each picture. Write the descriptive words that they say below each picture. Ask them to write about a certain person that they know who lives in the city or barrio.

B. Ask them to read what they wrote in front of the class.

II. INTERACTION

A. Ask them why most people like living in the city and why some likes living in the barrio better. Ask them to compare both through job opportunities, recreational places, technology, crime rate, education, and more.

III. INTEGRATION

1. Read out different lines about actions that the characters in the story did and have them explain why they think the characters did it.
2. Ask them if they think that specific action was right or wrong and why.
3. Homework – Ask them to write another possible ending of the story.

Session 5

OBJECTIVES

The students are expected to:

1. to identify values that the characters displayed in the story
2. to select a character whom they like the most because of their values.
3. to act as their favorite character in the story.

SOURCES

REFERENCES: Baul: A Collection of Philippine Literature by Leoncio P. Deriada and Isidoro M. Cruz

pp.12 – 20

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Read different scenes in the story and ask the students to identify the values that were shown in these scenes.

II. INTERACTION

1. Ask the students about the other ways on how to show the values that they have given.
2. What would they do if they were the ones who were in those situations or scenes in the story?
3. If there was anything that they would like to change in the story, what would those be and why. What will they do instead?

III. INTEGRATION

1. Ask them to select the character that they think shown more values than the others.
2. Ask them to choose a specific action that the character they have chosen did or a specific line that they said and have them act it out in front of the class.