Exam Preparation

[sharonkhoo]

yeomaylin:

You are truly one smart and creative mummy I have ever seen. :udawoman: Where does all your creative juice come from? :scratchhead: Can you advise me on how to motivate my DD to write fast. She is VERY slow in writing, hence she always managed to finish her exams on the dot only nvr have time to check. Whenever teacher/tuitor/even classmates :slapshead: feedback to me, they always mentioned that she writes VERY SLOWLY. We seldom have time to revise nor study coz by the time she finishes her hw, it's time to sleep (abt 10-11pm liao :stupid: ). Taught her how to hold pen so as to write fast, not to copy word by word but rather copy phrases by phrases so as to write fast, time her but always exceed timming, have taught her many ways but non helps lei! :frustrated:

I surrender! Pls help!

Have you considered having your daughter tested for visual or fine motor other difficulties? It could be that she has some issues in those areas. If the child has always had such difficulties and you don't think she's doing it just because she's disobedient or rebellious, then some learning issue may be the cause. My older daughter is dyspraxic - poor gross and fine motor skills - and we do what we can to help her improve, but there comes a point when you just have to accept it.

[sharonkhoo]

buds:

http://www.writingfix.com/PDFs/Writing_Tools/said_synonyms.pdf


Here's a list of other words to replace said, although not exhaustive.

As the author stated, the writer has to find a balance between using the word \"said\" and its synonyms, hence, it is not entirely necessary to use an arsenal of \"said\" synonyms in his writing every time. As he matures cognitively, has more writing experience and exposed to reading an even wider variety of books, he will eventually be able to further understand the right moment for such usage and find this natural balance in his future writings.

In the meantime, go easy on him... because this takes time, even for the most voracious readers. :hugs:

While improving vocab is a good thing, the way that some 'model' compos make a point of throwing in unecessarily bombastic words and flowery phrases is actually not considered 'good style' once they get past PSLE (and not admired in most English-speaking countries). So I always emphasise approriate use rather than throwing in words for the sake of it. I have also read many books on novel writing which actually advise the writer to stick to 'said' rather than use too many alternatives as those alternative words detract from the content being written.

[sharonkhoo]

buds:

Reading brings meaning to them even if they are unsure of what some words may really mean. They can somehow just go on guessing the meanings of some of the difficult words based on the genre of the story books they read when I go, \"It is more interesting and meaningful when you actually know what the words really mean.\" The worst that can happen is that they will reply with a curt, \"So, how about a quick one here mom... errr... what does 'impatient gesture' mean?\" Frustrating. I know.. I am forever going to be treated like a walking dictionary if this keeps on. I wonder sometimes why I actually got them dictionaries.


To children... a word is just a word. The variation of words thrown at them for variety's sake are a waste of their precious free time, because in actual fact, the words they are forced to learn mean the same with the regular ones they have been using all this time aniwaes. So why bother, right?

I am another walking dictionary! My kids refer to me as their 'voice-activated dictionary' - they don't need to even take it off the shelf or turn the pages! I balanced this with occasionally making them use a regular dictionary just so they knew how, but I realised that it's a nuisance when you're in the middle of a interesting book. So I've been answering the \"Mum! what's xxx?\" for years thrown at me anytime, but it's got less and less frequent and rarely happens now (kids are in sec school). It's worth the trouble when you see them actually absorb the words better because they learn them in context rather than from a list. My kids have always been quite strong in vocab for their age, probably because I read to them a lot, they like to read, and because I make a point of using lots of varied words in regular speech to them. Often, I use a word, then wait for the \"Huh?\" then ask them to work it out, or I just tell them. Sometimes, they figure it out from context. And we sometimes spend a few minutes just discussing why an author chose to use a particular word rather than another, and the nuances of both. I've never actually sat them down to 'learn vocab' - I leave that to the school.

[SAHM_TAN]

Not meant to hijack vinegar's thread. I'm errrrrrr rather \"afraid\" of creative writing becos not used to the style of using phrases like cold breath from the grave, I dunno how to come up with such phrases :faint: plus really must write like that to pass?

[BeContented]

SAHM_TAN:

Not meant to hijack vinegar's thread. I'm errrrrrr rather \"afraid\" of creative writing becos not used to the style of using phrases like cold breath from the grave, I dunno how to come up with such phrases :faint: plus really must write like that to pass?

I dun think so lah. Write like that for A* perhaps......
My 2 kids cannot write like that too......if really must write such cheem phrases to pass, I stress liao.

[wonderm]

BeContented:

SAHM_TAN:

Not meant to hijack vinegar's thread. I'm errrrrrr rather \"afraid\" of creative writing becos not used to the style of using phrases like cold breath from the grave, I dunno how to come up with such phrases :faint: plus really must write like that to pass?

I dun think so lah. Write like that for A* perhaps......
My 2 kids cannot write like that too......if really must write such cheem phrases to pass, I stress liao.

I also don't know how to come up with such phrases and that's why my ds also never used phrases like cold breath from the grave, but he got A* for PSLE and continues to do well in Sec school. :evil: So don't need to stress over it. I agree with slmkhoo, appropriate use of vocab is more important.

[SAHM_TAN]

BeContented:

SAHM_TAN:

Not meant to hijack vinegar's thread. I'm errrrrrr rather \"afraid\" of creative writing becos not used to the style of using phrases like cold breath from the grave, I dunno how to come up with such phrases :faint: plus really must write like that to pass?

I dun think so lah. Write like that for A* perhaps......
My 2 kids cannot write like that too......if really must write such cheem phrases to pass, I stress liao.

But hor when I flipped through mass produced guides I also :shock:

My std too low liao

[Funz]

Keep in sight the longer term objective instead of just seeing each exam as a stand alone. The near term objective after the mid year exam is the year end exam, and the long term objective is PSLE. Each exam is not something to be gotten over with but as a learning and fine tuning opportunity. That way, you will find yourself less wound up and more positive as you know there is a chance to improve.


At P2/3 for compo, I will be more focused on grammar, spelling, proper sentence structure and the flow of the story. Foundation stuff. Once they get a good grasp of that, we can attempt more descriptive writing, using more words to describe a feeling, the weather, a person, etc. Simple words can still be used, no need for bombastic vocab, eg, for weather, grey sky=sky heavy with grey clouds. And progress from there to introduce more vocab, ‘ominous clouds gathering in the horizon’.

Seriously, bombastic vocab may gain you that 1 or 2 marks but poor grammar, sentence structure and flow may mean a failing grade.

[wonderm]

Funz:

Keep in sight the longer term objective instead of just seeing each exam as a stand alone. The near term objective after the mid year exam is the year end exam, and the long term objective is PSLE. Each exam is not something to be gotten over with but as a learning and fine tuning opportunity. That way, you will find yourself less wound up and more positive as you know there is a chance to improve.


At P2/3 for compo, I will be more focused on grammar, spelling, proper sentence structure and the flow of the story. Foundation stuff. Once they get a good grasp of that, we can attempt more descriptive writing, using more words to describe a feeling, the weather, a person, etc. Simple words can still be used, no need for bombastic vocab, eg, for weather, grey sky=sky heavy with grey clouds. And progress from there to introduce more vocab, 'ominous clouds gathering in the horizon'.

Seriously, bombastic vocab may gain you that 1 or 2 marks but poor grammar, sentence structure and flow may mean a failing grade.

:goodpost:

[BeContented]

Funz:

Keep in sight the longer term objective instead of just seeing each exam as a stand alone. The near term objective after the mid year exam is the year end exam, and the long term objective is PSLE. Each exam is not something to be gotten over with but as a learning and fine tuning opportunity. That way, you will find yourself less wound up and more positive as you know there is a chance to improve.


At P2/3 for compo, I will be more focused on grammar, spelling, proper sentence structure and the flow of the story. Foundation stuff. Once they get a good grasp of that, we can attempt more descriptive writing, using more words to describe a feeling, the weather, a person, etc. Simple words can still be used, no need for bombastic vocab, eg, for weather, grey sky=sky heavy with grey clouds. And progress from there to introduce more vocab, 'ominous clouds gathering in the horizon'.

Seriously, bombastic vocab may gain you that 1 or 2 marks but poor grammar, sentence structure and flow may mean a failing grade.

:goodpost: