Exam Preparation
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vinegar:
I thk grammar is important and kids do get penalised for incorrect grammar usage in composition.
Here r some of creative phrases which his tutor taught:SAHM_TAN:
Yup, for P2 compo, my focus is on grammar and sentence structure. I do not neglect vocab but it's done in a more causal manner. I do observe improvement in dd1's vocab. Her vocab bank still not impressive but keeping in mind her starting point, I'm happy.
At the same time I do keep PSLE at the back of my mind and chk that she's progressing at a suitable pace towards it. So I :faint: when I flipped thru the guides becos I'm like huh kids have to write like that har.
buds,
I'm not targeting at the phrase you shared. I just needed to get a feel of what's what.
Becontented and wonderm,
Thanks for sharing your kids' PSLE experiences
1) panic started to engulf him
2) terror seized him
3) froze in her track
4) in high spirits
5) boiling with rage
I agree grammar/sentence structure/voca/story flow r impt...asked the tutor once if mark will be penalized for incorrect grammar,etc...she said not impt,impt is story flow....
now i am a bit in a lost...My intention is to continue to engage this tutor till i find a tuition centre(gave up on tutor).Knowing her teaching method is not suitable for my son(i guess her teaching more suitable for higher primary?),shld I terminate her immediately?She refuses to teach grammar.Her reason is she could teach him grammar thru compo n compre.
A composition with bad grammar is painful to read.
If you thk her teaching is not suitable and your kid is not absorbing what she teaches, i would suggest you make the switch soon or at least until after SA1. -
really learn a lot fr. all experienced mummies hereโฆmake me feel so "small"โฆ
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slmkhoo:
Agree with you, hence the final advice from me to vinegar in the above post. More often than not, it is totally more than okay to leave the word, \"said\" as it is.
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.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:
Over-baked compos will be leave a bitter aftertaste as the writer may be seen as trying to hard to impress. Hence, using cheem phrases appropriately at a point of suspense or tension in writing displays maturity in writing which younger children may not possess. Especially one who may have always been struggling with grammar itself from the beginning regardless from insufficient exposure to reading or the lack of writing opportunities or even raised in an environment that does not necessarily encourage proper use of the language... there can be many reasons, we are not privy of.
Improving of vocab can be somewhat a necessity for children who dislike reading or for children who may not have the opportunity to be immersed in a rich language environment. Like a friend of mine who has an only daughter and her daily conversation was with her grandmother, who still baby talks and speaks broken English. Not entirely her fault as she was never effectively bilingual to begin with or like a previous student of mine who had issues with his reading competency/fluency (at P4), but was undetected. He was raised by Chinese-speaking parents who never knew how to guide him in reading or writing at all... etc.
The suggestions for less drilling-oriented activities that was shared with vinegar, was with genuine intention to help ease her tension over her son's stumbling block which at this point that she finds is /could be the vocabulary component. Merely based on limited information via her sharing and not having personally known her boy or seen any samples of his writing, I am left to the assumption that he may have few issues with grammar opposed to vocabulary.
I was also hoping to assure her all is not lost even if a child may not be responding positively to drilling/worksheets/assessments ways of revision and that children will take time for writing maturity to show via more writing opportunities, exposure to reading wider variety of books and of course, a good language educator to guide him in his learning process.slmkhoo:
Same la. :hi5: Like you, I too, would just churn out the meanings for them for those that I know.
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.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?
When there was no urgency or when it was for a comprehension assignment for example, I may insisted they look up in the dictionary. As long as a balance can be maintained and children do not end up being over reliant on this old dic, I'm cool with the occasional dish-out of instant answers. :please:
Yes, totally agree with usage of varied words as well. As they were growing up, aside from reading to them and reading with them (up to a certain age
), vocabulary was not something that had to be specifically taught. They were used in real life context like for example, when everyone chipped in to lay the table for a meal, describing how the food looked or fared for the day could vary from yummy to delicious to scrumptious and to later on... from \"I will let you know.\" to \"I will update you.\" etc... and of course, maximizing on every possible teachable moment. Many moments in the daily routine with a stay-home-mom are teachable moments. So the opportunities for learning was a plenty. There was little need to perform actual seat-work as long as we speak clearly and provide alternative words to encourage a wider use of vocabulary and as and when the opportunity came to use them.
When I was teaching however, the situation called for more resourceful ways to deliver lessons so that children can relate to learning language in a non-stressful but yet effective way. There will be games, puppetry, crossword puzzles, poetry writing and even team building activities to effectively show how fun learning parts of speech is for example. Introducing concepts to children, especially young children, need not entirely be just using paper and pen methods. This way, we can help maximize the learning potentials of students of varying learning styles instead of the traditional rote learning methods... even for high-functioning special needs children or children with mild learning disabilities. -
Funz:
Agree. Just because of one tree, then lose sight of the forest.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.
This however, may not be a skill every parent is equipped with. Even for teachers.... Having to teach in big groups, not all teachers may be able to zoom in on individual student's competencies (though I have had the pleasure of personally knowing many). There are also exemplary teachers who inspire love for the language beyond any exam objective. Parents can (inspire) too, if they understand that their children need that gradual progression. Look back on their children's previous writings and observe how much has improved along the way and if not, analyze the areas where children can continue to work on. Every writing opportunity is a great way of refining a child's flair for writing.
Comparing our child's P1/P2 work/writing, with another from P3/P4 will surely arrive at unnecessary and unfounded stress. It can only serve as a helpful gauge if we aren't caught up with keeping up with a perceived golden standard. In fact, within a same level... there will always be higher ability children who can manage writing more effortlessly regardless via nature or nurture or :evil: drilling... Eventually, if we want to help our own children, we have to first understand their current abilities and work towards gradual improvisations. -
BeContented:
I will also stress, because i dunno either. :scared: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.
That phrase did not come from me. :dowan:
Aniwaes, SAHM_TAN... I am somewhat a little dismayed that from all that was shared... you zoomed in right to the phrases and overlooked the suggestions for fun learning...
This is why sometimes not all parents can handle certain sharings... become gancheong from information overload. That's why i sometimes think twice whether appropriate to share or not. 
My girls cannot write like that. I cannot write like that. I only know how to write from my heart.
Better clarify the phrase thingy before it spirals into nightmares. My cousin's friend was in town from her summer vacation (uni), when she and her best friend decided to start an outreach programme. In their short workshop sessions, they gathered underprivileged children, children from the neighbourhood and children who would love to explore the beauty of the English Language. As it was a volunteer initiative on their end, there were no fees involved. We were fortunate to get in and enjoyed the sessions. Being the cheapskate me, anything free just try. No loss. :oops: It turned out to be beyond awesome, for my children (and I!) thoroughly enjoyed their sharings. Their passion for language was addictive and formed renewed inspiration for writing.
That draft was a game-challenge. Children were to randomly (with blindfold i think) pick out some squares containing words. They are to try putting these words - setting, feeling, plus a flowery phrase into a short paragraph. The genre for that session was horror. The settings and phrases used were based on the genre. After a couple of sessions to slowly reveal the competency of the children in the group, they noticed very few will even come up with any despite the maturity (of age) for some participants. The objective of the game was to assure children not to be afraid of using a creative phrase at the right moment in their story... and because the word picks cannot be exchanged, all the participants had to die die weave the words one way or the other. Participants were never tasked to write a complete piece at any session.
An important part of fine-tuning the writing process is via editing. Will share if I have time as long as you promise not to get gancheong and if you don't judge of course. I am not an expert. Never claim to be one. Merely sharing from parent to parent and trial and error plus hantam what may have worked with own kids nia. No time to research or read novels or guides. So must read everything (on cyberspace) with a pinch of salt. May or may not work for other children because there is no one method to fix all.
Note : I don't know what kinda writing qualifies for a pass and neither am I aiming for my children to aim for an A... what more an A*. Furthermore I am not an experienced PSLE mom nor do I have children who are naturally blessed in breezing through the academic system. -
ๅคๆๅ buds
Not judging that phrase you shared
All the fun fun activities you shared all very good don't need me to say liao
Not targeting at the phrase that you shared. Just that such phrases have been bothering me for some time. From your post I saw chance to ask. So I asked.
ๅคๆๅ buds
I'm too task oriented one, things I understand I don't comment but I zoom in on items I don't understand.
Very difficult for me to change to cool mummy, I need more years to ไฟฎๅฟๅ ปๆง, hmmmmmm maybe after dd1's PSLE I will be better? Heehee
Pssst, initially I wrote after my first PSLE :rotflmao: but edited to dd1's heehee -
slmkhoo:
What my daughter and I decided was that she should try to use more adjectives and adverbs (but only one at a time), and limit herself to 2 similes or metaphors per compo. That was about all we could stand in the 200-300 words![/quote]Thanks for the tip. I will observe how dd1's writing style develops and adapt accordingly.
it's true.the more i read thru creative writing books,the more i confuse n obsess wf the phrases they use.vinegar:
[quote=\"slmkhoo\"]
Don't necessarily follow what the guides say because many of them are truly horrible and the suggestions are way too flowery. If your daughter imbibes too much of it, she will have to unlearn it to do well in sec school. -
i hope i am not intruding ...
but i do remember my teacher telling the class to use descriptive phrases. I believe that the phrases will make a compo more interesting. I usually use phrases to describe feelings since we can write about it in almost every single compo.
For example, \"her cheeks blushed hot with rage\" or \"He growled, fury twisting his handsome face into a gargoyle's mask\" .
Both phrases describe anger. I do not take credit for these phrases. I read a lot so i make it a point to jot down a few for every book i read so in the end i have a list. I remembered my favourite phrases & used them for daily compo homework hence during exams i would have these phrases at my fingertips.
This was how i \"studied\" for composition. I am not saying phrases are a must just that it will help students. Of course, grammar, spelling and story flow are the most important.
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shann2:
Pls share what fiction titles/authors do you read to build up your list. Thank you.i hope i am not intruding ...
but i do remember my teacher telling the class to use descriptive phrases. I believe that the phrases will make a compo more interesting. I usually use phrases to describe feelings since we can write about it in almost every single compo.
For example, \"her cheeks blushed hot with rage\" or \"He growled, fury twisting his handsome face into a gargoyle's mask\" .
Both phrases describe anger. I do not take credit for these phrases. I read a lot so i make it a point to jot down a few for every book i read so in the end i have a list. I remembered my favourite phrases & used them for daily compo homework hence during exams i would have these phrases at my fingertips.
This was how i \"studied\" for composition. I am not saying phrases are a must just that it will help students. Of course, grammar, spelling and story flow are the most important. -
shann2:
no, u r not intrudingi hope i am not intruding ...
but i do remember my teacher telling the class to use descriptive phrases. I believe that the phrases will make a compo more interesting. I usually use phrases to describe feelings since we can write about it in almost every single compo.
For example, \"her cheeks blushed hot with rage\" or \"He growled, fury twisting his handsome face into a gargoyle's mask\" .
Both phrases describe anger. I do not take credit for these phrases. I read a lot so i make it a point to jot down a few for every book i read so in the end i have a list. I remembered my favourite phrases & used them for daily compo homework hence during exams i would have these phrases at my fingertips.
This was how i \"studied\" for composition. I am not saying phrases are a must just that it will help students. Of course, grammar, spelling and story flow are the most important.
I am doing the same as what u did,for my kids. I let him pick up his fav storybook,then get him to highlight the phrases he finds it interesting n easy to remember.
I feel he has remembered some of these phrases,but somehow,doesn't apply in his compo.Instead,he used those words he learnt fr. cartoon or movie. His teacher/tutor was puzzled n amused on his choice of words,for e.g. \"devour\". He learnt this word from Lego Ninjago cartoon.sometx,he used it correctly,most of the times not.
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