First lesson pics

First lesson reflections

All of us were excited about teaching a class of primary 5 students. I personally had my worries as well. I had no prior teaching experience (much like the rest of the group), and we were doing really last minute preparations before we stepped into Guangyang. I had never seen myself as a good teacher, and making learning fun is something I had my worst worries with. I was also almost sure that we would be facing a bunch of rowdy P5 children that would be difficult handle. Much to our surprise, they were listening rather attentively, and things never got out of control. (although this may have been partly due to the english HOD) .

I managed to carry out my role of teaching quite decently I believe, but making a dry worksheet fun.... not so much. It seems my rather not so jovial personality clashed with this. In all however, it was an enjoyable lesson, managing to get a few laughs on the way, and i am looking forward to the next session I am available to attend.

First Lesson Reflections

Prior to the

We were all rather excited by the prospect of teaching a class of 20 Primary 5 students. None of us had prior teaching experience and we walked into the classroom with literally no idea how to proceed with the lesson.

Personally, I was quite apprehensive as I was almost sure that I would be facing a bunch of rowdy P5 children that would be difficult to control. To my surprise, they were a joy to work with: spontaneous, witty and delightful. They listened rather attentively and although some were rather shy at the beginning, they quickly warmed up to things.

In all, it was an extremely enjoyable lesson, and i am definitely looking forward to next week's session.

First lesson reflections

We were very excited about our first lesson with pupils from Class 5B of Guangyang Primary School. We were looking forward to it. I was rather worried about the first lesson I personally had my worries as well. I had no prior teaching experience apart from seeing how my teachers teach us in class. I had hope for the best. However, it turned out to be quite successful. The students were paying attention to us as we engaged them in icebreakers and other activities.

We were then split into 4 groups with each of us handling one group. My group was rather spontaneous. They answered the questions quite cheerfully and were able to answer most of the questions for the worksheet with some help.

I was quite delighted to find out that I was able to teach and ensure that the students were listening attentively. All in all, it was a great experience for all of us.

Cheers,
Shaun Yan

First Book Club facilitation course at GuangYang Primary

On Thursday, 16 July, our RE group went to Guangyang Primary School to conduct a reading program. This program aims to encourage reading among youths in Singapore. It was targeted at the P5 students.

We were a bit nervous when we went there. It was our first time conducting such a course. First, we started off with an icebreaker "Sparkle". It is a spelling game and the students had lots of fun. During the game, they cheered for their classmates and made a lot of noise. This is not bad as it was an icebreaker and our intention for them was to enjoy it. They were very enthusiastic and co-operated with us.

After the icebreakers, we splitted up into small groups, where the students were told to read a short story and discuss about the story. They were very passionate and contributed a lot of ideas to the discussion, making it a fruitful one. They also enjoyed the activities, like drawing using the description given.

Thus, this week's program was rather enjoyable and I look forward to the next session with them.

Pictures at NLB

Course on starting a book club and reading facilitation (18 March 09)

A group picture with other schools' students practicing a book discusion.

Seminar on Creative Writing by Wena Poon

144 hours reading marathon (midnight shift) 4-5 July 2009

Our group :)

Wow.. What's inside the goodie bags?

Jordan's group

144 hour Reading Marathon

When we arrived at the library it was pretty much late into the night, we settled down and went about our business of reading. I was quite nervous initially, but gradually my confidence grew; we would be reading to our friends and some library staff, it wasn't surprising given the unearthly hour at which we were reading.

However, the reading session, six hours long, turned out to be a quite entertaining affair, albeit with a few hiccups: everyone was sleepy, and our stories were not very well suited to the event. This was the first time I have ever read a story aloud i front of an audience, and found the experience to be quite enlightening. We did manage to catch forty-winks int he wee hours fo the morning, but more importantly, we seized this opportunity to practise reading out loud to a LIVE! audience and also forged closer bonds with our fellow readers.

All in all, it was a rather fruitful experience, and i would be keen to participate in such an event again.

Reading Marathon

When our teacher mentor first mentioned the 144 hours reading marathon, I honestly did not suspect that we would actually be taking the midnight slot for this event! Nevertheless, it was an interesting experience.

Like the rest of my groupmates however, I had expected the event to be cosier. Another disappointment was that there was barely anyone present, except for us and the NLB staff. It got more boring as the hours went by. A distraction of sorts was my psp, where the battery was drained by my fellow groupmate(who I will not name :D) in a matter of a couple of hours. I also haad some difficulty pronuncing my words while I was reading due to my new braces.

In any case, it was an interesting experience and a great way to celebrate Youth day.

NLB 144hr reading marathon

We were excited by the programme when it was introduced to us by our RE mentor, Mrs De Cruz, a few months back. However, we were indeed a bit concerned about the shift we were allocated. It was a midnight shift and we were a bit surprised when she told us. However, we were still very thrilled by the idea though we had to study for a few tests in the following week.

Armed with snacks and drinks, we met at the NLB foyer. At first, I thought they would be opening an air-conditioned hall for us to read. However, the foyer proved to be a cosy place as well. The wind that caressed our face was rather cooling. After a while, we realised that there would only be the RI book Club and the NLB staff at the venue and we were utterly disappointed. We had expected something more but even so the experience was one that was not to be missed. Each of us spent around 30 minutes reading on stage. Very quickly, very started to grow lethargic and restless. I tried to get some sleep but could not do so.

After 6 hours of reading, we left the library. Reading on stage was certainly an enjoyable experience. I certainly wish we could have more of this experiences.

Cheers,
Shaun Yan

NLB Reading Marathon: Reflections

When this idea was first introduced to us a few months ago at the library, our entire group thought that it was just a joke. Imagine our surprise to find that our teacher mentor was indeed serious about it! Nonetheless, we were all quite thrilled by the idea.

On the day (or night) itself, we met up at the NLB with all sorts of snacks. We soon realised that it would just be us and the NLB staff at the venue. Personally, I had thought it would be a much cosier affair and it did get rather boring as the hours went by.

However, it was an interesting experience for all of us, one that allowed me to indulge in one of my favourite activities- reading!

RI 144 hours marathon

This reading marathon was a new concept to me. This was the first time I had participated in this event. I have never read a story to the public before. Thus, I was excited, despite feeling a bit exhausted as the book club was supposed to read from 1-7am. I had no stage frights, and I was relaxed. Reading is one of my favourite hobbies and I had enjoyed reading on stage.

However, I was a bit disappointed with the event itself. I had expected something larger, and maybe a bit cozier but the thing that dampened my spirits a little was that the only people who were there were from the book club and the staff at NLB. What an encouragement...

Nevertheless, I decided to put all these disappointment aside and reminded myself that I am here to do what I like to do -- read. Reading had caused me to put all my wearineses aside and I managed to stay awake and alert without sleeping for a day. It was indeed a great experience.

Reflections on writer Wena Poon's Creative Writing workshop

After hearing about this event from my RE mentor, Mrs. D'Cruz, and hearing so much about the writer from my literature teacher, I jumped at the chance to attend such a function.
Coincidentally, earlier that morning, our school had organised a talk for all literature students, and the speker was none other than Ms. Wena Poon. We had an opportuanity to learn more about the writer from herself, as well as the many influences on her and her writing. I even managed to get hold of a copy of one of her books, 'Lions in the Winter' and found her writing style interesting and influenced largely, i suppose, by her ancestry, and the respective external influences, her personal experence providing the foundation for her stories. I found this very educational as it led me to reflect on my own 'style' (not developed at all) of writing.
At the workshop itself, she introduced us to several techniques employed when writing a story, and punctuated them with little anecdotes of her own, which not only served to drive home her message, but also livened up a very dry session. This in itself was a lesson for me as it showed me that creativity serves not only a purpose in writing but also in speech.
After the essay writing practice/competition, I found i was able to apply the various techniques and tips that Ms Wena Poon had introduced to us earlier on. All in all, I found the workshop a very interesting and enriching experience, and would definitely attend such an activity again.

Creative Writing course

The talk by Wena Poon was useful, though personally I felt it was a bit repetitive from what we have always been taught about writing a narrative, especially that of structure. Of course I did get some new insights as to how go about livening up the narrative, ie. dialouge and descriptions etc. She was engaging I must say, adding humour and her own personal experiences. The main part of the course was writing a short story ourselves. I had to go off early due to CCA commitments (I had already skipped a sports psychology talk for this), so I would not really know what happened after the break. I was however disappointed at the fact that half the course was writing the story, as I had expected she go through a bit more in depth into creative writing. In any case, this course was not a waste of time and I do not regret having to miss the psychology talk my swimming teacher-in-charge.

NLB Course with Wena Poon: Reflections

As part of our RE project, we went to the NLB for a course, featuring the well-known author Wena Poon. Some of the Lit boys (namely me and Dehn) had already seen her the same morning for a talk, which had served to pique our interest in her, as she seemed to know her work well.

As per expected, she did not disappoint. Although the points themselves were fundamental points, she used her author's experience to dole out many pieces of advice. She also livened up the session with little stories about her life and her experiences as an author.

In all, it was quite an enriching experience and I am glad I went for the course.

Creative Writing Course

The creative writing course was very useful. Ms Wena Poon, the course facilitator, was highly engaging. She had lots of illustrations and her experiences to explain her points, making it easy for everyone to understand. She also added some humour while speaking, making the course more lively and interesting.

In this course, I gained new insights on the techniques and styles of writing. For example, Ms Poon explained the various structures of stories using a graph. She also taught us how to capture the reader's attention through vivid description and most importantly, dialogues. This was especially useful as RI Book Club had to participate in the READ Singapore essay competition.

During the course, we also had a chance to practise writing a short story on one of the six stuff toys displayed at the front of the room. Due to time constrains, Ms Poon did not have enough time to finish reading all stories, thus she only read the first three essays for each of the six categories and picked the best from the three. My essay was in the middle of the pile, so mine was not selected.

Overall, this course has been a fruitful one and I had enjoyed myself and learnt a lot.