I've been receiving quite a few SMS/emails from parents asking for help with Maths questions.
As such, I've decided to start a FB group to tackle such questions.
We can post up questions and anyone who can help can simply reply with the solutions!
Do join the group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/203788813032911/#!/groups/203788813032911/
Showing posts with label English Reading and Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label English Reading and Writing. Show all posts
Monday, November 21, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
SA1 is over... Now... What???
Now that SA1 is over, many students are starting to receive their results.
As parents/tutors, what's the next step?
1. Go through & analyse the mistakes made in the papers.(a) Careless mistakes - defined by marks lost due to calculation mistakes, poor handwriting, copying of wrong words/spelling/numbers
(b) Failure to pay attention to details - defined by marks lost due to child skipping important info given in the question (such that when the info is highlighted to them, they are able to get the answers without help).
(c) Failure to understand concept/apply - defined by marks lost due to total lack of understanding for the question/concept.
To tackle careless mistakes, you have to be patient and constantly remind them. Add up the marks lost due to careless mistakes and let them feel the impact (and see the difference between the score they could actually obtain vs the score they obtained).
Also, remind them that is it human to make mistakes (as in lost a few marks) but they can try to minimise it by checking, recalculating & reading carefully.
For children who fail to read the questions carefully, it would be good to encourage them to underline/highlight important key words in the questions. Make it a habit by ensuring that they do that all the time - for school homework and additional work done at home/tuition.
Failure to understand/apply concepts:
We will have to go back to basics for those topics. Go through the basic content knowledge. Then go progressively upwards to re-teach the entire topic.
Some children require constant reminders/revision. If your child need this, plan for the exam revision to start earlier. Then, a few days before the exam will be a quick run through of all the topics & key concepts to note.
2. Analyse what has been done during the studying/revision process & how to improve(a) Was there adequate time allocated?
(b) Did revision start too late?
(c) Was the wrong method used for revision?
If a particular method of studying has been identified as useful, build on it.
If your child hasn't found his/her preferred method, explore other methods together.
3. Encourage & assure your childNo matter the results, all children need encouragement.
For those who scored well, encourage them and motivate them to score better.
For those who did not score well, encourage them to take the first step to doing better. Don't expect an overnight change in your child - it's not realistic. Set small realistic targets with deadlines. For example, you can set the first target as: Revise P3 Diversity Topics and practice related questions by end of 1st week of June holidays. Then, guide your child in work division and daily work allocation to manage his/her time. Follow up by physically checking their work (not just verbal checking by asking them if they've done their work).
Always remind them that you love them. Though you may be disappointed with the results, they are your children and you will still love them. Love is unconditional.
Explain to them why you feel disappointed - you know they are smart kids who can achieve more!
Slowly build the confidence in them, encourage them to be self-motivated.
Children forget easily, you may have to repeat this 'talk' a few times for it to really sink in, especially for the younger ones.
4. Re-look their schedules
Could your child be too tired out from tuition/enrichment classes to focus on studies?
Would it be wise to drop 1 or 2 activities to focus on building up the academic studies, then having those activities again later on?
I personally re-looked my 4yo boy's schedule recently. Though we've always stuck to 'only 1 enrichment class a day', I noticed he had less time for play & socialising (at the playground). We took a bold step and cut down on the enrichment classes (though my KS-parent mind is saying: WHAT IF HE LOSES OUT!???).
I'm glad I did that as he has more time 'day dreaming' and coming up with new stories & games, more time to read storybooks and have been more receptive to spending time sitting down with my hubby for informal Chinese lessons (reading, simple writing, speaking in Chinese).
I hope that parents & students will not be discouraged by the results. This is only SA1, there's still time to catch up.
As parents/tutors, what's the next step?
1. Go through & analyse the mistakes made in the papers.(a) Careless mistakes - defined by marks lost due to calculation mistakes, poor handwriting, copying of wrong words/spelling/numbers
(b) Failure to pay attention to details - defined by marks lost due to child skipping important info given in the question (such that when the info is highlighted to them, they are able to get the answers without help).
(c) Failure to understand concept/apply - defined by marks lost due to total lack of understanding for the question/concept.
To tackle careless mistakes, you have to be patient and constantly remind them. Add up the marks lost due to careless mistakes and let them feel the impact (and see the difference between the score they could actually obtain vs the score they obtained).
Also, remind them that is it human to make mistakes (as in lost a few marks) but they can try to minimise it by checking, recalculating & reading carefully.
For children who fail to read the questions carefully, it would be good to encourage them to underline/highlight important key words in the questions. Make it a habit by ensuring that they do that all the time - for school homework and additional work done at home/tuition.
Failure to understand/apply concepts:
We will have to go back to basics for those topics. Go through the basic content knowledge. Then go progressively upwards to re-teach the entire topic.
Some children require constant reminders/revision. If your child need this, plan for the exam revision to start earlier. Then, a few days before the exam will be a quick run through of all the topics & key concepts to note.
2. Analyse what has been done during the studying/revision process & how to improve(a) Was there adequate time allocated?
(b) Did revision start too late?
(c) Was the wrong method used for revision?
If a particular method of studying has been identified as useful, build on it.
If your child hasn't found his/her preferred method, explore other methods together.
3. Encourage & assure your childNo matter the results, all children need encouragement.
For those who scored well, encourage them and motivate them to score better.
For those who did not score well, encourage them to take the first step to doing better. Don't expect an overnight change in your child - it's not realistic. Set small realistic targets with deadlines. For example, you can set the first target as: Revise P3 Diversity Topics and practice related questions by end of 1st week of June holidays. Then, guide your child in work division and daily work allocation to manage his/her time. Follow up by physically checking their work (not just verbal checking by asking them if they've done their work).
Always remind them that you love them. Though you may be disappointed with the results, they are your children and you will still love them. Love is unconditional.
Explain to them why you feel disappointed - you know they are smart kids who can achieve more!
Slowly build the confidence in them, encourage them to be self-motivated.
Children forget easily, you may have to repeat this 'talk' a few times for it to really sink in, especially for the younger ones.
4. Re-look their schedules
Could your child be too tired out from tuition/enrichment classes to focus on studies?
Would it be wise to drop 1 or 2 activities to focus on building up the academic studies, then having those activities again later on?
I personally re-looked my 4yo boy's schedule recently. Though we've always stuck to 'only 1 enrichment class a day', I noticed he had less time for play & socialising (at the playground). We took a bold step and cut down on the enrichment classes (though my KS-parent mind is saying: WHAT IF HE LOSES OUT!???).
I'm glad I did that as he has more time 'day dreaming' and coming up with new stories & games, more time to read storybooks and have been more receptive to spending time sitting down with my hubby for informal Chinese lessons (reading, simple writing, speaking in Chinese).
I hope that parents & students will not be discouraged by the results. This is only SA1, there's still time to catch up.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
SA1
It's that time of the year again. SA1 is approaching in a few weeks. While students are still oblivious to it, parents and tutors (myself included) are starting to get nervous.
By now, most schools have yet to finish teaching the topics to be tested in the SA1. On my end, I'm worried that my students will not fully grasp the concepts of the coming topics which their teachers will rush through. I'm glad I've covered those topics during lessons with them but am nervous about them being able to handle the application questions (especially for Maths & Science).
Worries aside, now is the time to start revision.
For English:
- Ensure that they have a habit of underlining/highlighting clues & making annotations.
e.g. Every (singular) member in my family ___ to eat fish. We eat it everyday (present tense).
1. like
2. likes (singular, present tense)
3. liked
4. has liked
- Make it a habit to read through for hidden meanings (for vocab).
- Write down the words together with the alphabets so that you can read the passage as a whole (for grammar cloze).
- Read the passage carefully and determine if there are clues and draw arrows to link the clues back to the blanks (for compre cloze).
- Highlight where you got your answers from (graphic/compre MCQ/compre OE). Ensure that your answers are in full proper sentences with the correct tenses based on the question. Always check the question word to ensure that you are answering the question.
e.g. Why (reason) did (past tense) the boys run off when they saw the shadow?
Wrong: The boys saw the shadow and ran off to the nearest exit. (This is an ACTION, not a REASON).
Correct: The boys ran off when they saw the shadow as they were afraid that it might be a monster or a ghost.
- Synthesis & Transformation: Check the clauses carefully.
e.g. 'Unless' always has a positive & negative part.
Unless you complete your homework (POSITIVE), you will not (NEGATIVE) be allowed to watch television.
- Editing: Check the TENSES carefully. Also, to check your spelling, write it on a different page (in pencil) without looking at the wrong spelling given. Sometimes, the wrong spelling may confuse you and cloud your mind. Writing out the word again on another page might take away the false impression of the 'wrong' spelling.
For Maths:
- Calculation mistakes should always be avoided. Using logical thinking, if you are adding up numbers, the final answer should be larger than the original numbers.
- Break long questions into smaller parts. Read and understand what information is given in each sentence before reading the next sentence. Underline/circle key numbers and draw arrows to the names/objects if it helps. Else, you can rewrite the info on the side to help you.
e.g. Tony had 15% more 50c coins than 20c coins. If there were 6 more 50c coins than 20c coins, how much money did Tony have?
Rewriting the info given:
Tony
15% more 50c coins than 20c coins (100%)
50c coins -> 115%
20c coins -> 100%
6 more 50c coins than 20c coins
- Identify the technique needed to solve the problem (constant difference, etc). If in doubt, draw a simple model to compare the information given for a clearer picture.
- Always check to ensure:
(a) All questions have been attempted.
(b) Double check all calculations. *this is when mental calculation will come into good use
(c) Double check that all working has been shown clearly.
For Science:
- Read questions carefully.
- Underline/circle key words in the questions.
- Identify the topic it is related to so that you know what type of answers are expected.
- For MCQ: Always eliminate other answers even if you are sure that your answer is the best answer. Sometimes the meaning of the option could change with ONE word.
e.g.
(1) Most of the mammals give birth to young alive.
(2) All mammals give birth to young alive.
Option 2 is wrong as not ALL mammals give birth to young alive, there are exceptions like the platypus. So in this case, Option 1 is a better answer.
- For open-ended questions, ALWAYS WRITE IN COMPLETE SENTENCES even if the answer seems direct and simple.
e.g.
What energy is needed?
Answer: Heat
You should write your answer as: Heat energy is needed. Or: The energy that is needed is heat energy.
Hope that these tips and reminders will be helpful!!
By now, most schools have yet to finish teaching the topics to be tested in the SA1. On my end, I'm worried that my students will not fully grasp the concepts of the coming topics which their teachers will rush through. I'm glad I've covered those topics during lessons with them but am nervous about them being able to handle the application questions (especially for Maths & Science).
Worries aside, now is the time to start revision.
For English:
- Ensure that they have a habit of underlining/highlighting clues & making annotations.
e.g. Every (singular) member in my family ___ to eat fish. We eat it everyday (present tense).
1. like
2. likes (singular, present tense)
3. liked
4. has liked
- Make it a habit to read through for hidden meanings (for vocab).
- Write down the words together with the alphabets so that you can read the passage as a whole (for grammar cloze).
- Read the passage carefully and determine if there are clues and draw arrows to link the clues back to the blanks (for compre cloze).
- Highlight where you got your answers from (graphic/compre MCQ/compre OE). Ensure that your answers are in full proper sentences with the correct tenses based on the question. Always check the question word to ensure that you are answering the question.
e.g. Why (reason) did (past tense) the boys run off when they saw the shadow?
Wrong: The boys saw the shadow and ran off to the nearest exit. (This is an ACTION, not a REASON).
Correct: The boys ran off when they saw the shadow as they were afraid that it might be a monster or a ghost.
- Synthesis & Transformation: Check the clauses carefully.
e.g. 'Unless' always has a positive & negative part.
Unless you complete your homework (POSITIVE), you will not (NEGATIVE) be allowed to watch television.
- Editing: Check the TENSES carefully. Also, to check your spelling, write it on a different page (in pencil) without looking at the wrong spelling given. Sometimes, the wrong spelling may confuse you and cloud your mind. Writing out the word again on another page might take away the false impression of the 'wrong' spelling.
For Maths:
- Calculation mistakes should always be avoided. Using logical thinking, if you are adding up numbers, the final answer should be larger than the original numbers.
- Break long questions into smaller parts. Read and understand what information is given in each sentence before reading the next sentence. Underline/circle key numbers and draw arrows to the names/objects if it helps. Else, you can rewrite the info on the side to help you.
e.g. Tony had 15% more 50c coins than 20c coins. If there were 6 more 50c coins than 20c coins, how much money did Tony have?
Rewriting the info given:
Tony
15% more 50c coins than 20c coins (100%)
50c coins -> 115%
20c coins -> 100%
6 more 50c coins than 20c coins
- Identify the technique needed to solve the problem (constant difference, etc). If in doubt, draw a simple model to compare the information given for a clearer picture.
- Always check to ensure:
(a) All questions have been attempted.
(b) Double check all calculations. *this is when mental calculation will come into good use
(c) Double check that all working has been shown clearly.
For Science:
- Read questions carefully.
- Underline/circle key words in the questions.
- Identify the topic it is related to so that you know what type of answers are expected.
- For MCQ: Always eliminate other answers even if you are sure that your answer is the best answer. Sometimes the meaning of the option could change with ONE word.
e.g.
(1) Most of the mammals give birth to young alive.
(2) All mammals give birth to young alive.
Option 2 is wrong as not ALL mammals give birth to young alive, there are exceptions like the platypus. So in this case, Option 1 is a better answer.
- For open-ended questions, ALWAYS WRITE IN COMPLETE SENTENCES even if the answer seems direct and simple.
e.g.
What energy is needed?
Answer: Heat
You should write your answer as: Heat energy is needed. Or: The energy that is needed is heat energy.
Hope that these tips and reminders will be helpful!!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Discovering Reading
Just yesterday morning, my son was reading aloud. I thought that I was hearing things. He was reading clearly and it was a proper story.
Stunned, I walked out of my bedroom, half-awake.
There he was, holding a book, seated on the sofa. It was the weekly storybook his school puts in his school bag to encourage the kids to read.
I was AMAZED. He could actually read the words without help!
There's some repetition but he could point out the words and read them clearly.
Upon finishing the book, he got a round of applause from my maid and me. He looked so proud.
Immediately, he dashed off to his room and picked another book.
HE WAS HUNGRY FOR MORE!
Well, he did not learn to read overnight. It was consistent hard work from us at home and the teachers at school.
What did we do with him?
We do not have a fixed 'structure' or 'syllabus' to teach him. It was more of experiental learning :)
Exposure is key and even if they do not seem interested at first, link reading to their fave topics/cartoons and they will start to love it!
Stunned, I walked out of my bedroom, half-awake.
There he was, holding a book, seated on the sofa. It was the weekly storybook his school puts in his school bag to encourage the kids to read.
I was AMAZED. He could actually read the words without help!
There's some repetition but he could point out the words and read them clearly.
Upon finishing the book, he got a round of applause from my maid and me. He looked so proud.
Immediately, he dashed off to his room and picked another book.
HE WAS HUNGRY FOR MORE!
Well, he did not learn to read overnight. It was consistent hard work from us at home and the teachers at school.
What did we do with him?
We do not have a fixed 'structure' or 'syllabus' to teach him. It was more of experiental learning :)
- I created my own set of flashcards on PPT. One set had pictures on one slide with the corresponding words on the next slide. The other set had purely words only. It was more for expansion of vocabulary rather than reading (especially the pictures ones), but he picked up and recognised certain words from there. However, being a FTWM, I only have weekends to show this to him. And not all weekends as some weekends are spent at my mum's place. So, I printed out the softcopies into proper flashcards. Expensive but worth the effort as he likes handling the cards too.
- We bought some books that came with flashcards (sight words) from Popular Bookstore. He loved the colourful cards and used to play with them by just flipping through them and building 'houses' with the cards. Well, we did not flash the cards to him like recommended methods of Glenn Doman/Shichida. We simply read the word on the card which he was holding and looking at.
- I ordered some DVDs/VCDs on sight words and phonics. He simply loves them. His fave: LEAPFROG SERIES. He learnt all his phonics from there. He's able to do simple blending now and we do emphasize on that with him.
- Spell out any word he is interested in. He recently started to love pizza. Everytime he sees a pizza, he'll get so excited. Then we will spell 'pizza' (usually in a self-created, silly tune) and he will remember it very well! We tried this at the supermarket with fruits and numbers and it worked very well. He can spell from 1-12 and can also spell many other fruits. Not a consciencious effort to force him to learn to spell, just a fun tune while he's exposed to the particular item!
Exposure is key and even if they do not seem interested at first, link reading to their fave topics/cartoons and they will start to love it!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Building Composition Skills
Articles Contributed at KiasuParents.com
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/more-composition-writing-tips
My suggestions to parents (things that I usually do with my tutees):
Make them start a journal
If they are the type that do not know what to write, give them a topic a day. I usually start off with giving them pictures (can be anything under the sun!) with some questions as prompts. Then there'll be a list of helping words/phrases related to the topic.
Depending on your child's age, you can get them to start with 10 sentences per day (P1/2) and slowly get them to increase the number of sentences. It's ok if their sentences seem very random & do not link at the beginning.
Start off with correcting basic grammar & spelling. Then if you spot a sentence that can be improved with better vocab or phrase, teach them & get them to jot it down in their journal.
You can also let your child take pictures whenever you go out & use those pictures as the topics. It'll be easier for them this way as they have personally experienced what they saw in the picture. You can also use photos from family trips, childhood photos, etc.
Read out loud
Children who do not like to read usually have problems with the words, which makes them hate reading in the first place. Ask your child to read out loud to you. If they are shy, start off with you reading 1 sentence, then they will read the next and alternate.
They feel less self-conscious if you are also reading with them & once you note pauses (meaning they do not know the word), quickly help them before they start to feel frustrated. Praise them & assure them that they are doing a good job. Not only are you encouraging reading, you are also encouraging them to practice their oral skills! Where to find so many passages to read?
You can buy model composition books or buy comprehension books & read the passages (the latter is better as the topics are usually general knowledge topics & it will help them in cloze passages & comprehension). Discuss about the topic of the passage you read. Prompt them with questions like:
"Do you think ___ did the right thing?"
"Was he brave/courageous by doing that?", etc.
If you spot difficult words, search the dictionary with them. It's a good skill to learn - searching the dictionary for meaning of words. It makes them curious & they are always amazed at how some words can have so many meanings!
Play a game
Play word games with your child. Start off with a word & the next person must give another word that has the same meaning or is related (e.g. butterfly -> wings -> colourful -> rainbow -> green -> leaves). Keep going till someone is stuck. It's very fun & their competitive spirit will spur them to learn more words. It also trains their minds to link objects/descriptions.
You can also write down the words (encourage them to spell) & make use of the words to form a sentence or story! Although the sentences/stories may seem 'crazy', it's really fun & gives them something to think about.
Self questioning technique
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
Usually we will teach children to write 3 paragraphs - Introduction, Body & Conclusion. But do the kids understand what is expected in each paragraph?
This is what a typical story would be like:
Introduction -> Who is in the story? When/Where did it happen?
Body (can be more than 1 paragraph) -> What happened? Why did it happen?
Conclusion -> How was the matter resolved? Closing sentence.
Sample written by my P5 student [Topic - Describe what happened when you were late for a very important event.]:
Perspiration was trickling down the sides of my [WHO] face, every step causes a drop that was dangling at my chin to splatter on the tar road. It was the day of my PSLE examination [WHEN] & I was on my way to school [WHERE]. I was pushing myself to run as fast as my legs could take me as it was 10 minutes before my first paper was about to start. As I was running, I started to reflect. I knew it was entirely my fault that I'm late, but I could not help but hold resentment towards them. The two immature & spoilt children whom I have to call my siblings [WHO].
I woke up this morning thinking it was six in the morning. The room was dark, the air was fresh and most importantly, my trusty clock had it's shorter hand pointing at six and its longer hand in the opposite direction. A quick check with the living room clock and my heart skipped a beat. It was actually 8am! I scurried back into my room, fantically changing my clothes, suddenly noticing my two younger brothers giggling at the bedroom door.
"What are you laughing it? I'm late for a major exam that determines the rest of my life and the two of you are giggling! You must have something to do with this!" I yelled in frustration. I guess my tone was nasty as my youngest brother started crying.
"We played with your clock last night after you feel asleep and we thought it would be fun to make you late for school since you slept so early," my youngest brother mumbled feebly with his knees shaking. [WHAT/WHY]
So it was them. I should have gotten my parents to wake me up. I should have gotten my friends to ring me in the morning. I cannot help but smack myself in the head, ignoring the fact that I'll be killing some much-needed brain cells. It was my fault for not making back-up plans in case the clock fails, but why must they play with my clock of all days?
I made up my mind to grill my siblings on the barbeque or tie them up on a tree after my examinations. For now, I'll have to run harder. The school gate was in sight! I dashed past security, past the school office & up into the school hall. 300 pairs of eyes suddenly suddenly looked up at me, all sweaty & disheveled. I had arrived in the nick of time, the teachers were just about to start the examination. I quickly took my seat and focused on the paper in front of me.
After the paper, I went straight home & called my parents. I was too tired with deal with my brothers physically. I told them everything over the phone and took a nap. When I woke up, I could hear screaming and crying. "Piak!" came the sound of the cane. I ran out of my room to take a look. My parents were caning my brothers for their mischief. My heart ached as I saw the cane land on their bottoms.
I quickly ran over to shield my brothers. My brothers clung to me like koala bears on a tree. Their faces were smeared with tears & mucus, their hands riddled with cane marks. Although they did cause me to be late for my examination, I still loved them. I begged my parents to stop as I've already forgiven them. After drying their tears & comforting them, I told them about the dire consequences if I had been a little later. They apologised and promised never to be mischevious again. [HOW] I also made a silent resolution to ensure that I have back up plans whenever I have something important [CLOSING SENTENCE].
May not be the best compo, but she managed to use some techniques I practised with her in which I'm pleased as this is a student who used to fail composition.
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/more-composition-writing-tips
My suggestions to parents (things that I usually do with my tutees):
Make them start a journal
If they are the type that do not know what to write, give them a topic a day. I usually start off with giving them pictures (can be anything under the sun!) with some questions as prompts. Then there'll be a list of helping words/phrases related to the topic.
Depending on your child's age, you can get them to start with 10 sentences per day (P1/2) and slowly get them to increase the number of sentences. It's ok if their sentences seem very random & do not link at the beginning.
Start off with correcting basic grammar & spelling. Then if you spot a sentence that can be improved with better vocab or phrase, teach them & get them to jot it down in their journal.
You can also let your child take pictures whenever you go out & use those pictures as the topics. It'll be easier for them this way as they have personally experienced what they saw in the picture. You can also use photos from family trips, childhood photos, etc.
Read out loud
Children who do not like to read usually have problems with the words, which makes them hate reading in the first place. Ask your child to read out loud to you. If they are shy, start off with you reading 1 sentence, then they will read the next and alternate.
They feel less self-conscious if you are also reading with them & once you note pauses (meaning they do not know the word), quickly help them before they start to feel frustrated. Praise them & assure them that they are doing a good job. Not only are you encouraging reading, you are also encouraging them to practice their oral skills! Where to find so many passages to read?
You can buy model composition books or buy comprehension books & read the passages (the latter is better as the topics are usually general knowledge topics & it will help them in cloze passages & comprehension). Discuss about the topic of the passage you read. Prompt them with questions like:
"Do you think ___ did the right thing?"
"Was he brave/courageous by doing that?", etc.
If you spot difficult words, search the dictionary with them. It's a good skill to learn - searching the dictionary for meaning of words. It makes them curious & they are always amazed at how some words can have so many meanings!
Play a game
Play word games with your child. Start off with a word & the next person must give another word that has the same meaning or is related (e.g. butterfly -> wings -> colourful -> rainbow -> green -> leaves). Keep going till someone is stuck. It's very fun & their competitive spirit will spur them to learn more words. It also trains their minds to link objects/descriptions.
You can also write down the words (encourage them to spell) & make use of the words to form a sentence or story! Although the sentences/stories may seem 'crazy', it's really fun & gives them something to think about.
Self questioning technique
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
Usually we will teach children to write 3 paragraphs - Introduction, Body & Conclusion. But do the kids understand what is expected in each paragraph?
This is what a typical story would be like:
Introduction -> Who is in the story? When/Where did it happen?
Body (can be more than 1 paragraph) -> What happened? Why did it happen?
Conclusion -> How was the matter resolved? Closing sentence.
Sample written by my P5 student [Topic - Describe what happened when you were late for a very important event.]:
Perspiration was trickling down the sides of my [WHO] face, every step causes a drop that was dangling at my chin to splatter on the tar road. It was the day of my PSLE examination [WHEN] & I was on my way to school [WHERE]. I was pushing myself to run as fast as my legs could take me as it was 10 minutes before my first paper was about to start. As I was running, I started to reflect. I knew it was entirely my fault that I'm late, but I could not help but hold resentment towards them. The two immature & spoilt children whom I have to call my siblings [WHO].
I woke up this morning thinking it was six in the morning. The room was dark, the air was fresh and most importantly, my trusty clock had it's shorter hand pointing at six and its longer hand in the opposite direction. A quick check with the living room clock and my heart skipped a beat. It was actually 8am! I scurried back into my room, fantically changing my clothes, suddenly noticing my two younger brothers giggling at the bedroom door.
"What are you laughing it? I'm late for a major exam that determines the rest of my life and the two of you are giggling! You must have something to do with this!" I yelled in frustration. I guess my tone was nasty as my youngest brother started crying.
"We played with your clock last night after you feel asleep and we thought it would be fun to make you late for school since you slept so early," my youngest brother mumbled feebly with his knees shaking. [WHAT/WHY]
So it was them. I should have gotten my parents to wake me up. I should have gotten my friends to ring me in the morning. I cannot help but smack myself in the head, ignoring the fact that I'll be killing some much-needed brain cells. It was my fault for not making back-up plans in case the clock fails, but why must they play with my clock of all days?
I made up my mind to grill my siblings on the barbeque or tie them up on a tree after my examinations. For now, I'll have to run harder. The school gate was in sight! I dashed past security, past the school office & up into the school hall. 300 pairs of eyes suddenly suddenly looked up at me, all sweaty & disheveled. I had arrived in the nick of time, the teachers were just about to start the examination. I quickly took my seat and focused on the paper in front of me.
After the paper, I went straight home & called my parents. I was too tired with deal with my brothers physically. I told them everything over the phone and took a nap. When I woke up, I could hear screaming and crying. "Piak!" came the sound of the cane. I ran out of my room to take a look. My parents were caning my brothers for their mischief. My heart ached as I saw the cane land on their bottoms.
I quickly ran over to shield my brothers. My brothers clung to me like koala bears on a tree. Their faces were smeared with tears & mucus, their hands riddled with cane marks. Although they did cause me to be late for my examination, I still loved them. I begged my parents to stop as I've already forgiven them. After drying their tears & comforting them, I told them about the dire consequences if I had been a little later. They apologised and promised never to be mischevious again. [HOW] I also made a silent resolution to ensure that I have back up plans whenever I have something important [CLOSING SENTENCE].
May not be the best compo, but she managed to use some techniques I practised with her in which I'm pleased as this is a student who used to fail composition.
Help Your Child to LOVE Homework!
Articles Contributed at KiasuParents.com
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/help-your-child-love-homework
My boy has started at a new kindergarten for N1 and he has weekly homework plus reading tests. Just share what we have done to show some positive results.
I was so worried when the school told us that there's homework cos I was worried that he'll resist doing homework that we had a 'plan'. It was tough cos we wanted him to love homework and did not want him to feel forced.
First homework came on Wednesday. It was a writing practice on the number '1'. Then came the 2nd piece of homework, a writing practice on small letter 'a'. And there were flashcards for him to practice reading (both English & Chinese).
My hb, maid and I figured out a 'plan':
Get a nice comfortable table for him (new one). Told him it's his table for doing written work (allowed him to take rough paper to scribble and colour using the table before school started)
When he gets home, get him to empty his bag & when he takes out the homework, make the homework sound exciting ('Wow! You've got some writing to do! It's going to be fun! Mummy/Daddy/Auntie will do it with you after lunch ok?' or 'Clever boy is going to show Mummy/Daddy/Auntie how clever he is when he writes nicely!')
When it's time, get him to help set up the table (take his pencil case with his pencils and colour materials)
Allow him to do some coloring (either on the worksheet if there are pictures to be coloured or on another colouring sheet), then once he's enjoying it, ask him to write '1' to show us.
Allow him to do as many as he like (there were around 15 boxes of '1' he had to trace), he stopped after around 8 of them. I just let him take a break and told him to drink some water, have a biscuit (of cos wash his hands first) and continue after nap. Wake up from nap, he watched some TV, had his milk and snack and continued with his writing. Finished his homework on the same day.
As he did his work, my maid & I were praising him on his nice handwriting. Sometimes he did not trace properly, I'll just ask him if that looks nice and he replied 'it's not perfect!'. He took the eraser and attempted to erase (I say attempted because he did the action of rubbing the paper but the pencil mark was still there cos he does not know how to erase properly). Then he made sure all were perfect and we got him to put it back neatly into the folder and keep it into his bag immediately.
The next day we actually got him started on the next piece of homework: writing 'a'. The start of the worksheet has some colouring activity (colour all the apples). So he started colouring (he chose the colour and colours out of line but we just let him be).
Got him to start tracing and he finished everything at one go. He was so pleased with himself! He got stickers as reward from me. After that, he actually went to his bookshelf, pulled out the book which I bought for him (tracing lines and small letters) and requested to do it too!
He's hooked!
We started allowing him to have the freedom to draw, colour and scribble in his book (I bought many exercise books for him) or on rough paper (I have a stack of recycled paper for him). Inspired by TAMARIND's girl He liked drawing/writing exercises and this made the transition to 'HOMEWORK' much easier. Plus he sees students at my place doing their work quietly at the study table, and it helps me to explain to him that everyone has to do homework so they'll be clever. You can create this by 'doing work' yourself! It could be just simple a word search or word puzzle or Sudoku! It's good to exercise our minds too.
If your kids are still young, do try to make it fun for them. Make them LOVE HOMEWORK. I keep telling my boy that he's so smart and clever because he managed to finish his homework. I think all kids want to hear that, whether their homework was well done or not. It's a good start cos they'll learn to take pride in their work.
If your kids are already school going children, do make the effort to praise them and reward them for doing their homework. It may not be very well done but you can still praise them for completing their work on time and tell them to try harder the next time so that they will feel proud of their work and themselves.
If we, parents, give a positive vibe about homework, I'm sure the kids will start to love it too! Let's start creating a love for homework in our kids!
P/S: I hated homework when I was in Primary school. But when I was in Sec school & my mum allowed me to redecorate my room & allowed me to choose my own study table, I started to love doing homework. It gave me a sense of pride to be sitting at MY TABLE - the table I CHOSE and LOVE - doing homework.
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/help-your-child-love-homework
My boy has started at a new kindergarten for N1 and he has weekly homework plus reading tests. Just share what we have done to show some positive results.
I was so worried when the school told us that there's homework cos I was worried that he'll resist doing homework that we had a 'plan'. It was tough cos we wanted him to love homework and did not want him to feel forced.
First homework came on Wednesday. It was a writing practice on the number '1'. Then came the 2nd piece of homework, a writing practice on small letter 'a'. And there were flashcards for him to practice reading (both English & Chinese).
My hb, maid and I figured out a 'plan':
Get a nice comfortable table for him (new one). Told him it's his table for doing written work (allowed him to take rough paper to scribble and colour using the table before school started)
When he gets home, get him to empty his bag & when he takes out the homework, make the homework sound exciting ('Wow! You've got some writing to do! It's going to be fun! Mummy/Daddy/Auntie will do it with you after lunch ok?' or 'Clever boy is going to show Mummy/Daddy/Auntie how clever he is when he writes nicely!')
When it's time, get him to help set up the table (take his pencil case with his pencils and colour materials)
Allow him to do some coloring (either on the worksheet if there are pictures to be coloured or on another colouring sheet), then once he's enjoying it, ask him to write '1' to show us.
Allow him to do as many as he like (there were around 15 boxes of '1' he had to trace), he stopped after around 8 of them. I just let him take a break and told him to drink some water, have a biscuit (of cos wash his hands first) and continue after nap. Wake up from nap, he watched some TV, had his milk and snack and continued with his writing. Finished his homework on the same day.
As he did his work, my maid & I were praising him on his nice handwriting. Sometimes he did not trace properly, I'll just ask him if that looks nice and he replied 'it's not perfect!'. He took the eraser and attempted to erase (I say attempted because he did the action of rubbing the paper but the pencil mark was still there cos he does not know how to erase properly). Then he made sure all were perfect and we got him to put it back neatly into the folder and keep it into his bag immediately.
The next day we actually got him started on the next piece of homework: writing 'a'. The start of the worksheet has some colouring activity (colour all the apples). So he started colouring (he chose the colour and colours out of line but we just let him be).
Got him to start tracing and he finished everything at one go. He was so pleased with himself! He got stickers as reward from me. After that, he actually went to his bookshelf, pulled out the book which I bought for him (tracing lines and small letters) and requested to do it too!
He's hooked!
We started allowing him to have the freedom to draw, colour and scribble in his book (I bought many exercise books for him) or on rough paper (I have a stack of recycled paper for him). Inspired by TAMARIND's girl He liked drawing/writing exercises and this made the transition to 'HOMEWORK' much easier. Plus he sees students at my place doing their work quietly at the study table, and it helps me to explain to him that everyone has to do homework so they'll be clever. You can create this by 'doing work' yourself! It could be just simple a word search or word puzzle or Sudoku! It's good to exercise our minds too.
If your kids are still young, do try to make it fun for them. Make them LOVE HOMEWORK. I keep telling my boy that he's so smart and clever because he managed to finish his homework. I think all kids want to hear that, whether their homework was well done or not. It's a good start cos they'll learn to take pride in their work.
If your kids are already school going children, do make the effort to praise them and reward them for doing their homework. It may not be very well done but you can still praise them for completing their work on time and tell them to try harder the next time so that they will feel proud of their work and themselves.
If we, parents, give a positive vibe about homework, I'm sure the kids will start to love it too! Let's start creating a love for homework in our kids!
P/S: I hated homework when I was in Primary school. But when I was in Sec school & my mum allowed me to redecorate my room & allowed me to choose my own study table, I started to love doing homework. It gave me a sense of pride to be sitting at MY TABLE - the table I CHOSE and LOVE - doing homework.
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