Sec 2: Practice Compre

In-class:
- Spelling test #4
- Went through Passage B questions
- Time given in class to complete Summary question

Sec 2: Term 3 Week 1

In-class:
- Katrina Compre Review
- Katrina Summary Review
- Preview of Term 3's schedule (narrative writing & letter writing)
- Preview of EL 'O' level paper 1 & paper 2

Homework:
- Comprehension Passage A questions (due Fri, Jul 2)
- Comprehension Passage B questions (due Tue, Jul 6)
- Summary (due Tue, Jul 6)
- Study for Spelling Test 4

SPELLING TEST 4 on TUESDAY JULY 6th

Sec 2: Summary Review & Descriptive Writing

In-class:
- Titanic summary review and correction
- Went through DW pages 9 - 12
- Group work (describing a character)

Sec 2: Compre Review & Descriptive Writing

In-class:
- Titanic Comprehension Review

Homework:
- Descriptive writing package pages 9 - 12

Sec 2: Summary and Use Your Own Words

In-class:
- Students were given time in class to complete and hand in Turtle summary
- Students given practice peice for Use Your Own Words (Eyes of a Tourist)

Answers from Eyes of a Tourist:
1) It was first introduced when Singapore got its independence.
2) It was because the investment in sculpting the Merlionat $165000 was worthwhile [1] and it will probably generate more money [1] in the future than the original sum [1].
3) It was because the Merlion icon cannot be used for many other purposes unless there was approval from STB [1] and this limited the growth of the Merlion icon [1]
4) The reason was to allow enough space for visitors to take photographs of the baby Merlion and the giant Merlion. [2] OR The reason was that the giant Merlion was too tall to be fully captured, hence a smaller one was built for the purpose of photo-taking [2]

Sec 2: Summary (Jigsaw)

In-class:
- Went through the points in the organizer for the Jigsaw passage
Homework:
- Complete an organizer for the Turtle passage (you may type it if you want)
- If time permits: write out the summary in a paragraph

On Friday, I'll be going through the organizer for the Turtle passage. You should have your's completed so you can check your own points.

2 Charity girls:
I understand most of you would be absent from school on Friday for various competitions, therefore, you will miss English lesson. I still expect all of you to complete the organizer and email it to me (if hand-written, scan it) by SATURDAY NIGHT 10pm (April 10, 2010).

You'll be sitting for your comprehension and summary test next week (Tues April 13 & Fri April 16), so I want all of you to practice and show me that you've done your work.

My email address is mselizabethyeo@yahoo.com.sg

Sec 2: Summary (Jigsaw)

In-class:
- Went through answers for Use Your Own Words & Language Use worksheet
- Went through Distinction in EL pages 129 - 132 on how to complete summary questions
- Compre test & Summary test changed to 4th Week: April 13th (Tue) & April 16th (Fri)

Homework:
- Complete Distinction in EL pages 124 - 125 (all four questions)
- Complete Jigsaw summary

I noticed that the model answers for the Jigsaw summar that I showed in class today was not very good. Please see the example below of how you should complete your homework:

1) Take 1 - 2 minutes to decide what the question is asking for >>> TWO things: (1) CHARACTERISTIC of jigsaw puzzle & (2) ADVANTAGES of fixing them

2) Focus on the relevant paragraphs

3) Underline or highlight key points you should include in your summary
CLICK on picture to view!



4) Write your draft (Example of answers from paragraph 2 shown in picture below)
CLICK on picture to view!


Please at least finish up the ORGANIZER! You may type it out if you wish.

Sec 2: Use Your Own Words & Summary

In-class:
- Went through answers for 'Job' comprehension passage
- Students taught explicitly the steps to answer Summary Questions (Distinction in EL pages 118 - 123)

click on the pictures to enlarge
(credits to Ms. Wendy Ng for the ppt slides)

Homework:
- Complete Distinction in EL pages 124 - 125 (questions #1 & #2)
- Complete handout on Use Your Own Words and Language Use questions

Sec 2: Use Your Own Words

In-class:
- Went through answers for Insect Comprehension


Homework:
- Job Comprehension due Monday 29 March, 2010
- Please complete the FOUR steps for Use Your Own Words questions


Example

Step One - Finding the answer from the passage and write it out

Step Two - Underline or circle the key ideas or words

Step Three - Brainstorm words, phrases or expressions to replace the key words/ideas

Step Four - Refine and rewrite your answer in a complete sentence

Sec 2: Use Your Own Words & Language Use

In-class:
- Students practiced Use Your Own Words question (tiger question)
- Students taught explictly how to answer Language Use Questions from Distinction in EL book (pages 29 - 30)

Homework:
- Distinction in EL (pages 37 - 39)
- 'Insect' Comprehension handout
- Phrase book (510 words)

DUE: Friday, March 26, 2010.

Sec 2: Use Your Own Words

In-class:
- Students taught explicitly the steps to answer Use Your Own Words Questions from Distinction in EL book (pages 23 - 27)
- Students worked on Exercise 4 (pages 27 - 28), and answers were discussed

Sec 2: Compre Review

Dear girls:
I promised to provide the model answers for the Distinction in EL Compre passage (pg 68) on my blog. However, due to copyright issues, I don't think it is possible for me to post it up on my blog. I will provide the answers to your EL rep - please check the answers with her.

Sorry for any inconvenience caused!

Regards,

Ms. Yeo.

In-class:
- Students confirmed and signed their PPR marks
- Students were given the topics for their March holidays assignment (anti-drug essay/poem): due on March 22, 2010 (Monday)
- Students were given time in class to complete Compre passage pg 68)
- Students worked on extra vocabulary words from Compre passage (pg 68)
- Spelling test returned to students
- Readers Digest (March edition) distributed to students

Homework:
- Be prepared to sit for Comprehension Test #3

Sec 2: Spelling & Compre Review

In-class:
- Spelling Bingo
- Students given back their grades for Speech Delivery ( /20)
- Students checked their grades for PPR
- Distinction in EL Compre Passage (pg 68)

Homework:
- Complete Reading Comprehension Passage (pg 68)

Sec 2

Dear girls:

Please complete pages SP3-7 & SP3-8 by Friday 12 Feb, 2010.
You'll be sitting for your Reading Comprehension Test #2 tomorrow Tuesday 9 Feb, 2010.

Regards,
Ms. Yeo.

Sec 2: Reading Comprehension Test

A REVIEW

1) Be a detective, and use evidence in the text when answering questions.

2) Pay attention to the question words - 5W 1H.

3) Find and locate the focus.

4) Give complete and accurate answers.

5) Use 'single quotation marks' when asked to quote.

6) Know the difference between a phrase and an expression.

7) If the passage given has too many characters, jot down key points or traits of the characters so you are not confused by who says what if there is a lot of dialogue.

8) If quoting a sentence, first word must be capitalized.
For example: The sentence is 'The minutes crawled by.'.

9) If quoting a sentence, you'll have two full periods (full stops) at the end of your answer
For example: The sentence is 'He grinned sheepishly at Brandon.'.

10) If quoting a phrase, first word is not capitalized.
For example: The phrase is 'grinned sheepishly'.

Sec 2: Answer Key for Practice Passage 4 (Blood Money)

1) He thought it was a joke. OR He thought it was funny.

*Do not answer ‘He thought she was funny.’. The question is asking for ‘the nurse’s answer’, not the nurse!


2) (a) They were inept / incompetent at piercing veins to draw blood. OR They found piercing veins to be a very difficult task.

(b) He was afraid he would bleed to death.


3) The Doctor intended to have Mr. Ashbury’s blood for breakfast.


4) It was the business of selling his blood.


5) (a) His shouts would not reach the ears of anyone / any people outside the room

(b) He will be unable to shout for someone outside to come to his aid.

*For question (5b), I’ll check with the other teachers if other answers are acceptable. I will address this question on Friday before your test. I know most of you might have answers like, ‘He will not be seen by someone outside, so there is no one to help him.’ or ‘He had no way to escape.’. However, in the passage, in paragraph 15, the author might mean that because there are no windows, therefore the room is soundproofed!
No window = soundproofed room = if he shouts, no one can hear him and help him


6) He was referring to his death.


7) He meant to reveal it to you little by little / bit by bit.


8) They were known to eat corpses / dead bodies.


9) It contains plenty of errors / mistakes / details that are not entirely correct.


10) It dries their skin and causes it to age faster / much earlier than normal human beings


11) (a) The doctor means he did not kill him / cause his death.

(b) There are no conditions / restrictions.


12) (a) closely

(b) immediately

(c) disgustingly

(d) a short time ago / not long ago

(e) fairly large in number / quite large in number / pretty large in number

Sec 2J

Dear 2J girls:

I hope you enjoyed your excursion to the Singapore Science Centre =)

It is unfortunate that we missed one English language period this afternoon. I intended to give you class time to start working on your Practice Passage 4 assignment (Blood Money). I am sorry you now have to use your time at home to complete the assignment.

I apologize for rushing through the last few questions of Practice Passage 3. Hence, I am going to provide these answers here for you to check. Please click on the pictures to enlarge them.

If you have any questions, please email me. However, as I will be busy with a 2-day training course with the Ministry of Education, I may or may not have time to reply you. I will try my best to reply, but if I do not, I will address your concerns in class on Friday before the test.

Regards,

Ms. Yeo.

Practice Passage 4 (pages 74 - 80)

Sec 2: 'Quote' Questions

In class:

- Went over points to take note of when answering 'quote' questions

- The importance of phrase vs. expression

- Went over answers from page 40 of Distinction in EL Lower Sec workbook

- Went over answers from Practice Passage 3 (pages 74 - 80)

Homework:

- Complete Practice Passage 4 (pages 81 - 86)

The English representative will provide the class with the answer key by Thursday. Please check your answers. Alternatively, you can email me by midnight on TUESDAY (12 Jan, 2010) if you want the answer key emailed to you. Include your name, index number, and class in the email to me. My email address is mselizabethyeo@yahoo.com.sg

The answer key will also be posted on this blog on Wednesday at 8pm.

Reminder:

READING COMPREHENSION TEST THIS FRIDAY!!!

Sec 2: Inferential Questions & 'Quote' Questions

In class:
- Went over answers from Inferential Qns Practice as a class
- Lesson on important points to remember when answering 'Quote' Questions (refer to pg 36 of Distinction in EL Lower Sec workbook)
- In-class assignment: Distinction EL Lower Sec workbook complete pg 40 - 41
Students who have already done so should read it over


Homework:
- Be prepared to answer in-class assignment
- Distinction in EL Lower Sec workbook pg 74 - 80 Qns #1, #4, #5, #7, #9, #10, #11, #13

Reminder:
- Vocabulary list for spelling to be completed
- Phrase book to be updated to at least 400 phrases
- TEST this Friday!!!

Sec 2: Reading for Inference

In class:
- Matching game 5W1H
- Go through answers from workbook pages 20 - 22 as a class
- Emphasis on question words when answering inferential question
- Emphasis on finding the focus when answering inferential question
- Distribute handouts for Inferential Qns Practice

Homework:
- Be prepared to answer Inferential Qns Practice next class
- Be prepared for a test next Friday, 15th Jan (date to be confirmed)
- Phrase book to be updated to 400 words
- Ten vocabulary words and definition for spelling to be done on foolscap paper

1) Incredulously
2) Encased
3) Manacles
4) Wallowed
5) Distended
6) Gaunt
7) Reverberated
8) Gleefully
9) Quizzical
10) Vicinity