Week 6 (EL File Contents)

Hi everyone,
those of you who have your worksheets, kindly arrange them according to the following order:

Note: Content #9, #14, #18 & #23 are with me.  Content #24 is your homework for the weekend.

Ms Priya :)

Week 6 Updates

Dear 3B,
most of you have completed your oral today - WELL DONE!

I do need your cooperation in something though - please do not discuss anything about the passage or the picture with any Endeavour students, be it your classmates or friends from other classes - thank you!

I apologise for the hurried end to the week today - our oral was at the end of the day, and I did not have time to conclude on a good note!

Anyway,

• Science
• Your Nature Study Book (NSB) has been returned to you for revision. I'll be giving you the notes for the chapter on "Plants" next week for you to include in your NSB.
• Your activity books will be returned to you on Monday.

• Maths
• Revise your Daily Book and the chapters we have covered from Term 1 till now.
• PRACTISE YOUR TIME TABLES!!!!! Some of you are still getting mixed up with the tables! Remember the way we learnt our time tables - do it with your parents or siblings...Just choose an action and start reciting your timetables with that action..(e.g. clap your hands and start 6 TIMES 7 EQUALS TO 42...and so on!)

• English
• Your composition files have been returned to you. If I have circled any of the content numbers, it either means that that particular piece of work is missing from your file or you have not completed your corrections, so kindly do the necessary. Please fill in the DATES for your compositions as well.
• As for your worksheets file, thank you for helping me with the contents page. You will be given a copy of the contents page on Monday. Meanwhile, you can arrange the worksheets in your file in the following order( sorry due to some technical errors I cannot seem to post it- will do so on Sunday ):

                    

• We will be completing the final portion of our last chapter for the exams on Monday. So, kindly bring your workbook portion on "Solving Word Problems 2".

Meanwhile, please use the notes given to revise for your various Science topics and feel free to add on to the notes - it's for YOUR USE - so USE IT WELL!

Love,
Ms Priya :)

SA1 EL

Dear 3B,
Sorry for the delay in the post!
Here's the details for SA1 EL exam:

Component	Sub-components	Marks	When?	Remarks
Oral (10m)	Reading	5m	Week 6 (27 April 2012, Friday)	Pupils will be using the Oral Buddy to record their reading and picture discussion.
	Picture Discussion	10m
Listening Comprehension (15m)	Picture Matching	4m	Week 7	There will be NO SPELLING for SA1 component.
	Note-taking	6m
	Dictation	5m
Paper 1 (Writing) (20m)	Composition	20m	Week 7
Paper 2 (Language) (50m)	Section A: Vocabulary MCQ	6m	Week 8 (8 May 2012)	The exam will follow the format of the topical quizzes set except that there will be: ·         more questions for Sections A to E ·         Comprehension MCQ.
	Section B: Grammar MCQ	8m
	Section C: Grammar Cloze	8m
	Section D: Vocabulary Cloze	8m
	Section E: Comprehension (MCQ)	10m
	Section F: Comprehension (Open-Ended)	10m
(Marks will be converted to 100 %)

As for your Chinese Language, Mrs Foo will be informing you about the format next week.
Your CL Oral will be on Tuesday (24 April 2012)

Love,
Ms Priya

Preparing for Oral...

Dear 3B,

your SA1 oral assessment will be coming in a few weeks' time.

It will consist of :

A. Reading (5m)

B. Picture Discussion (10m)

So, here are some tips for you to prepare for it...

(A) Reading

(You will be given a short passage to read. )

The first time you look at the passage, take your time to silently read through and understand the passage.

Following that,

1. Take note of PUNCTUATION - a comma means you should pause for a short while, while a full stop means there should be a longer pause.

   2. Take note of dialogues and the mood.

       For example,

      He asked patiently "Why didn't you do this?"

                               VS

      He screamed  "Why didn't you do this!"

    

    Although the dialogues are the same, the tone is not. So, understand the tone and expression and read it    accordingly.

When you START READING,

1. Voice Level (Loud enough for someone to hear you)

You may have practiced really well but if the examiner is not able to hear you, it's difficult to reward you for  your effort. So, be audible - be heard!

2. Read calmly and fluently.

    No one gets extra points for being the fastest to read!

Sometimes, when we read too fast, we start to skip words or add words that are not in the passage.

So, read patiently and pause at the appropriate moments.

2. Pronunciation

- Read each word CLEARLY. Do not "swallow" or mumble your way through.

- If you come across a word that is too long or difficult to read, Don't worry!

   BREAK IT DOWN into syllables and READ IT!

E.g.         "Integrity" - "In/ter/grity"

               "Innovation" - "In/no/va/tion"

3. Be expressive.

If I were to speak to you in the same tone (no expression, no emphasis on certain words, no "highs" and "lows" in my voice)  for even 15 minutes , most of you would doze off!

So, use your voice to show emotions and expressions APPROPRIATELY.

CAUTION : Do not go to the other extreme and start maintaining a HIGH voice for every word - it becomes too dramatic!

(B) Picture Discussion

(A picture will be given to you and you have to describe the picture and share your thoughts on it)

This is the first year that this is included in your oral. But fret not, I'm sure all of you will do a great job! Our school has come up with a good strategy to help you with your discussion and this strategy is known as the SPARES strategy!

• Setting - Where is this place? Elaborate
• People - Talk about the people in the picture and describe them.
• Action - Explain what the people are doing.
• Reason - Give a reason for their action.
• Emotion - Describe the emotion or feelings of the peopl. Explain why they are feeling this way.
• Suggest - Give your opinion on whether a situation in the picture is right or wrong.  Share what else can be done and how the situation can be improved.

Be organised when you are discussing your picture. State clearly which part of the picture you are talking about.

E.g In the centre of the picture,

      At the bottom right(-hand) corner...

      At the bottom left(-hand) corner...

      At the top left (-hand) corner...

      At the top right(- hand) corner ... 

Now... I know you are just raring to go and start practicing!

Go ahead to the Oral Buddy on our MConline portal and choose any practice and try it out. Ask your parents/siblings to give you feedback.

We'll be going through the strategies mentioned here in class as well- so if you are feeling lost, not to worry...

Your friends and I are here for you !

Enjoy your weekend!

Love,
Ms Priya :)

Crew Assignments for the Day - 13 April 2012

Dear 3B,

Crew Assignments for 13 April 2012
- Compo corrections (Burglary)
- Compo ( A Painful Lesson)
- Go MConline to complete assignments
- Go to KF and post a note
(Dear parents, this is meant to be a test run as we will be using KF in class very soon , so I need to ensure that all pupils are able to access it. )
- Visit the class blog to learn some tips for the Oral exam.

Note: One of you asked me yesterday why I was in traditional clothes.
Well, it was the Tamil New Year (like CNY) and hence, it was a day of celebration! 
On this occassion, Indians normally visit the temple and also seek blessings from their elders!


Love,
Ms Priya :)

Becoming Better Writers #1 - Plotting the Story Arc

Dear 3B,
thank you for your patience in waiting for our supplementary lesson recap!

In our first supplementary lesson last week, we learnt about

THE STORY ARC!

A story arc is meant to help you to organise your story according to :

Introduction : introduce your characters

Rising Action : events that lead up to the climax

Climax : the TURNING point of the story (usually, the problem )

Falling Action: what happens after the main event, leading up to the ending

Conclusion : how the problem is solved

During our lesson, we watched two short films and discussed their story arcs.

Challenge yourself!

• Try explaining to your parents/siblings what a story arc is and what it is used for.

• Share with them how you would go about plotting a story arc (e.g. how do you decide which part of the story is the climax?, etc)

• Can you try to plot the story arc for both films to test your understanding of  the Story Arc?

Links to the 2 movies

Short Film #1 - Lifted : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY1_HrhwaXU

Short Film #2 - One Man Band: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5x9LUbWvRo


All the Best!! Let's see how well you do! ;)

Love,
Ms Priya

Crew Assignments for the Day - 2 Apr 2012

Dear 3B,
today was a day of many firsts..

It's our first lesson in April...
We started on a NEW chapter in Maths (Chapter 6: Multiplication - (multiplication without regrouping))...
We had 2 "Ever Wonder Why"s...
We had our first supplementary lesson...
We tried exploring a Story Arc...

I hope the new things that you are learning interest you and you enjoy your lessons!
I know they can be challenging at first, but I believe you will get the hang of it soon :)

Whenever something seems daunting, take a deep breath and say "I CAN DO IT!".
I assure you - you can handle it. If you have difficulties, you can always approach me :).

Today's crew assignments:

- Maths workbook pages 23 & 24
- Science Spelling (Animals - Study words 1 to 20. We will have the spelling on Thursday.)

See you tomorrow!

Love,
Ms Priya :)