Learning Log 7

   This learning log is about the literature performances, Romeo and Juliet. I still remember vividly during  the Mid-year Examination period where Mrs Woo used the number selector to choose our group mates. I was extremely fortunate to enter such a great team, having people like JiaLe who is capable of acting very well.  Then, it was after the examination, where we needed to choose our role.  Knowing that I spoke quite montonously, I chose the role of the serving man.  We soon chose Dawn as our group director, knowing that she have great leadership. It was the term 3, where we stayed back one every fortnight or sometimes every week to reherse. It was somewhere near, term 3 week 4, where we decided to use the theme 'Comedy' we changed our dances quite a lot of times, ranging from chicken dance, umbrella dance...... to finally, our very own" London Bridge is falling down" dance.  Starting from Term 3 week 8, Mrs Woo started conducting our Literature lesson as rehearses for us.  She made quite a lot of positive changes to our group.  It was then, we learnt how to position ourselves in front of the camera.  From term 3 week 4 to the day of the performance, we started having many rehearses, sometimes 3 to 4 times a week.  During the rehearses after school, we practiced with our lines and dances.  To be frank, it was quite boring, as I was serving man, a character who did not need to dance and just said a line, "I know not, Sir".  I needed for quite a long time to rehearse, as my group struggled with our dances.  It was somewhere neared the holiday, then I learnt that my role was not just to say a line, but to nod head and fletch Jinghan, our group's Tybalt his rapier.  I struggled in balancing the cups using one hand during the rehearses. My hand trembled a lot.  During the school holidays, we went to the Republic Poly to rehearse.  We organised meeting to go for shopping for our props and making the backdrop.  Lets go fast forward to the day before the performance,  all of us learnt that our venue will be change to the music room, where 2 Thinking will be our audiences long ago.  Many people were extremely unhappy, started a 'quarrel'.  Luckily, Mrs Woo solves the dispute, claiming that she will ask 2 Thinking to be in their best behaviour. It was after school, I was practicing with balancing my cups. My hand still trembled a bit.  Vanessa, then went all the way to AMK hub, which was in Ang Mo Kio to buy the "umbrella Rapier" I felt that it was a great final rehearse, especially for Jia Le, Jinghan and Shun hui who have to rush back from NPCC to rehearse.

It was then 15/9/11 the day we were waiting, I had butterflies in my stomach. despite the fact, that I finally mastered how to hold the cups using one hand without trembling.  Immediately, after English period, we brought our props, costumes and backdroup to the music room .  It was 3.20p.m., where everyone was in their costumes.  then, the first group from 2Respect started their performance.  In the mid of their performance, our backdrop fell off the table that we laid for support.  Everyone was stunned and disgusted at the same time.  We then quicky fixed our backdrop after 2Respect's performance which was very crucial in the play.  Everyone in my group was running like a frightened chicken.  After that, we came out of the music room to calm ourselves down.  It was very soon 4.15 p.m., the start of our performance.  as Mrs Woo counted "Ready,3,2,1 action".  My heart was pounding furiously.  I knew I could not afford to be nervous and I managed to maintain calm. It was very fast the performance ended.  All of us were then relieved.  After all the groups had completed their performances, we were in ecstasy where we begun tearing our backdrop to mark our four months of hard work. I think our performance as a group is well done and we learnt a lot of great values ranging from teamwork to determination to excel. I also learnt that regardless of how small is your role,   your's individual performance will definitely be great factor to the team. I strongly recommend this Romeo & Juliet, play to our juniors as this is a very well known play from William Shakespeare. This will also served as an enriching lifetime experience which could help them to get more socialised with their classmates and to help them learnt essential values/skills such as time management which is crucial to survive in such a fast-paced working society in Singapore. 

Learning Log 6

Literary devices are used to convey a certain meaning to the reader. It also emphasises the meaning of the text.

There are three groups of devices that I learnt: Imagery and Figurative language, Sound devices, Diction and sentence structures.

    

Imagery and Figurative language

1)Simile-Comparison between two distinctly different things, indicated by the use of 'like' and 'as'

2)Metaphor-Qualities of an object is applied to another

3)Personification-The attribution of human beings to inanimate objects

4)Symbol-An object will stand for something else, usually something more abstract

5)Visual-Descriptions to do with what we see

6)Auditory-Descriptions to do with what we hear

7)Olfactory-Descriptions to do with what we smell

8)Gustatory-Descriptions to do with sensations of flavour or texture in mouth

9)Kinesthetic-Descriptions to do with movement

10)Tactile-Descriptions to do with what we touch 

       

Sound devices     

1)Rhyme-The similarity of ending sounds existing between two words.

2)Rhythm-The beat or the pattern of stresses (claps) as you read a passage of poem.

3)Alliteration-The repetition of initial consonant sounds, to produce a rhythmical effect.

4)Onomatopoeia-The formation of words, which echo the sounds that they describe.

5)tone-The oral expression of mood, attitude or point of view.

Diction and sentence structures

1)Connotation-The associated images and ideas conveyed by a word. i.e. what a word implies

2)Oxymoron-A single image or idea, made up of contradictory/incongruent images

3)Hyperbole-A deliberate exaggeration to emphasize a point or feelings

4)Paradox-A statement which seems self-contradictory, but turns out to make good sense

5)Simple Sentence-Sentence with one main idea

6)Complex Sentence-One or more main ideas together with minor phrases or clauses

7)Incomplete sentence-Truncated sentences which reflect excitement, action, activity, etc.

8)Exclamation-A strong statement showing feelings or emphasis

9)Rhetorical Question-A question which is not asked to request information or a reply but to achieve an expressive tone different from a direct question

10)Repetition-Using a word or phrase multiple times, in order to give emphasis and show strong feelings

In these categories, some of the devices were new whereas some of them that we already knew and were revising it again. Examples of devices that we learnt in sec1 are simile, metaphor, personification, symbol, rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, onomatopoeia, tone and repetition. We have learnt the various meanings of these literary devices, which allow us to know how the poet or author uses them in the prose or poem, allowing us to understand the prose or poem better. Learning these devices help us to approach an unseen text easier as text uses a lot of literacy devices. We also learn how to identify different types of devices from different quotes. I found two devices quite similar which are “oxymoron” and “paradox” as they are both about contradictory and belong to the group of “diction and sentence structures” devices.

Learning Log 5

 

I am in rush when I am doing this learning log. There are many tests coming in next week. I find that this 'unseen' notes is quite useful to me. It let me reflect on the mistakes that I did in sec1 when we are also told to analyse and answer some questions of poems and questions. It teaches me that I should not be rushing to finish reading the passage or poem. We should also not make general statements without explaining why. There are two ways of answering: a) IBC-1) INTRODUCTION 2) BODY 3) CONCLUSION; b) PEEEL-1)POINT 2)EXPLAIN ELABORATE 3) EVIDENCE EXAMPLE 4) LINK. I personally prefer the "PEEL" method which is quite similar to the 'PEE' method in sec1. Answers should be easily read. A quotation should be kept short and simple. We can also use the 'ABCs in quoting' method. Attention (The words and/ or phrases that draw your attention are the ones to pick), Brief (keep the quotation short. It is rare that you should need to use a long quotation- It could look like a 'cut and paste' job and shows you do not understand the text.), Context (Contextualise your evidence(quotes), i.e. work the quotes into your answer. It makes your writing flow and shows you have a good understanding of the text. Think of it as dissolving honey in water, versus eating a spoonful of honey then drinking the water.) There are four levels in understanding the texts, from the lowest to the highest, they are Comprehension, Interpretation, Analysis and Insight. We should attempt to display a clear awareness of the text's meaning, a logical analysis and evaluation of the text, and finally, an insightful response to the test in our writing. After browsing through the booklet, I realise that some questions no right or wrong, it depends on your evidences and quotes. I also learnt that there is a need for a 'personal touch' on the poems to really understand it. We cannot just read blindly at the poem.

Learning Log 4

Last week, we had our 'three witches' performance. The performances were very interesting . I think a few teams did very well. For example, Jia Le's group, as they were very creative. They used umbrellas which were unique thing. Jia Le even had his teeth stained to look even more like a witch. It was very hilarious to see Jia Le's team doing the performance. Sanjna and Jia Le spoke extremely well. Some even included powerpoint slides with sound effects. I was shocked that Iqbal could have such a high pitch which was  an advantage to him as acting  as a witch requires high pitch. I think my team worked very hard, as we had many props. As the person who was in charge of the music and sound, I was told to make a frog sound during the performance. I have difficulties in finding suitable lightning, thunder and rain video. I think the lines were easy to memorise.During the performance, we even have make up on our faces and we even wore black tights. We also used nail polish. I think we looked more like crowns instead of witches.Each of us also had an aluminium 'nose' attached to our noses. It looked strange on us , but it helped us to project our witchy voices. I can still remember some of our classmates criticized Jing Yan and me , whether we were a boy or a girl. Despite the fact that,  we did not conduct rehearsal, we still did well. I scored 25/30 which was good. I think that the performance was very short, yet everyone had to bring so many props. But it was still fun to see everyone acting. I thought this was a good learning experience as we learnt from each other and improve in the future. We also learnt from people's faults and mistakes and will try not to follow them. This 'three witches' performance also served as a 'warm up' for our Romeo and Juliet performance which will be coming soon.

Learning Log 3

    I am fighting against time to do this learning log, as there are tests and a pile of homework to do. We have a literature lesson this Monday about superstitions again. It may sound awkward to have a lesson of superstitions during the fifteen days of  Chinese's New Year, but  it is fine with me as long  lesson continue. We are arranged to the groups that we are divided  last week. I was assigned with Liang wei, Vanessa and Dewi. Last week, we also learnt from Vanessa  that she really had a cut at one of her ears the next day after pointing her finger at the moon. It really surprised me that this superstition really occured. This week, we are asked to present in front of the class. Every group has a person who has been selected to be the presenter by the 'colour selector'. Thankfully, I am not selected to be the presenter. Liang wei was our group presenter. I have to admit that this superstition class is a bit boring, but it is more 'creepy'. A few of my classmates even told the entire class some of their  true life stories. There was a group that made me feel 'creepy', it was Amanda's group. It made me felt a bit uncomfortable when they mentioned about the old woman who predicted that her sister will die soon. It created a 'scary' atmosphere. Luckily, it was just a fake story, as who will want to have his/her's sister to die over some superstitions. Every group except Steffi's group was talking about bad superstitions which are superstitions that can make people have a chill went down their spines. Lets talk about Steffi's group who said that Steffi's mother knows how to predict examination answers. Honestly, I hoped I could have this type of 'supernatural powers' that can help me score As like mad and I will be jumping with joy. To be honest, this superstition class is not as exciting as the previous superstition class. I am longing for stories about 'Macbeth'.

Learning Log 2

                                      
      During the superstitions lesson, I  learnt lots of superstitions that I do not know in the first place. I  would like to say that humans have lots of religious beliefs. these beliefs also interest me. I also found out that superstitions causes lots of supernatural things such as 'your children will look like what you have killed in the past'. Mrs Woo even told us that this did really happened to some people. It really surprised and puzzled me at the same time.We were asked to jot down 5 superstitions. I think the advantage of having superstitions is that people will be well behaved and not do any more sins. The disadvantage is that people will live with fear. I think superstitions are extremely strange things which are not scientifically proven, but yet experienced by other people. I hope that people will not do foolish things such as killing animals and himself. It think superstitions are influenced by our ancestors who pass down these superstitions to the future generation. If you were to ask whether superstitions such as ghosts  really exist, I would have to say 'I do not know'. I suggest for improvement for the superstitions class, such as telling more people to share the superstitions they know. I also think that having lesson about superstitions will let as know about different races and religions which will boost Singapore as a multi-racial country. I learnt more about a story called 'Macbeth', especially about 'three witches'. It is very interesting to learn about three strange witches which are going to meet Macbeth, a great general of the king of Scotland, who later want to be the king of Scotland. We are also told hand in our homework which is about drawing the 'Three witches', I realised that there are many artistic people in our class. It is also extremely hilarious to see my classmate acting the 'Three witches'.Everyone is bursting with laughter. I think that it takes a lot of courage, as it is a play which need you to speak in high pitch. I think that being especially as a male actor , you must be 'thick-skinned' enough to not be easily offended by the audiences criticism and laughter who will try to criticise you as they think that you look like a 'sissy' who uses high pitch voice to perform. But I think there is room for improvement such as we can lower down our noise level, so that we will not disturb the other classes as they were having their lessons. I also think that the actors and actresses should restrain from laughter, as there will be an examination for acting soon. I hoped that people will concentrate on the lessons from now on.

Learning Log 1

  I have learnt Cinquain , a five-line poem which is slightly different from the poems that we have learnt at sec1. The poems that we have learnt in sec1 have rhyme scheme while cinquains do not have which make it more easier.But there are disadvantages such as word limit of 11 words and we must have title, description, action, feeling and reflection on title. But overall, I still prefer Cinquain to the poems we learnt in sec1. I felt that learning Cinquain is meaningful as you can express even more of your thoughts. The Cinquain lesson  is fun, as we make these poems through our creativity. Mrs Woo divided us into groups  of five or six. Our group chose the topic on Toilet bow, it was very hilarious. This gave us an opportunity for us to interact with each other.This needs teamwork, as despite it is easier than poems we learnt in sec1.  We still need a wide range of creative ideas. I suggest improvement such as talking about our founding fathers, like Mr Lee Kuan Yew and about Singapore and give more examples of Cinquain.
 The Cinquain format:

1. title(1 word)
2. description of poem(2 words)
3. actions(three words)
4. feeling(four words)
5. use a word to describe the title