All About English Composition

[Chenonceau]

autumnbronze:

Kudos to you rosemummy and Chenonceau for your far-sightedness :salute: :salute:

May be :offtopic: here, but just like to share my experience about the importance of expository writing.

Apart from the merits/rationale mentioned above about this genre of writing, what they don't realize (or maybe they don't want to face it) is that many of these pupils have a difficult time transitioning from narrative/descriptive to expository writing once they enter JC. This was statistically proven when the P displayed the GP results of our girls' from a particular JC after their year 1 during one of the meetings.

When I took charge of the Scheme of Work for the Sec 4s in the school that I was teaching in previously, I revamped the whole SOW and made it GP style. I had to deal with the teachers' grouses, except for one, who had taught in a JC before and thus saw thru my intention. I encountered resistance from my pupils initially as well. But I always consoled them that it was good to have an array of selection to choose from, akin to a buffet spread, rather than confine to 2 or 3 titles. In the end, they can choose a title that they are most comfortable with, be it narrative, descriptive or expository. The point was to get them exposed to current affairs and articulating their arguments/discussion coherently and logically. In the end, they enjoyed the various topics covered like Feminism, Discrimination etc ... because they realized that they actually could relate to them and they had loads to say too.

This 'labour' of mine only bore fruition the first year in their JC when some of them smsed me during Teacher's Day and also thanked me for providing them with the 'training' in expository essay writing.

That was a decisive and bold initiative. There should be more like you, clairvoyant enough to educate beyond exams and bold enough to do so.
:udawoman:

[buds]

Agree! :celebrate:

[rosemummy]

autumnbronze:

Kudos to you rosemummy and Chenonceau for your far-sightedness :salute: :salute:


May be :offtopic: here, but just like to share my experience about the importance of expository writing.

Most schs tend to focus on narrative and descriptive essays when gearing their pupils for the 'O' Levels because in their eyes, \"its easier to score.\"

Apart from the merits/rationale mentioned above about this genre of writing, what they don't realize (or maybe they don't want to face it) is that many of these pupils have a difficult time transitioning from narrative/descriptive to expository writing once they enter JC. This was statistically proven when the P displayed the GP results of our girls' from a particular JC after their year 1 during one of the meetings.

When I took charge of the Scheme of Work for the Sec 4s in the school that I was teaching in previously, I revamped the whole SOW and made it GP style. I had to deal with the teachers' grouses, except for one, who had taught in a JC before and thus saw thru my intention. I encountered resistance from my pupils initially as well. But I always consoled them that it was good to have an array of selection to choose from, akin to a buffet spread, rather than confine to 2 or 3 titles. In the end, they can choose a title that they are most comfortable with, be it narrative, descriptive or expository. The point was to get them exposed to current affairs and articulating their arguments/discussion coherently and logically. In the end, they enjoyed the various topics covered like Feminism, Discrimination etc ... because they realized that they actually could relate to them and they had loads to say too.

This 'labour' of mine only bore fruition the first year in their JC when some of them smsed me during Teacher's Day and also thanked me for providing them with the 'training' in expository essay writing.

Teachers like you are quite rare. Most just focus on narrative and descriptive as those are easier to score. But such writing skills is not useful to the child as they progresses. Your students are really lucky to have you teach them.

Unfortunately, the Singapore system, even at JC level, don't teach the students important skills like how to write properly and frame their argument logically. By writing properly I mean things like how to quote (incl using ellipses to shorten a quotation), paraphrase and avoid plagiarising etc, which are essential for any academic writing. I figured that out on my own only in my final year in university. I like the way they teach logic and writing systematically in the US system.

[metz]

Chenonceau:

rosemummy:

IBut we exposed her to lots of non-fiction in diverse areas, mainly areas we are interested in. She started reading the Bible, newspaper and magazines since preschool. First with Readers' Digest when she was around 4, then The New Paper in K1. She was reading The Straits Times, National Geographic, Newsweek and Time magazine at the start of P1. From then on, she was reading what we read - from books on astronomy and military history to law reports, prospectus and financial reports. We'll discuss what she read with her, and it takes much less effort to do so when that falls within our area of expertise. She started reading IPO prospectus and analyst reports in P3 when we got her involved in managing her investment portfolios. She also developed her interest in other areas eg animals and the environment, on her own.


From upper primary onwards, I started moving her towards writing expository essay despite the discouragement from all her teachers. I feel that expository writing is a life skill, beyond PSLE and O levels. Even a friend, who's an English HOD in a secondary school, agree with me that their approach (teaching narrative or descriptive essays) is very short term, which doesn't prepare them for life beyond secondary school.

:goodpost:

With Little Boy, I decided to do it early. I am currently drawing Little Boy's attention to a range of magazines Time, Newsweek, National Geographic, Discovery, Wildlife... precisely because the schools don't focus on expository writing. It won't help the marks at PSLE but is an important life skill.

Hi Chenonceau,

Give BBC Knowledge a chance if you have not tried it. I'm gonna try tangling BBC History to see if they would take to History. (Horrible Histories doesn't work for them.)

I read about Diogenes and Wise Guy from another parenting forum and my kids are drawn to them as they are in picture book format. We are hoping to go a little deeper than the picture books. Could you please recommend some simple books on Philosophy?

And many thanks for the advice. I am still trying to digest them at the moment, but I can see a lot of truth in the first email.

[Chenonceau]

chamonix:

Hi Chenonceau,


Give BBC Knowledge a chance if you have not tried it. I'm gonna try tangling BBC History to see if they would take to History. (Horrible Histories doesn't work for them.)

I read about Diogenes and Wise Guy from another parenting forum and my kids are drawn to them as they are in picture book format. We are hoping to go a little deeper than the picture books. Could you please recommend some simple books on Philosophy?

And many thanks for the advice. I am still trying to digest them at the moment, but I can see a lot of truth in the first email.

Hi Chamonix,

BBC Knowledge? Thanks for the lead!!

On philosophy for kids ... Horton Hears a Who is quite good for a discussion on epistemology. \"Le Petit Prince\" by Antoine de St Éxupéry is also rich fodder for philosophical questions... and an initial exploration of existentialism. Other than that, I don't know much from children's literature that can help. We haven't been doing much of that. :oops:

I am relieved that you didn't think I was talking nonsense. The human psychology is is so complex that I often am uncertain unless I am myself inside the context and able to make first hand observations.

[tisha]

rosemummy:

But we exposed her to lots of non-fiction in diverse areas, mainly areas we are interested in. She started reading the Bible, newspaper and magazines since preschool. First with Readers' Digest when she was around 4, then The New Paper in K1. She was reading The Straits Times, National Geographic, Newsweek and Time magazine at the start of P1. From then on, she was reading what we read - from books on astronomy and military history to law reports, prospectus and financial reports. We'll discuss what she read with her, and it takes much less effort to do so when that falls within our area of expertise. She started reading IPO prospectus and analyst reports in P3 when we got her involved in managing her investment portfolios. She also developed her interest in other areas eg animals and the environment, on her own.

How did you manage to make your child read and comprehend the Bible and newspaper when she was in preschool? :shock: Most children would just be reading simple story books/information books at that age.

[rosemummy]

tisha:

rosemummy:

But we exposed her to lots of non-fiction in diverse areas, mainly areas we are interested in. She started reading the Bible, newspaper and magazines since preschool. First with Readers' Digest when she was around 4, then The New Paper in K1. She was reading The Straits Times, National Geographic, Newsweek and Time magazine at the start of P1. From then on, she was reading what we read - from books on astronomy and military history to law reports, prospectus and financial reports. We'll discuss what she read with her, and it takes much less effort to do so when that falls within our area of expertise. She started reading IPO prospectus and analyst reports in P3 when we got her involved in managing her investment portfolios. She also developed her interest in other areas eg animals and the environment, on her own.

How did you manage to make your child read and comprehend the Bible and newspaper when she was in preschool? :shock: Most children would just be reading simple story books/information books at that age.

She was able to read independently at around 3. I don't think she can comprehend everything she read, but that's fine with me. I started with the Good News Bible, which uses simpler English and The New Paper with more stories of what's happening around us. She don't have to read everything from cover to cover. We just moved on as she mature.

I don't think we need to wait till she can comprehend eveything before she start reading it. She just learn along the way. For example, she knew nothing about the Scottsboro trials, the Great Depression or the Civil Rights Era when she first read To Kill a Mockingbird in P3 / 4. She started looking at it from different perspectives as she learn new things along the way.

[metz]

pixiedust:

btw, I am also a SGarden fan (re: your avatar).

:celebrate:

[metz]

jasmineong:

Hi chamonix,

When will you be coming back? Actually if your boy writes so well, I think he needs to just attend a few classes and should be on track for our education system.

I dont know about the magic of writing because my son was never a good writer and even for interesting topics, he could not write well. So I found in TAS the 'magic' he needed. He is now starting to read storybooks, he will read the storybooks the teacher at TAS lends out because he will get points if he reads and when he returns the book, the teacher will asks him qns on the book so he says he must finish reading and in doing so, he ends up actually being hooked in the book. I think it is a clever way to get the children to start reading.

He now enjoys writing and can write reasonably well. Memorisation helps a lot as he had no input before but now with the memory input for key parts, he can write well and he enjoys the writing lessons as he now understands the techniques good writers use and can use them himself. In the past, he would just say my friends in school write better but I also dont know how to do it. The teacher just ask me to read their compos but after reading I still dont know how to write well. But now the teacher at TAS highlights the strategies used-like repetition for impact, personification, metaphors, use of short sentences for impact. and he is intrigued by these methods and hence he is picking up quite fast now.

I have not found centres that teach writing like this so for me TAS is THE centre to go for writing but I know of well-known centres like Learning Lab, Mindstretcher that also teach writing just that they have different methods that could work for your son. Maybe you could get your son to start writing and ask some teacher here to help grade or something or give suggestions (if you know of any)

Hi jasmineong,

My son will be returning in time to start P4. Scary thought...

I do understand how your son had felt about writing. Indeed, it's not easy to start without guidance. But once the techniques are taught, things become much easier.

It is wonderful that TAS has worked magic on your son. I do hope that when my turn comes, TAS will also work magic on my kids. :celebrate:

[metz]

Chenonceau:

On philosophy for kids ... Horton Hears a Who is quite good for a discussion on epistemology. \"Le Petit Prince\" by Antoine de St Éxupéry is also rich fodder for philosophical questions... and an initial exploration of existentialism. Other than that, I don't know much from children's literature that can help. We haven't been doing much of that. :oops:

Hi Chenonceau,

It never occurred to me that these two books could be great materials for philosophical exploration and discussion. Thanks!

Chenonceau:

I am relieved that you didn't think I was talking nonsense. The human psychology is is so complex that I often am uncertain unless I am myself inside the context and able to make first hand observations.

You couldn't have diagnosed my situation more accurately. Well, I'm pretty sure your dose of medicine will work wonders for my son.