Friday, March 18, 2011

ABILITY GROUPING

1) DEFINITION OF ABILITY GROUPING


  • ABILITY - The state of being able to perform, also a natural talent or acquired proficiency
  • ABILITY GROUPING - The practice of sorting individuals based on their qualities

2) WHY USE ABILITY GROUPING ?

  • Most teachers believe that it is easier to teach a group of students with similar levels of prior learning.
  • Increases student achievement.
  • High achievers benefit from having to compete with one another.
  • Low achievers benefit from not having to compete with their more able friends




3) BAD EFFECTS OF GROUPING

  • Increase social stratification
  • Effect on low track students' self-esteem and their stigmatization
  • Reduces opportunities to develop relationships among students from other groups
  • Students were found to be unhappy with their placements in group

CONJUNCTION AND PREPOSITION AND HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE THEM

CONJUCTION :
-is a part of speech that connects two words, sentences, phrases or clauses-

Forms of CONJUNCTION :

1) Single word, e.g : and, but, because, although - "Jack and Jill went up the hill"

2) Compound, e.g : as long as, in order to - "I will be here as long as you love me"

3) Correlative, e.g : so...that, either...or - "Either you or Susan must remain with me"



PREPOSITION :
-is a connecting word that shows the relation of a noun or a noun substitute to some other word in the sentence-

Forms of PREPOSITION :

1) Simple (single-word), e.g : on, at, in, without, beside - "The cat sat on the table"

2) Compound (complex-word), e.g : along with, away from, next to, in front of, in relation to, on top of
    - "She sat next to me today"



How to differentiate between CONJUNCTIONS and PREPOSITIONS ?

CONJUNCTION
-accompanied by a verb, it means there must be a clause after the conjunction that has a verb in it.
-examples :
  • We stay indoors while the storm raged.                                                                              
  • Adam is looking much better since he came out from the hospital.
  • I will be home during the Chinese New Year holiday, unless there is a train's strike.

PREPOSITION
-accompanied by a noun phrase or there always be an object after the preposition.
- examples :
  • The children climbed the mountain without fear.
  • We stay indoors during the storm.
  • She has been in the teaching profession since 2000.

THE PRINCIPLES OF THE DIRECT METHOD (RICHARDS & RODGERS-1986)


  1. Classroom instruction was conducted exclusively in the target language
  2. Only everyday vocabulary and sentences were taught
  3. Oral communication skills were built up in a carefully graded progression organized around question-and answer exchanges between teachers and students in small, intensive classes
  4. Grammar was taught inductively
  5. New teaching points were taught through modeling and practice
  6. Concrete vocabulary was taught through demonstartion, objects, and pictures; abstract vocabulary was taught by association of ideas
  7. Both speech and listening comprehension were taught
  8. Correct pronunciation and grammar were emphasized 



Thursday, March 17, 2011

meaningful learning

          in my opinion, meaningful learning is about making any lessons worthy and valuable so that it can lead students, especially, toward better long-term retention rather than rote learning. however, students nowadays tend to memorize the knowledge they get instead of trying to understand the literally meaning of that particular fact or sentences. besides that, the purpose of learning the knowledge is not much clear understood due to this memorizing stuff. so, in order to make the learning meaningful, the teacher who is the most important person in educating the students, should play their roles to help students learn meaningfully. one of them is the teacher should consider and appeal to students' interests. once the students find the lesson is parallel to their interests and fun to learn, they will then try and try to be prepared well to ensure they understand the lesson. 

Whenever a new topic or concept is introduced, the teacher should attempt to anchor it in students' existing knowledge and background so that it becomes associated with something they already know. Other than that, the teacher must avoid the pitfalls of rote learning which are the things that most contribute to meaningless learning. the most frightened thing is once the students get bored in memorizing the facts that they must know, it will be worthless then to push them back to understand the facts. therefore, the teacher must take this thing very seriously so that it won't be late to make the students learn meaningfully, perhaps :)

SYNOPSIS OF GULP AND GASP (by John Townsend)

     this is just me and my partner's work while in literature class. we were given a task of producing a synopsis of the "Gulp and Gasp" drama and we had to come out with 150-200 words only. hope you enjoy it :) 

           This story started with the conversation between Lord Septic and Crouch. Lord Septic was telling Crouch about his plan to own the railway line they'd been at that night. During the conversation, a flower-seller named Rose, came. Lord Septic asked Crouch to tell her to get off. Crouch then threw away Rose's flowers and then he left. Percy came and helped Rose. They shared each other stories. Percy then told Rose that he's an orphan and the only thing he had, is a key with letters NSL on it. They were about to hug when Crouch came back. They had a fight, and unfortunately, Percy was beaten by Lord Septic on his head. Till then, he was unconscious. Rose was tied down to the railway track, unknown that Percy had run away. While tying up Rose, Lord Septic reminisced the event of his father tying up Lady Gatsby to the same track. But then, it turned out Lady Gatsby is Percy's mother and Percy is the real owner of the railway track. All of a sudden, Percy came, managed to stop the train and save Rose. Lord Septic and Crouch were tied right after it. Rose told Percy the truth. Percy then proposed Rose and the two villains were left to be arrested. 

HOW TO ENSURE OUR ATTENTION WHILE LEARNING TO BE ON RIGHT TRACK?

First and foremost , we have to sleep early at night . It is not good for our body to stay up late till morning especially for those who have classes during the day . Our mind needs rest too , thus , make sure that we get good sleep at night . Second important thing is , we must be punctual ! Or the better one is we reach the class early 10 to 15 minutes before the lecture starts . It does help us to pay attention to the teacher as it cut down the feeling of rushed that may bother us later during the lesson . 


Next , take out all the things that we may use during the lesson , something like , pens , paper , notes and etc so that we can pay all attention to the teacher without been distracted of insufficient paper for instance , while taking down the notes . If possible , sit at the front row and far from the 'talkative' friends . On top of that , ensure that we have read at glimpse the topic that we are going to learn for the next day, at least the night before it because it really helps us to pay a total attention to the teacher's saying in front. As a conclusion, i would like to stress that paying attention while learning is really important because there are lots of information we could get, from there. Thus, try our best to pay attention in class ! hehe :)

elements of poetry of HE HAD SUCH QUIET EYES

we go through the poem first.
HE HAD SUCH QUIET EYES

He had such quiet eyes
She did not realise
They were two pools of lies
Layered with thinnest ice
To her, those quiet eyes
Were breathing desolate sighs
Imploring her to be nice
And to render him paradise

If only she'd been wise
And had listened to the advice
Never to compromise 
With pleasure-seeking guys
She'd be free from "the hows and whys"

Now here's a bit of advice
Be sure that nice really means nice
Then you'll never be losing at dice
Though you may lose your heart once or twice


alright, here we go. The elements of poetry of this poem.


1) THEMES -the betrayal of love
                     -personal experience
                     -relationship that are meaningful

2) TONE -reflective
                -sad
                -happy
                -sympathetic

3) SYMBOL -quiet eyes = calmness
                      -dice = life-gamble
                      -thinnest ice = danger

4) STYLE -simple and easy to understand

5) RHYTHM -six to nine syllables for each line

6) RHYME - a, a, a, a, a, a........

7) PERSONIFICATION -"to her, those quiet eyes were breathing desolate sighs"

8) METAPHOR -they were two pools of lies

9) ALLITERATION -the sound of "h" = "he had such quiet eyes"
                                 -the sound of "l" = "they were two pools of  lies, layered with thinnest ice"


i guess, that's all from me . Thank You :)

the elements of drama of QWERTYUIOP








(1) PLOT
a) exposition :
-Lucy worried thinking about who's going to employ her with her not so good ability

b) rising action :
-Lucy got a job and she was very happy

c) climax :
-She was about to run away due to afraid and upset to the haunted typewriter and she cried .

d) falling action :
-Lucy found out who Ms. Broome was

e) resolution :
-Lucy confronted Ms. Broome about Mr. Bannister. She then wished Ms. Broome goodluck in her new job and said goodbye to her.


(2) THEMES
  • Loneliness of a woman
  • Determine brings success
  • Opportunity knocks but once
  • Have to be patient whenever problems arise
  • Don't judge a book by its cover
  • Love and care for family membership

(3) SETTINGS

a) TIME - probably takes place in early 18th century when office work was still done on typewriters and tapes were still in use.

b) PLACE    -Lucy's house (kitchen)
                     -Rose & Bannister's firm (Lucy's office room)
                     -Belmont Secretarial College

c) SOCIAL -helpful society
                   -lonely society
                   -Poor society
                   -Hardworking and committed society


(4) POINT OF VIEW 
- Third person point of view


(5) CHARACTERS
a) Lucy Beck -main, round, dynamic
                      -Young and small girl
                      -17 years old girl
                      -diploma holder
                      -new secretary at Ross & Bannister's firm
                      -Touch-typist
                      -high-spirited and committed girl
                      -high-tempered, impatient
                      -Poor
                      -Brave

b) Ms. Broome -main, round, dynamic
                         -former secretary
                         -short-sighted
                         -tough old devil
                         -lonely
                         -committed and loyal worker
                         -her back straight as a ruler

c) Mr. Harry Darke -main, round, dynamic
                               -old man
                               -talkative
                               -his small dark eyes like currants
                               -Ross & Bannister's handyman
                               -helpful and concerned man

d) Mr. Ross -minor, flat, static
                    -committed towards job
                    -concern about his workers

e) Mrs. Price -minor, flat, static
                     -principal of Belmont Secretarial College
                     -high-spirited
                     -judgmental person

f) Lucy's Mom -minor, flat, static
                        -housewife
                        -poor
                        -kind
                        -patient

g) Uncle Bert -minor, flat, static
                      -lonely
                      -drunkard

             

Saturday, February 12, 2011

ULUL ALBAB PROGRAMME

i think this Ulul Albab programme is a good programme especially for students . One of the good things is we can produce quranic , encyclopedic and ijtihadic intellectuals , in which it focuses on pure science and islamic education based on the teachings of al-Quran and as-Sunnah . Inevitably , this will help to mould students to be experts in various fields . 

in my opinion , learning is not just about gaining knowledge but also instilling good values to ourselves so that we have the complete package of a good human by been well educated with the good behaviors . 

But , in order to that , the students must be ready and prepared from their early ages because it is not easy to gain both things at once . Therefore , this Ulul Albab programme will help students to be well prepared , step by step , to achieve the goals , perhaps . =)

Monday, February 7, 2011

examination stress !

It's that time of the year ! Yes, exams ! Exam time can be a major cause of stress for children and also parents. It's the time where tensions arise, tempers flare and outburst occurs. So, why these things happen ?


If we think back of what the children often did when they had an examination especially a big one , there were something not right they did . Something like staying up late at night till morning for covering up all the topics they don't know and understand yet. Something like consuming more caffeine in order to ensure that the body can be good along the night. They tend to think that last minute cramming will help them to be able to remember the points they read last nights. But then , they have to know that their mind really need rest because brains work better if rested. Other than that, if we do not organize our clothes, food and pens the night before each exam, we will also feel stress. Even waking up in a panic or arriving late for an exam, they do make things more stressful. On top of that, they tend to think the finished exam rather than to concentrating on the next test. It will make them more stressful.
  


     So, let's do the right thing. Organize our days well, revise regularly, and concentrate on the upcoming exam smartly. And also make sure we have our alarm set for the morning that we have an exam in order to cut down on stress. hehe..:)      

Friday, January 28, 2011

HOW TO IMPROVE READING SKILLS, IN SHORT .

There are several keys to improve our reading skills . 

First and foremost, we should determine the reason why we want to read particular book and others . Then, select the articles in the magazine or the chapter in the book that are important . But then , we do not have to read everything . 

We should take notes when we do find the book that has something of interest in every chapter . After we read it, put it aside to reread .

Prioritize our reading by scanning the table of contents, the index, and the headlines .

On top of that, our reading environment should be comfortable . However, there are times, like carrying reading material in our car to read when waiting . With that books try and read in chapter bites . If we have questions, take notes and go back and get the answers or do further research .

In order to ensure that we read something with a purpose, set monthly book reading goals and keep a notebook or journal by writing down new ideas for books to read .

For the people that have car, take advantage of commuting time to listen to books in car's CD player . All of these things will keep our focus when reading .

As a conclusion, the more we read, the quicker our speed and comprehension . Thus, we'll approach our career success as soon as possible .



BENEFITS OF READING

Actually, i do not love reading since i was small . My parents did lots to encourage me to read . Previously, I just read books because of examination and for sure i don't read any books other than my textbooks. But then, when i was in form five, i finally understand why it is good to read .
First and foremost , i get to know various knowledge of the world around me something like ethnicity , cultures and etc . While reading , i will be exposed to many unfamiliar words . It does improve my vocabulary for sure . In my opinion , reading can improve my concentration too because i do believe that reading can improve my memory as it needs to remember details and anything related to it . On top of that , i can build good confidence in myself due to having knowledge through reading .


Last , but not least , reading can reduce boredom during a leisure time when i able to grab an interesting book , perhaps , because i know reading never let me become unoccupied and keep me engrossed for a while . =)

WHY IS EDUCATION SO IMPORTANT?

I strongly believe education is very important in life and it is about knowledge gain. In my opinion, education makes us capable of interpreting rightly the things we observed because education gives us the knowledge of the world around us. 

Generally, people who gain knowledge well become civilized as education teaches us the right behavior, the good manners. Other than that, education teaches us how to lead our lives better because it gives us a glimpse to look at our lives and learning from every experience.

From my point of view, I also think that the future of a nation is safe in the hands of educated individuals. In addition to that, I do believe that education is important in order to make our visions come true, in which, it provides us with all that is needed for those dreams and offers us with brilliant career opportunities. 

Last but not least, education paves us the path, leading to the right targets and leads us to enlightenment.

STUDY GROUP



Learning styles change over the years, and even those among us who prefer to study alone may at some time decide we would like to form a study group. In my opinion, study groups are great in secondary school, and they are even more useful when we get to college and university, due to the sheer volume of reading and research required. 


People always think that they should be in a study group with someone whom they close to. For me, it is good to have close friends whom I can discuss with, in a study group, but then, having a group with some close friends doesn’t mean that I can study comfortably as my friends and I may have different learning styles or different needs.  Thus, I must choose people whom actually I can study with or whom I think can study with me. For me, it’s afraid to imagine that my friendship might become worse if things don’t work out as I expect. So, it does need me to have someone that I comfortable to study with. In addition to that, I prefer to just have a group of three or four members because it will be difficult for everyone in a large group to participate with some may simply sit there soaking in the work that the others have done while the rest might get bored and become disruptive. 


Other than that, I prefer a place which is comfortable to study at; somewhere in a library that I can access to resources and materials in case I need them. Before starting the discussion, sometimes, I will remind everyone in my group to put their mobile phones on “silent” because I do hate people who do not respect others, talking on their phone while having a discussion without any emergency reasons. I can tolerate members who bring food and drink in a reasonable amount but not computer games and comics as I don’t want the study session turns to be a “coffee afternoon” where my members and I getting together just to socialize and eat. It is just a waste. For better solution, I think it is good to have a moderator who can keep the discussion relevant and reminds everyone to get back on track whenever we begin to stray from the assignment or topic.


At the same time, I prefer someone that can consider others’ opinions and ideas without boasting or taking over the group. In my opinion, it does suit the “study group” term which is helping one another to understand lessons better. If there is some work that needs to be done together, my members and I would like to share out the work fairly, assign each person a task and do it well. When the person does a good job, we will ensure that we are publicly appreciative and use the results well. But then, before starting our own work, the most important thing is my members and I will always come out with a specific agenda or goal for each task which needs to be done at the end of the meeting so that we know what are we discussing and sharing about.


On top of that, I never let my study sessions drag on for more than three hours. I simply believe more is not always better because it doesn’t rate the quality of the ideas in the meeting. For last words, I do believe that study groups can save us when we feel overwhelmed with information to learn. They can also be our downfall if we are caught in too large a group socializing. Therefore, it is important to pick and handle our group wisely. :)