Last Minute Revision Tips

Dear all,

All the best for your examinations tomorrow. Here are some last minute revision tips:

Grammar Rules 

Please remember to check for the grammar rules and also for the singular / plural and tenses form. 

1. Verb Noun Verb (Root word form)

He made me clean the floor.

Tom saw the criminal rob the bank.

He witnessed the boy fall down yesterday. 

2. Neither .... nor .....

    Either .... or .....

Look at the second noun to determine if it is plural or singular. Most importantly, check for tenses too.

Neither the boys nor Tom is in the canteen now.

Either Tim or the girls were at the park just now. 

3. ...... together with ........

Look at the first noun to determine if it is singular or plural but please check for tenses too.

My father, together with his brothers, is going to the park now.

My friend, together with his family, was at the museum just now. 

4. If I had .... I would/would not have .....

If I had done this, I would not have regretted it. 

If my cousin had gone to the park in time, he would not have missed the performance.

Phrasal Verbs

You can check out the website below for a list of phrasal verbs and their meanings 

http://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/verbs/list-of-phrasal-verbs/ 

Synthesis & Transformation 

1. whom 

Rule: Person whom Person

The boy whom the principal spoke to is my cousin. 

Tom whom I am friends with is an intelligent boy. 

2. Until ...

Rule: Until (something is done or someone does something) , (If not what would happen? Consequences)

Until James puts away his storybook, he will not be able to come down to play. 

Until Pamela studies hard, she will not do well in her test. 

3. Transformation Items 

Q. Ken performed enthusiastically in his dance item. It brought applause to the audience.

Ans: Ken's enthusiastic performance in his dance item brought applause to the audience. 

Ken's (adjective) (noun)

Transform enthusiastically (adverb) to its adjective form (enthusiastic)

Transform performed (verb) to its noun form (performance)

4. Reported speech 

Refer to the notes given on the website and your own notes.

Just take note of the PPTT skill.

Also, for the word 'Don't' --> follow the NT rule. (not to)

"Don't take my kindness for granted," Tom told his son. 

Ans: Tom told his son not to take his kindness for granted. 

5. Due to (pronoun) (noun)

Due to his behaviour, he was punished. 

Due to his kindness, he was rewarded handsomely. 

Key Skills

Highlight the key words and clues for comprehension cloze. Run through your practices to take a look. 

Then, look out for the grammar rules (tenses / plural / singular) Transformation of word forms. Verbs <-> nouns <-> adjective 

Remember to put the ticks, crosses and C (for change of words) for your synthesis. 

For comprehension OE, please remember to highlight key words (5W and 1H) plus your tenses. Also, read the questions first. Ask yourself about the characters, actions and source of finding the answers.

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong

Learning Points for English

Dear all,

Learning Points for English

Situational Writing

For this term, we are focusing on the area of content as an area for improvement based on your CA1 and daily work.

-          It is important to plan your six content points first before writing your answers.

-          You must be specific and precise with your content points. (e.g If the answer states that the bully is Peter Pang from Class 6A and if you have of the points missing, the content point is incomplete.)

-          At times, the one content point is a combination of many small points from different parts of the information so you have to look for the information carefully. Do not rush and assume the answer is simply very short.

In terms of formality (Purpose / Audience / Context), remember to introduce with a purpose and end off with polite closing words.

For informal writing, remember to start off with ‘How are you?’

Grammar and Synthesis Structures

1.       Despite / In spite of

In spite of the fact that ….

Despite the fact that ….

e.g Despite the fact that it was raining, the boys continued playing.

2.       Much to

Much to pronoun noun

e.g Much to his anger, he slammed the door as he walked out.

3.       Neither …. nor / Either … or

Remember to always look at the second item after ‘nor’ and ‘or’ to determine the singular/plural form of the verb that follows

e.g Neither the boys nor the girl is at home now.

4.       Due to

Due to the fact that

Due to pronoun noun

e.g 1 Due to the fact that he was careless, the plan did not work.

e.g 2 Due to his carelessness, the plan did not work.

5.       Unless

Unless shows an action and its consequences if not carried out

e.g Unless you keep the toys away, everyone will trip over it. (ßIf not what will happen)

6.       Would rather … than …

Would rather verb (root word form) than verb (root word form)

The boys would rather stroll at the park than swim in the sea.

7.       Until

Until (An action is carried out), (Consequence of the action not done)

Until you clean up the mess, you will not be able to go out to play.

8.       Prefers … to …

Prefers verb (-ing form) to verb (-ing form)

Peter prefers running to swimming.

9.       By

By verb(-ing form) … , intention of the action carried out …

By keeping the toys, Ben hoped that his mother would not scold him. (ßIntention of his action)

10.    Upon / On

On verb(-ing form) … , Action that takes place after that …

On witnessing the accident, Lucy quickly sought help.

Upon completing his work, the boys went out to play.

11.     Whom

Person whom Person  

The boy whom I was talking to was a famous musician.

12.      Who

Person who Action…

The girl who was singing on stage won a prize.

13.     Reported Speech

Come à go

An hour ago à the previous hour

14.     Collective Nouns

A collective noun is a word for a group of specific items, animals or people. For example, a group of ships is called a fleet, a group of cows is called a herd, a group of lions is called a pride, a group of baseball players is called a team, and a group of ants is called a colony.

You have to read carefully for the singular / plural form for the verb.

Example

The group of boys IS (Many boys but only ONE group of boys)

The box of toys IS (Many toys but only ONE box of them)

Feedback for CA1

You would have received your areas of feedback for your CA1. Do work on them and make the improvement for SA1. You can do it.

Areas for improvement as a whole

-          Vocabulary Cloze

-          Editing

-          Comprehension Cloze

-          Composition Writing (Exposure to positive topics)

-          Situational Writing (Content)

All the best and work hard! You can do it!

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong

CA1 Revision 2

Dear all,

Some last minute revision notes for CA1:

Grammar rules 

1. Always look at the verbs to determine the tenses (present / past / past perfect)

take (present tense)
took (past tense)
had taken (past perfect)

2. Neither .... nor ..........
    Either ..... or .........

This is also known as the proximity rule. Always look at the second noun involved to determine if the verb that follows is Singular / Plural.

e.g Neither Peter nor Fabian is at home now.
      Either your or I am to complete the work.
      Neither the boy nor the girls are studying.

3. Verb Noun Verb Rule 

The second verb is always in the root word or continuous form.

I saw the boy take / taking the wallet.
He witnessed the driver swerve / swerving the car.

4. Can / Could / Will/ Would / Shall/ Should / Might / May + Verb (Root word)

The verb that follows after these words are in the root word form.

May I take the plate?
He would strike back if he was provoked.

5. Each / Every / Everyone / None / No one / Neither of / Either of (Singular form)

These words are all in the singular form.

Each of the cars is painted by Jim.
None of the boys is here now.
Neither of the students has eaten yet.

Synthesis and Transformation

1. However (adjective) (pronoun/noun) (verb)

However tired Peter was, he continued to press on.

2. Much to (pronoun) (noun) .................

Much to our horror, we witnessed the accident.
Much to Peter's disappointment, he failed to clinch the award.

3. Reported Speech 

Remember to check for the tenses of the verbs OUTSIDE the speech first.
Check for your PPTT (pronoun / place / time / tense) to change the respective words.
If it is a question, check if it is a 'Yes/No' question. If it is, then you got to start your answer with 'if / whether'.

*Remember to put a tick for the words used, a cross for the words not used and (C) for words that need to be changed.

Some questions require the use of transformation and as such, do know how to change from one form to the other.

e.g

Angry (adjective) --> Anger (Noun)
Disagree (verb) --> Disagreement (Noun)
Strong (adjective) --> strongly (adverb) --> strength (noun)

You can have some practice at this website. Click HERE!

Vocabulary MCQ & Cloze 

Remember to read the sentence or passage first. Thereafter, highlight the main key words in the sentence to give you the clues for the answer. Certain words can mean the same meaning but only one word can fit the given context.

Comprehension Cloze 

Read once through first for the main idea.
Thereafter, link the information and highlight the key words.
Highlight for tenses / singular / plural clues.
Some information can be found in the passage itself so read carefully. Some clues in the first paragraph may provide the answer for the blanks in the last paragraph so read as a whole.

Comprehension OE 

Read through the questions first!

Highlight the 5W 1H and key words in the questions.

Highlight for tenses. (Past or present)

Read through the passage and carry out your chunking or pre-reading activity.

For vocabulary questions, quoting of words / phrase / sentence, please make sure punctuation and spelling are 100% accurate.

All the best! You can do it!
Sincerely,
Mr Nelson Ong

CA1 Revision 1

Dear all,

Some notes for your Paper 1:

Always check for your FRAP
Format 
Role
Audience 
Purpose 

Formal e-mail 

Dear Mr Tang,

I am writing his email to inform you of ..........................
.......................................................
........................................
.................................
..........................
...................
.............
........
....
I hope you can ..................

Yours sincerely,
Peter Wong

Informal e-mail

Dear Mr Wong,

How are you? I hope you are feeling better. I am writing this email to inform you of ........................
........................................
.................................
..........................
...................
.............
........
....
I hope you can .......................

Regards,
Peter

For your composition, you need to plan first and always remember to plan for your introduction, events, problems and solution.

Introduction
Flashback ?
Conversation ?
Sound ?

Events 
What happened? Describe the actions
Why did it happened?
How did the characters feel?

Problem
What happened? Describe
Why did it happened?
Feeling of the people involved.

Solution?
What was done?
Elaborate and explain why it was done.
Feeling of the people involved.
Any lessons to be learnt?

Do not forget to infuse good vocabulary words and phrases as much as possible into your writing.

Sincerely,
Mr Nelson Ong

Composition Writing

Dear all,

A recap of the composition writing technique being taught:

Always identify and break down the definition of the topic first.

Make use of at least ONE of the pictures.

Introduction techniques 

Sounds

Using sounds helps to captivate the audience as you introduce your story. It gives a sense of mystery that makes the audience want to find out more about your writing.

e.g

"Beep! Beep! Beep!" The constant reverberating of sirens around my neighbourhood made me feel shell-shocked. What could that sound be? I needed to find out the source of the strange sounds.


Conversation 

Conversation helps to introduce characters and gives an indication of the action that is taking place.

e.g

"Quieten down, Hector. You are too loud. We need to be stealthy and careful or you will alert the guards. Remember that we are here to retrieve my worksheet from the classroom if not I will be in deep trouble tomorrow," I whispered to Hector.

Flashback 

An effective way of introducing a story to add suspense but yet clarity for the reader. Making use of an object or an item to invoke past memories so as to retell the incident. With flashbacks, you have to always make reference back to the flashback in your conclusion.

e.g
Introduction
"Donuts for sale! Donuts for sale! Come get them now!" shouted an enthusiastic employee at the donut stall. As I peered at the donuts on sale, waves of memories filled my head and I remembered the birthday surprise I had just two months ago......

Conclusion
I snapped back to reality as I heard the employee asking me if I wanted to get some donuts. I did not realise that I had been staring hard at the donuts for the past fifteen minutes. As I recalled back about the incident, I could not help but smile delightfully. It was indeed a pleasant surprise.

Always remember to elaborate on your ideas.

Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?

Invoke feelings out of your characters rather than just describe them. Sometimes, you can showcase the feelings through conversation and actions rather than just simply describing the characters.

Show not Tell

Tell
He was extremely angry with me and proceeded to shout at me.

Show
"Hey you! Why did you have to tell Tom my secret? I actually trusted you!" John bellowed at me as he raised his fists in the air in sheer anger. As his fists came crashing down onto the table with a loud thud, my heart shuddered in fear. I knew I was in trouble.

Sincerely,
Mr Nelson Ong

Situational Writing Recap

Dear all,

A recap of the Situational Writing notes:

Use the acronym of 'FRAP' to help you with the planning.

·         Format (email? letter? note? report writing? letter of complaint/compliment?)

·         Role (who are you writing as and your position if any?)

·         Audience (who are you writing to?)

·         Purpose (what is the aim of writing this piece of SW?)

The choices of words used are very important. It affects the tone / formality of your writing.

Example of wrong choice of words used

Dear Chairman of Hougang Town Council,

            How are you doing? I am well. I want to tell you about the amount of litter lying around my block. I want you to do something about it. From 1^st January 2015 to 7^th January 2015, I started to notice a large amount of litter being strewn around my neighbour, Block 315A, Hougang Avenue 99. I am deeply concerned by the pests and bacteria that the litter will attract. There is no neighbourhood cleaner on duty and my elderly mother often complains to me about the smell.

Please do something about it immediately. It is so irritating. Thank you so much.

Cheers,

Tom Tang

The underlined words imply a sense of being rude and informal. Both samples cover the same content points but the choice of words used can affect the meaning greatly.

Example of correct choice of words used

Dear Chairman of Hougang Town Council,

            I am writing this letter to inform you about the amount of litter lying around my block. From 1^st January 2015 to 7^th January 2015, I started to notice a large amount of litter being strewn around my neighbour, Block 315A, Hougang Avenue 99. I am deeply concerned by the pests and bacteria that the litter will attract. There is no neighbourhood cleaner on duty and my elderly mother often complains to me about the smell.

            I sincerely hope that you can look into this matter. Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Tom Tang

Format 

Email (Formal and informal)
Note (Formal and informal)
Letter (Formal and informal)
Report Writing (Formal)
Letter of Complaint or Compliment (Formal)

Informal email, note & letter

Dear _______________,

        How are you? [Ask after the person and open with some polite words.] I am writing this letter to inform you ............ [State the purpose]............ Points 1 to 6 [Paragraphing is important]

       I hope you can............ [Closing words]

Regards,
_______

Formal email, note & letter

Dear __________, 

        I am writing this letter to request/inform you about .................. [State the purpose of the letter politely] Points 1 to 6 [Paragraphing is important]

        I hope you can............ [Closing words]

Yours sincerely,
______________

Report Writing

Date: ___________

Dear ___________,

Report on an Accident Along Hougang Avenue 9

I am writing this report to inform you of an accident that took place along Hougang Avenue 9. [Purpose of the report must be stated clearly and politely too] Points 1 to 6 [Paragraphing is important]

I hope you can look into this matter......... [Closing words]

Reported by:
__________
Position if any 

Letter of Complaint / Compliment 

Date: ___________

Dear ___________,

Letter of Compliment about Mr Tommy Tan's Attitude

I am writing this letter to inform you of your staff, Mr Tan's, good attitude. [Purpose of the report must be stated clearly and politely too] Points 1 to 6 [Paragraphing is important]

I hope you can look into this matter and praise him......... [Closing words]

Yours sincerely,
__________
Position if any 

Sincerely,
Mr Nelson Ong

Reported Speech

Dear all,

A recap of the important points for reported speech.

Reported speech involves the reporting of a direct to indirect statement or vice versa.

A direct speech is one in which someone says something to you. It is always within the open and close inverted commas (Either through a statement or question). An indirect speech is one in which you report what someone says.

The key skills for Direct to Indirect speech are:

1. Identify the tense of the verb OUTSIDE the speech first.

2. If the tense is in the present form, DO NOT change of the tenses in your answers.

3. If the tense is in the past tense form, make sure you change the tenses in your answers (Present -> Past, Past -> Past Perfect, Past Perfect to remain as it is)

4. Apply the PPTT skill (Place, Pronoun, Time, Tense). This will help you identify the words to be changed. You do not need to change every single word. Only the words which apply for PPTT.

5. If the direct speech is in a question form, identify if the question is Yes/No? If it is, you have to start your answer with 'if'.

Example

Q. "Did you do your work yesterday?" Tom asked me. [Yes/No type of question]

Pronouns - you, your (2)
Place - (0)
Time - yesterday (1)
Tense - did do (2)

The number of PPTT you have identified should match up against what you have identified in the given direct speech.

Answer:
Tom asked me if I had done my work the previous day.

Indirect to Direct speech

You are simply required to work in the opposite way from a direct to indirect speech. In this case, you have to apply the PPTT skill too.

Example.

Q. Tom asked me if I had eaten my food just then. (the word 'if' tells you it is a yes/no question)

Pronouns - I, my (2)
Place - (0)
Time - just then (2)
Tense - had eaten (2)

Answer:
"Did you eat your food just now?" Tom asked me.

or

"Have you eaten your food just now?" Tom asked me.

Homework:
Grammar Exercise 1.10 [Questions 1-5]
S & T Extra Practice [Questions 1-3]

Sincerely,
Mr Nelson Ong

Synthesis & Transformation Practice

Dear all,

As we wrapped up Week 2, here are some pointers to note:

Synthesis & Transformation

We went through the rules for certain structures and I highlighted some common errors to take note of.

Remember that adding in unnecessary words will change the entire meaning.

Another mistake would be missing out words, changing the tenses and the singular/plural form of the nouns.

E.g 

Q. Raju searched everywhere for his wallet but he could not find it. 

Common error 1
In spite of the fact that Raju searched everywhere, he could not find his wallet.

Explanation: 
You need to mention what Raju was searching for as given in the question. It is specifically shown that Raju searched everywhere for his wallet.
Raju searched everywhere --> refers to his action of searching all over the place
Raju searched everywhere for his wallet --> refers to his action of searching all over the place FOR HIS WALLET

Common error 2
In spite of the fact that Raju searched everywhere for his wallet, he still could not find it.

Explanation:
The use of the word 'still' is unnecessary here. It changes the intensity of the result of the search, displaying a more extreme emotion.

Raju could not find it --> general feeling
Raju STILL could not find it --> implies a deeper sense of frustration

There is a difference.

Common error 3
In spite of the fact that Raji searched everywhere for his wallet, he could not find his wallet.

Explanation:
You do not repeat 'his wallet' once again as it is grammatically wrong. In this case, you have to use a pronoun to replace 'his wallet'.
You won't say that 'Peter is a boy and Peter is my friend. Peter likes to play with Peter's toys.'
The correct usage should be 'Peter is a boy and he is my friend. Peter likes to play with his toys.'

Synthesis & Transformation skill 

As such, an important skill that I noticed some of you carrying out and perhaps for the rest of you to try out would be to tick the words you have used, underline the words you have changed and cross out the words that are not needed/used.

Example

Q. Raju searched everywhere for his wallet but he could not find it.

Ans: In spite of the fact that Raju searched everywhere for his wallet, he could not find it.

After going through the answer, head back to the question and apply the skills.

    ✓      ✓               ✓           ✓   ✓     ✓      X  ✓     ✓     ✓   ✓     ✓ 
Raju searched everywhere for his wallet but he could not find it.

Comprehension OE 

As mentioned, the important skills for Comprehension OE is to look at the questions first, underline the key words, read the questions to understand the story briefly first. Thereafter, we will then look at the passage, draw up the summary / chunking table to analyse the story before we look at the answers.

Looking at the questions first
You need to underline the key words (5 W 1 H)
- Who
- Where
- What / Which
- Why
- When
- How
Underline the tenses (past / present) to be used for your answers.

From the questions, they will tell you about the story. Therefore, make meaning of the story development as you read the questions. This will help you transfer what you have made out to your reading of the passage.

As you read, zoom into specific sections of the story to link your questions that you have read earlier. Make notes and highlight these areas.

After the story, you will want to be able to summarise and analyse the story. This is done through chunking in which you categorize the main points into three headings

Characters 
Problem 
Solution 

Sincerely,
Mr Nelson Ong

Editing Skills + Grammar Rules + Synthesis Revision

Dear all,

A recap of today's lesson.

Editing Skills
As mentioned, it is not only important to have the knowledge but it is also important to know the strategies of how to apply the knowledge.

For editing, do read through the passage first to understand the setting and events.

Thereafter, look at the underlined words and decide if it is a grammar or spelling mistakes and indicate with a 'S' or 'G' by the box.

If the word is a spelling mistake, it would be misspelled and not a word at all. If you are not sure what the word may be, it is always important to make out the word through its pronunciation. Therefore, break the word up into syllables and it will help you greatly.

e.g

the boy hesistated for a moment.

If you break up the misspelled word into syllables, it would sound like this.

HE SI STATED.

The correct spelling should be 'hesitated'.

Grammar Rules 

What are root words? 
A root word is the original form of the word itself
It is in the present tense + plural form

Root word: 
Eat

Present tense / Singular form
Eats

Past tense
Ate

Perfect tense
Eaten

Continuous form
Eating

be + verb (either in the -ing form or perfect tense form)

e.g
He would be running for the upcoming marathon.
The chicken wing would be eaten up by the time you arrived.

Can/could/shall/should/will/would/may/might + Verb (Root word form)

e.g
Can he play the game for us?
Would you read the book?

He can run very fast.
He could run very fast.

Synthesis Revision Items

1. Upon / On (followed by a VERB in the continuous form)..................

On realising he was in the wrong, he apologised profusely.
On knowing about the theft, he reported the matter to Mother.

2. In spite of / Despite (followed by 'the fact that')

In spite of the fact that he was tired, he completed the work.
Peter continued running despite the fact that he was injured.

3. Much to (followed by PRONOUN and NOUN)

Much to my disappointment, I failed my test.
Much to Peter's joy, he won the first prize.

Homework: 
Grammar Exercise 1.5 Q1-7
Synthesis Revision Practice Q1-3

Sincerely,
Mr Nelson Ong

Grammar Rules

Dear all,

A recap of today's lesson with the English Grammar rules learnt.

Phrasal Verbs
- Confide in (Seek comfort and pour out sorrow/grievances)

- Look at is used for looking at people/object
- Look into is used for a matter or issue
- Look after is used for looking after people/belongings

- Give away a secret

Grammar Rules

Among - 3 or more people
Between - 2 people

Person [whom] Person
e.g He is the boy whom the principal had just praised.

Person [who] verb
e.g He is the boy who was praised by the principal.

Grammar rules are essential as they are the foundation to writing grammatically correct sentences. You need to know and understand the rules in order to answer the questions. Grammar is pretty straightforward and once you have mastered the rules, you will be able to answer no matter what the context is.
As we go along, I will introduce you to more rules and concepts.

Tips for Grammar Cloze 

1. Always remember to read the passage once through first even with the blanks given.

2. Understand the passage and note down the main idea of the passage.

3. Highlight key words (prepositions, words that provide clues for the grammar structure such as plural/singular/tenses/phrasal verbs)

Sincerely,
Mr Nelson Ong

Introduction to Grammar Rules and Phrasal Verbs

Dear all,

A recap of what we have learnt today. After marking through your mini assessment, I still realise some of you have difficulties with the grammar rules. As such, here is a recap.

Verbs 
-> Action words
e.g run, walk, eat, study, is, are, am, was, were,

For verbs, it is important to take note of the tenses involved (present / past / past perfect)

Nouns 
-> names of people, things, ideas, places, etc.
e.g food, table, chair, Singapore, sports, happiness, anger, kindness, disappointment

For nouns, it is essential to note whether they are singular or plural.

*Singular/Plural Nouns will affect the verbs
e.g The boys take good care of him. (Plural noun --> Plural verb form)
      The boy takes good care of him. (Singular noun --> Singular verb form)

Adjectives
-> Describing words
e.g big, small, hot, hardworking, happy

For adjectives, they can further be classed into different intensities / value
e.g big, bigger, biggest, small, smaller, smallest

Pronouns 
-> Words to replace nouns
e.g He, his, him, she, our, they, their, Peter's, mine

Prepositions
-> explain where something comes from, its position or when it may happen
e.g on, around, from, under, up, down, after, before

Adverbs
-> tell you why, when, where and how actions take place
e.g wildly, soundly, happily, now, tomorrow, almost, much

Conjunctons
-> link phrases or ideas together
e.g and, but, although, Neither...nor.... or.....

Phrasal Verbs
-> phrase that involved a verb
-> Verb + Preposition
-> Specific and fixed
e.g I can hardly make out the numbers on the board.
     She went over the piece of work with me.

Homework:
1. Newspaper Article (1)
- 3 main ideas
- 7 Vocabulary words as stated with the meaning
- 3 Compre OE questions

2. Grammar 1.1 (Phrasal Verbs)

This year's newspaper article reflections will aim to be more focused and help you to be exposed to suitable topics and to also make use of the article to go through revision sections like comprehension cloze, editing, grammar or comprehension open-ended.

Work hard for the year everyone.

Sincerely,
Mr Nelson Ong

English Homework for 7th Jan

Homework for 7th January 

- Vocabulary Booklet (All except 1.5)
Due on 18th January 2016 (Monday)

Research the meanings of the words / idioms given and write them down by the side. You learn best through researching the words on your own and as such, do read through and jot the meanings down. For the section on idioms, you would need to find the meanings online or through an idiom guidebook if you have one.

Tips:
Remember to read the passages first for Vocabulary Cloze. The passages are there for a reason. The choice of vocabulary words used specifically fit the setting given. As such, you have to scrutinise the vocabulary words carefully. Some words might have the same meaning but not all will fit into the passage given.

Today's Learning Point:
Idioms are figurative speeches. They imply a deeper meaning than the words given.

They are the opposite of Literal speeches which take the same meaning as the words given.

Example:
In the idiom "in hot soup", if you say that the boy is in hot soup after breaking the vase, it means figuratively that he is in trouble. You will not take its literal meaning of saying that the boy is physically inside the hot soup as it does not sound appropriate.

Introductory Post

Dear all,

Hope you enjoyed the first day of school of getting to know one another and adjusting to life in Primary 6. Primary 6 is definitely an important year and it defines your path to PSLE. As mentioned in class, you really need to work hard to get your basics right and set yourself up for next year. Do work hard and my target set for you is to have my 100% passes and Grade A / A* for English. We will work towards it.

Important reminders:

· Get ready 2 exercise books for English and your English files.

· Do bring your foolscap paper to class as we will need it for and Composition writing and Situational Writing. 

Tips to improve your English:

· The most important tip is to simply read and in reading, it means that you have to read novels, newspaper articles and world knowledge. Avoid just reading comics. Reading not only helps you to understand different perspectives (points of view of writing) but also helps you to brush up your grammar and vocabulary content. 

· Practise on grammar exercises (tenses and plural/singularity as one of the most important rules of grammar)

· Practise on vocabulary items (especially useful for vocab cloze, comprehension cloze, composition writing)

· Newspaper articles are very useful as most of the cloze passages in your exam papers are based on newspaper articles. 

As mentioned, I will definitely try to lighten your homework load. I believe in going through work with you in class and having you to understand what I teach than to keep pumping you with work. You need to understand the content I teach before you apply them to your work. 

Don't forget my rules for you and the routines I have set for you. Very importantly, I believe that you must have your character in place (motivation level and the passion for learning) before you will be able to improve and score well. Have a positive attitude and do not every give up. With great character, we can then learn better. As such, my 3 rules for you:

Rule #1 

WORK TOGETHER :)

This is top of my list for the fact that you will be together for this year. I have seen my previous P6 classes stick together through thick and thin and graduated as a close unit. The camaraderie formed has helped them through the ups and downs. As such, team spirit is important. We work for one another and help one another. Likewise, I am in this with you and promise to take you guys through your studies and character building.

Rule #2

HAND UP ALL WORK ON TIME

In everything you do, it is 100% effort and nothing less. I understand that some days, we do get tired and would like to take short cuts in our lives but you have to always remember that, you need to put in your best effort if not you will not see results. There are no shortcuts in life. You need to work hard for your goals. Work given is important and helps you to grow and learn. I really seek your help to submit work on time so that I in turn can mark and pass them back to you on time.

Rule #3

LISTEN ATTENTIVELY

In terms of respect, this rule is integral to establishing good communication between you and me. A teacher's lesson is measured by effective communication in delivering my message and lesson across to the students. Focus and understand in you classroom learning. Put all distractions aside and strive for excellence.

Here's to a good year for all pupils and parents. :)

Dear Parents,

If you have any queries or feedback, do feel free to reach me through my email @ ong_yong_hui_nelson@moe.edu.sg

I look forward to working with all of you as you play an important role in your children's education and character building. Each and every child is important.

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong