All About English Creative Writing

[ccgoh]

The Alternative Story:

ccgoh:

Hi TAS,


Do you plan to open classes for pre-school children. My girl is in K1 this year.

I also heard from my friend that her kid who is in K2 is joining an existing P1 class because she is fast for her age, if the K1 is also of that std, is there a possibility you can accept? We will send for assessment and all.

Hi ccgoh,

For K1, we will also assess. If she or he is of a similar ability to
the P1 class, then we would take in that K1.

TAS

Hi TAS,

Ok thanks, we are interested in the East branch but as we go to
east coast on sunday mornings, we might not be able to make it at that timeslot-sunday morning. I read that for your possible P1 class, it might be on Sunday, do you have any other possible timeslots. We are
really looking forward to joining your class.

[sunshinelove]

The Alternative Story:

Hi sunshinelove and littlewoman,


We are coming up with a creative writing book where we will
compile some of the children's work and we will also
show how some of the creative writing techniques can be
used to enhance writing.

It is more of a guidebook. We are in the midst of compiling
the children's work and so the book should be out in a
few months' time.

TAS

Hi TAS,

Got it, will update my colleague. Thanks!

[The Alternative Story]

[quote]Hi TAS


I have 2 S&T qn and one MCQ qn.

Eric gave up car racing because his mother disapproved of the dangerous sport.
If it had not been for Eric's mother disapproval of car racing, Eric would not have given up the dangerous sport.


The culprit was punished by the law for his offenxe. He did not repent.
Despite the fact that the culprit was punished by the law for his offence, he did not repent.
[u][/quote]

Hi Herbie,

For Qn 1, there is nothing wrong with the answer, but there is a slight
mistake that has been highlighted

- If it had not been for Eric's mother's disapproval
of car racing, he would not have given up the dangerous sport.

There is nothing wrong with Qn 2 as well. The answer could
also be:

- Despite being punished by the law for his offence, the culprit
did not repent.
[quote]MCQ
The detective _______ the report on the crime to ensure that all the necessary information has been written down.

Ans is investigated. Can advise why the answer is not scrutinized.

Thanks![/quote]

The answer should be 'scrutinized' and not 'investigate'.

Meaning:
Investigate is to inquire into a situation to find out the
truth.

Scrutinize is to examine carefully, to look through in minute
detail.

How to remember? (mnemonics)

INVESTigate- Before I invest in a company, I need to
find out if the company is an honest one, one where they will
not swindle my money away. In short, I need to find
out the truth about the company first.

ScruTINIze- to look out for the TINY details

In the question, the detective is trying to see if all the necessary
information has been written down, as such, he is scrutinizing
the report and not investigating the truth of the report.

TAS

[The Alternative Story]

ccgoh:

Hi TAS,

Ok thanks, we are interested in the East branch but as we go to
east coast on sunday mornings, we might not be able to make it at that timeslot-sunday morning. I read that for your possible P1 class, it might be on Sunday, do you have any other possible timeslots. We are
really looking forward to joining your class.

Hi ccgoh,

We have another timeslot available for P1s. You can go to this link
to take a look:
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?p=257934#257934

By the way, just to clarify, you are asking for P1 or for K1? You
mentioned before that you were asking about K1.

TAS

[The Alternative Story]

sunshinelove:

Hi TAS,

Got it, will update my colleague. Thanks!

No problem

[hermes173]

Learning Partners:

hermes173:

Hi fellow parents,


Can anyone help with this question?

There were so many people that we were ______into the bus like sardines.
1) lodged
2) wedged
3) embedded
4) sandwiched

Which should be the correct answer? Thanks in advance.

Hi hermes173,

1) lodged means 'made or became firmly fixed in a place'

2) wedged means 'forced into a narrow space'

3) embedded means 'fixed or became fixed firmly and deeply in the surrounding mass'

4) sandwiched means 'inserted between two things or people'

(1) is not suitable because the people are not firmly fixed in a place. They can still move albeit with some difficulty.

Likewise (3) is not right because the people have not become firmly and deeply fixed in the crowd.

Many children might get confused between (2) and (4) but (4) is wrong because to be 'sandwiched' means to be stuck between two things or people which is not the case in the bus where a person is jammed amongst many.

Hence the best answer for this question would be (2) wedged.

Hope this helps.

Learning Partners

Thanks, Learning Partners! This certainly clears up my confusion because I was indeed hesitating between (2) and (4).

[jasmineong]

Hi TAS,


Can you provide more examples on using extracts from storybooks to
help write like you did before…tks!

[Hellokitty2]

Hi TAS,


Could I make a request that you do a grammar workshop for us parents, I did ask one of your teachers about it during the other workshop and she said it might not happen this year, but could you seriously consider it, I find myself getting lost in some of the finer points of grammar and am at a lost as to how to explain the rules.

Your creative writing workshop was really good, detailed, and also it gave a very comprehensive overview as to how to go about teaching writing to my kids. I learnt so much in just those 2 lessons. I know the grammar workshop would also be very good. And if possible, could my child join in as well?

[The Alternative Story]

jasmineong:

Hi TAS,


Can you provide more examples on using extracts from storybooks to
help write like you did before...tks!

Hi Jasmine,

Sure, we can do so.

Extract:

The streetdoor was still open, just a little, where the knife and the man
who held it, had slipped in, and wisps of nighttime mists slithered and
twined itself into the house through the open door.

- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Application:

I ran through the alley, it was dark and forbidding. Wisps of
night mist slithered and twined itself into the lonely alley.
Dark shadows lurked in the hidden corners of the alley,
opening traps for me to fall into. Stumbling on a stone, I fell
to my knees.

Extract:

The grass was the colour of honey and the hawthorn trees were heavy
with crimson berries. Mathonwy rested on a fallen tree but the king
stood looking through the bare branches. The sky had turned a burning
red but, in a high band of the deepest blue, the first star showed.

- Charlie Bone and the hidden king (book 5) by Jenny Nimmo

Application:

After setting up camp, we took our pails to the riverside to take
some water. Laughing and running, we rushed to the water, happy
that we were free at last- our examinations were finally over.

The grass was the colour of honey and the trees
were heavy with frangipani flowers, the air was filled with
their sweet perfume.

I rested on a fallen tree while James started to fill the
pails with water. Looking through the bare branches,
I saw that the sky had turned a burning red, the sun was
setting, but in a high band of the deepest blue, the first star
showed.


Extract:

I threw myself back into the freezing water and forced the burning
muscles in my leg to kick, swimming diagonally through the current,
trying to stop it from dragging me downstream. As I got closer,
I became convinced it was Gabbi. The outline became more and more
familiar with each frantic second. The current was set on stopping me
from reaching her.

- Conspiracy 365- September by Gabrielle Lord

Application:

I threw myself into the murky waters of the canal and forced myself
to swim through the swirling muck. I swam diagonally through the
current, trying to stop it from dragging me downstream. I had to
get to the boy in the water, I had to. However, much as I swam with
all my strength, the current was set on stopping me from reaching him.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can use the creative writing phrases from our books to guide
your child in his or her writing and show them how to apply
the phrases in their own writing. They have to 'localize'
the phrases- meaning that if the phrases talk about trees
being heavy with cherries, they just have to change it to a local
fruit or flower. They also need to make the phrases
relevant to the context of their writing.

Where to get these books: We have all of them except of
Conspiracy 365 - September. Conspiracy 365 is a series and
we carry the earlier books.

This is the link for the books:
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7586&start=20

TAS

[The Alternative Story]

Hellokitty2:

Hi TAS,


Could I make a request that you do a grammar workshop for us parents, I did ask one of your teachers about it during the other workshop and she said it might not happen this year, but could you seriously consider it, I find myself getting lost in some of the finer points of grammar and am at a lost as to how to explain the rules.

Your creative writing workshop was really good, detailed, and also it gave a very comprehensive overview as to how to go about teaching writing to my kids. I learnt so much in just those 2 lessons. I know the grammar workshop would also be very good. And if possible, could my child join in as well?

Hi Hellokitty2,

Thank you for your feedback on the writing workshop. We
might not have the time to do a grammar workshop these few weeks,
we could be doing one in November at the earliest or early next year.
We will post up information on that once we do confirm the dates
(if we do have a grammar workshop)

TAS