tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63572098950109056762024-03-13T14:40:18.820+08:00I Can Write Too! A blog aimed at helping kids in Singapore primary schools write better compositions.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-16521144646893520192014-03-28T17:42:00.002+08:002014-03-28T17:43:10.092+08:00A Number of New Updates!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is really a great feeling to be able to continue doing things which I consider really enjoyable. One of them is sharing my knowledge, the other one is definitely helping children to learn.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZl_y8mupC0G9oKIDsJ-00xF6M0yeLIaq_CAQq9YKrt8kJjD5xU6bXFyTe5doOKiz_RrBVPMJOxuUn3xGc4p6QT2gL7kwJGgL4qe9OCp1PszTbFRkQY1TaoAbOgA3ZXDkX_Wv_9ucmIg/s1600/genuine_quality_maroon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZl_y8mupC0G9oKIDsJ-00xF6M0yeLIaq_CAQq9YKrt8kJjD5xU6bXFyTe5doOKiz_RrBVPMJOxuUn3xGc4p6QT2gL7kwJGgL4qe9OCp1PszTbFRkQY1TaoAbOgA3ZXDkX_Wv_9ucmIg/s1600/genuine_quality_maroon.png" height="200" width="183" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've just published the composition submitted by a Primary Two student. You can find her composition and my comments<a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.weebly.com/our-collection-of-compositions.html" target="_blank"> here</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you've not checked my website recently, I've also added more updates and concluded a segment of <a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.weebly.com/srm_schooll_camping.html" target="_blank">Selected Reading Materials: School Life - School Camp (Outdoor Adventure)</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One more thing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've added a 'Subscribe' tab on the left of my <a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.weebly.com/" target="_blank">Home Page</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you'd like to receive Newsletters & Updates, instead of checking back at my blog or website all the time, do leave your email address behind. I promise No SPAM. Only updates on my educational projects. You can unsubscribe any time.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.weebly.com/">http://icanwritetoo-sg.weebly.com/</a></span><br />
: )<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-82833130120507181302014-03-14T00:35:00.003+08:002014-03-14T00:35:31.411+08:00New Content Added : Selected Reading Materials: School Life - School Camp (Outdoor Adventure)<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hello Everyone,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">New content has been added to 'Selected Reading Materials: School Life - School Camp (Outdoor Adventure)!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">More updates will be ready for this topic by the end of the week!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Resource on other common topics are also available at</span><br />
<a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.weebly.com/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://icanwritetoo-sg.weebly.com/</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Q: When can I submit compositions for your feedback?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A: You can get your child to start writing these few days. I'll be accepting compositions for feedback from 16/3 (Sun) to 19/3 (Wed). Depending on the number of compositions received, I'll need a few days to go through them in detail. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I hope you understand that! : ) For details on how to submit, please click here. <a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.weebly.com/terms--condition-submission-of-composition.html">http://icanwritetoo-sg.weebly.com/terms--condition-submission-of-composition.html</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">: )</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-35019249747103886502014-01-23T22:54:00.000+08:002014-01-23T22:54:23.630+08:00NEW topic added in Selected Reading Material!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am so pleased to announce that I am BACK!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've just added a new topic-</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.weebly.com/srm_school-life.html" target="_blank">Selected Reading Material: School Life - School Camp. School Related</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At the moment, the content is still a little scratchy but new content will be added by this weekend. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A-chooooo...recovering from flu! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Added some new features. Hope that your child / children can benefit from the new topic!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Keep Checking!</b></span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-59237225102926735002013-10-03T17:04:00.002+08:002013-10-03T17:05:19.427+08:00Selected Reading Material: Accidents - A Fire (Advanced)<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I remember back when I was still teaching, my pupils always frowned when they had to write a composition about a fire. There was very little varied vocabulary in which they could use.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Many used words like 'big fire' (translated from Mandarin), 'fierce', 'spread wildly', 'uncontrollable'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My latest addition to the Selected Reading Material is a short story about a man risking his life to guard his home from a bush fire. It was inspired by a beautifully written article I had read in the Reader's Digest many years ago. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This short story is targeted at advanced and aspiring writers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am still researching on this area and hopefully I can put up another resource related to 'fire' soon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You can find the article <a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.weebly.com/selected-reading-material.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-88746832648404741272013-09-28T22:10:00.002+08:002013-09-28T22:11:41.174+08:00Primary 1 Composition Received!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Thank you </b>Alan for submitting the first composition from a Primary 1 pupil since the beginning of this project ' I Can Write Too!'.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You have great potential!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Do not be afraid to experiment with new words and phrases!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No problem if you do not use them correctly. Try and you'll learn along the way!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Keep writing!</b></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-364153733363610462013-09-25T23:58:00.000+08:002013-09-25T23:59:33.815+08:00Selected Reading Materials - Menu Cannot Display on Mobile Devices<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've just realised that the Menu for Selected Reading Material cannot be displayed properly on Mobile Devices. What you see is only the topic 'Crime' but cannot choose to view the other topics and themes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So I've just added an option to view a simplified menu for Mobile Devices.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You can see the added option <a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.weebly.com/selected-reading-material.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-6727259816416192922013-09-18T15:26:00.000+08:002013-09-18T15:26:02.314+08:00Selected Reading Material: Crime - Animal Abuse<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Recently there has been a spate of cases on animal abuse - from kittens getting dismembered to dogs being neglected and left to the mercy of the elements at the balcony.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am heartened to know that MOE is including 'Animal Welfare' in the new Character & Citizenship Education (CCE) curriculum starting next year, with the primary and secondary students. Hopefully, these changes to the education curriculum can help raise awareness in the next generation, to become respectable and responsible citizens and to live lives of kindness and compassion to humans and animals alike.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The latest addition to my website includes a news article on animal abuse and two related activities.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Check them out <a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.weebly.com/selected-reading-material.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-78774985104075053682013-09-16T09:47:00.001+08:002013-09-28T22:11:51.690+08:00Primary 4 (New Format) Composition Received<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank you AS for your delightful composition!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've managed to publish it on my website.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.weebly.com/our-collection-of-compositions.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://icanwritetoo-sg.weebly.com/our-collection-of-compositions.html</span></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I hope the composition will display clearly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The <span style="color: red;"><u>arrow on the top left-hand corner</u></span> collapses the side column if you do not want it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why can't I move the compositions from the blog to the website? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'll try. But there is a problem. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The blog uses html while I use Google Drive for the website. If I transfer the compositions, I'll need to cut paste without formatting, then re-format my strikethroughs, font colour etc. It will be a massive exercise. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think I can spend my time more wisely by looking up relevant resources for everyone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Agree? : )</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-46545716264252248622013-09-04T16:30:00.000+08:002013-09-04T16:31:11.093+08:00Announcing the 'I Can Write Too!' Website!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am so excited! After weeks and weeks of sourcing and testing and planning and migrating, I am finally proud to announce the official launch of my own website:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.weebly.com/" target="_blank">I Can Write Too! @ Weebly.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As compared to the blog, the website is really so<u><span style="color: red;"> much easier to navigate</span></u>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can organise my work more effectively.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You can find everything here, there, plus much more! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes, it is still <b><span style="color: red;">FREE</span></b>. <b><span style="color: red;">NO HIDDEN LINKS</span></b>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most of the pages in the website are functioning and I will continue to nurture its growth! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let me know if you like it as much as I do! Let's share & learn together!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-58550316449957657852013-09-01T00:05:00.003+08:002013-09-01T00:05:39.455+08:00Latest News!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hello Everyone,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've been very busy lately because I'm in the process of migrating the content of my blog to a proper website. I love this blog but there are a lot limitations e.g. I have problems organising the content in a more presentable manner. I feel that navigating through the blog is also a problem as new visitors may not know where to start looking. (since a blog presents information in chronological order)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So do be patient. I'm almost done. Didn't realize there is already so much resources here! : ) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Is is still free? Of course!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Will I still be focusing on Composition writing? Definitely! And, more!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So hold your horses and check back soon!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-84791435430241935182013-08-22T17:30:00.000+08:002013-08-22T17:34:02.546+08:00Accident at the Food Court (by LS, P5, 1st Draft)<u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Question</span></u><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You were at a food court buying a bowl of noodles. While you were looking for a seat, you accidentally knocked into an old man. The bowl of noodles spilled onto him. Based on the above situation, write a story of at least 150 words.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You must make use of points below in your story:-</span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What happened to the old man?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What you did next?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What happened in the event?</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You may reorder the points. You may also include other relevant points.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">###########################</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Accident at the Food Court by LS</u></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Looking at the spilled noodles and hearing the ranting of the old man, I remembered how the incident began.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Running to the food court, I was very anxious to buy myself a bowl of noodles as I wanted to get home earlier. After running for a short distance, I reached my destination. I weaved through the crowds and bought myself a bowl of noodles.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After collecting my change, I hurriedly ran towards<u> <span style="color: red;">the exit of the food court</span></u>. When suddenly "ping" the bowl of noodles spilled all over an old man's head. He started scolding "Look where you're going! Do your eyes grow at the back of your head? "Sorry" I replied with embarrassment. I quickly helped him up and a kind passerby helped him wash up. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I reached home, I realized I was already two hours late. I explained to my mum and relayed the whole incident to her. She reprimanded 'me and advised me to be more careful in future. I told her that I had learnt my lesson and promised to be extra careful.</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">###########################</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>C<span style="color: purple;">omments</span></u></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Firstly, thank you LS for submitting your composition!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Based on the requirements of the question, at first glance, I've spotted a few areas that need immediate attention. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, the most pressing one is the part underlined in red. </span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The question states that the writer was looking for a seat when he had an accident and spilled the noodles on the old man. However, your composition suggests that the writer was leaving. So, it is unclear if</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-the writer had a takeaway with him and the cover of the container came loose when he knocked into the old man, resulting in the spill</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">or</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-the writer had a bowl of noodles and was leaving the food court when the incident occurred.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I like the conversation exchanged between the writer and the old man. It clearly expresses the old man's annoyance and how angry he was. Unfortunately, you need to bring the intensity of the conflict to a higher level for the reader to fully feel this displeasure.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Instead of commenting in terms of how you can elaborate, I thought I'd approach giving feedback differently this time. Below is a</span><b> <span style="color: blue;">story web</span></b><span style="color: purple;">. I've constructed it based on the above question and hope that it can create some ideas for you to build up the story line. (Click on it for a larger image)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia-W7uZmGvWsYfMlP9MU_SkXHJIu0PfGPtpohW6-BP_TatH2RDesuK7RaNIRaE9NZ561bWhk4g_hYVnHhPkF-o3BadhnQkuNGqJ8-cKoG6fNTTEYT0hXghRBO2AOzSo_yRPyJSBuU3TQ/s1600/Accident+at+Food+Court.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia-W7uZmGvWsYfMlP9MU_SkXHJIu0PfGPtpohW6-BP_TatH2RDesuK7RaNIRaE9NZ561bWhk4g_hYVnHhPkF-o3BadhnQkuNGqJ8-cKoG6fNTTEYT0hXghRBO2AOzSo_yRPyJSBuU3TQ/s320/Accident+at+Food+Court.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After looking at the web, I would like you to try to:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1) Include the ideas from '<b>Senses</b>' & '<b>Activity</b>' branching out from 'Food Court' first. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2) Then choose from '<b>Outcome 1</b>' or '<b>Outcome 2</b>' and try to develop a more intense conflict from there. (I'd love to read about a fight... :) )</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3) Finally, use the <b>'Conclusion</b>' to end the composition.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let's see if the story web can help you develop your story first.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Give it a try? You can do it!</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-8579567923645086562013-08-22T16:07:00.004+08:002013-08-31T00:20:42.786+08:00Grammar MCQ Supplement 1 (Upper Primary)<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is a link to a <b><span style="color: red;">FREE</span></b> online grammar MCQ quiz.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've posted this as a request from a parent who asked if I can create some resources on grammar drills for upper primary pupils. This quiz is suitable for P5, P6 and high-ability P4.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Setting questions is easy but providing answers with explanation can be quite tedious. So if the response it good, I can seriously consider adding this resource.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After you complete the quiz, click to 'Show correct answers'. At the left side of each question, you will see a '?' if you got that question wrong. When you click the '?', you can access the explanation for the question.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Do give it a try!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The link (which has<span style="color: blue;"> </span><span style="color: red;">NO ADS, NO GIMMICKS, you get the idea...</span>) is:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.kubbu.com/a1/44737_english_grammar_mcq" target="_blank">Grammar Pre-Exam MCQ Drill 1</a></span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-69884713925985786432013-08-20T15:35:00.003+08:002013-08-20T15:38:16.655+08:00Kicking Up the Notch Part (3) - Resources for Writing Outstanding Compositions - Drowning / Rescued from Drowning<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(This post is an extension of '<a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.blogspot.sg/2013/07/selected-reading-material-4-drowning.html" target="_blank">Selected Reading Material 4: Drowning / Rescued from Drowning</a>')</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here is a suggestion on a more advanced approach to writing to composition based on the scenario given in the above post on 'Drowning':</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Suggestion (2) Flashback</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Lisa's eyes began to blur as darkness enveloped her. Her head felt like it weighed a thousand kilograms. She could not breathe as water began to gush into her nostrils and choked the life out of her. Just then, she felt a strong tug. Someone was shouting at her but she could not decipher what the voice was trying to tell her. Then, she felt herself being lifted from the water and laid onto a soft surface. Lisa was abruptly conscious that she was no longer engulfed in darkness as the light now pierced her eyes and tingled her senses. She cackled and coughed before she instinctively tried to gasp for air. At first, the water clogged her airways and she felt a burning sensation in her chest. Still no air. In desperation, she coughed as hard as she could. The force of the cough immediately cleared her airways and this time, she was successful. Fresh moist air raced into her system, rejuvenating the blood cells throughout her body. As the pressure in her head lightened, her vision began to return to her...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> "Lisa! Lisa! Are you alright?" screamed Leo, Lisa's brother. Lisa was too weak to reply him. She barely nodded her head before she drifted into a deep sleep. Having survived a near-drowning, Lisa was exhausted. She just wanted to sleep for a while...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The sun was like a fire ball in the clear blue sky. Lisa and Leo had begged their mother to bring them swimming. The weather was overwhelmingly hot and Mrs Jones needed very little persuasion to make the trip down the nearby swimming complex.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> When they arrived at the pool, it was very crowded. Mrs Jones reminded the children to be extra vigilant while in the water. As Lisa was not a good swimmer, she even made Lisa promise that she would always stay on the float. While the children splashed about in the pool, Mrs Jones laid down on a beach chair and soon fell asleep.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Leo and Lisa had a great time splashing water at each other. Just when they were deciding what to do next, they heard a shout, "Leo! We are here! Come and join us!" Leo's friends were also at the pool. Wanting badly to join them, Leo made a callous and irresponsible decision. "Stay on your float! I'll be back soon!" he instructed Lisa before swimming towards them. Lisa panicked. She did not want to be left behind. She tried to paddle along but Leo had already disappeared into the crowd. In her haste to catch up with him, Lisa lost her balance and slipped into the water!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Lisa splashed her arms frantically about as she desperately tried to keep her head above the water. Unfortunately, everyone around her was oblivious to what was happening. They thought she was just fooling around so they continued playing and chatting among themselves. Lisa felt the muscles in body bunching up. She was exhausted. Her arms were aching and she could no longer breathe. She was losing consciousness when the lifeguard reached her and dumped her lifeless body on his float.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> When Lisa finally came round, she was in the hospital. Mrs Jones wept tears of joy and relief when Lisa finally opened her eyes and smiled at her. "I'll never leave you out of my sight, ever!" declared Mrs Jones. Leo hung his head low in shame as he approached his sister's side. "I'm so sorry Lisa. Really. Please forgive me. I'll never be irresponsible again," promised Leo. Overcome with fatigue, Lisa nodded her head again and managed a smile before slipping back into a deep sleep.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I hope you can try out this more advanced approach to writing. It is really more refreshing than the typical and traditional form of organising a composition. However, you'll need lots of practice before actually adopting it during an examination!</b></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-14831946601454915052013-07-31T16:16:00.002+08:002013-08-14T17:40:39.620+08:00Free Online Grammar and Spelling Checker!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Wow! I accidentally stumbled upon this! </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>You might want to give it a try.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Really good work! (started by 2 teachers in Canada)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I'd probably check my blog entries a bit at a time later...</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Do read their Terms & Conditions prior to using the free service.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b><a href="http://virtualwritingtutor.com/index.php" target="_blank">Virtual Writing Tutor</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: magenta;">I </span><u>am not affiliated</u><span style="color: magenta;"> to this web site and will not receive any benefits from them if you visit or use their application!</span></i></span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-78004288007196589762013-07-29T18:03:00.002+08:002013-08-20T15:37:52.716+08:00Selected Reading Material 4: Drowning / Rescued from Drowning<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>What is 'Selected Reading Material'?</u></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">'Selected Reading Material' are carefully selected resources to help struggling readers widen their knowledge in areas often useful in composition writing. i.e. what happens during a robbery, accidents, kidnap etc.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After reading and using the resources, students will have more relevant ideas to use in their composition assignments & examination!</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Read the following passage and take note of the underlined content.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">DO NOT skip reading as it is important to see how the underlined content is used in this article. (How they are used in context) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The report "Father drowns while trying to save son from strong current" (The Straits Times, Dec 11) shows the dangers of the sea and of attempting to rescue a person in the water. The Singapore Life Saving Society would like to highlight the dangers of trying to rescue someone in water.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Both trained rescuers and lay persons have been known to become victims in the course of <span style="color: red;">attempting</span> to rescue others. This may be due to<u> a <span style="color: red;">lack of</span> the necessary skills, fitness or equipment.</u> It may also be due to <u>a <span style="color: red;">misjudgment</span> of the conditions present</u>. Therefore, it is always better to prevent the occurrence of a drowning situation than to attempt a rescue.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, in the unfortunate case where there is a need to rescue someone, the <span style="color: red;">paramount</span> consideration should always be the lifesaver's own safety and rescues that can be performed without entering the water are safer. For example, <u>a reach (with a pole) or throw (with a rope) rescue should always be considered first. Only when such techniques are not likely to work should the rescuer consider entering the water. Even then, he should enter the water as far as possible with rescue aids like life <span style="color: red;">buoys</span> or swim floats. These may then be passed to the victim to keep him <span style="color: red;">buoyant</span> and reduce the need to make contact. </u>The reason for avoiding contact is that <u>a person in difficulties in the water is likely to grab at anything that floats and that includes the rescuer</u>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We encourage people to take up a lifesaving course to equip themselves with the knowledge and skills necessary for safer rescue attempts so that they are prepared should the need arise.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Modified from Letter from Honorary Secretary-General, Richard Tan Ming Kirk, 14 December 2006, http://www.slss.org.sg/Local%20Press%20Media.htm</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Part One</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Are you familiar with the meaning of the words in red? Look up the meaning of the words in the dictionary. Then, try out this<a href="http://www.kubbu.com/a1/44197_selected_readin" target="_blank"> Online Activity</a><span id="goog_2083246327"></span><span id="goog_2083246328"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a>. (Direct link to an online quiz, with no ad links, as usual!) The activity will open in a new window. After completing it, you just need to close it. You do not need to 'Return to Main Menu'. The scores will not be recorded. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Enjoy and Learn!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfiQA-EFCFdXOWpcCowQ-KHI1DRzONpmdetTbyulALnfEs-Q8PlKlaPrVLfna45tP36xv6KPQ90tfgMulpU3OrVqPOLVypUOYRRExHh1t05wYTgMQARPrQ9oZUnACrI5OIpuaMAGqkg/s1600/9572058-cheerful-family-in-swimming-pool-smiling-at-camera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfiQA-EFCFdXOWpcCowQ-KHI1DRzONpmdetTbyulALnfEs-Q8PlKlaPrVLfna45tP36xv6KPQ90tfgMulpU3OrVqPOLVypUOYRRExHh1t05wYTgMQARPrQ9oZUnACrI5OIpuaMAGqkg/s320/9572058-cheerful-family-in-swimming-pool-smiling-at-camera.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Part Two</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>After studying the above article and viewing the 2 related videos (see links at the end of the post), we can summarise what we have learnt the following content useful for writing compositions related to drowning and water rescue:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1)The people around the struggling swimmers did not know that someone was drowning. They were oblivious to what was going on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2) Both of the children's heads were bobbing up and down the water. They were trying desperately to gasp for air.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3) Although both the boy and the girl were splashing about the water frantically, to the other swimmers, they looked like they were 'playing' or fooling around.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4) Both the boy and the girl could not scream or wave their hands for help.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5) Swimmers can drown too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6) Experienced swimmers and trained rescuers can also be victims of drowning because they do not have adequate skills are misjudged the condition around them (e.g. sharp rocks).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">7) A rescuer should try to perform the rescue without entering the water first e.g. throw a buoy or reach out a stick. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">8) If a rescuer must get into the water, he should bring a floating device with him e.g. a life buoy (remember the video of the pool rescue?)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">9) A drowning person is likely to grab anything or anyone near him. Sometimes this can endanger the live of the rescuer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Looks like the above 9 key points can already form a very interesting composition about drowning and rescue! Let's apply what we have learnt in an sample question in Part Three.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Part Three</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let's use the video of the pool rescue from <a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.blogspot.sg/2013/07/video-resources-3-drowning-rescue-from.html" target="_blank">"Video Resources (3): Drowning / Rescued from Drowning 1</a>". The still at 0:29 can be used as a question for a picture composition.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd6ZogCUQdLfKxs-XrnQrvP5SeGcgitNmi3-2nfZl_MxibtIn5XfWO7ebN3VVln9ddT9Zh7GK69WC_YxVAQUrlFAWmTk9FhMEvNyefKNDW8vkQwerNCwljSDXyDxZaoQpDlheiFiZ3wA/s1600/Girl+Falls+off+Float.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd6ZogCUQdLfKxs-XrnQrvP5SeGcgitNmi3-2nfZl_MxibtIn5XfWO7ebN3VVln9ddT9Zh7GK69WC_YxVAQUrlFAWmTk9FhMEvNyefKNDW8vkQwerNCwljSDXyDxZaoQpDlheiFiZ3wA/s640/Girl+Falls+off+Float.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Write a composition of at least 150 words based on the above situation. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You must use the following points in your story:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">where are the children</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">why did the girl fall into the water</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">what happened to the girl in the end</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You may reorder the points and add any other relevant points.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">#######################</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here is a possible composition based on the picture using content from the video resources and selected reading resources.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Examples:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Suggestion (1): Typical Presentation</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>The sun was like a fire ball in the clear blue sky. Lisa and Leo begged their mother to bring them swimming. Mrs Jones decided to bring the children to the swimming pool near their home.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When they arrived at the pool, it was very crowded. Mrs Jones reminded the children to be extra careful in the water. As Lisa was not a good swimmer, she even made Lisa promise that she would always stay on the float. While the children splashed about in the pool, Mrs Jones laid down on a beach chair and soon fell asleep. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Leo and Lisa had a great time splashing water at each other. Just when they were deciding what to do next, they heard a shout, "Leo! We are here! Come and join us!" Leo's friends were also at the pool. He wanted to join them so he began swimming towards them. Lisa did not want to be left behind. She tried to paddle along but Leo had already disappeared into the crowd. Suddenly, Lisa lost her balance and slipped into the water!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b> Lisa splashed her arms frantically about the water as she desperately tried to gasp for air. Unfortunately, everyone in the pool did not notice that Lisa was in trouble. They continued playing among themselves. Lisa began to feel exhausted. Her arms were aching and she could not breathe. Just when her eyes began to blur, she felt a strong tug and then, she felt herself lying on something cool and soft. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>"Girl! Breathe through your mouth! Don't worry! You are safe now! Don't struggle! Just rest your body on the float. We're near the edge of the pool!" shouted a man. The lifeguard on duty had reached Lisa just in time. When he saw her slip off her float, he had immediately grabbed his float and jumped in after her. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When Lisa got out of the water, Mrs Jones and Leo quickly rushed to Lisa's side and apologised for not keeping their eyes on her. Luckily, besides swallowing a few gulps of water and feeling exhausted, Lisa was unhurt. The family thanked the lifeguard again for saving Lisa's life. They could not imagine how the day would have ended if he had not been observant.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>It was an unforgettable day!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><b><u>Suggestion (2): Flashback</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(As this a more advanced approach, the content will be continued at '<a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.blogspot.sg/2013/08/kicking-up-notch-part-3-resources-for.htm">http://icanwritetoo-sg.blogspot.sg/2013/08/kicking-up-notch-part-3-resources-for.htm</a>l')</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>With the above example, I conclude 'Selected Reading Material 4: Drowning / Rescued from Drowning'. I hope this segment will prove useful to some of you! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If you'd like a more advanced approach to writing a composition on this topic, you can visit click <a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.blogspot.sg/2013/08/kicking-up-notch-part-3-resources-for.html" target="_blank">here</a> (or the link above).</b></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-54821869055065600532013-07-24T09:44:00.000+08:002013-07-30T07:43:09.171+08:00Video Resources (4): Drowning / Rescued from Drowning 2<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In '<a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.blogspot.sg/2013/07/video-resources-3-drowning-rescue-from.html" target="_blank">Video Resources (3): Drowning / Rescued from Drowning 1</a>', we've seen the actual footage of the rescue of a girl who had fallen off her float in a swimming pool. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The following video is a clip from a television programme. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The programme featured a footage of a boy who was rescued by a lifeguard when he appeared to be drowning in the sea. The interview in the video clip <b>provides great advice on the signs of drowning</b> and also introduces us to <b>a range of useful words</b> and content for our writing.</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/X1mVcSUttX4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>'Drowning Signs Aren't Like the Movies', 27 Jul 2011, WIBTV, YouTube</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>After viewing both videos, did you notice some similarities?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1) The people around the struggling swimmers did not know that they were drowning. They were <b><u>oblivious</u></b> to what was going on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2) Both of the children's heads were <b><u>bobbing up and down the water</u></b>. They were trying <b><u>desperately to gasp for air</u></b>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3) Although both the boy and the girl were <b><u>splashing about the water frantically</u>,</b> to the other swimmers, they looked like they were 'playing' or fooling around.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4) Both the boy and the girl could not scream or wave their hands for help.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This post supplements</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- '<a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.blogspot.sg/2013/07/video-resources-3-drowning-rescue-from.html" target="_blank">Video Resources (3): Drowning / Rescued from Drowning 1</a>'</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-<a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.blogspot.sg/2013/07/selected-reading-material-4-drowning.html" target=""> 'Selected Reading Material 4:Drowning / Rescued from Drowning'</a></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-55965000918076456142013-07-23T10:16:00.000+08:002013-07-30T07:43:27.144+08:00Video Resources (3): Drowning / Rescued from Drowning 1<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My pupils often had problems developing their stories about drowning or near-drowning accidents. The lack of information and (thank goodness!) personal experience makes it difficult for pupils to elaborate and develop the content of their compositions realistically.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After scouring the internet for suitable videos (no bikini-clad images...) and resources, the following video shows an actual lifeguard rescue of a little girl, who had fallen from her huge ring float, after the wave pool function was activated. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The girl (right-hand side of video) falls from her ring at 0:29.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/L0KTqPloUiU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">'Wavepool Lifeguard Rescue', 29 Apr 2013, by Lifeguard Rescue, YouTube</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>On a Personal Note:</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before we go into the dynamics of writing a composition related to drowning or near-drowning, I would like to emphasise the importance of observing water safety procedures and rules. </span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Singapore being a tropical island, we often succumb to the inviting waters at our beaches and pools for a temporary respite from the suffocating heat. I love to swim too. But do bear in mind that if we are not strong swimmers, we stay near the edge or at the shallow ends. If we are good swimmers, we stay alert (and away from any form of sedation or alcoholic drinks) when entering the water. If we have children with us, they are our priority and everything else can and must wait.</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Too many tragedies have occurred because of <u>negligence</u> and such tragedies can (most often) be avoided.</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I also feel the need to applaud the hard work of vigilant lifeguards who keep watch tirelessly under the scorching sun. Thank you!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Now, back to work.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1) Can you think of of words related to the events occurring in the video? </b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You might want to brainstorm according to the <b>nouns</b>, then <b>verbs</b>, then <b>adjectives / adverbs</b> you think might be applicable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>For example:</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nouns - swimming pool, children, ring floats...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Verbs - screaming, playing, splashing...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Adjectives - large blue, clear, inviting, cool, scorching, slippery</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Adverbs - happily, mischievously, frantically..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2) </b><b>If you are given a picture composition and the picture is a still of this video at 0:29 (the moment the girl falls into the water), what are some of the sentences or phrases or ideas you can think of after watching the events unfold in the video?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For this activity, try to organize your thoughts and brainstorm for relevant ideas chronologically. Remember that you can always imagine how the story may unfold. The above video clip can provide you loads of ideas for the main part your writing. You'll still need to firm up ideas for the beginning and concluding part of the composition.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This post supplements </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- '<a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.blogspot.sg/2013/07/video-resources-4-drowning-rescued-from.html" target="_blank">Video Resources (4): Drowning / Rescued from Drowning 2</a>'</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-<a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.blogspot.sg/2013/07/selected-reading-material-4-drowning.html"> 'Selected Reading Material 4:Drowning / Rescued from Drowning'</a></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-37089653515274085372013-06-18T12:29:00.002+08:002013-06-18T12:29:41.678+08:00Taking a Break from 'Work'...<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Firstly,</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'd like to apologize, especially to so many supporters who have been visiting my blog despite it not being updated. Thank you to many of you whom have emailed me or posted your comments. Your kind words are truly motivating. If you have left your email address in your comments, I may not be able to post them in the blog in order to protect your privacy! : )</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Secondly,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am taking a break from any blogging for a while as I am not in the<span style="color: magenta;"> pink of health</span>. I hope I can get through this problem soon and that it is nothing serious. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'll resume as soon as I can.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lastly,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Apologies to everyone who have been waiting for updates. Although physically I may not able to work on the blog, I'll be using this time to think through the various ways I can improve the content of my blog.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Chin up everyone! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'll Be Back!</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-71920176762506225082013-05-11T18:45:00.001+08:002013-05-11T18:45:19.447+08:00Walking Pneumonia<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hi,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sorry about not being able to update my blog. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Recovering from 'Walking Pneumonia'... the infamous Mycoplasma virus...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Really weak now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Will be back when better! : )</span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-48657331498804288412013-04-27T10:34:00.001+08:002013-04-30T12:56:47.669+08:00Updated 30 Apr: Incident on the MRT (by WS, P5, Draft)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3XoG1dxizDjSYwSwaqyXCH3icymzWhAPI8EZQauhcgzjtIFPOMk4a9hSZeW1WdcVH3McxiISkzRWHxCX-0jZ-wjrEq5_kF61dW2WME3S6atCcEK-b3GgAKOcZ4jCP03hqer6XN41G4Q/s1600/2013-04-15+16.29.44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3XoG1dxizDjSYwSwaqyXCH3icymzWhAPI8EZQauhcgzjtIFPOMk4a9hSZeW1WdcVH3McxiISkzRWHxCX-0jZ-wjrEq5_kF61dW2WME3S6atCcEK-b3GgAKOcZ4jCP03hqer6XN41G4Q/s320/2013-04-15+16.29.44.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(Image provided by WS), for reference only</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> John started to drift off lulled by the soft chatter in the train he was on. He was on his way home after a grueling soccer camp to prepare for the upcoming championship. John dipped into his dream scape, jerking awake when the intercom crackled to life and the announcer's voice stating the next station was heard. John looked at his surroundings wearily, the fatigue evident on his features.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It was then that a man in sunglasses caught John's attention. He was wearing a black leather jacket, heavily laden with zippers on the front and a navy baseball cap. The man's odd dressing caused him to stand out among the crowd. John watched with wide eyes, lethargy forgotten as the man shoved the haversack he was holding under the seat and made a dash for the exit. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Wait! Your bag!” John cried out despite knowing that the man had left the bag behind intentionally. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The situation niggled at John's mind. Something was wrong, he thought. When he finally realised what it was, John paled. A frisson of fear skipped up his spine, as he thought of the possibility of the man being a terrorist. Images of bombs going off in the train swam in John's mind and he felt that unfamiliar cold fist of fear tightened around his heart. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When the chatter of the other commuters increased when they saw the bag speculating its source, John snapped out of his daze. Remembering the safety lessons taught in school, John made his way to the emergency button, his heart still pounding like a jackhammer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“There's a bag....” It was all John could managed before the other panicky commuters having reached the same conclusion as he did drowned out his next words. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The train pulled to a stop at the next station and the passengers ushered out to safety. The police had been called and were ready to handle the situation. The next few minutes seemed like an eternity to John as he described the man to the police while waiting for the verdict. When it was announced that it was a false alarm, relief washed over John in blessed cooling waves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>John went scarlet when praised by the police for his quick thinking and bravery. Although it was only a false alarm this time, it serves as a reminder to all to remain vigilant as we would not know when a real terrorist might strike. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank you for the composition, WS!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Great command of the English language, interesting and vivid description and an extensive vocabulary! However, I think you can work more on your content. Let me look through this more carefully before I give my full comments and suggestions! </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Still, good job!</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Here is my more detailed analysis:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> John started to drift off, <u>lulled by the soft chatter</u> (<span style="color: red;">√</span>) in the train he was on. He was on his way home after a grueling soccer camp to prepare for the upcoming championship. John <u>dipped into his dream scape </u>(<span style="color: red;">√</span>), <u> jerking awake when the intercom crackled to life</u> (<span style="color: red;">√</span>) and the announcer's voice<span style="color: red;">,</span> stating the next station<span style="color: red;">,</span> was heard. John looked at his surroundings wearily, <u>the fatigue evident on his features</u>. (<span style="color: red;">√)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It was then that a man in sunglasses caught John's attention. He was wearing a black leather jacket, <u>heavily laden </u>(<span style="color: red;">√</span>) with zippers on the front and a navy baseball cap. The man's odd dressing caused him to stand out among the crowd. John watched with wide eyes, <u>lethargy forgotten</u> (<span style="color: red;">√</span>) as the man shoved the haversack he was holding under the seat and made a dash for the exit. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Wait! Your bag!” John cried out despite knowing that the man had left the bag behind intentionally. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The situation <u>niggled</u> (<span style="color: red;">√)</span> at John's mind. Something was wrong, he thought. When he finally realised what it was, John paled.<u> A frisson of fear skipped up his spine </u>(<span style="color: red;">√</span>), as he thought of the possibility of the man being a terrorist. Images of bombs going off in the train<u> swam in John's mind</u> (<span style="color: red;">√</span>) and he felt that <u>unfamiliar cold fist of fear tightened around his heart</u>. (<span style="color: red;">√)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><strike>When</strike> The <u>chatter</u> (<span style="color: red;">√</span>) of the other commuters <strike>increased</strike> <span style="color: red;">crescendoed </span><strike> when</strike> <span style="color: red;">as they</span> <strike>saw the bag speculating its source</strike> <span style="color: red;">speculated about the source the bag</span>. John <u>snapped out of his daze</u>(<span style="color: red;">√</span>). Remembering the safety lessons taught in school, John made his way to the emergency button, his heart still pounding like a <u>jackhammer</u>. (<span style="color: red;">√</span>)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“There's a bag...” It was all John could managed, before the other panicky commuters<span style="color: red;">,</span> having reached the same conclusion as he did<span style="color: red;">,</span> drowned out his next words. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> (</span><span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">√</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The train pulled to a stop at the next station and the passengers <span style="color: red;">were </span>ushered out to safety. The police had been called and were ready to handle the situation. The next few minutes seemed like an eternity to John as he described the man to the police while waiting for the<u> verdict. (See Notes 1)</u> When it was announced that it was a false alarm, relief washed over John in <u>blessed cooling waves.</u> (<span style="color: red;">√</span>) (See Notes 2)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>John went scarlet when praised by the police for his quick thinking and bravery. Although it was only a false alarm this time, it <strike>serves</strike> <span style="color: red;">served</span> as a reminder to all to remain vigilant<span style="color: red;">,</span> as we would <strike>not</strike> <span style="color: red;">never</span> know when a real terrorist might strike. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Remarks</u></b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wow! This composition is laden with vivid description. I can literally feel myself being drawn into the scenes in the story! </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well done! </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, once engrossed in our own writing, it is common to fall into the trap of writing 'running sentences' i.e sentences which are too long and crammed with ideas and descriptive terms. If you feel the need to include such complex sentences, do remember to punctuate them appropriately. Having said that, I will still advise you to avoid them, if possible.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As mentioned in my initial post, although you have demonstrated an extensive vocabulary, I think there is still room for improvement <strike>for</strike> in content development. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Remember that a composition is graded both by Language and Content. Your language marks will be top notch (18 or 19) but your content may fall in the range of 14 - 16 / 20. The grade will depend on the consensus of the teachers grading your work.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Notes 1</u></b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Somehow I don't quite seem to be able to accept the use of 'verdict' here. I just can't picture the police delivering a verdict.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I will prefer 'outcome of the investigation'. What say you?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Notes 2</u></b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You have decided that the story will conclude as a false alarm. That's fine. However, it is not a 'convincing' one as you did not fully develop the following points brought up in your writing:</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1) Why did the man leave the bag on the train?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2) If it was a false alarm, what was actually in the bag? Stolen goods left by a remorseful robber? Rubbish? Paraphernalia forsaken by a heart-broken fan(!)? Ransom money for a kidnapper?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3) Did the authorities managed to contact the person who left the bag behind?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4) If yes, how did they deal with the contents and the person? If no, what happened to the bag and its contents?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As you can see, </span><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>a lot of juice has still been left in the pulp</b></span></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">! </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The unintentional cliffhanger makes the reader wonder "Why", "Then...?"</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I strongly feel that if you devote one more paragraph to address the ambiguity, your composition is close to perfection!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I feel inadequate to write a suggested composition for this near-perfect piece of writing. Maybe WS can write a draft 2? </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can't wait to read it if you are willing to try again!</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-44779898078286008952013-04-23T17:25:00.001+08:002013-04-24T14:55:43.538+08:00Basic Vocabulary for Writing - Injuries<div>
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please see </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.blogspot.sg/2013/04/basic-vocabulary-for-writing.html">Basic Vocabulary for Writing - Introduction</a> for details about the objective of this series / section in my blog.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
<b style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Simple Vocabulary </u></b><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These are some common descriptions used by beginning writers. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The list is not exhaustive.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1) Alan fell down. He was hurt. He was bleeding a lot.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2) The doctor checked on Mrs Lim. She had broken her bone and needed an operation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3) At the hospital, the doctor checked Minah. She had a blood clot in her head. She needed an operation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Basic Vocabulary</u></b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These are some common descriptions expected of middle primary and weaker upper primary writers.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If your child is at P3 - P4 and cannot describe injuries as given, you may want to get him to attempt using these sentences for his practices at home. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Ugly truth...</span><span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">MEMORIZE</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">...) because this is very BASIC.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">For P5 and above this is not an option. You </span><span style="color: red;">MUST KNOW</span><span style="color: blue;"> this!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1) Alan lost his balance and fell. He had cuts on his knee. Blood was flowing <span style="color: red;">profusely</span> (how was it flowing) from the wound.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2) The doctor <span style="color: red;">examined</span> Mrs Lim. She had broken an arm ( a leg) and needed an operation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3) At the <span style="color: red;">emergency room</span>, the doctor examined Minah. She had a blood clot in her brain. It was a <span style="color: red;">serious injury</span>. She needed an operation immediately.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Enhancing the Basic</u></b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These are some improvements a student can make to improve on the basics. i.e. add in details, adjectives, reasons. (No extensive and new vocabulary)</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If your child has grasps the basics i.e. is able to write injuries as above, introduce him to adding details and such to improve on the basics. This <b>can</b><u> (not will, as scoring still depends on how the whole composition is written and the grammar used)</u> push his / her content and language up a point / band when graded.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1) </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Alan lost his balance and fell <span style="color: red;">hard onto the ground </span>(where). He had <span style="color: red;">grazed</span> his knee. Blood was <span style="color: red;">oozing</span> profusely <span style="color: red;">from the deeper wounds </span>(from which wounds).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2) The doctor examined Mrs Lim <span style="color: red;">thoroughly</span>. She had <span style="color: red;">fractured</span> her arm (leg) and needed an operation <span style="color: red;">to realign the bones </span>(why operation?).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3) At the emergency room, the doctor examined Minah. He <span style="color: red;">detected</span> a blood clot in her brain. As the blood clot <span style="color: red;">could cause a stroke </span>(why so serious?), the doctor immediately <span style="color: red;">performed an operation to remove it </span>(what the doctor did and why).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>To be continued...</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-67591938803159678952013-04-23T17:23:00.000+08:002013-04-24T14:55:43.539+08:00Basic Vocabulary for Writing - Introduction<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">'Basic Vocabulary for Writing' is a resource targeted at helping pupils at the lower-middle primary levels or the weaker upper primary pupils.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A pupil who has just started independent writing or does not have a strong foundation in writing often find difficulties expressing <strike>their</strike> his / her ideas.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most of the time, the pupil will use very simple description to try to overcome the problem. This is fine especially when he is a beginning writer (e.g. P1 or P2). </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, as the child proceeds to higher levels, his simple description will appear pale in comparison to work written by the average and above-average writers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Materials found in this section attempts to:</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Introduce common words, phrases or description suitable for use in specific writing topics (s</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ome of these material may overlap one another)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Highlight and correct misconception often seen in pupils' work when writing certain topics</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Help improve on the common vocabulary provided in this section, so that pupils can enhance the descriptions in their composition after they grasp the basic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I want to emphasize that this is an attempt.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a classroom setting, I am able to see my pupils' responses and adjust the lessons accordingly. However, this is not possible on a blog.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I gradually build up this section on my resources, do feedback to me if your child can understand or is able to use the resources as planned.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let's all work through this together!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Opps...! I just noticed a grammar mistake and inappropriate choice of words. Erhm..."Nobody is perfect - That's why pencils have erasers!" - Anonymous</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-81952208121821929132013-04-19T11:19:00.000+08:002013-04-19T11:23:42.283+08:00Selected Reading Material 3: A Train (MRT / Subway) Breakdown (2)<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some possible answers to the cloze passage exercise in '<a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.blogspot.sg/2013/04/selected-reading-material-3-train-mrt.html">Selected Reading Material 3: A Train (MRT / Subway) Breakdown (1)</a>' are as follows:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1) rush / peak</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2) plunged </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3) silence</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4) speaking / talking / singing (<strike>cajole, comfort</strike>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5) failure / outage</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6) stifling / choking / suffocating (<strike>burning, scorching, unbearable</strike>) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">7) shone (<strike>used, light, lit, directed, projected</strike>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">8) smashed / shattered</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">9) ventilation <strike>(circulation, relief, comfort, hope</strike>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">10) groggy / dizzy / light-headed (<strike>tipsy</strike>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">11) pried / forced (<strike>pulled, pushed</strike>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">12) through (<strike>along</strike>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you would like to ask me alternative answers, please email me instead of posting as a comment as the discussion can get really long...My email address can be found at <a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.blogspot.sg/p/important-terms-conditions.html">Important Terms and Conditions / Disclaimer / How to Submit</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Part Two</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, let's apply what we've learnt to a possible question. It is difficult to post pictures here as there are some copyright issues I do not wish to tread on. So at the moment, lets just use an example from continuous writing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">#######################</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mr Suresh was on his way to work on an MRT train. Suddenly, the train stopped and he found himself in total darkness.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Based on the above situation, w</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">rite a composition of at least 150 words using the following points:</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-How Mr Suresh felt</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-What happened after that</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-What happened in the end</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You may reorder the points and / or include your own.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">#########################</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here is a possible composition using content from the selected reading materials:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Mr Suresh stared at the scar on his right arm. He would never forget what happened that fateful day when he was trapped in an MRT train while on his way to work...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Mr Suresh waved goodbye to his family and headed to the MRT station near his home to catch the train to work. As it was the morning rush hour, the carriages were <u>packed to the brim</u>. Mr Suresh was lucky to find a seat next to the fire extinguisher and quickly<u> settled down</u> and began reading the newspaper. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> He was halfway through the papers when the train suddenly <u>plunged into total darkness and grounded to a halt</u>. For a moment, there was an <u>eerie silence</u> as no one dared to move or speak. Then, Mr Suresh heard a child's voice, "Mommy, I am scared!" The trapped commuters started talking to one another, trying to find an explanation to what was going on.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The air conditioning had also stopped working and the <u>stifling heat was beginning to feel unbearable.</u> Beads of perspiration began trickling down Mr Suresh's temples. "I think I've got to do something before we all die of suffocation!" he thought to himself. "Can someone help me please? I need some light here!" he called out to the other commuters. The commuters used their mobile phones as torchlights and helped lit up part of the carriage. Mr Suresh found the fire extinguisher and with all his strength smashed it onto a carriage window. The window immediately shattered and a whiff of fresh air finally entered the carriage. Unfortunately, while breaking the window, <u>one of the glass shrapnels pierced into his right arm</u>. Mr Suresh cried out in pain as blood began oozing from the wound. A commuter tied a handkerchief around the wound but it was quickly soaked in blood. He needed medical attention as soon as possible. Just when Mr Suresh was about to faint, someone forced opened the train door. Help had finally arrived!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The civil defence officers<u> evacuated</u> Mr Suresh and sent him to the nearest hospital while the other trapped commuter were led through the underground tunnels to the nearest train station.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Mr Suresh was grateful that he was rescued at the <u>nick of time</u>. Although he still had nightmares about the incident, he still took the train to work. However, ever since, he always carried a torchlight with him, just in case.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div style="color: blue;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Have you noticed that instead of using a lot of highly-impressive vocabulary, the composition has been written in English expected of an average (to above-average) upper primary student? (with the exception of some the underlined words, which may be words or phrases you can now pick up to add flavour to your writing)</span></div>
<div style="color: blue;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: blue;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Reading story books can help improve your vocabulary. However, do put in constant effort to look up the meaning of new words and try them out in your writing. Only with hard work can you eventually succeed in doing well in your writing.</span></div>
<div style="color: blue;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;"><b>With the above example, I conclude 'Selected Reading Material 3: A Train (MRT / Subway) Breakdown (2)' . </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;"><b>I hope this segment will prove useful to some of you!</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-79257995859608770022013-04-19T00:18:00.001+08:002013-04-19T00:18:27.559+08:00Updates to 'Selected Reading Material 1: A Robbery(1)'<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Answers to one of the activities in '<a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.blogspot.sg/2013/01/selected-reading-robbery-1.html">Selected Reading Material 1: A Robbery(1)'</a></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> has been added. If you had been interested to know the answer but were too shy to email me, I've add it towards the end of the post.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hope you got the answers right! : )</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357209895010905676.post-22042540844067396632013-04-17T09:03:00.000+08:002013-07-23T13:49:48.969+08:00Video Resources (2): A Train (MRT / Subway) Breakdown<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I was preparing '<a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.blogspot.sg/2013/04/selected-reading-material-3-train-mrt.html">Selected Reading Material 3: A Train (MRT / Subway) Breakdown</a>'</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, I realized that most of us will have absolutely no idea what it was like to be trapped in the MRT carriages. So after browsing through many videos, I finally found one that has been properly edited and does not contain inappropriate language or is from a questionable source.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The only catch is that it is in Chinese but has good subtitles (<i>Use 'Full-Screen' to see subtitles clearly</i>). Do pause appropriately to catch the subtitles if necessary. However, do be take note that the video is meant as a visual stimulant to help writers visualize the content they can use for their composition. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i>(Source, Frontline 《SMRT Worst Breakdown》with Subtitle 前线 《地铁大瘫痪》Pt1/2 - 23Dec2011, 154media, Youtube)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>What to look out for:</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1) Winding queues for the shuttle buses. taxis outside the train stations</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2) Footage of situation in the train carriages</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3) Footage of commuters walking in the underground tunnels to the nearest stations</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4) Feelings of the commuters interviewed</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5) What the authorities planned to do to prevent similar incidents from occurring again</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This post supplements </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">'<a href="http://icanwritetoo-sg.blogspot.sg/2013/04/selected-reading-material-3-train-mrt.html">Selected Reading Material 3: A Train (MRT / Subway) Breakdown'</a></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1