Let's Do EL

Flowers Are Red, Leaves Are Green

2012-01-19T00:17:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWV3fJB2Mfw&feature=related

Reading and Viewing / Listening and Viewing: The Three Musketters.

2011-04-30T23:11:00.000-07:00

Long Shot - Events in the Story

2011-04-14T07:08:00.000-07:00

Describe the reactions and responses of the people in the story.

Medium Shot - Events in the story

2011-04-14T07:05:00.000-07:00

Describe the actions taking place.

What are the characters talking about?

What is the manner of speaking?

Close shot - Developing Characters

2011-04-14T07:03:00.000-07:00

Describe the characters' feelings and thoughts.

Describe their actions.

Establishing Shot - The Setting

2011-04-14T06:58:00.000-07:00

Describe the setting.

Relating Camera Shots to the Structure of a Narrative

2011-04-13T06:26:00.000-07:00

Imagine the camera as the story teller.

How do you tell your story?

A scene from 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee

2011-04-12T06:01:00.000-07:00

Watch this scene from the movie 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.

The movie is adapted from the book 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee.

The story takes place in Maycomb, a small American town in the 1960's. Maycomb is a quiet, sleepy town where the people are mostly farmers and labourers. The streets are usually deserted and there are not many facilities around except at the main town.

The main characters in the scene are Scout, her brother Jem and their domestic maid, Calpurnia and their father, Atticus, a lawyer, and Sheriff Tate, the town police.

In this scene, the children have a frightening encounter with a mad dog near their house. They then witness their father, Atticus shoot the dog with one shot and are amazed by his ability.

Write a paragraph of the first scene.

Responding to Characters (Sec 2A)

2011-02-21T23:16:00.000-08:00

'The Clay Marble' by Minfong Ho

1 Read the following extract from the novel carefully and then answer the questions below it.

Pound and lift, up and down, the two dolls took turns crushing the rice with exactly the same jerky rhythm that real village women pounded it to get the brown husks off. There were even some real grains in the miniature mortar set between the two dolls. It was the cleverest thing I had ever seen.

Children crowded around Jantu, pressing it from all sides, to watch her work it. “Let me hold it,” I begged, standing next to Jantu. “I helped you find the stuff for the dolls.”

Jantu nodded. Breathlessly I held it carefully and blew on it. It worked! One of the dolls bent down and pounded the mortar with its club. The other doll straightened up and waited its turn. I was still engrossed with it when someone shouted a warning: “Watch out, Chnay’s coming!”

Even in my short stay at the camp, I’d heard of Chnay. He liked to break things, and he was a bully. An orphan, Chnay had made his way to the Border alone. Too young to be recruited into the resistance army, Chnay roamed the fields by himself, scrounging for food and sleeping whenever he liked.

Chnay sauntered up and showed his way through to us. “What’ve you got there?” he demanded.

“Nothing,” I said, trying to hide the toy behind me.

Laughing, Chnay snatched it away from me. One of the dolls was ripped loose and dropped to the ground.

As I bent over to retrieve it, Chnay pushed me aside. “Leave it,” he s aid. “That’s for kids. Look what I have.” He thrust his arm out. It was crawling with big red ants, the fierce kind that really sting when they bite. “I’m letting them bite me. See?” he bragged. Already small fierce welts were swelling up on his arms, as some ants kept biting him.

“That’s dumb!” I exclaimed. Dodging behind him, I tried to snatch the mobile back from him.

Chnay flung the toy to the ground, scattering straw and red ants into the air.

I grabbed his hand, but he was taller than I, and much stronger. He’d shoved me aside and stomped on the dolls until they were nothing but a pile of crushed sticks and rags. Then, kicking aside a boy who stood in his way, Chnay strode off, angrily brushing red ants off his arm.

I squatted down beside the bits of dolls and tried to fit them together, but it was no use. The delicate mobile was beyond repair. I could feel my eyes smarting with angry tears. “I should’ve held on to it more tightly,” I said bitterly. “I shouldn’t have let him grab it away from me.”

Jantu knelt next to me and took the fragments of the dolls out of my hands. “Never mind,” she said quietly, putting them aside. “We can always start something new.”
“But it took you so long to make it,” I said.

Idly Jantu scooped up a lump of mud from a puddle by her feet and began to knead it in her hands. “Sure, but the fun is in the making,” she said.

a) What are your impressions of Chnay based on this extract?
Do you agree with the narrator that Chnay is a bully?
Support your answer using evidence from this extract.

b) What is your impression of Jantu?
What kind of girl do you think she is?

Post your comments:

1. You should say something worthwhile.
You should on focus on the impression that you have of the characters of Chnay and Jantu in this extract.

2. There should be no socialising or making personal comments in the posting.

3. Check that your comments are free of grammatical and spelling mistakes before you post them.

3. It will be a bonus if you are able to make further comments on your friends’ postings.

Responding to Characters (Sec 2N1)

2011-02-21T18:05:00.000-08:00

Responding to Characters

'The Clay Marble' by Minfong Ho

Read the following extract from the novel carefully and then answer the questions below it.

Pound and lift, up and down, the two dolls took turns crushing the rice with exactly the same jerky rhythm that real village women pounded it to get the brown husks off. There were even some real grains in the miniature mortar set between the two dolls. It was the cleverest thing I had ever seen.

Children crowded around Jantu, pressing it from all sides, to watch her work it. “Let me hold it,” I begged, standing next to Jantu. “I helped you find the stuff for the dolls.”

Jantu nodded. Breathlessly I held it carefully and blew on it. It worked! One of the dolls bent down and pounded the mortar with its club. The other doll straightened up and waited its turn. I was still engrossed with it when someone shouted a warning: “Watch out, Chnay’s coming!”

Even in my short stay at the camp, I’d heard of Chnay. He liked to break things, and he was a bully. An orphan, Chnay had made his way to the Border alone. Too young to be recruited into the resistance army, Chnay roamed the fields by himself, scrounging for food and sleeping whenever he liked.

Chnay sauntered up and showed his way through to us. “What’ve you got there?” he demanded.

“Nothing,” I said, trying to hide the toy behind me.

Laughing, Chnay snatched it away from me. One of the dolls was ripped loose and dropped to the ground.

As I bent over to retrieve it, Chnay pushed me aside. “Leave it,” he s aid. “That’s for kids. Look what I have.” He thrust his arm out. It was crawling with big red ants, the fierce kind that really sting when they bite. “I’m letting them bite me. See?” he bragged. Already small fierce welts were swelling up on his arms, as some ants kept biting him.

“That’s dumb!” I exclaimed. Dodging behind him, I tried to snatch the mobile back from him.

Chnay flung the toy to the ground, scattering straw and red ants into the air.

I grabbed his hand, but he was taller than I, and much stronger. He’d shoved me aside and stomped on the dolls until they were nothing but a pile of crushed sticks and rags. Then, kicking aside a boy who stood in his way, Chnay strode off, angrily brushing red ants off his arm.

I squatted down beside the bits of dolls and tried to fit them together, but it was no use. The delicate mobile was beyond repair. I could feel my eyes smarting with angry tears. “I should’ve held on to it more tightly,” I said bitterly. “I shouldn’t have let him grab it away from me.”

Jantu knelt next to me and took the fragments of the dolls out of my hands. “Never mind,” she said quietly, putting them aside. “We can always start something new.”

“But it took you so long to make it,” I said.

Idly Jantu scooped up a lump of mud from a puddle by her feet and began to knead it in her hands. “Sure, but the fun is in the making,” she said.

a) What are your impressions of Chnay based on this extract? Do you agree with the narrator that Chnay is a bully? Support your answer using evidence from this extract.

b) What is your impression of Jantu? What kind of girl do you think she is?

Post your comments:

1. You should say something worthwhile.You should on focus on the impression that you have of the characters of Chnay and Jantu in this extract.

2. There should be no socialising or making personal comments in the posting.

3. Check that your comments are free of grammatical and spelling mistakes before you post them.

4. It will be a bonus if you are able to make further comments on your friends’ postings.

Ways to Understand a Character

2011-02-20T21:36:00.000-08:00

Creating a mental picture of a character in a story:

1. Describing APPEARANCE:

- physical features
She was a small, skinny old hag with a moustache
on her upper lip.

- facial expressions
Her eyes were wide with what seemed to be fright.

- body language
Atreyu sat there with bowed head

- attire
Her apron was grey and greasy.

2. Describing ACTIONS:
- what the character does will guide us to a deeper understanding of the character's thoughts and feelings.
- we can also derive a conclusion about the character based on what he / she chooses NOT to do.

3. SPEECH:
- the way the character speak and interacts with others
" What do you want? Who are you? she asked sharply.

4. IMPACT ON OTHERS
- to see the character through the eyes of other supporting characters.
What struck him most was her face, as he studied in wonderment the large, penetrating dark eyes, her high forehead, her features heavily etched with lines.

Adapted from: ALL ABOUT ENGLISH, Textbook 2A, Pearson 2011

Reading Aloud - 'The Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens

2011-02-18T05:07:00.000-08:00

http://www.cartenoire.co.uk/home/dan_stevens-/dan-stevens-reads-great-expectations-by-charles-dickens/672

All this time, Estella knitted on. When Miss Havisham had fixed her attention on me, she said, speaking as if there had been no lapse in our dialogue:

"What else?"

"Estella," said I, turning to her now, and trying to command my trembling voice, "you know I love you. You know that I have loved you long and dearly."

She raised her eyes to my face, on being thus addressed, and her fingers plied their work, and she looked at me with an unmoved countenance. I saw that Miss Havisham glanced from me to her, and from her to me.

"I should have said this sooner, but for my long mistake. It induced me to hope that Miss Havisham meant us for one another. While I thought you could not help yourself, as it were, I refrained from saying it. But I must say it now."

Preserving her unmoved countenance, and with her fingers still going, Estella shook her head.

"I know," said I, in answer to that action; "I know. I have no hope that I shall ever call you mine, Estella. I am ignorant what may become of me very soon, how poor I may be, or where I may go. Still, I love you. I have loved you ever since I first saw you in this house."

Looking at me perfectly unmoved and with her fingers busy, she shook her head again.

"It would have been cruel in Miss Havisham, horribly cruel, to practise on the susceptibility of a poor boy, and to torture me through all these years with a vain hope and an idle pursuit, if she had reflected on the gravity of what she did. But I think she did not. I think that in the endurance of her own trial, she forgot mine, Estella."

I saw Miss Havisham put her hand to her heart and hold it there, as she sat looking by turns at Estella and at me.

"It seems," said Estella, very calmly, "that there are sentiments, fancies - I don't know how to call them - which I am not able to comprehend. When you say you love me, I know what you mean, as a form of words; but nothing more. You address nothing in my breast, you touch nothing there. I don't care for what you say at all. I have tried to warn you of this; now, have I not?"

I said in a miserable manner, "Yes."

"Yes. But you would not be warned, for you thought I did not mean it. Now, did you not think so?"

"I thought and hoped you could not mean it. You, so young, untried, and beautiful, Estella! Surely it is not in Nature."

"It is in my nature," she returned. And then she added, with a stress upon the words, "It is in the nature formed within me. I make a great difference between you and all other people when I say so much. I can do no more."

"Is it not true," said I, "that Bentley Drummle is in town here, and pursuing you?"

"It is quite true," she replied, referring to him with the indifference of utter contempt.

"That you encourage him, and ride out with him, and that he dines with you this very day?"

She seemed a little surprised that I should know it, but again replied, "Quite true."

"You cannot love him, Estella!"

Her fingers stopped for the first time, as she retorted rather angrily, "What have I told you? Do you still think, in spite of it, that I do not mean what I say?"

"You would never marry him, Estella?"

She looked towards Miss Havisham, and considered for a moment with her work in her hands. Then she said, "Why not tell you the truth? I am going to be married to him."

I dropped my face into my hands, but was able to control myself better than I could have expected, considering what agony it gave me to hear her say those words. When I raised my face again, there was such a ghastly look upon Miss Havisham's, that it impressed me, even in my passionate hurry and grief.

"Estella, dearest dearest Estella, do not let Miss Havisham lead you into this fatal step. Put me aside for ever - you have done so, I well know - but bestow yourself on some worthier person than Drummle. Miss Havisham gives you to him, as the greatest slight and injury that could be done to the many far better men who admire you, and to the few who truly love you. Among those few, there may be one who loves you even as dearly, though he has not loved you as long, as I. Take him, and I can bear it better, for your sake!"

My earnestness awoke a wonder in her that seemed as if it would have been touched with compassion, if she could have rendered me at all intelligible to her own mind.

"I am going," she said again, in a gentler voice, "to be married to him. The preparations for my marriage are making, and I shall be married soon. Why do you injuriously introduce the name of my mother by adoption? It is my own act."

"Your own act, Estella, to fling yourself away upon a brute?"

"On whom should I fling myself away?" she retorted, with a smile. "Should I fling myself away upon the man who would the soonest feel (if people do feel such things) that I took nothing to him? There! It is done. I shall do well enough, and so will my husband. As to leading me into what you call this fatal step, Miss Havisham would have had me wait, and not marry yet; but I am tired of the life I have led, which has very few charms for me, and I am willing enough to change it. Say no more. We shall never understand each other."

"Such a mean brute, such a stupid brute!" I urged in despair.

"Don't be afraid of my being a blessing to him," said Estella; "I shall not be that. Come! Here is my hand. Do we part on this, you visionary boy - or man?"

"O Estella!" I answered, as my bitter tears fell fast on her hand, do what I would to restrain them; "even if I remained in England and could hold my head up with the rest, how could I see you Drummle's wife?"

"Nonsense," she returned, "nonsense. This will pass in no time."

"Never, Estella!"

"You will get me out of your thoughts in a week."

"Out of my thoughts! You are part of my existence, part of myself. You have been in every line I have ever read, since I first came here, the rough common boy whose poor heart you wounded even then. You have been in every prospect I have ever seen since - on the river, on the sails of the ships, on the marshes, in the clouds, in the light, in the darkness, in the wind, in the woods, in the sea, in the streets. You have been the embodiment of every graceful fancy that my mind has ever become acquainted with. The stones of which the strongest London buildings are made, are not more real, or more impossible to be displaced by your hands, than your presence and influence have been to me, there and everywhere, and will be. Estella, to the last hour of my life, you cannot choose but remain part of my character, part of the little good in me, part of the evil. But, in this separation I associate you only with the good, and I will faithfully hold you to that always, for you must have done me far more good than harm, let me feel now what sharp distress I may. O God bless you, God forgive you!"

In what ecstasy of unhappiness I got these broken words out of myself, I don't know. The rhapsody welled up within me, like blood from an inward wound, and gushed out. I held her hand to my lips some lingering moments, and so I left her. But ever afterwards, I remembered - and soon afterwards with stronger reason - that while Estella looked at me merely with incredulous wonder, the spectral figure of Miss Havisham, her hand still covering her heart, seemed all resolved into a ghastly stare of pity and remorse.

All done, all gone! So much was done and gone, that when I went out at the gate, the light of the day seemed of a darker colour than when I went in

Narrative Film - A Celebration that went wrong.

2011-02-04T07:40:00.000-08:00

We have learnt about the elements of a good narrative.

Does the scene show these elements?

Post you comments:
1. You should say something worthwhile. There should be no socialising or making personal comments in the posting.
2. Your comments should be free of grammatical and spelling mistakes.
3. It will be a bonus if you are able to make further comments on your friends’ postings.

The animals in 'Animal Farm'

2011-02-04T06:45:00.000-08:00

Watch the video and then read the extract which describes the animals working on the farm.

What do the actions of the animals tell you about their personalities?

Post your comments by stating which animal you are describing, make a list of their actions, then use adjectives or phrases to describe their personality.

Instructions:
1. You should say something worthwhile. There should be no socialising or making
personal comments in the posting.
2. Your comments should demonstrate understanding of the personalities of the characters
through their actions.
3. Your posts should be free of grammatical and spelling mistakes.
4. Extra points will be given if you are able to make further comments on your friends’
postings.

Extract from: THE ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell.

All through that summer the work of the farm went like clockwork. The animals were happy as they had never conceived it possible to be. Every mouthful of food was an acute positive pleasure, now that it was truly their own food, produced by themselves and for themselves, not doled out to them by a grudging master. With the worthless parasitical human beings gone, there was more for everyone to eat. There was more leisure too, inexperienced though the animals were. They met with many difficulties--for instance, later in the year, when they harvested the corn, they had to tread it out in the ancient style and blow away the chaff with their breath, since the farm possessed no threshing machine--but the pigs with their cleverness and Boxer with his tremendous muscles always pulled them through.

Boxer was the admiration of everybody. He had been a hard worker even in Jones's time, but now he seemed more like three horses than one; there were days when the entire work of the farm seemed to rest on his mighty shoulders. From morning to night he was pushing and pulling, always at the spot where the work was hardest. He had made an arrangement with one of the cockerels to call him in the mornings half an hour earlier than anyone else, and would put in some volunteer labour at whatever seemed to be most needed, before the regular day's work began. His answer to every problem, every setback, was "I will work harder!"--which he had adopted as his personal motto.

But everyone worked according to his capacity The hens and ducks, for instance, saved five bushels of corn at the harvest by gathering up the stray grains. Nobody stole, nobody grumbled over his rations, the quarrelling and biting and jealousy which had been normal features of life in the old days had almost disappeared. Nobody shirked--or almost nobody.

Mollie, it was true, was not good at getting up in the mornings, and had a way of leaving work early on the ground that there was a stone in her hoof. And the behaviour of the cat was somewhat peculiar. It was soon noticed that when there was work to be done the cat could never be found. She would vanish for hours on end, and then reappear at meal-times, or in the evening after work was over, as though nothing had happened. But she always made such excellent excuses, and purred so affectionately, that it was impossible not to believe in her good intentions.

Old Benjamin, the donkey, seemed quite unchanged since the Rebellion. He did his work in the same slow obstinate way as he had done it in Jones's time, never shirking and never volunteering for extra work either. About the Rebellion and its results he would express no opinion. When asked whether he was not happier now that Jones was gone, he would say only "Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey," and the others had to be content with this cryptic answer.

What conclusion can you draw about the personalities of the animals? Post your comments.

Cambodian Remembers Khmer Rogue Genocide Ahead of Trial

2011-02-04T02:08:00.000-08:00

Read and Response - The Lady and The Chocolate

2011-02-04T02:00:00.000-08:00

Write a comment about this videoclip.
Do you like the story?
What are your feelings about the lady? Why does she refuse to eat the chocolate?
What is your opinion about the chocolate? Do you think he is very persistent? Give reasons for you answers.

1. You should say something worthwhile. There should be no socialising or making personal comments in the posting.
2. Your comments should demonstrate understanding of the personalities of the lady and the chocolate and also of their relationship.
3. Your posts should be free of grammatical and spelling mistakes.
4. Extra points will be given if you are able to make further comments on your friends’ postings.

Poetry Slam! Competition - our pupils giving their best

2010-07-17T01:15:00.001-07:00

coming soon....

Poetry Slam! Competition @ NatLitFest 2010

2010-07-17T01:14:00.000-07:00

coming soon

Matilda Festival 2010

2010-07-07T22:07:00.001-07:00

Chapter: Lavender

http://www.youtube.com/embed/t61pl8rhATU

Bruce Bogtrotter and the cake: Ye Feng's group.

Book Festival - A Reading Promotion by Sec 1A

2010-06-28T23:52:00.000-07:00

" A Child called IT" by Dave Pelzer

"Amos Lee"

"Ginger Snaps" by Jennifer Cassidy

"Totto Chan"

Oral Presentation - skills in oral delivery and speech writing.

2010-06-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

Use of visuals in oral presentation - peer assessments of effectiveness of visuals.

Brainstorming for ideas for speech writing.Oral Delivery practice - a peer assessment

Critique on photostory - editing and improving the visuals.

Poetry Slam Intra-class Competition

2010-06-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

Pupils work as a team and write a poem based on a main character or a key scene in "Matilda' and perform

in front of their classmates.

Poetry Slam Coaching Clinic

2010-06-02T22:19:00.000-07:00

Pupils attended a Poetry Slam Coaching Clinic conducted by Wordforward Ltd .

Trainers demonstrate how poetry can be 'a highly-engaging oral art form'.

Pupils are taught correct breathing, voice and pronunciation exercises, Posture and body work and working as a team to engage the audience through poetry.

Learning Journey to Singapore Discovery Centre

2010-03-17T06:36:00.000-07:00

Secondary 1A pupils attended a Learning Journey to Singapore Discovery Centre on 18 February.
Responses from pupils:
1. I learnt that the soldiers work hard to defend our country
2. I learnt about army life and how they survive in the jungle
3. I learnt about what the army wear and eat during NS training
4. I found the biscuits eaten by the army nice to eat.

5. The movie was fun and exciting.

Literature Enrichment Activity - 'Matilda'

2010-03-12T06:41:00.000-08:00

Pupils had the opportunity to visualise what they have read in Roald Dahl's 'Matilda' by watching key scenes in the movie.

Talk about IT - About the Musical.

2010-01-18T03:27:00.000-08:00

Pupils who attended the Musical Production of "The Wizard of Oz' shared their learning experience with their classmates who could not attend.

Watch IT @ the Musical

2010-01-17T20:19:00.001-08:00

Our Lower Secondary school pupils had the opportunity to watch a musical production of 'Wizard of Oz' by Tanglin Secondary School. They enjoyed the performance, were amazed by the colourful costumes and special effects on stage and found the pupils very talented.

Matilda Book Parade @ National Literature Festival

2009-09-10T07:13:00.001-07:00

Poetry Slam by Hongkah Lites

2009-09-10T07:08:00.000-07:00

About Miss Trunchbull

2009-09-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

Haiku – Miss Trunchbull (Matilda)

A Haiku is a three line, seventeen syllable, usually unrhymed poem which uses nature as its primary focus. The first line has 5 syllables, the second 7 and the third 5.

Ugly And Stubborn
Fierce and March Like A Giant
Headmistress, Trunchbull (Pok Ee En)

Kids please watch your back,
she walks with an evil smile,
That is Miss Trunchbull (Cheryl Low)

Headmistress Trunchbull
Fierce, tyrannical monster
Marched, she never walked (Jennifer Koh)

An aggressive headmistress
Arrogant and fierce
Pupils dare not meet that one. (Nur Laila)

Angry, annoying
Stubborn, cruel, disloyal
This is Miss TrunchBull. (Audry Soh Yun Ting)

An aggresive headmistress
Truly arrogant and fierce
The really fierce one (Nurulhuda Bte Samsudin)

Got powerful legs
never understand children .
She is Miss Truchbull (Siti Rahayu Bte Uzman)

Miss TrunchBull's shouting
Children Running Everywhere
What A Big Bully. (Annie Ng Li Woon)

Miss TrunchBull
A fierce tyrannical monster
Is a headmistress. (Nur Alifah)

A very strict one
A fierce, dangerous person
Headmistress Tunchbull. (Chua Li Jun)

Miss TrunchBull is fat
She likes to threaten pupils
Miss TrunchBull is big. (Ang Soh Ming)

Mrs Trunchbull is fierce
She always marched like a storm.
Determined lady. (Sim Ting Xuan)

In a cold damp place
There is a fierce head mistress
She is Miss Trunchbull. (Lim Xin Ni)

Evil Miss Trunchbull
She is always determined
walks in heavy steps. (Siah Cheon Kee)

A joyless lady
who is a fierce headmistress
is not a beauty Susan Tan Sushan

Miss Trunchbull, the Headmistress
fierce, frightening, bad tempered
Miss Trunchbull, ferocious one. Alice Leong

Miss Trunchbull is mean
She is dreadful and ugly
She thinks she's the best. (Iszra Maszwira)

Agatha Trunchbull
The monster-like headmistress
Has menacing looks (Rabiatul Adawiyah)

A tyrannical monster
Aura of menace round her
Headmistress Trunchbull Darryl Han

She’s a fierce monster ,
You could feel heat radiates
marching like a soldier. Joven Phang

Children scared of her
She is very athletic
She is very fierce. (Nur Fitriaina)

She is the fierce one
A very cruel headmistress
An arrogant one. (Hazwan)

FOUND Poem - based on 'The Clay Marble'

2009-09-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

About Nong Chan:

As we finally emerged from the forest, all we could see was barren plain dotted with shrubs and scraggly trees, flat and desolate. Overgrown clumps of fireweed and red sorrel stuck out from patches of buffalo clover, and then even those gave way to cracked, hard soil of paddy fields in the dry season… We drove past these and approached the fringe of the refugee camp itself. It looked like an endless brown sea of thatched lean-tos, mingled with bright blue patches from clusters of plastic tents. Spirals of smoke from countless cooking fires broke up the vast flatness of the landscape.

and the refugees:

And everyone seemed to be busy doing something. Not just sitting alone silent and hollow-eyed with hunger, or organized into huge groups digging endless ditches. No, the people here were preoccupied with countless different chores of their own. I saw a sinewy old man splitting firewood; children lining up to draw buckets of water from a well; boys scrubbing their buffaloes in a shallow mudhole nearby; sisters combing each other’s hair. And because it was getting close to dinnertime, there were women cooking everywhere. I could smell rice steaming, salted fish sizzling in hot oil spiced with chilli, peanuts roasting – I even thought I caught a whiff of coconut cakes!

(THE CLAY MARBLE by Minfong Ho)

LONGING FOR HOME

There it is,
the camp.
An endless brown sea of thatched lean-tos.
There it is, where we have to live
among clusters of plastic tents
barren, flat and desolate.
There it was,
our home
among the paddy fields
Where smoke used to spiral from countless cooking fires,
Where red sorrel used to stick out from patches of buffalo clover.
Now cracked, hard soil.
Now overgrown with clumps of fireweed.
There it is,
the refugee camp.
now our new home. (Rohana)

Hurry, Brother, I see signs of life
Do not take your time, I want to feel alive!
Everywhere I see,
People are hurrying
Just to be free.

I could smell the food,
I could imagine the taste
Memories of good food
They are far away,

How I wish I am home now
Sleeping in my bed,
Peace and tranquility,
Is what I long for. (Chok Shu Ying)

Home,
is where we belong,
Where we have freedom
As well as peace.

Home,
Is where the family is,
To cry in pain,
And celebrate with.

Bloodshed everywhere because of war,
We live in fear, homesick and miserable,
Making us vulnerable.

Why do they kill?
Do they have no hearts?
Please take pity,
I want to go home.

Horrors of War

Don’t you even know that war is bad
Because of these wars
Many are dead

Families once at peace
Now in dispute
When the shelling of bombs began

And that is why
We will stop this war
No more people dying anymore

Too much bloodshed
Causing such a sore
Teardrops now flowing like waterfalls

War makes people suffer
And not much supper
No more splitting of firewood
Nor fetching of clean water

And that is why
We will end this war
No more people dying anymore! (Douglas Lee)

War is horrible
War is terrible
People running
And screaming for their lives.

Bombing and shooting
A nightmare to see
People dying in front
Of your eyes.

Shooting everywhere
Shooting aimlessly
The Horrors of War
That cause much sufferings. (Jocelyn Ong)

Wars are terrible
Wars are cruel
Hurting people
Is what they do.

Banging and Bombing
Where do the sounds come from?
I know what they are
They are the sounds of war

Bombings everywhere
Run away for your lives
Those caught by the bombs
End up in a tomb. (Neo Wei Xuan)

Matilda Fest - Saying it with Poems and Playscripts

2009-07-10T22:27:00.001-07:00

A Poem by Alvin Tay

_____________________

Miss Honey,
is very lonely.
She lives in a very plain house,
In a very plain forest.
Miss Honey

is a very nice niece
of a very fierce headmistress.
Miss Honey
kind and caring,
understanding and friendly
And a teacher of Crunchem Primary.

(by Attiqah, Cheryl, Li Wen and Susan)

_______________________________

Matilda is not a bad girl,
She is just a normal school girl.
She is clever, but a genius for ever.
She loves to read,
But she does not like to plead.
She is a Shorty, but not a tortoise.
She is brave but she does not misbehave.

(by: Alice, Hyung-In, Li Zhi, Yong Wei)

_________________________________

Ever since Miss Trunbull fainted,
Everyone was so elated.
Soon, Mr. Trilby went to her house,
But found nothing including her blouse.
Now, he realized Miss Trunbull has vanished,
And all he could do was speak Spanish.
Fortunately, miss honey had her properties claimed,
And everything is back same.
There are still family feature and picture around,
And all the memories could be found.
Mr. Trilby was appointed as the head teacher,
Unlike Miss trunchbull, the horrible creature.
Mr. Wormwood is leaving for Spain,
And not returning back again.
Matilda will not follow,
This news is too shocking for her to swallow.
Matilda went to stay with miss honey,
And this doesnt cost any money.
Mr. Wormwood agree,
With Miss honey’s plead.

They hugged each other, and lived happily ever after.

(A poem by Dinah,Iszra,Jennifer,Phyo May, Ee En, Rabiahtul)

Matilda Fest - An Oral Presentation Project

2009-07-09T06:12:00.000-07:00

Puppet Characters by 1N1

Secondary One pupils worked in groups to showcase their work based on Roald Dahl's "Matilda". They drew posters based on an interesting incident in the text and wrote poems about the characters or incidents.

Pupils also wrote playscripts based on a scene and acted out the scene:
1 The Reader of Books
2 The Hat and The Superglue
3 The ghost
4 The Platinum-Blond Man
5 First Day at School (Miss Honey)
6 Throwing the Hammer
7 Bruce Bogtrotter and the Logcake
8 The Weekly Test
9 The First Miracle
10The Third Miracle

'The Clay Marble' - Act and React

2009-05-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

Read one of the following Chapters in “The Clay Marble” and write a script to include Stage Directions and suggestions for Costumes and Props. You may include the direct speeches used in the text and / or add in your own dialogue to make the scene more realistic.

Choose one of the following scenes in “The Clay Marble”:
1. Chapter Three:First meeting between Dara and Jantu.
2. Chapter Ten: Dara's new friendship with Chnay.
3. Chapter Fourteen:Dara and Jantu motivating Duoic.
4. Chapter Seventeen:Dara standing up against her brother Sarun.

Dara' new friendship with Chnay: a videoclip and blog presentation by Jocelyn, Xin Pei, Wing Ben and Wei Xuan.
http://blogfordrama.blogspot.com/

Chicken Ala-carte

2009-05-29T07:59:00.000-07:00

Time to ponder and reflect:Don't waste your food.Don't be fussy about food. Eat only when you are hungry; stop eating when you are full. Relish every spoonful of your food, each grain of your rice.

I lifted a spoonful of rice and ate it. I thought about what a wonderful thing it is to eat rice. First you let the smell drift up in lazy spirals, sweet and elusive; then you look at the color of it, softer and whiter than the surrounding steam. Carefully you put a spoonful of it in your mouth, and feel each grain separate on your tongue, firm and warm. Then you taste it – the rich yet delicate sweetness of it. How different it was from that gritty red rice we’d been rationed to, the last three years, gruel so bland and watery that it slipped right down your throat before you could even taste it. No, this was real rice, whole moist grains I could chew and savor.
from The Clay Marble (p.24)

I sat back, leaning against the tree, and breathed a deep sigh of contentment. There was a morsel of meat left on my plate, which I had been saving till last. Slowly I spooned it up and swallowed it. How could anything be better than this?
from The Clay Marble (p.31)

Response to a Story: A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseni

2009-05-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

'A Thousand Splendid Suns' is a 2007 novel by Afghan author Khaled Hosseini, his second, following his bestselling debut, The Kite Runner (2003). It focuses on the tumultuous lives of two Afghan women and how their lives cross each other, spanning from the 1960s to present day.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Thousand_Splendid_Suns

The Bamiyan Valley below was carpeted by lush farming fields….The sky above all of this was an immaculate, spotless blue.
“It's so quiet,” Laila breathed. She could see tiny sheep and horses but couldn't hear their bleating and whinnying.
“It's what I always remember about being up here,” Baba said. “The silence. The peace of it. I wanted you to experience it. But I also wanted you to see your country's heritage, children, to learn of its rich past. You see, some things I can teach you. Some you learn from books. But there are things that, well, you just have to see and feel.”
(Adapted from: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini)

Students’ responses:

I agree with the extract that experience is important in our life. We may not really understand something just be reading books. We need to experience it to get a vision of something. However there is a limit in experience which means that not everyting have to be experienced. For example smoking. Everyone knows that smoking is bad but some people purposely try to smoke as they want to know how it feels like. But in the end they pick up the habit and became addicted. Joni Tan 2A

I certainly agree with the quotation: some you have to see for yourself, some you have to experience, some you have to read from books. What is important is what you learn from experience. People cannot teach you everything, so sometimes you have to see to believe. Books give knowledge, seeing the ‘real’ things is even better. (Chok Shu Ying)

Yes, I do agree. If you learn from a book, you cannot picture it clearly. If you see it‘live' you can understand better. (Nakulan)

I agree with this extract. There are somethings in the world you just cannot learn from books. One can learn many things from experience. For example, a book may give you a rough sketch of a certain place in the world. But to believe and truly understand, you must see it with your own eyes and feel it for yourself. For example, when I was reading a book about the beautiful scenery of Switzerland, I could only picture some of it But when I had the opportunity to visit the country, only then I know more about the country. (Douglas Lee)

You cannot learn everything from books. You cannot learn everything from what people teach you. Sometimes you have to see to believe it. There is also a difference between reading a book and watching a movie. The book uses vivid words to describe a place or thing but a movie show you the actual thing. (Darshinee Raman)

I agree that everything that we need to know is not only from books. I believe we can also learn things through our personal experience or even going on field trips. We will also remember what we learn better when we see, hear or feel it. (Azirah Md Salleh)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4kyalTT_wY

What a Character! - Minfong Ho's 'The Clay Marble'

2009-05-12T22:33:00.000-07:00

Extract from Minfong Ho's 'The Clay Marble'
http://members2.authorsguild.net/minfong/work16.htm
http://www.mekong.net/cambodia/clay.htm

About Chnay, the bully.
I saw a lone figure slip out of the shadows of the nearby trees and hurry toward us. Even before I could see his face, I knew it was Chnay. I was surprised, but glad, too. Ever since I had found my own family, he had avoided me, even though I had invited him to eat with us several times. But he had always refused, claiming that he felt more comfortable eating by himself. I waved to him now, and waited for him to come up to me.
“I…brought you something,” he said awkwardly. He held out a wooden cowbell, polished to such a high sheen that it gleamed in the morning light.
“Where did you get it?” I asked.
Chnay smiled. “I made it, “ he said with pride.
I thought of the way he used to break Jantu’s toys, smashing them to the ground and laughing. It was hard to think of him making anything. He must have seen the surprise on my face, because he smiled.
“The first two bells I carved didn’t turn out very well. This is my third try.”
“Thanks, Chnay,” I said.
“Actually, “ Chnay said, awkwardly, “ I made it for Jantu. At least, I was thinking about her when I made it.” He walked over to our pair of oxen and started to tie the bell around the bigger one's neck. I went over to the ox and stood on its other side.
As he busied himself with tying the bell, Chnay continued,“I thought of the way she used to make things out of sticks and scraps and mud and, well .....I felt bad that I had broken so many of them.”
“Jantu would have liked your bell very much,” I said shyly, stroking thee muzzle of the ox. It tossed its head, swinging its new bell. It was a lovely sound, The low wooden knock-knock of it. Chnay and I smiled at each other.
“Why don’t you come back with us?” I said. “You’d like our village.”
He kept smiling, but his eyes turned sad. “I wouldn’t belong there,” he said.
"You think you belong here?”
Chnay shrugged. “Here, at least I won't feel so out of place. I mean, there are a lot of loners like me, boys without any family.” Chnay paused. “I’ve gotten to know some of them already. And guess what? I've made friends with that monkey, too."
He flashed me a smile, and then he was gone, running off without a backward glance, his bare feet, kicking up sprays of water as he splashed through the puddle between the trees.

My impressions: Chnay

Once a big bully,
Pitiful , Lonely , Ashamed.
Chnay, a kind soul. (Lee Xin Pei)

Chnay a loser
A Sad and Naughty orphan
Chnay a poor boy. (Jocelyn Ong)

In a small village
Where a shy lonely boy lives
Chnay, A good friend. (Darshinee Raman)

There was a shy boy
He is thoughtful and lonely.
Chnay, a true friend. (Neo Wei Xuan)

Chnay is a lonely boy.
Loves to bully kids
but he later changed for good. (Nur Shahira Yap)

There was once a boy
who is happy and cheerful.
Chnay. A true friend. (Chok Shu Ying)

Chnay the loner
Naughty, kind-hearted and poor
Yearning for friendship (Ernie Syazwani)

Chnay a loner
An Orphan without close friends
Chnay, a poor boy. (Sek Kim Bao)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w43D652uA_o

What a Character! - Miss Trunchbull in Roald Dahl's 'Matilda'

2009-05-12T22:23:00.000-07:00

Miss Trunchbull, the Headmistress, was something else altogether. She was a fierce tyrannical monster who frightened the life out of the pupils and teachers alike . There was an aura of menace about her even at a distance, and when she came up close you could almost feel the dangerous heat radiating from her as from a red-hot rod of metal. When she marched–Miss Trunchbull never walked, she always marched like a storm-trooper with long strides and arms aswinging – when she marched along a corridor you could actually hear her snorting as she went, and if a group of children were in her path, she ploughed right on through them like a tank, with small people bouncing off her to left and right. She was above all a most formidable female. She had once been a famous athlete, and even now the muscles were clearly in evidence. You could see them in the bull neck, in the big shoulders, in the thick arms, in the sinewy wrists and in the powerful legs. Looking at her you got the feeling that here was someone who could tear telephone directories in half. Her face, I’m afraid to say, was neither a thing of beauty nor a joy forever. She had an obstinate chin, a cruel mouth and small arrogant eyes.

Students' Responses:

Headmistress Trunchbull
Fierce, tyrannical monster
Marched, she never walked. (Jennifer Koh)

An aggressive headmistress
Arrogant and fierce
Pupils dare not meet that one. (Nur Laila)

Angry, annoying
Stubborn, cruel, disloyal
This is Miss TrunchBull. (Audry Soh Yun Ting)

An aggresive headmistress
Truly arrogant and fierce
The really fierce one (Nurulhuda Bte Samsudin)

Got powerful legs
never understand children .
She is Miss Truchbull. (Siti Rahayu Bte Uzman)

Miss TrunchBull's shouting
Children Running Everywhere
What A Big Bully. (Annie Ng Li Woon)

Miss TrunchBull
A fierce tyrannical monster
Is a headmistress. (Nur Alifah)

A very strict one
A fierce, dangerous person
Headmistress Tunchbull. (Chua Li Jun )

Miss TrunchBull is fat
She likes to threaten pupils
Miss TrunchBull is big. (Ang Soh Ming)

Mrs Trunchbull is fierce
She always marched like a storm
Determined lady. (Sim Ting Xuan)

In a scary place
There is a fierce head mistress
She is Miss Trunchbull. (Lim Xin Ni)

Evil Miss Trunchbull
She is always determined
walks in heavy steps. (Siah Cheon Kee)

A joyless lady
who is a fierce headmistress
is not a beauty. (Susan Tan Sushan)

Miss Trunchbull, the Headmistress
fierce, frightening, bad tempered
Miss Trunchbull, ferocious one. (Alice Leong)

Miss Trunchbull is mean
She is dreadful and ugly
She thinks she's the best. (Iszra Maszwira)

Agatha Trunchbull
The monster-like headmistress
Has menacing looks. (Rabiatul Adawiyah)

A tyrannical monster
Aura of menace round her
Headmistress Trunchbull. (Darryl Han)

She’s a fierce monster ,
You could feel heat radiates
marching like a soldier. (Joven Phang)

Children scared of her
She is very athletic
She is very fierce. (Nur Fitriaina)

She is the fierce one
A very cruel headmistress
An arrogant one. (Muhd Nur Hazwan)

Say it with Poems to commemorate Earth Day

2009-05-12T19:56:00.000-07:00

Who are touring every Earth's every corner.A Poem by Hoon Yong Wei Sec 1B

Climate change is often chanted
A crisis happening when no plants are planted.
Global warming is when ozone layer is thinning
Oceans polluted with dead fish floating.

Environmental change we need to prevent further destruction
Before we start Fighting for Fresh air to breathe without congestion
Everyone must have the determination
To look for a better solution
Instead of Wasting away our natural resources
To satifsfy our self indulgence.

Don't take advantage of what is given
By not paying attention to what is wasted
The decision is up to us
To help make Earth a much better place.

A poem by Lek Jian Hong Sec 2A

Conserve energy is our first priority
So Pollution will be lesser
To make our Environment better.

If Earth fall sick
She will be hard to heal.
So remember what makes Earth tick.
Taking care of Earth is what we should feel.

Our life is at risk by global warming
Earth will be gone
If you don’t heed this warning.

A poem by Nur Qistina Sec 2A

Twenty-second April,
is the day for Earth,
people conserve energy,
To prevent global warming.
When temperature increases
Glaciers will melt
Drown out what was once our life.
Let's do our part and save the Earth
So let's go green for everyone’s sake.

A poem by Joven Phang Sec 1B
Earth is precious
So are we
If earth is gone
So will we
So Save the earth before it's too late.

Haiku poem by Rabiatul Adawiyah Sec 1B
Water pollution
Caused by litter in rivers
Stop this bad habit.

A poem by Darshinee Raman Sec 2A
Energy is important
Energy is clean
Energy is essential
So conserve it please.

Lakes, rivers and reservoirs too
Give us water
So don’t pollute.

The air we breathe pollute it not
Don’t drive private cars
Take public transport a lot.

Global warming
Heats up the Earth
So do your part
Don't make it worse.

A poem by Douglas Lee 2A
Mother Earth is our home
Take care of her before she's gone
Before you have any regrets
Take care of Earth as much as you get.

Mother Earth is our home
Supplier of water
Which nurtures Life
Protecting us from sun rays' harm.

Mother Earth is our home
Our irresponsible actions can destroy her
Our waste and our disposals indiscriminately thrown
Global warming could spell our tomb.

Mother Earth is our home
Our irresponsible actions can harm her
Causing her to suffer a lot
We should all stop before she's gone forever.

Mother Earth is our home
Taking care of her is our priority
Recycle our unused things
If not Reuse or dispose properly.

Do not contribute to global warming
Have a thought and to save our land
Before tears are for losing our home
So Play your part
And Save Our Home.

A poem by Sek Kim Bao Sec 2A
Mother Earth is our home
Taking care of Her is our job
Our actions can make her suffer
We should stop before She's gone.

Our inconsideration can cause her harm
Better stop before it's too late
Clearing primary forests
Signals Global warming alarm.

Renewable energy could be the answer
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle more
Everyone contribute more
This is our only to save her.

Mother Earth is our home
Supplier of resources we need
For our land, for our home
Agriculture, transport and other needs to meet.

Be considerate and save our souls
Mother Earth is our only home
Ask your heart of what to do
To save Her is our goal.

Haiku poem by Dinah Qistina Sec 1B
The Earth is our home,
the one and only place
For everyone.

Haiku poem by Alice Leong Sec 1B
Earth is our only home
Earth is dying soon, so help
So help Mother Earth now

A poem by Chok Su Ying Sec 2A:
Conserve Energy

Energy is important,
Energy is clean,
Energy is essential,
So conserve it!
Global Warming,
Switch on the fan,
Instead of air-cons,
Reducing global warming!
Air, land, water, noise
Pollution,
The types of it,
Know the consequences,
It contributes to Global Warming!
Refrain from littering,
Take public transport,
Dispose sewage properly,
Reducing Global Warming!
Everyone have a part to play,
So from today,
Let’s conserve energy!

A poem by: Sec 1B
Phyo May Mee Soe ,Koh Mei Hui Jennifer ,Fadzly Bin Madjudi
Earth , Where we belong

Global warming is the biggest challenge,
Spending all your money without a balance.
Facing the world today,
So start acting quickly to change the way.

Tackling climate change is one of the biggest problem faced,
So you have to do your part to save this place.
The only place, where we can live in,

A place that we spend time
Earth, our only home a beauty that you can roam
But now it’s having a serious cold.
It’s our job to make it better.
Everyday activities, like switching on a light,
Produce greenhouse gas emission, oh what a fright!

Reuse paper by using both sides when there’s a need,
So that we do a good deed.
Say 'NO' to plastic bags,
Or your parents will start to nag.

Don't litter or dispose waste,
Or you will have more problems to face.
Choose products that come with refills,
So no need to pay more bills.

Do not speed when drive, you will emit gas less.
This will not allow you to cause any stress,
Or you won't be able to progress,
With all the fines that you had collected
For the traffic police.

Sustainable development for Singapore means
Support our future economies.
Well, maybe it's not as interesting as your comics.
But it maintains a quality living environment that is clean, green and healthy.
But that doesn't mean you'll be as wealthy.
We must make it a lively and live-able global city
By getting involved in citizens’ committee.
This would also be attractive to the foreigners,
who are touring every corner.

DEAR programme with Jurong West Public Library

2009-03-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

Pupils participated in 'Drop Everything And Read' Activity organised by Jurong West Public Library.

Mini Book Fair in class

2009-03-24T08:15:00.001-07:00

Book Sharing in class

2009-03-24T08:06:00.001-07:00

Pupils had the opportunity to share the books that they had read with their fellow classmates in class.

'Prove It!' Pre-Contest Workshop

2009-03-24T07:48:00.000-07:00

6 pupils participated in a workshop organised by National Library Board, in collaboration with Health Promotion Board. The key theme of the competition was on Youth Health, such as nutrition, physical activity, mental wellness and youth smoking control. The contest aims to challenge students' ability to seek information and develop a strong aptitude for research.

Sec Two Hong Kah Lites - Surf and Read

2008-11-05T18:08:00.000-08:00

Hi Sec Twos

A few of you have asked me for some recommended read. You might want to read:
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

Go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_New_World
http://www.huxley.net/bnw/

You might want to sign up for a virtual tour of The Forbidden City at: http://www.beyondspaceandtime.org/

Happy Reading and Have Fun.

Reading Assignments

2008-10-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

Calling all Secondary Two Hong Kah Lites:

Your year-end school holiday is already here.Time to relax, reflect and to read.
This November / December school holiday, use the opportunity to read and practise writing as much as possible in order to:

• improve your vocabulary and language skills
• broaden your horizon
• expose yourself to an infinite range of human experience and thought
• develop your imagination and creativity and
• keep yourself from being bored.

Read not just fiction books but also newspapers, magazines and books on general knowledge and current affairs. You can watch a movie too and write about it. Or better still, you might want to read a book which has a movie adaptation. Read the book, then watch the movie adaptation and make the comparison.
You can do the assignments on your own or with a partner.
(Make sure you work with a good partner!)
Present your assignments in a suitable format (e.g. Digital Story, blog, webpage, videoclip).

Complete the assigned tasks and hand in your assignments to your English Language teacher on the first Monday when school reopens in 2009. Each task will be graded and the assignments will form part of your CA1 marks for 2009.

II Task One: Read a Storybook and choose one of the following tasks:

1. Web-page
If you are IT savvy, go ahead and design a web-page about the book. Include a book review and interesting pictures. All you need to do is print the home page. Remember to include the URL address.

2. Digital Story
Copy out a short paragraph from the story you have read which describes a memorable setting and underline the most vivid words or phrases. Take photographs or surf the web for images or pictures that best describe the setting. Create a digital story describing this setting using strong verbs and interesting adjectives. You may create sound effects and record your narration for an interesting presentation.

3. Blog
A book may leave you with more questions than answers. What questions would you like to ask? What are they? Direct your questions at a particular character through a series of letters to a story character which you post in your blog. If you already have a blog, post your response in the blog and provide the blog address.

4. Audio Recording / Videoclip
Identify two characters in the story and have the two characters talk to each other in an original dialogue. You may have two or more characters talk with another character from the same book or you may take a character from the book and have him/her talk to another character from another book. Be creative but make sure everyone stays in character. Do a dramatic reading and record your dialogue. Alternatively you may act out the scene and videotape your performance.

5. My Newspaper
Create a newspaper spread using details from the book. You can include articles about the various characters, plot, pictures of the setting etc. Refer to a real newspaper for ideas on layout and writing style.

II Task Two: Movie Review
Go to the cinema or borrow a DVD and watch a movie. Write a 300 - 500 word movie review on any movie of your choice. You may discuss:
• the plot
• the acting
• the set design
• the cinematography
• the costumes
• the moral of the movie etc

You may refer to other reviewers and what they say about the movie. You may cite entertainment magazines, newspapers or websites.
Write your movie review and present it in the form of a blog, a webpage or any other media you are comfortable in. If you already have a blog, post your assignement in your blog and provide the blog address. Refer to my earlier postings on My Favourite Movies and My Favourite Books.

Happy Reading, Be Creative and Have Fun!

"Harnessing Weblogs for pupils' reflection and collaboration'

2008-09-17T07:04:00.000-07:00

A reflection after attending the workshop: what purpose does it serve?

Defining Tools for a New Learning Space: Writing and Reading Class Blogs

Digital Stories - Going Places

2008-09-01T03:24:00.000-07:00

Attended a two-day workshop on "Enhancing Writing through Digital Stories" where we learned how to use elements of digital storytelling in storyboarding to enhance the writing process in narratives, personal recount and factual recount. Tried it out to create a simple digital story of my vacations. Watch and enjoy:

Dynamic Korea: here we come!

"Good Morning Vietnam" - a factual recount.

Show and Tell - Theme of Horror and the Macabre

2008-08-07T08:05:00.000-07:00

THEY READ, THEY SHARED AND WERE REALLY FRIGHTENED!

Got the students to do a 'Show and Tell' on the theme of 'Horror and the Macabre' since it was the month of the Chinese 'Hungry Ghost Festival'. The response - overwhelming and fantastic . Students were in their elements and animated in sharing a topic they were obviously very interested in. So there were powerpoint presentations on ghosts and superstitious beliefs, videoclips of 'ghost sightings' ,music recordings of eerie sounds and retelling of scary stories from books and movies. Although there were cliche moments and tiresome descriptions of ghosts, the session was a good opportunity to get the students to speak up in class and read aloud to their peers. Managed to upload some of the students' contributions: some interesting stories and humourous ones too, but be warned of one that will literally make you jump out of your seat!

A horror story as told by Mak Cui Ying and Lim Zi Yan of Secondary 2A:

This is a story told by a friend of mine who loves to listen to horror stories on a local radio station. This incident happened at the Sg Besi Highway which was a few years back was not so conjested as it is now. It is about a lady who always used Sg Besi Highway as one of the roads for her to travel back and forth from work. Here’s the story…

I used to work until very late at night every time. Because I fear more of humans than of ghosts, I would speed as fast as possible so I could reach home in the most minimal time with less worries of what would have happened on the road. You know, those stories you hear of people trailing your car or “accidentally” crash into your car only to get your attention. At one rate, I finally did get caught by the traffic police at the Sg Besi Highway. They stopped me and told me that they had taken pictures of me speeding along the highway which somehow would cause me a fine. I obliged but only with the proof that I was really speeding.
A few weeks passed and finally the police contacted me. They told me that I could get the pictures that they have taken at the police station and told me to drop by that very evening. Curious of the commotion, I went. To my surprise, I was questioned by the police officer who was the driver behind my car and pointed to me a photograph of a little girl smiling at the camera sitting on the driver’s seat, the very seat that I was sitting on at that time. Nevertheless, I was fined and given a good warning about putting a child on my lap while I was driving. It never occured to me that something was wrong because I was very sure that there was probably something wrong with the camera at that time.
After that photograph incident, I continued to speed back home. However, this time, things were slightly different. Each time I passed by the Sg Besi Highway, I would see a child waiting by the road side. It never occured to me that she was the supernatural sort because I was so preoccupied with getting back home. One day, curiosity got a better hold of me. I slowed down my car to see the little girl and to my shock, she was the same girl that I saw in the photograph a few weeks ago at the police station. Goosebumps ran through my spine as I hit the pedal and passed the smiling little girl.

Another horror story by Gladys Chow: The Ballerina

I'm going to share a story that my tuition teacher told me a few years ago. I don’t think it’s a true story, maybe just a story my tuition teacher had read.
Jane was a beautiful ballerina. Dancing was her life and her goal was to be the world’s top ballerina. Her mum was very supportive of her and was always willing to pay the high fees of Jane’s ballet classes.
But one day, Jane and her boyfriend got into a motorcycle accident. When Jane woke up, she found herself in the hospital with her legs in cast and bruises everywhere. She screamed for her mother when her mom told her the doctor said that Jane would not be able to dance anymore as her legs were severely broken.
Since then Jane became depressed and never wanted to eat or come out of her own room. Her mother was heartbroken to see her like that. But one night when her mum opened the room door, she saw Jane dancing!! She was so happy, she started walking towards Jane. She called her name but there was no reply. All of a sudden, Jane turned around. Her eyes were flipped white; she wasn’t dancing! There was a spir'it pulling her hair lifting her up from the floor and shaking her side to side. Her mum was horrified but she knew she had to save her daughter. She grabbed hold of Jane and suddenly Jane fell to the floor lying unconscious.
Fortunately, Jane didnt die; she was just possessed and disturbed by a horrifying spirit. Her mum hired a priest to exorcise the house and since then no such thing ever happened again.

Yet another scary story by Phua Xia Gek:
I am going to share with everyone a true experience that had happened to my cousin and I a few months ago. My cousin called me that she had something really important to tell me and judging by her voice it seemed that she was not kidding. I was filled with curiosity, badly wanting to know what it was, so I rushed to her house straight after doing my homework. She told me that our grandmother ,who lived with her, said weird things in the evening.
"Grandfather, is behind you right now." My cousin exclaimed she really felt a presence of something standing right behind her. After a couple of minutes, my grandmother said the weird things again. "Grandfather is hiding in the wardrobe now! Do not come here!" My cousin was very afraid and dare not go near the wardrobe. Probably, my grandfather did really come back to see how my grandmother was doing.
At about 9pm that day, I sent my grandmother to her bedroom and ensure that she was sleep before we leave the room. When my cousin and I went into the room, she told us grandfather had already left to look for other grandchildren. Since that incident, grandmother kept saying that she saw dark shadow around and also of his head being hanged!

Another really, really scary story by Perdenver Tan of Sec 2A. Be warned....

Students contributed interesting videos too. Scary, fake or real? You decide...

Learning Project 2008 - My Hero

2008-08-07T07:35:00.000-07:00

Secondary Two Pupils have been tasked to create awareness on the work of heroes who have made important contributions to Singapore and shaped the lives of all Singaporeans. The pupils also went on a field trip to view the "Who's your Hero?" Exhibition at the HeritageFest at Suntec City to get ideas and inspirations for their projects.

When pupils blog:
Blog on Elizabeth Choy: http://choyer-choyer.blogspot.com/

Blog on Lt Adnan: http://lt-adnan-worldwartwo.blogspot.com/

Blog on Lim Bo Seng: http://www.lim-bo-seng.blogspot.com/

What we did in class...

2008-07-29T21:47:00.000-07:00

Have you played the diabolo before?

"The diabolo (commonly misspelled as diablo and mispronounced dia-BO-lo), formerly also known as "the devil on two sticks") is a juggling prop consisting of a spool which is whirled and tossed on a string tied to two sticks held one in each hand. A huge variety of tricks are possible using the sticks, string, and various body parts. Multiple diabolos can be spun on a single string.
Diabolos come in different shapes and materials. Diabolos with more weight tend to retain their momentum for longer, whereas small/light diabolos can be thrown higher and are easier to accelerate to high speeds. Rubber diabolos are less prone to breakage. One-sided diabolos are also available but are more difficult to use." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabolo

Let Sebestian from Sec 2A demonstrate it for you:

"HAVE YOUR SAY!" - an opportunity for pupils to speak fluently and confidently and articulate their views coherently. Sec 5N2 shows you how...

National Literature Festival - Poetry Slam Competition

2008-07-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Yasmin, Davita, Zaqwan, Nasrin and Syafiqah for making it to the semi-finals at the Poetry Slam Competition. You did it all on your own.

SINGAPORE VOICES ( a poem by Davita,Yasmin, Zaqwan and Nasrin)

Walking by the calming river
Feeling its history
Saw Sir Stamford Raffles he was just right beside me

I saw kids diving in
Watching them together (together)
Having the best times in their lives
Free like butterflies

People buying, people selling
All the days work of trading
Doing this to earn some money

Skyscrapers stretching the air
They are standing up so proudly
As if they were dynamos
Some look like pillars fronting our Singapore dreams
And rockets which are about to blast off right into space
Imaginations go wild while gazing
At the buildings
Staring down
Admiring their profile in the Singapore River

The legendary Singapore River
That brings flows of memories
And dreams of our very own
Singapore!

Homework due for Sec Two Express / Normal

2008-07-19T19:43:00.000-07:00

Hi Sec Two

Your homework for Oral presentation is due next week. Check it out below: READ, LEARN AND BE FRIGHTENED. Don't forget your write-up and props/visuals etc.

My Favourite Movies

2008-07-17T02:47:00.000-07:00

Babette's Dinner ( A French Movie)
- watch it, if not for the story, at least for the food - drool as you watch
http://www.karenblixen.com/babette.html

Ghost

The Devil Wears Prada - a light-hearted movie about the fashion industry. Enjoyed the movie more for the handbags and fashion accessories featured in the story.

Gosford Park

The Bourne Trilogy - Identity, Supremacy, Ultimatum

The Godfather Trilogy - Godfather II was much better. Love the soundtrack.

Kingdom of Heaven

Merlin

Lord of the Rings

The Da Vinci Code

Moulin Rouge

Infernal Affair (Chinese Movie)

Read, Learn and be Frightened

2008-07-17T02:24:00.000-07:00

Calling all Pupils:

To 'celebrate' Hungry Ghost Festival next month, I would like you to prepare an oral presentation assignment on the theme of Horror and the Macabre. You may want to do a topic on ghosts, the supernatural or supersitions or talk about a ghost story you have read or horror movie that you have watched.
You may present your assignment in the form of a storyboard, powerpoint or photostory presentation, scrap book, or bring an object for a Show and Tell; the ideas are endless.
For a start, you might want to do some research on the topics.

Here are some suggestions of interesting stories and authors:

Books and Movie adaptation by Stephen King

A Short Story 'The Black Cat' by Edgar Allen Poe

Classic thrillers by Alfred Hitchcock.

So get going and be ready to present them during English lessons.

Master Story Teller of Horror

2008-07-16T00:51:00.000-07:00

Hi, 5N2! :)

Find out more about Stephen King and his works: His Books and Movie Adaptations. Read and share in class for Oral Presentation.

Interesting Read

2008-07-12T08:28:00.000-07:00

Calling all teachers.. check this out!

http://wordpress.com/tag/nur-dianah-suhaimi/

Feeling Like the Least Favourite ChildNur Dianah Suhaimi10 Aug 2008
As a Malay, I’ve always been told that I have to work twice as hard to prove my worth.When I was younger, I always thought of myself as the quintessential Singaporean.
Of my four late grandparents, two were Malay, one was Chinese and one was Indian. This, I concluded, makes me a mix of all the main races in the country. But I later realised that it was not what goes into my blood that matters, but what my identity card says under ‘Race’.
Because my paternal grandfather was of Bugis origin, my IC says I’m Malay. I speak the language at home, learnt it in school, eat the food and practise the culture. And because of my being Malay, I’ve always felt like a lesser Singaporean than those from other racial groups.
I grew up clueless about the concept of national service because my father was never enlisted.
He is Singaporean all right, born and bred here like the rest of the boys born in 1955. He is not handicapped in any way. He did well in school and participated in sports.
Unlike the rest, however, he entered university immediately after his A levels. He often told me that his schoolmates said he was ‘lucky’ because he was not called up for national service.
‘What lucky?’ he would tell them. ‘Would you feel lucky if your country doesn’t trust you?’
So I learnt about the rigours of national service from my male cousins. They would describe in vivid detail their training regimes, the terrible food they were served and the torture inflicted upon them - most of which, I would later realise, were exaggerations.
But one thing these stories had in common was that they all revolved around the Police Academy in Thomson. As I got older, it puzzled me why my Chinese friends constantly referred to NS as ‘army’. In my family and among my Malay friends, being enlisted in the army was like hitting the jackpot. The majority served in the police force because, as is known, the Government was not comfortable with Malay Muslims serving in the army. But there are more of them now.
Throughout my life, my father has always told me that as a Malay, I need to work twice as hard to prove my worth. He said people have the misconception that all Malays are inherently lazy.
I was later to get the exact same advice from a Malay minister in office who is a family friend.
When I started work, I realised that the advice rang true, especially because I wear my religion on my head. My professionalism suddenly became an issue. One question I was asked at a job interview was whether I would be willing to enter a nightclub to chase a story. I answered: ‘If it’s part of the job, why not? And you can rest assured I won’t be tempted to have fun.’
When I attend media events, before I can introduce myself, people assume I write for the Malay daily Berita Harian. A male Malay colleague in The Straits Times has the same problem, too.
This makes me wonder if people also assume that all Chinese reporters are from Lianhe Zaobao and Indian reporters from Tamil Murasu.
People also question if I can do stories which require stake-outs in the sleazy lanes of Geylang. They say because of my tudung I will stick out like a sore thumb. So I changed into a baseball cap and a men’s sports jacket - all borrowed from my husband - when I covered Geylang.
I do not want to be seen as different from the rest just because I dress differently. I want the same opportunities and the same job challenges.
Beneath the tudung, I, too, have hair and a functioning brain. And if anything, I feel that my tudung has actually helped me secure some difficult interviews.
Newsmakers - of all races - tend to trust me more because I look guai (Hokkien for well-behaved) and thus, they feel, less likely to write critical stuff about them.
Recently, I had a conversation with several colleagues about this essay. I told them I never thought of myself as being particularly patriotic. One Chinese colleague thought this was unfair. ‘But you got to enjoy free education,’ she said.
Sure, for the entire 365 days I spent in Primary 1 in 1989. But my parents paid for my school and university fees for the next 15 years I was studying.
It seems that many Singaporeans do not know that Malays have stopped getting free education since 1990. If I remember clearly, the news made front-page news at that time.
We went on to talk about the Singapore Government’s belief that Malays here would never point a missile at their fellow Muslim neighbours in a war.
I said if not for family ties, I would have no qualms about leaving the country. Someone then remarked that this is why Malays like myself are not trusted. But I answered that this lack of patriotism on my part comes from not being trusted, and for being treated like a potential traitor.
It is not just the NS issue. It is the frustration of explaining to non-Malays that I don’t get special privileges from the Government. It is having to deal with those who question my professionalism because of my religion. It is having people assume, day after day, that you are lowly educated, lazy and poor. It is like being the least favourite child in a family. This child will try to win his parents’ love only for so long. After a while, he will just be engulfed by disappointment and bitterness.
I also believe that it is this ‘least favourite child’ mentality which makes most Malays defensive and protective of their own kind.
Why do you think Malay families spent hundreds of dollars voting for two Malay boys in the Singapore Idol singing contest? And do you know that Malays who voted for other competitors were frowned upon by the community?
The same happens to me at work. When I write stories which put Malays in a bad light, I am labelled a traitor. A Malay reader once wrote to me to say: ‘I thought a Malay journalist would have more empathy for these unfortunate people than a non-Malay journalist.’
But such is the case when you are a Malay Singaporean. Your life is not just about you, as much as you want it to be. You are made to feel responsible for the rest of the pack and your actions affect them as well. If you trip, the entire community falls with you. But if you triumph, it is considered everyone’s success.
When 12-year-old Natasha Nabila hit the headlines last year for her record PSLE aggregate of 294, I was among the thousands of Malays here who celebrated the news. I sent instant messages to my friends on Gmail and chatted excitedly with my Malay colleagues at work.
Suddenly a 12-year-old has become the symbol of hope for the community and a message to the rest that Malays can do it too - and not just in singing competitions.
And just like that, the ‘least favourite child’ in me feels a lot happier.
Each year, come Aug 9, my father, who never had the opportunity to do national service, dutifully hangs two flags at home - one on the front gate and the other by the side gate.
I wonder if putting up two flags is his way of making himself feel like a better-loved child of Singapore.
ndianah@sph.com.sg
Tags: feeling like the least favourite child, the straits times, nur dianah suhaimi

Differentiated Instructions - Myth or Truth?

http://kaesp.usa-ks.org/docs/2008Retreat/Differentiated%20Instruction.pdf

Catherine Lim - Overcoming doubts and stepping forth

http://catherinelim.sg/2008/07/08/overcoming-doubts-and-stepping-forth/ http://tools.cisco.com/dlls/tln/page/media/perspectives/detail/ep/2008/tae-yoo-01

May 11, 2008 Office pal-itics

When your colleague and good friend quits, things will never be the same again, and that's very sadBy Ignatius LowLast Monday, one of my best friends in the office resigned.His decision didn't really surprise me. After almost 10 years with the newspaper, he was raring to trysomething new.I joined the company only slightly after he did, and through the years, a firm friendship was built angstingover work assignments, gossiping about colleagues and over-ordering in Japanese restaurants islandwide.Our relationship has evolved to the point where he nags me in public about eating my vegetables.And I nag him right back about his inexplicable attraction to sexually-confused women, much to theamusement of public relations people who had expected to buy us a quiet, civilised lunch.Yet his impending departure didn't really hit me until a few days later.We were both struggling to put out our stories that night - mine was about the national broadbandnetwork and his was about corporate dental benefits.Stressed and bored at the same time, we were engaging in our favourite activity: recreational bitching onLotus Notes Messenger.The great thing about talking about someone or something on instant messenging systems is that it's astealthy activity. There is the occasional hint of a smile and sporadic furious typing, but no one reallyknows what you're up to.As usual, we were childishly locked in a battle over who could say the most outrageous thing. And thingsquickly reached a crescendo with a horribly crude National Service-era joke.There was a pause on the message screen as we both chuckled silently to ourselves.Then out of nowhere, a huge wave of sadness washed over me and I was suddenly in tears.'You know, I am really gonna miss you,' I typed. 'No one else here is even remotely so full of nonsense :('Another pause onscreen, as I awaited his reply.':)'For me, office friends are such a vital part of working life that I don't think I could come to work everymorning if I didn't have them.So I really marvel at the people who judiciously separate their personal friendships from officerelationships.

They come to the office, keep to themselves and concentrate 100 per cent on their jobs. And at the end ofthe day, they go back to after-work lives that no one has the foggiest idea about.It's the working life experience boiled down to its cleanest, purest form - no frenzied shopping on the clockduring lunch and no poking your nose into other people's affairs.But much like that low-fat vegetarian diet that is theoretically good for you, I can't see much joy orlaughter in such an existence. I would probably go mad.The average executive comes in to work at 8am and doesn't leave till 7pm or 8pm, realistically. Thatmeans as many as 12 hours are spent in the office - or 75 per cent of his waking hours in a day, five daysa week.In those 12 hours, all sorts of stresses are loaded onto an individual. Meetings are tension-filled andembarrassment beckons if presentations go awry. With pals in the office, all this becomes that much morebearable.Dislike that crazy boss? Take out your phone and silently complain about him via SMS to your friend sittingacross the meeting table.Chances are, things won't look quite so bad after that.In fact, when it comes to the crunch, friends may not always be a good reason to stay in a job. But it's abig reason why, even when things go haywire and bad stuff is raining down like never before, peopledecide not to leave.Research based on 5 million interviews by The Gallup Organization shows that people who have a bestfriend at work are seven times more likely to be engaged with that work.The same research also shows that people with three close friends at work are 46 per cent more likely tobe extremely satisfied with their jobs and 88 per cent more likely to be satisfied with their lives.Still, bosses and workers see this issue differently. Another recent survey by California-based staffing firmAccountemps shows that although 22 per cent of employees feel that having friends in the office increasesproductivity, only 2 per cent of managers agree.As both a manager and an employee, I feel office friendships are great and should be cultivated andcherished.There are only two drawbacks.The first has to do with the fact that friendships in the office are quite different from those forged withclassmates in school, where everyone is more or less an equal.Two friends may start out at the same level, but one could get promoted quicker and even become theother's boss.The friendship could turn sour and a failed relationship in the office is arguably much harder to managethan one outside work, since people are expected to continue to work with each other every day.Friendships could also start up between bosses and subordinates, opening the door to jealousy andcharges of favouritism.The second thing about office friendships is that they burn so brightly while they last and die off so quicklywhen colleagues part ways.You feel constantly guilty when you don't keep in touch as often as you promised you would on that lastday. And even when you finally meet up with your friend, you worry about what to say. It's natural, Isuppose, because so much of the friendship was based on what was going on in and around the office.

But when colleagues leave, their circumstances change and you no longer have a daily pulse on what'sgoing on in their lives.That eventuality is the saddest thing, I think, about a friend quitting the office to move on.You can try as hard as you like, but you know that things will never be the same again.

(ignatius@sph.com.sg

Rethinking Education for the New Century
No matter the country, the educational goal is the same: to prepare students for a 21st century world.

By Tae Yoo, Senior Vice President, Cisco

A time traveler from the 19th century arriving today would marvel at the revolutionary changes to be found in virtually every corner of society, except one: education. Despite radical changes in commerce, transportation, and communications, the educational model across the developed and developing world has changed little since the introduction of public education in the early 1900s.
But now, the future growth and sustainability of our global economy depends on developing the capacities of educational systems to transform the conditions of learning into thoughtful, collaborative and creative learning environments—a world where each child will have equitable access to the opportunity to prosper from the education they receive.
At the same time as school systems around the world are struggling to meet this need, employers have begun seeking talent with 21st century skills in order to increase their competitiveness. In developed countries, skills including communication and collaboration are as much as 70 percent of the requirements in new jobs created since 1998, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2004). Even in emerging regions, the job market is shifting to a knowledge-based economy with tasks that require education-based skills and critical thinking. The need for educated and technology literate graduates and the increasing demand for those skills will require bold, innovative and systemic actions on the part of education system leaders and policy makers to close this gap.
Ironically, many young people today are already leading the way. As they become more conversant with social networking technologies that allow them to connect, collaborate, learn, and create, they are controlling their own learning experiences. While half of all U.S. students who use social networking technology to communicate as well as to research and explore their world, they are also attending institutions of learning which disengage them from these very same tools. In addition, teachers struggle to gain control of this new learning environment and have not been fully prepared to act as facilitators and enablers of the new technologies.
Education 3.0: Accelerating Teaching and Learning
Limited access to knowledge, rote learning, and significant variations in quality, practices and standards often characterized early education. Let’s call this Education 1.0, encompassing a period of learning that defined, perhaps, the first 50 years of education evolution.
Over the past 20 years, we’ve seen evidence, particularly in developed countries, of educational reforms designed to professionalize processes, set standards, and upgrade capabilities that can be dubbed Education 2.0. Much of this improvement often required high capital investments on the part of systems and governments. But money alone can’t buy excellence.
With few exceptions, schools have yet to institute a comprehensive roadmap of curricular and assessment reform. What we believe is needed is a new paradigm of 21st century learning. This new Education 3.0 model will require a broader agenda, one that responds to socioeconomic realities and enhances learning opportunities through the collaborative technologies students will be using on the job.
Naturally, education challenges and opportunities will vary greatly from country to country, but the goals are the same for all learners: to acquire the range of skills needed to succeed in a modern, globalizing world; to receive tailored instruction that enables students to reach their full potential; to connect with their communities in person and digitally; to benefit from the interaction with people from different cultures; and, most important, to embrace learning throughout their lives.
Four Pillars of Education Transformation
These are ambitious goals, but policymakers and education stakeholders can look to four areas to transform as they build an Education 3.0 model:
21st century skills.

Give students the skills and motivation needed for problem solving and decision making; creative and critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and negotiation; intellectual curiosity; perseverance and self-evaluation and you will develop a lifelong learner with a willingness to adapt to change.
21st century pedagogy.

Teachers are central to success. As the ways students learn changes, teachers will be called upon to facilitate, guide, and support learners to build a broader set of skills. By using technology to accelerate the learning process, enhanced professional development courses would encourage instruction in interdisciplinary and project-based learning, and the integration of relevant content to extend learning.
21st century technology.

Just as businesses are deploy¬ing technology to support sound business practices, so education systems might deploy technology to meet educational objectives. Administrators can support teachers with adequate broadband network access for integrating digital resources into the classroom.
21st century leadership.

It starts at the top. Educational transformation will require new forms of teacher training, improved curriculum development and realistic assess¬ment, and greater accountability for outcomes. All of these are dependent on sustainable educational leadership, not only from administrators and educators, but legislatures and parents as well.
Educational systems will have a greater chance of success when all four of these goals are pursued holistically; utilizing the best that schools and technology have to offer.
Bold Moves
Many countries have been successful in guiding their educational systems into the modern age, but all continue to work toward achieving the full spectrum of 21st century goals. To assist in the transformation of visionary system leaders, Cisco is partnering with education thought leaders from around the world and encouraging a candid exchange by all education stakeholders on the challenges and opportunities facing education system transformation. This work requires an open dialogue with education leaders to shift the way teachers teach, leaders lead, and students learn.
Although Education 3.0 is a global ambition, the journey is local—one system, one school, one teacher, one student at a time. It won’t be easy and, naturally, it won’t always be successful, but it’s the best chance we have to prepare our children for the world of tomorrow.
Next Steps
To learn more about efforts to affect education change at Cisco, read or download the whitepaper “Equipping Every Learner for the 21st Century,” which goes into more detail about the concepts discussed here, at http://www.transformglobaleducation.org/
Tae Yoo Senior Vice President Corporate Affairs Cisco Systems, Inc.

Excerpts from:
PROJECT-BASED LEARNING ACTIVITIES FOR SHORT TERM INTENSIVE ENGLISH PROGRAMS

http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/pta_Oct_07_ypf&nc&km&mr.php

Project-based Learning …is “an instructional approach that contextualizes learning by presenting learners with problems to solve or products to develop” (Moss & Van Duzer, 1998, p. 2).

…..is part of an instructional method which “promote[s] the simultaneous acquisition of language, content, and skills” (Beckett & Slater, 2005, p. 108)…

allows …both instructors and students freedom in what project they choose and how they carry it out. It is advisable that teachers do not seize full control of projects but rather leave many things to be determined by students (Alan & Stoller, 2005). This element of self-determination may enhance student motivation.

“because a project is emergent and negotiated rather than fully planned by the teacher, it encourages students to go beyond the minimum standards of involvement” (Diaz-Ricp 2004, p. 1). However, due to this “emergent” nature, project-based instruction demands rapid adjustments by the teacher and the faith of the students to succeed. There is an element of unpredictability in project-based instruction; “sometimes a project will move forward in a different direction than initially planned” (Moss, 1997, p. 11).

…there is no certainty that students will see the same benefits of a project as a teacher does (Beckett, 2002; Beckett & Slater, 2005). Projects can fail just as projects do in the real world if there is a lack of sufficient organization, group cohesion, or determination to reach the project goal.
…require both students and instructors to plan carefully and adjust to unexpected developments. However, when they succeed, they are satisfying in ways that tests and other traditional modes of assessment are not.
In a world in which cooperative group efforts and achievement of tangible products is often a measure of success and accomplishment, project-based learning prepares students well for real world events.
…evidenced in all the projects here were limitations and unexpected problems. While these shortcomings may have led to less than perfect final products in each of the projects, the need to negotiate such real-life occurrences with others …only serves to make project-based learning an even more appealing choice ...

Excerpts from:
PROJECT-BASED LEARNING USING TECHNOLOGY
http://imet.csus.edu/imet4/Gonzo/portfolio/thesis.doc

Teachers desire that students actively engage in learning. Integrating technology in classrooms encourages this type of engagement, in which students lose track of time because they are engrossed with their projects. In order to encourage this level of engagement, teachers must change the manner in which they teach. Teachers must create an atmosphere of student-centered, interest driven curriculum, where students can show the teacher, and themselves, their ability.
Teachers who are apprehensive about teaching with technology provide numerous reasons for their uneasiness. Among these reasons are: lack of time, knowledge, training, computers, and support. For a majority of teachers in the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow study, time was the major issue (Sandholtz et al., 1997). It is evident that teachers have a time-intense job, and spending hours to create, implement, and reflect upon technology-based projects and lessons is an arduous task. In addition, teachers in the study who had basic or no knowledge with computers became frustrated and abandoned it when they could not locate help on campus. Again, having time to create, implement, and trouble shoot was a barrier to change for several teachers in the study. A final barrier to change that Sandholtz discovered was limited access to technology. Research reveals that, "although all participants had access to technology, when they returned to their schools, many teachers complained that insufficient amounts of hardware and software impeded their progress" (Sandholtz, et al., 1997, p. 154). While all of the above are evident barriers to change, they are all areas within the teachers' locus of control. Regarding training, there are numerous staff members on site who are proficient in the area of instructional technology.
Even with computers in the classroom, teachers complained that they did not have enough (Sandholtz, et al., 1997). With regards to the lack of time, time will always be an issue, especially with the recent trend in education to teach to the standards. Simply wiring schools with computers and the Internet is not the answer to bridging the digital divide. However, a change in how teachers regard and utilize technology is necessary.
There are several myths about integrating technology that need to be dispelled. For instance, some regard the computer as a complex tool. The computer is like any other tool. The value of it lies in how well it is used (Kleiman, 2000). The case for computers in the classroom is bolstered by the fact that computers in the classroom: enable teachers to vary instruction, prepare students for the workforce, encourage problem and project-based learning and collaboration, and motivates students (Kleiman, 2000).
Teachers who care about their students must address and overcome their fears regarding technology. Teachers and schools that do not utilize technology or project-based learning are shortchanging students and widening, rather than bridging, the digital divide.
Teachers must take on leadership roles in order to effect change. In order for teachers to lead in a culture of change, they must create a culture of change (Fullan, 2001). It does not mean adopting innovations one after another; it does mean producing the capacity to seek, critically assess, and selectively incorporate new ideas and practices-all the time (Fullan, 2001). Teachers are leaders. Leaders are not afraid to try something new, of setting precedents. Change can evoke ambivalent feelings from consternation, frustration, and exasperation to excitement, empowerment, and improvement. Teachers must be risk takers; they must not be afraid of learning in front of or alongside their students. They must be willing to show their students that they too are learning and are not infallible, but when they make mistakes they reflect upon them and learn from them.
Collaboration is also a catalyst for change. A review of relevant literature revealed that change in education occurs through collaboration. When teachers collaborate, the potential for change is greater. Such collaboration exists when there is collegiality present within a school.
Four areas that define collegiality are:
1 when staff frequently discuss instruction
2 when teachers observe each other and discuss/reflect;
3 when teachers and administrators unite to cerate lessons, plan assessment, design curriculum, and select materials;
4 when ideas are shared that relate to what is known about learning (Bernhardt, 1998).
Change is a journey, and adventure that should be faced with others who share similar experiences (Bernhardt, 1998). Although this comparison is simplistic, it is realistic. Such change is possible when others see the value of it. Teaching students with technology is a worthwhile journey, not only for the teacher, but especially for the student.
Teaching students how create a project using technology is not painstakingly difficult. It simply requires teachers to spend a few hours in a meaningful staff development session learning how to integrate technology in the classroom.
Teachers who are unwilling to utilize technology, to alter their way of teaching, never challenge students, nor do they provide their students with opportunities to learn from their mistakes. Such a teacher is not concerned with his or her students, but complacent with their practiced, boring, and dull lessons.
The role of teachers in a project-based learning atmosphere is that of facilitator. Teachers are still in control of the class; however, they relinquish their cherished position as center of attention, and allow students to learn via discovery.
" As mentioned earlier in this review, teachers enjoy being the center of attention. Many believe that teaching is telling. Students in these traditional classrooms are not encouraged to be autonomous, critical, and analytical thinkers. They do not learn how to problem solve, nor do they learn how to be risk takers. For some teachers, teaching students to search rather than follow is arduous and frightening (Brooks, 1999). Even more arduous and more frightening for teachers would be the integration and implementation of technology.
When integrating projects that utilize technology, teachers must keep in mind that they are facilitators and mentors. Project-based learning eliminates the 'talking-head' at the front of the classroom, and focuses on the learner. However, the teacher is still in charge and "bears the responsibility for curriculum, instruction, and assessment" (Moursund, 1999, p.18). Shifting from instruction to construction requires the teacher to relinquish role as lecturer, to become reflective, to become a learner, and to guide students in the discovery process.
To assuage some of the fears that teachers have regarding using project-based learning utilizing technology, teachers should have professional/staff development sessions that focus on specific areas. In addition, administrators should set aside common planning time for just that – common planning. During this time, teachers could collaborate, reflect, and discuss frustrations and accomplishments.

My Favourite Books

2008-07-09T19:35:00.000-07:00

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - my favourite book since secondary school - have read and re-read it. The movie adaptation starring Gregory Peck makes me love the book even more. For those who have not read this book, this is a must-read.

Angela's Ashes, a very sad memoir by Frank Mc Court about his childhood in Ireland

Excerpts from the book:

When I look back at my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was of course a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.

I said where is your father: Drinking. That’s where he is. There isn’t a penny in the house. He can’t get a job but he finds money for the drink, money for the drink, money for the drink.

The twins are hungry again but I know I can’t give them water and sugar all day and night. I boil sour milk in a pot, mash in some of the stale bread, and try to feed them from a cup, bread and goody.

We were glad of the bed that night, worn out after nights on the floors in Dublin and in Grandma’s. It didn’t matter that there were six of us in the bed, we were together … Dad and Mam lay at the head of the bed, Malachy and I at the bottom, the twins wherever they could find comfort… Then Eugene sat up, screaming, tearing at himself. Ah, ah, Mommy, Mommy. Dad sat up. What? What’s up son? Eugene went on crying and when Dad leaped from the bed and turned on the gaslight we saw the fleas, leaping, jumping fastened to our flesh. We slapped at them and slapped but they hopped from body to body, hopping, biting…Oh Jesus, will we have no rest!

From Homeless to Harvard by Liz Murray

The Kite Runner Khaled Hossaini

Brideshead Revisited Evelyn Waugh

Omerta by Mario Puzo

The Birds by Daphne du Marieur about a family suffering vicious attacks by hordes of birds bent on destruction. There is also a movie adaptation by Alfred Hitchcock, a classic thriller ever made.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Along came a Spider by James Patterson

Children of the Corn by Stephen King

It by Stephen King

The Green Activist

2008-07-05T02:19:00.000-07:00

Visit our Green Club blog!
Reduce Reuse Recycle!

Colour Me LA - The Clay Marble

2008-07-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

Participated at National Literature Festival at Crescent Girls' Secondary School on 12 July this year with Mdm Usha.

Our booth at the Literature Book Parade on 'The Clay Marble' by Minfong Ho:
“Colour Me LA” @ HKSS A Differentiated Instructional Approach to teaching Literature – creating multi-sensory lessons for "The Clay Marble" to address the varied learning needs of students.

Literature Book Parade (The Clay Marble) at National Literature Festival (12 July)

Vivek and Jonas with Ms Ho Peng and Principal of Crescent Girls' Secondary School.

What we did for 'The Clay Marble' :
Differentiated lessons using: Storyboard, Photostory, Dramatic Reading, Skit, Poems.

FOUND POEMS - words and phrases from 'The Clay Marble":

The Nong Chan Camp:

There it is,
the camp.
An endless brown sea of thatched lean-tos.
There it is, where we have to live
among clusters of plastic tents
barren, flat and desolate.

There it was,
our home
among the paddy fields
Where smoke used to spiral from countless cooking fires,
Where red sorrel used to stick out from patches of buffalo clover.
Now cracked, hard soil.
Now overgrown with clumps of fireweed.

There it is,
the refugee camp.
now our new home.

THEME: HOME SWEET HOME

A poem by Miliana Amira, Sec 2C
Rays of the afternoon sun filtered through
As we approached the Border
Feelings of excitement coming through
As we await our new home
I looked around in wonder
And spotted a frail grandmother
Several toddlers around her
It suddenty struck me
Everyone was part of a family
Nong Chan was a strange place to be
But it is our new home at last
Home sweet home
Nong Chan will be.

A poem by Faiq Zaqwan Sec 2A:

Nong Chan Camp
Home sweet home
Nong Chan Camp
Where we now belong
Nong Chan Camp
Where everybody found safety
Nong Chan Camp
Where everybody seems happy
Where everybody is part of a family
Nong Chan Camp
The place full of misery

A poem by Soh Shu Yuan, Sec 2N1:

The Khmer Rouge destroyed our land
We were forced to leave for a refugee camp
In the camp
Children crying rose up high
A lot of noises in the sky
Could smell the rice steaming
Could hear the salted fish sizzling
In my new home.
A place of bitter sweet memories.

A poem by Ikram, Sec 2N1:
Home Sweet Home
Wait for What
Just go home
Don’t go to war
Let’s make peace
Boys scrubbing buffaloes
Girls combing hair
Or you can’t taste the rice
Or you can’t smell the steaming rice
Just go home
Enjoy your family
Spinning tops
Chatting with everybody
Just go home
Home sweet home.

A poem by Xie Liang, 2N1:
Home sweet home
Life without home
is so gloom.
Rice is cooking
Steam is flying
Time for eating
But I feel so hungry.
The buffaloes are crying
The children are laughing
Parents stop working
When the sun is setting
Going back home
Feel so lovely.

THEME: WAR

A poem by Sull Yurim

War is not a game.
Soldiers kill people everywhere.
They are scared every day.
Bombs fly everywhere.
They have no freedom
Even though they go everywhere.

A poem by Zheng Jia Ping:
Why are we fighting?
For land?
For loot?
For victory?
We lose our lives.
We lose our family.
We lose our home.
We don't have happiness.
We don't have laughter.
Is it worth their effort?

A poem by Jonas:

Competing for territory and power
That’s what war is all about.
Once it starts,
There’s no turning back.
No one really wins in a war.
There will be blood.
Lives are taken.
Families are broken.
When will it end?
Let's hope for the best.

A poem by Viviek:
War is a living hell,
Very noisy warfare.
Nothing to gain,
But a lot to lose.
It’s a waste of money
And waste of time.
Precious lives are lost.
Sounds of children wailing
Louder than a missile launch.
How much grief has it
put millions of people into?
Stop fighting.
Live in peace.
Don’t waste money on war.
Let’s make people live happily.

Role-playing scenes from 'The Clay Marble"

Photostory / Storyboard presentations.

Language Arts Symposium 2007

2007-08-27T21:20:00.000-07:00

“LA - The HKSS experience” by Mdm Rohana Neemat & Mrs Ng Mui Lee

Abstract: The structure, framework, and scaffolding that is in place for the LA programme and how we have used the text ‘Matilda’ as a springboard for LA lessons in Hong Kah Secondary School.

Language Arts Symposium: 27 August 2007 at Nanyang Girls' High School