Metaphors

I taught this unit in class today and I promised my students that I would help them to locate the answers. So, now, here they are . Hope that my 6 Amir will have the time to come here and chek out the answers. Poor children .. too occupied with the coming UPSR exam :-( 

1. To give a hand : to help others in need
2. Add some spice : extra excitement
3. Pay a high price : to suffer because of something you had done
4. Bull in a China shop : a person who moves in a rough or clumsy way
5. Right to the heart of the matter : straight to the point
6. Plain sailing : something very easily done
7. On their toes : to keep someone occupied all the time
8. Hand in glove : work closely with someone
9. Sell like hot cakes : something that sells well, quickly and in great numbers
10. Blows his own trumpet : to praise oneself of his/her abilities

Sample sentences : 
1. We volunteered to give a hand in the fund raising.
2. Mikhail prepares many games to add some spice to his sister's birthday party.
3. The boy is like a bull in a China shop to get his way to the night market.
4. She dislikes the girl who blows her own trumpet in the class.
5. The newly published story book sells like hot cakes.

SECTION B - Question 2

Section B - Question 2

ORANGE JUICE

Give reasons:
Aluminum tin : light and easy to put in
the bag , easy to open , recycle ,
make pencil holder
300ml. : enough for me
RM1.30 : reasonable, affordable, have enough
money in my purse/wallet to buy two tins.
Fresh orange and sugar : refreshing drink,
Favourite flavour , orange contains vitamin C –
good for health

Sample answer:
I would choose orange juice because it is my
 favourite drink. It contains vitamin C so, it
 is good for health. It is a nutritious and refreshing
 drink. It could quench my thirst. The price is
RM1.30 which is reasonable and affordable.
I have enough money to buy it. It is packed
 in aluminium tin which is light and easy to
 take to picnics or schools. It is very easy to
 open and it could be recycled.

CAMPING

Give reasons:
Cost: RM90.00, reasonable and I don't
mind spending it for a great experience.
My father would not mind paying it since
I'm the apple of his eyes.
Activities - interesting, challenging and exciting.
- love singing - take part in the competition.
Accommodation: tent
never stay in a tent - great and wonderful
 experience

Sample answer:
I would choose camping because I love
outdoor activity. The cost is RM90.00.
It is reasonable and I don't mind spending
 it for a great experience. Besides, my father
 would not mind paying it since I'm the
apple of his eyes. The activities are campfire
and singing competition. They are interesting,
 challenging and exciting. I love singing ,so
I could take part in the competition. I have
never stay in a tent so, it would be a great and
wonderful experience for me.

SECTION A - Question 1

Section A - Question 1

Complex sentences :

1. The sun is rising and shines brightly.
2. The children are playing the hoops happily.
3. There are two women sitting on the bench
and they are talking to each other.
4. The boy, who is wearing jersey number ten,
is running after the ball in the park.
5. A man is riding his bicycle and he is waving
to the women.

Simple sentences:
1. The boys are playing football at the field.
2. There are two ladies sitting on the bench
under the tree.
3. Two girls are playing happily near the
flower bush.
4. The sun shines brightly.
5. The boy is cycling his bicycle.

Complex sentences : 

1. The pupils are in the laboratory to carry
 out an experiment.
2. The pupils are learning a new Science
experiment and they are referring to their
 textbooks.
3. The teacher is explaining the steps and
 the pupils are listening to him attentively.
4. The bunsen burner is on the table and
there is a glass beaker on it.
5. The teacher is standing in front of the
pupils while the pupils are sitting on the stools.

Simple sentences:
1. The pupils are in the Science laboratory.
2. The teacher is teaching the pupils.
3. The pupils listen to the teacher.
4. There is a bunsen burner on the table.
5. The pupils are sitting on the stools.

TIPS on ENGLISH PAPER 2

English Paper 2 - Format

Paper 2 comprises three sections, Section A, 

Section B and Section C.

Section A :  Sentence Construction

(Based on the given words and graphic)

(10 marks)

- Pupils construct sentences based on the

 composite picture.

- Construct 5 sentences about the picture.

- Pupils should be creative and possessed good

thinking skills.

- Must show variety of sentences (Simple

sentence,Compound sentence and  Complex

sentence) in order to score high marks.

- Pupils must have a good command

of the language,minimal grammatical, 

spelling and punctuation errors.

Section B : Information Transfer

(2a - 10 marks)

(2b - 5 marks)

- Pupils are required to read and understand

 the information in the notes.

- Transfer will be at word or phrase level.

- Pupils are required to transfer the information

correctly in the answer's table provided.

- Strictly marking.

- Pupils should avoid any spelling and

punctuation mistakes when transferring

 the information.

- Provide good reasons for the choice made.

- Pupils must have a good command of the

language, minimal grammatical, spelling and

punctuation errors.

Section C : Note Expansion

(15 marks)

- This question requires a pupil to study

carefully the pictures based on a theme.

A set of words are also given with each

pictures.

- Pupils are encouraged to make one,

two or more sentences depending on their  

proficiency.

- Write in paragraphs with an introduction

and a suitable ending.

- Pupils must have a good command of

the language,minimal grammatical, spelling

and punctuation errors.

- Pupils should possess good writing skills,

 construct interesting essay, able to use

idiom or simile (sometimes),adjectives, adverbs

and use variety of sentences in order to score 

high marks.

- Grammar is essential as marks are given

based on the sentences that are well constructed.

Teaching IS Definitely NOT Simple

This is an article that I would to share with teachers in Malaysia especially. I read this from a blog of a good friend, who I have known for almost 5 years now but still haven't had the chance to see her in person. She is one of the people in my wish list that I wish to meet for real. Well, let's hope that day will come soon. 


She is sharing the final keynote of one of the conferences she attended, by Graeme Aitken, the Dean of Education from the University of Auckland..

The title of Graeme's talk is - Teaching what matters and selecting content and pedagogy.

Questions raised during the session were : 'How do you decide what to teach? How do you decide how to teach that content?' We need to do more things that matter and do them well.

And these are the discussion : 


The role of school leaders in teaching:

1. Modeling effective teaching
2. Creating the conditions for effectiveness
3. Providing feedback about effective teaching to others - not just as part of the appraisal process but it is part of the ongoing process of being in and out of classrooms
4. Helping to identify and resolve teaching problems
5. Recognising effectiveness in selection - thinking about the criteria you use in selecting new teachers to determine effectiveness.

There is no one right way to be effective.

What are teachers obligated to be?
efficient, organised, in control, warm, enthusiastic, empathetic, interesting, humorous ...

What are teachers obligated to do?
overviews at the start, group work, cooperative learning, open ended questions, inquiry learning, use visuals, storytelling, whole class instruction ... This list is long and disputed when you look at what research states teachers are obligated to do.

But

What are teachers obligated to cause?
Successful learning, greater interest, greater confidence ...

To what extent are you 'causing' what is valued in teaching? It is effective to focus on what you need to cause, and how what you should be or do influences that. 

There is a critical interaction between 'be' 'do' and 'cause'

Being ineffective is where students experience misalignment, lack of engagement and lack of success. This includes duplication, confusion, busy work, waiting. Graham Nuthall found in his research that a significant number of intermediate students already knew the content the teacher was presenting.

Being effective means giving students more time to be engaged and learning about things that matter.

We should be proud of the effort that teachers are putting in to engage and help students learn. Effective teaching is the effort that goes in to create learning environments and learning students. Teaching as inquiry in the NZC is a model that supports effective teaching. This model asks you to consider what is important and therefore worth spending time on given where your students are at before engaging in teaching and learning activities.

So what does Graeme consider are teachers' obligations?

• Focus on outcomes that matter - desired results.
• Cause students to appreciate the value of the desired results

We need 'student sensitive' learning, but maybe not 'student centred' learning. We don't always have to start with something that students are interested in. They don't know what they don't know. It is up to us to spark the imaginations of students.

Wiggans and McTigue (Understanding by design) discuss the twin sins of design - Coverage focused teaching and Activity focused teaching.

Important questions to ask are ...

Why does this learning matter for these students at this time?

and

What is the best way of teaching this?

In choosing content that matters there has to be some sense of standard against which you are measuring.

Then there is the tough task of appreciation - how can I help students appreciate the value of this learning?

How will we know when we have caused engagement and success?

If what you are doing is not working ... Then try something else!

What are some of the things we can look at to look for engagement and success beyond the obvious standardised tests?

For example:

• observe the responses of the students over a period of time in a systematic way to ascertain engagement?
• Ask students to rate activities - challenge, skill, importance, interest, success, relax, self-esteem. Choose one or two of these elements and genuinely ask students their opinions, not necessarily a tick box activity.
• Ask students to report or explain what they are doing, why they are doing it, how it will help them, how it fits with previous learning and how will they know when they have learned?
• At the end of a lesson - the one minute response to what is the most important thing you have learned - where did you get the most lost or confused today.

Be prepared to make changes when you identify what is not working, and what is working well. You cannot be effective unless you are curious enough to embark on finding out what works. Be open minded to new possibilities and understanding student experiences, observe your own practice and suspend judgment. Have the wisdom to be conscious of your own ignorance and have a sense of OPTIMISM.

Graeme's last statement :

Wise use of time, wise action, wise use of evidence leads to a profession of wise people.

Exams and you and me and us ..

Why do we have exams?

For a while every now and then, I have been thinking about exams, and why our students performance in school to a large extent is based on results from exams. All I can see is that the idea behind an exam is ; you read, read, read until your brain is overloaded and then you walk to school with 1000 different thoughts in your head and you try to spit them out during the next 30 mins or 1 hour exam. Most often, on a simple piece of paper. 

My students in Year 6 are now , at the moment , sitting for their UPSR trial exam. There are no better words to say here I guess, just a BIG - "good luck and stay smart children . Do what you have to do and walk out from that exam hall smiling , ok . Haha! Love you all so much "