Blog-Writing Prompt #7

What is the significance of your Chinese name?

Do you consider these Chinese characters as part of your identity? Why or why not?

My chinese name,when directly translated to English, means: victorious soldier. I consider these Chinese characters as part of my identity to a certain extent. Most of the time, during CCAs or examinations, I will always prepare for it and most of the time, I will get the top few positions. But this changed once I got into Hwa Chong, where getting even top few positions in my class is also very difficult.

Blog-Writing Prompt #6

What is your favourite memory of Chinese New Year? Provide details using all five senses.

My favourite memory of Chinese New Year was when my father got confused and gave me the red packet which was meant for my grandmother and gave my grandmother my red packet. When my father passed me my red packet, I felt that it was thicker than usual but he did not realise the difference in the red packets he have me and my sister as my sister's red packet was given to her by my mother. After all fifteen days, I happily opened up the red packet and saw many $100 notes. When I compared with my sister whose red packet had more money, she cried and complained to my mother about the difference in the money in our red packets.

My father quickly checked with my grandmother about the amount of money in the red packet she received the next day. He realised that he had given the wrong red packet to the wrong person. But, he was too late to realise his mistake as I went to bank in my money after school before returning home. My father had no choice but to spend some more money to renovate part of my grandmother's house in an attempt to make up for the amount of money he did not give to my grandmother he wanted to give.

2ND online lesson

For Our second online lesson, Mr Lundberg instructed us to re-read "All Summer in a Day". We are also supposed to identify the people responsible for the protagonist's plight.

In my opinion I feel that the people responsible for Magrot's plight are Margot's parents, the children in the school and Margot. This is due to the fact that Margot was originally from planet Earth, but her parents decided to birng her to a world, a planet which is totally new to her and she was obviously not very used to her new surroundings. Margot's parents tried to let their daughter get used to the life in Venus, hoping that she would adapt to the new surroundings, but this caused Margot to be even more sad.

The children are also responsible for Margot's misery as they refused to accept Margot's difference from them and because she is new to the planet. They ganged up and bullied Margot together.

Lastly, I think that Margot is also responsible for her own plight, as she refused to adapt to the new surroundings and blend in with the other children. This caused the children to notice her difference from the rest of them.

I would persuade the children to accept Margot, as Margot is similar to them except that she remembers how the Sun's appearance, and the children should be able to accept her after all they just have to wait for a few more years to see the Sun, hence I believe that as long as there are one, or two people who rally around Margot the situation would be different.

Blog-Writing Prompt #5

- Describe a situation in which you collaborated intensely and at length with another person )Projects Day, class assignment, creative product).

- What did you learn about your own abilities to cooperate and work together during your collaboration?

A situation which I collaborated intensely with another person, was during our Projects day. There were four of us in the team, but me and my primary school friend, Jovian, whom I had known for four years were the most enthusiastic members of the group, while the other two members who we picked by mistake, were slacking. The other two members of the group always skipped meetings

Blog-Writing Prompt #4

- Write a reflection on the "Comic Strip: Home Learning lesson that you completed yesterday.

- What did you learn from the experience? Did you enjoy the assignment? Would you create more comic strips in the future?

I learnt about how to create comic strips and illustrate my ideas instead of writing them down in words as what I always do. I enjoyed the assignment as it allowed me to draw using computer tools. I have always enjoyed art, and the assignment was like a recreational activity instead of the dull answering of questions the other teachers gave us to do for Home Based Learning. I would definitely create more comic strips in the future when I have the time, during the holidays.

HBL - Comic Strips

By y10hci0462 | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

The title for this comic strip is: The Blind Man

The introduction is there was a blind man busking on the street. Then a group of children happened to walk by.

A mischievous child decided to disturb the old man by poking him and said it aloud to his other friends.

Just as he was about to poke the blind man, the blind man spoke and said that he heard what the young boy said, which startled the young boy as he thought the blind man was fully handicaped.

I think that this tells us that we should not take advantage of those who are less fortunate than us, and if we try to do so, they would always be sharper in one of the five senses than we are.

Blog-Writing Prompt #3

What are your learning goals for this year in Language Arts, and why?

My learning goals are to be able to improve on my comprehension skills and literature. Last year I often got B3s for my comprehension and I hope to improve to at least an A2 this year. This year is a very important year to me as I have to get good grades in order to be able to get into CSE and chose the subjects I want, so I aim to pay more attention in class and stop fooling around like I did last year and end up screwing up my subject grades.

Blog-Writing Prompt #2

What is the most valuable thing you learned last year in Language Arts and, why?

I think the most valuable thing I learned in Language Arts last year is to learn how to interpret poems. Before that, I would just read the poem and roughly know the meaning of it, however, after the literature lessons on poems, I learned how to idenitfy the poetic devices used by the poet and what is he/she trying to convey to the reader.

Writing prompts - 10 minutes

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/136251.Harry_Potter_and_the_Deathly_Hallows

My favourite book up till date is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I enjoy the story a lot as it is the final book of the Harry Potter series J.K Rowling has written. It is action-packed and very thrilling as it describes the friendship between the main characters : Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasely. It ends like most stories do: The good overpowering the evil.

LA Ace

Have you ever been part of a group of people who were unkind to one or some individuals? What was the circumstance? How did you act? What did you feel?

In classes, or groups being allocated by someone else, there would often be one or two individuals who are being disliked by the rest, either because of their appearances or attitude towards others. I am always lucky to be not to be disliked or isolated by the rest of the class/group. I have always made it a point to behave appropriately whenever I am allocated to a group, and "blend" into the crowd and not be the odd one out.

I have been in groups/classes where one or two individuals are being disliked by the rest of the group members/classmates. But, a girl in my primary four class have been isolated and treated very unkindly that it was even considered bully by the discipline mistress. That is a case which I could remember very clearly, even up till now. During the first day of school, the girl, Amelia Ho, did something which caused the class to dislike her. She boasted to everyone that she was the only girl in the level who owns a phone. It was since she started boasting to everyone about her phone, we started to dislike her and started calling her names and sabotaging her.

The other boys gave her nasty names and created booby traps for her by quickly pouring water onto her seat when she was about to sit down, once and there was another time we tricked her into going to the general office to collect something from her mother, which turned out to be false, thus making a fool of herself. There was once, I did something very nasty to Amelia, which I regret. I told Amelia that the boys hid her belongings at the boys' toilet. On her way to retrieve her things, she was being ambushed by the boys and got handfuls of soil and trash thrown at her. I greatly regret my actions, coming to think of it, as I betrayed her trust she had for me as I did not disturb her directly.

The girls in the class were also very mean to her, by not inviting her to their parties and class gatherings. They often talked behind her back and complained to the teacher secretly about the rules Amelia flouted, even if the offence was very minor. Until one day, the discipline mistress made a visit to the class and gave us a very stern warning, that if we bullied Amelia further, the punishment would be very severe. The class were obviously very frightened, and we did not dare to disobey. However, the discipline mistress's visit deepened the hatred the class had for her but we stopped disturbing her directly. Instead, we laughed loudly and made fun of Amelia whenever she did something stupid. Some girls would also talk about the mistake Amelia had committed loudly when Amelia was in hearing range.

Then, the class goal was reached one day when we learnt that Amelia transferred to another school. The class cheered when the form teacher walked out of the classroom after reprimanding us for ill-treating her. Now, thinking back about what I did, I feel remorseful for what I done as I had hurt someone very deeply and for what she had done, by just merely boasting, she does not deserve this type of treatment from us.

1st LA online answer

Song: Eye Of The Tiger

Risin' up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive
So many times, it happens too fast
You trade your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive

[Chorus:]
It's the eye of the tiger, it's
the thrill of the fight
Rising up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor
stalks his prey in the night
And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger

Face to face, out in the heat
Hangin' tough, stayin' hungry
They stack the odds, still we take to the street
For the kill with the skill to survive

[Chorus]

Risin' up, straight to the top
Had the guts, got the glory
Went the distance, now I'm not gonna stop
Just a man and his will to survive

[Chorus]


I chose this song as it tells us to carry on, and if we are determined to do something, we will be able to do it even though we are underdogs. It gives me some form encouragement to carry on what I am doing when I am down, especially for my academic results and my CCA canoeing. This song was the theme song for Rocky III, a boxing show. It showed an amateur boxer, training up and then defeating the world heavy weight champion. The inspirational movie was showed to us by our CCA teacher-in-charge as he wanted us to put in hard work and win this year's National School's Canoeing Championships. He told us that the gold trophy would not come easily as we have not won the title for quite some time already. I feel that this song really did inspire the canoe team as we worked harder since we watched the show.

Poems by Shel Silverstein

The Little Boy and the Old Man by Shel Silverstein
Said the little boy, "Sometimes I drop my spoon."
Said the old man, "I do that too."
The little boy whispered, "I wet my pants."
"I do that too," laughed the little old man.
Said the little boy, "I often cry."
The old man nodded, "So do I."
"But worst of all," said the boy, "it seems
Grown-ups don't pay attention to me."
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.
"I know what you mean," said the little old man.

1. What is the underlying message that is being conveyed in this poem?
The young and the elderly are being neglected as both the little boy and the old man are feeling the same way.

2. Has Shel Silverstein used any particular poetic technique that brings out this message more clearly?
Yes, conversation.

Messy Room by Shel Silverstein
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!

1. Can you say that the poem is humorous? If so how?
Yes, the narrator was crictising the messy room which turned out to be his own room, thus all the remarks he passed are being directed back to him.

2. What aspect of the human character has been highlighted in this poem?
The ability of being able to identify someone else's mistakes and negative points and crictise them for it, without realising that sometimes we commit the same mistakes.

Cloony The Clown by Shel Silverstein

I'll tell you the story of Cloony the Clown
Who worked in a circus that came through town.
His shoes were too big and his hat was too small,
But he just wasn't, just wasn't funny at all.
He had a trombone to play loud silly tunes,
He had a green dog and a thousand balloons.
He was floppy and sloppy and skinny and tall,
But he just wasn't, just wasn't funny at all.
And every time he did a trick,
Everyone felt a little sick.
And every time he told a joke,
Folks sighed as if their hearts were broke.
And every time he lost a shoe,
Everyone looked awfully blue.
And every time he stood on his head,
Everyone screamed, "Go back to bed!"
And every time he made a leap,
Everybody fell asleep.
And every time he ate his tie,
Everyone began to cry.
And Cloony could not make any money
Simply because he was not funny.
One day he said, "I'll tell this town
How it feels to be an unfunny clown."
And he told them all why he looked so sad,
And he told them all why he felt so bad.
He told of Pain and Rain and Cold,
He told of Darkness in his soul,
And after he finished his tale of woe,
Did everyone cry? Oh no, no, no,
They laughed until they shook the trees
With "Hah-Hah-Hahs" and "Hee-Hee-Hees."
They laughed with howls and yowls and shrieks,
They laughed all day, they laughed all week,
They laughed until they had a fit,
They laughed until their jackets split.
The laughter spread for miles around
To every city, every town,
Over mountains, 'cross the sea,
From Saint Tropez to Mun San Nee.
And soon the whole world rang with laughter,
Lasting till forever after,
While Cloony stood in the circus tent,
With his head drooped low and his shoulders bent.
And he said,"THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT -
I'M FUNNY JUST BY ACCIDENT."
And while the world laughed outside.
Cloony the Clown sat down and cried.

1. Exlain the irony in this poem.
When the clown was creating jokes and trying to make his audience laugh, they had a negative reaction, looking sad. However, when Cloony told them about how sad he felt the audience ended up laughing heartily.

2. Does Shel Silverstein manage to convey some harsh realities in this poem?
Yes.

3. What poetic devices has the poet used to effectively convey his message?
Assonance and rythm.

Answers for "Big Fish"

Answers for “Big Fish”

1. What does the phrase “a big fish in a small pond” mean to you?
The phrase “big fish in a small pond” means that the other fish is not being with other fishes of the same size.

2. What is the purpose of Edward Bloom’s tall tale about the big fish and the wedding ring?
It implies that the son’s story would be similar to his father’s since both of them have a father-son relationship.

3. How does William Bloom as a boy feel about his father’s telling of the tale? How does this feeling change as he gets older?
He enjoys his father’s tale when he was young, but after he grew up, William Bloom felt that his father’s tale is embarrassing for both himself and his father.

4. Why does Edward Bloom feel the need to keep repeating the tale throughout his life?
Edward Bloom caught the biggest catfish ever known to a man when he was a boy.

5. What does the tale reveal about the relationship between Edward and William Bloom.
The tale tells me that the relationship between Edward and William Bloom was not very good as both of them had broke off direct contact after William Bloom’s wedding night.

6. Consider the following quote: “In telling the story of my father’s life, it’s impossible to separate fact from fiction, the man from the myth. The best I can do is to tell it the way he told me. It doesn’t always make sense, and most of it never happened, but that’s what kind of story this is” What stories have you been told that match this description? What is the effect of telling a story in this way?
Stories of someone’s encounter with supernatural objects or things like aliens or ghosts. It often leaves the thinking, not sure whether to believe or not to believe.

7. Does bending or exaggerating the truth for the purpose of conveying an entertaining story undercut the believability of such a story? Is a tall tale less valid than a straight reportage of the facts? Why or why not?
Yes it does. No, a tall tale usually involves some exaggeration which would allow the listener to step into the narrator’s shoes, feeling for himself how the narrator felt. Whereas, when you just narrate the facts, the listeners may find it boring.

First Language Arts lesson of 2011 :D

Today, we had the the first Language Arts lesson in year 2011. Our Language Arts teacher, fortunately, is Mr JASON ERIK LUNDBERG. Mr Lundberg taught us the English subject one year ago also and guided our class to pass our End-of-Year examinations with flying coulours, just that he is a little different this year - Mr Lundberg has a beard! During his first lesson, Mr Lundberg reminded us and stressed on the importance of getting the book "TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD" and finishing it as soon as possible. Mr Lundberg explained that it is very important to finsih reading the book as it would be used for literature/comprehensions/lessons in the future. We were being briefed on what we were supposed to do in order to gain Ace points. Besides the briefing for the academic studies at school, Mr Lundberg also shared with us the books he had read over the holdiays. One of them drew my attention, which is: Animal Farm. I had heard from my friends in other schools that they had literature on the book. I would be borrowing it soon so as to know what my friends had done last year. That would be all I have to reflect for our first Language Arts lesson so far.