Recommended English Books
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Hi TAS,
Can you help to explain when exactly to use disappointed with or in?
Thanks -
The Alternative Story:
Hi XK,XK:
Hi TAS,
My gal is N2 this year and she is now 4 end of the yr. She likes reading and is picking up phonics at the moment from her preschool and enrichment class. She is able to identify the first sounds of most words corectly with no problem.
She is able to read all beginner books rather well and is currently at level 2 of those readers series. She does read Peter and Jane series at times and she is currently at book 4a and 4b. I don't particularly stick to one range like scholastic etc.. so that she can read more different type of books.
Is she on track for her age?
Would be glad to hear your recommendation for good books for her stage so that she can enjoy more interesting stories to widen her imagination and creativity.
Thanks!!!
For a 4 year old girl, I think she is definitely on track.
To widen her creativity and get her imagination fired up, you can
get her to read books on fairy tales that come with a twist.
This helps especially if she already knows how the original version
is like. When she reads the other version, it will get her to start to
think and question. She will see that in any story, there is
always 2 sides to a story. You can also get her to see how with a
little change of words, the whole story changes.
These 2 books are good that come with a twist in the story:
1) The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Skieszka
2) The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas
Another type of book that is good for sparking off creativity are
books that can help the child to imagine how something simple like
a chair or a plant can be used for many different purposes and
a story is woven into this context.
One such book is:
1) Ruby Nettleship and the Ice Lolly Adventure
by Thomas Docherty
In this book, the playground which Ruby plays in is rundown,
nothing works except for one swing for which there is always a
long queue. One day, Ruby is given a magic ice lolly. When
she plants its stick and a multi-coloured shoot appears and grows
and soon this shoot becomes many different things like a swing,
a slide, a magic carpet and it sweeps her friends and her off
on an amazing adventure.
TAS
Hi TAS,
Thank you for the recommendations!
Do you have the books that u mentioned? Would be grateful if you could share more of such interesting books for age group from 4 to 6. I have problem looking for interesting books for her. hehe..
Any recommendable authors or series of books suitable for this age group?
Cheers
XK -
Hey TAS,
Have not seen you all for a while, I’ve been really busy. I need some books for the children in my level, books by Lois Duncan, Anthony Horowitz (the Alex Rider series) and also this series by Cathy MacPhail and Mary Downing Hahn. A few teachers and I are getting, is it possible that maybe a representative from TAS comes down to the school to sell the books and the worksheets? Really appreciate it if you could. Thanks!
Mich -
Thanks mrswongtuition and TAS! Your input is invaluable!
I posted this question in another thread as I didn’t know where to begin. hermes173 (whom I realised is also in this thread!) also shared about contextual clues and inference.
I am in a better position to coach my son! Thank you, all! -
jasmineong:
Hi Jasmine,
Wah...good thing Hanvid ask this question, I also learn a lot and I can help my children to know and understand words..last time, just always shout at them to check dictionary but they never do..can you give more examples of how to do so for older kids (11-12 yrs old)..tks TAS..really like your posts.
No problem
Understanding new vocabulary for older kids:
You can use the same techniques-
1) Break down the word to root form
2) Look for contextual clues
Eg: (taken from Bang, Bang, You're Dead by Narinder Dhami)
He doesn’t eat anything, he doesn’t speak and he doesn’t look at
either Mum or me. He stares morosely at the kitchen floor,
lost in a world of his own. Jamie’s long ago given up on Mum and the bizarre lottery of her behaviour, the endless swings between
highs and lows.
Root form + Contextual clues:
- Morosely: it is an adverb, adverbs usually end with 'ly'.
As such, it must be describing a verb. So here it is describing the
action of staring. From the context, you can infer that the brother is
in a bad mood, he is lost in a world of his own, so for such a person, how would they stare? In a manner that implies that he has given up hope
and in a sour and sullen mood.
- Bizarre lottery: when you think of 'lottery' you think of
something that you win depending on your luck, so here, the context shows the the mother's moods swings between high and low all the time.
As such, 'bizarre lottery' refers to her mood being as changeable as
the winning numbers for the lotter and it is bizarre because normal
people are not like that. So here, you can also infer the meaning
of bizarre as weird, not normal.
To help them to remember the vocabulary, you can use mnemonic
strategies.
TAS -
SoWoW:
Hi SoWoW,Hi TAS,
Can you help to explain when exactly to use disappointed with or in?
Thanks
Disappointed IN is used for 'people'
Eg:
I am disappointed IN you.
Disappointed WITH is with 'inanimate objects'
Eg:
I am disappointed WITH your results/your behaviour.
TAS -
XK:
Hi XK,
Hi TAS,
Thank you for the recommendations!
Do you have the books that u mentioned? Would be grateful if you could share more of such interesting books for age group from 4 to 6. I have problem looking for interesting books for her. hehe..
Any recommendable authors or series of books suitable for this age group?
Cheers
XK
Sorry, we do not carry these books, maybe you could try the library or
Borders?
Some authors that are good for this age group (4 years old):
1) Anthony Browne
He has written many books and he is usually the illustrator as well.
His books have a lot of compassion for the lonely and sensitive
child protagonists. He also has a book just on one shape, and
this shape can be different things to different people. There are
no words, just the shape, quite good for creativity. It is called
'Play the Shape Game'
2) Eric Carle
His books have an added dimension to them, sometimes in the form
of die-cut pages, twinkling lights and even the sound of crickets.
In his books, he tries to bridge the gap between home(safe and secure)
and school (unknown, 'scary').
You can get these books at Borders
TAS -
Michteach:
Hi Mich,Hey TAS,
Have not seen you all for a while, I've been really busy. I need some books for the children in my level, books by Lois Duncan, Anthony Horowitz (the Alex Rider series) and also this series by Cathy MacPhail and Mary Downing Hahn. A few teachers and I are getting, is it possible that maybe a representative from TAS comes down to the school to sell the books and the worksheets? Really appreciate it if you could. Thanks!
Mich
Sure, nice to hear from you again. We will go down to your school,
we will contact you about the details.
TAS -
Hi BigDad,
You posted something about not knowing how to teach your child
how to use descriptions for compositions, the best way, if you do
not know how is to get these descriptions from storybooks and
help your child from there
TAS -
The Alternative Story:
Hi TAS,
Hi Mich,
Sure, nice to hear from you again. We will go down to your school,
we will contact you about the details.
TAS
Thanks! Looking forward to your call
Mich