Our English Adventures

Hello!

It has been a great Term Three for me, I am really proud of all my little 1/3s. This term we did quite a lot of things. We focused on Factual Recounts and Reading. We had weekly Reading periods and all of you have kept up with the reading log. I have such a huge pile of activities now!

We did Newspaper Report structure and language features and practiced by translating a Chinese newspaper article into an English one. It was a good attempt on your part to attempt the translation and I hope it helps with your Chinese too!

We also learnt about Biography and Autobiography. We did research on a group of artists and shared our research with the class through powerpoint presentations and we also wrote a biography on the artist that you have chosen.

Following that we started on our Puppetry project. We did research on a person who has contributed much to the world - Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, Genghis Khan, Jim Henson and Hayao Miyazaki. We watched videos on these great people to gain better understanding of their lives. The class cooperated very well in choosing the Character for the project. We also did procedural writing -How to Make a _____ Puppet and watched videos on the different types of puppets there are - Rod, Sock, Marionettes (String), Wayang Kulit (Shadow) and even Water Puppets. We also asked our Vietnamese friends to explain to us what the Water Puppets are about and how they are like.

Then each group did research and wrote a script on the person they have chosen. The puppet performance could be in a variety of modes - Documentary, Interview, Talk Show and Narrative. The class decided that each group would create their own stage and puppets. We had one group who decided to do a live talk show.

Each member of the group had a role - Director, Dramaturg, Scriptwriter or Designer and each performed her role well. I love the puppets and the ingenious idea of creating curtains that could be pulled open! The groups learnt from each other yet each retained their own ideas about how they wanted their show to be. It took a lot of time and effort to plan, create and perform but it was worth it wasn't it? :)

I remember how people said that their arms hurt after the performance, from holding the puppets up too long. I saw how the voice over people try to lower their voices for male parts. I really enjoyed seeing how all the things that we have learnt over the past year come together in this project.

I feel really proud of all of you! :D

Thank you for all the hard work and gifts. Seeing your puppet performances was one of the best gifts for Teachers' Day.

We will tackle the end of year examinations next term and emerge victorious once again!
Let's advance with courage and joy! :)