Constructing 2 learning activities based on the map given.

Here are my 2 learning activities~~ =)

1. You and your family are at Jalan Tun Fuad Stephen. Write a short paragraph about places you can visit or things you can buy somewhere around there. Your paragraph should not be longer than 60 words.

2. Complete the phone conversation in between you and your friend using the template provided. Make sure the directions are well defined and the conversation should not be longer than 60 words.

A: Hello, B. I’m now at Hyatt Regency Kinabalu Hotel. Can you please tell me the directions to  Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board?

B: Hello, A. Sure. First, you will have to………

RESPONDING TO “A SCARY EXPERIENCE”

After going through the essay, I realized that the student has a problem in choosing the appropriate words to be used. For example, he should have used “a wonderful day” instead of “a nice and scary day”. Apparently, he was weak in using descriptive words or adjectives, despite being able to maintain the flow of the story. There was also wrong usage of idiom as it was directly translated from Chinese o English. However, this student was clear about his/ her topic or what he or she intended to write. Besides that, there were also some mechanical errors such as wrong usage of tenses and words missing in a sentence. For this student, I would prefer to use written comments regarding on his/ her work. This is because, according to the essay written by him/ her, the flow of the story is obvious and the student did had the introduction, rising action, climax and ending part although the conclusion was ended quite abruptly.

In order to improve his/ her writing, I would suggest peer edit whereby his/her work is shown to his peers before submitting them. Through this method, he/she will be able to identify similar problems and weaknesses in their own writing. They will also have a wider insights and directions of writing as they are exchanging ideas.

The most common error found in this essay is the wrong usage of adjectives. I will provide some activities that are related to adjectives. For instance, I will ask him/her to write me a short paragraph on describing something such as places, things, people and surroundings. Besides that, I will also let him/her to have some warm-up activities. Pictures will be shown to him/her and they will have to use the correct adjectives to describe it orally.

EXAMPLE:

1. Describe your best friend’s appearance in less than 50 words.                                                            
2. Imagine you are lost in a forest and the sky is getting dark. What do you think about your  surrounding? Describe it using proper words in less than 60 words.                                          

INSIDE THE HAITI EARTHQUAKE

Based on the serious gaming, Inside the Haiti Earthquake, I took on the role as an aid worker. From there, I realized that making a wise decision is very important in that situation. A less-considerate decision will cause people to starve and die. The game is really an interesting one as I somehow got to feel how it was like if I were in that situation in real-life. It actually left me wondering, will I really be that calm in making decisions? All in all, I am glad that the place I live in was free from most of the natural disasters.

For the learning activity, I will first play the game with them by choosing the role as aid worker. The clips in the video will be shown to them. Next, I will ask the students to write down what is the one thing that the survivors needed most after the earthquake had struck. It can be water, food, medicine supplies, tent and many more. Next, they will have to list out the usage of that particular thing that they have listed down in point forms. Lastly, they will have to come up with a short paragraph on the points they have written earlier.

EXAMPLE 1:

After the earthquake had struck Haiti, I think majority of the survivors needed the clean water supply the most. This is because many water sources had been contaminated with dust and bits of concretes from buildings that had collapsed. The clean water will be used for most importantly, drinking and also cleaning wounds. Besides that, formulated milk powder for babies too, need to use clean water and not those contaminated water shown in the video clip earlier. If contaminated water is used, it may cause diarrhea, cholera and other water-infected diseases.

EXAMPLE 2: 

In my opinion, I think the survivors needed the supply of medicines the most. This is due to the fact that, many people were injured during the earthquake. Medicines such as antibiotics and pain killers are somehow the most common type of medicines required. There were also many survivors who needed certain medicines in order to undergo operations. Children for instance, will need more vitamin C and injections to boost or strengthen their immune system as they are more prone to diseases compared to adults.

ANOTHER LEARNING ACTIVITY

I have created another activity earlier. I think it is more suitable for students who are in Form 5. So, I will just post it in my blog. It is an activity that incorporates with students’ thinking skills using the level of APPLYING in the Bloom’s Taxonomy. First, I will give the students a list of events. Next, they are free to arrange the events into a paragraph with the condition that the events must be linked to one another. Feel free to try out. =)

EXAMPLE:

 1. Accidentally kicked a big stone

2. Having lunch with my friends

3. The first time I met her

4. Late for lecture

5. Friends laughing at me

6. Made her my wife

7. Had dinner and movie

EXAMPLE 1:

I still remember the first time I met her. It was on a Friday morning. That day, I was late for lecture as I woke up late. It was because I had dinner and watched a late movie with my friends the other night till 2am. I ran all the way to my lecture hall and accidentally kicked a big stone, sending me toppled over a girl walking right in front of me. Standing up, I began to apologise profusely looking straight into her eyes for the first time. I was stunned and speechless, looking at her beautiful face. She said that it was alright and left. I saw her again the next day while I was having lunch with my friends at the café. I told my friends that I would make her my wife. My friends just laughed at me and continued with their lunch.

EXAMPLE 2:

I have just finished having lunch with my friends at the café when I accidentally kicked a big stone and slipped.  Friends were laughing at me for not having a girlfriend although I had been in the university for three years. This year will be my final year. Driving along the road, I was listening to my favorite song, Marry You by Bruno Mars. Suddenly, a girl came out of nowhere and stood in front of my oncoming car. I immediately stepped on the brake and the car came to an abrupt stop. I started to curse and before I regained my calm, that girl was already in my car, sitting at the passenger seat which was right next to me saying, “I’m so sorry, mister. But, could you please send me to the Lecture Hall Number 15. I’m going to be late for my first class. Please”. That was how everything started. We chatted along the way and keep in touch often. Two weeks later, we started to meet up for dinner and also movie every Saturday. Soon enough, I made her my wife. 

SYNTHESIS

I have decided to create an activity that incorporates with students’ thinking skills using the level of SYNTHESIS in the Bloom’s Taxonomy. First, I wil divide the students to work in pairs. I will give the students a few different situations that they might be facing in real life and they will have to write down a few solutions from most likely to least likely and label them accordingly.

EXAMPLE:

SITUATION 1: 

A young boy named Mike decided to ride his bicycle from his house to a town, 5 kilometres away from his house. After a while, he reached a crossroad where he had to change direction. However, he noticed that the signpost with arrows pointing to different towns in that area had been blown away. He did not know which road was the right one. Nevertheless, he was able to figure which road to take. What do you think he did?

ANSWERS: 

A: Most likely, the boy asked for direction from the people around on his way there.                                     
B: The boy might have a map with him                                                                                                     
C: The boy could have just simply got there by luck.

SITUATION 2: 

On June 22, 1996, an 18- year old thief broke into a lady’s house and demanded all her money. She gave him all she had: RM11.50. The thief was so angry that he demanded the lady to write him a cheque for RM1, 000. Two hours later, the police caught the thief. How?

ANSWERS: 

A: The thief, most likely have given the old lady his real name for the cheque.                                                   
B: It could be that the old lady recognized the thief.                                                                                       
C: There may have been a security camera in the building.

LIST OF MOVIES AND SONGS ABOUT FAMILY AND FRIENDS

MOVIES

1. Tarzan

2. Camp Rock

3. Cadet Kelly

4. The Lion King

5. 101 Dalmatians

6. Toy Story

7. Lilo and Stitch

8. Real Steel

9. 3 Ninjas- High Moon on Mega Mountain

10. Alvin and The Chipmunks

11. Brother Bear

12. Clash of The Titans

13. Daddy Day Care

14. Despicable Me

15. High School Musical

16. Finding Nemo

17. Ice Age

18. Madagascar

19. Meet The Robinsons

20. Kung Fu Panda

SONGS

1. Sister Sledge - We are Family

2. Boyz II Men - A Song for Mama

3. Luther Vandross - Dance with my Father

4. The Temptations - Lean On Me      

5. Bob Carlisle - Butterfly Kisses

6. The O’Jays - Family Reunion

7. Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World

8. Michael Jackson - I’ll Be There

9. The Pretenders - I’ll Stand By You

10. Bill Withers - Lean On Me

11. Mariah Carey-Anytime You Need a Friend

12. Monica - For You I Will

13. Christina Aguilera – I Turn to You

14. Sarah McLachlan – I Will Remember You

15. Elton John - Friends

16. Kirk Franklin and Nu Nation – Lean on Me

17. Miley Cyrus - True Friend

18. Bruno Mars – Count on Me

19. Demi Lovato – Gift of A Friend

20. James Taylor - You Got a Friend

TUTORIAL 2

CAUSES OF MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS



Thesis Statement:
 Motor vehicle accidents are caused by drunk drivers, equipment failure and usage of mobile phones while driving.

Topic Sentence:
1. Drunk drivers tend to be unable to focus on the road and lose their judgement while driving.
2. Drivers who do not sent their cars for maintenance will face a higher risk of getting involved in an accident    as there could be equipment failure.
3. Usage of mobile phones is another common causes of motor vehicle accidents where drivers tend to be     distracted.  

IMPORTANCE OF PRESERVING THE SEA:
1. By preserving our sea, a better quality of marine food supply can be provided.
2. Preservation of sea helps to lower the risk of contracting diseases caused by polluted         marine lives.
3. The government can promote clean beaches to attract foreign tourists.    

REFLECTION: 
This game was fun as me and my teammates were required to find certain words in the newspaper in a limited time. We were asked to run a distance after cutting the words and stick it on a piece of paper. It was hard as some words can be really small that we hardly noticed it.
However, the tough part was when we were asked to come up with three different topic sentences within a limited time, using only the words we had from the newspaper. It certainly will be challenging and fun to be played with my students in the future.     
By bringing in the concept of outdoor activity while learning, participants can enjoy learning in a more relaxed surrounding. This game also promotes the thinking skill as it requires the participants to build up sentences with limited choice of words in a limited time. They will have to made a good use of their vocabulary in order to make three different sentences.Through this game, participants can also share their opinions and have a better opportunity of being exposed to different formats of thinking.  

TASK 1: DESCRIBING PEOPLE  

EYES	Beady, bloodshot, boss-eyed, bug-eyed, clear, close-set, cross-eyed, dead, shuttered, sunken, deep-set, doe-eyed, hazel, heavy, hollow, hooded, lidded, liquid, piggy, pop-eyed, rheumy
NOSE	Sharp, big, crooked, up-turned, snub, pointed, aquiline, beaky, corpulent, curved, flat, gigantic, hooked, pierced, wrinkled, tapered, tame, truncated, luminous
LIPS	Thin, full, pursed, pout, soft, warm, luscious, glistering, alluring, sexy, chapped,
FACE	Square, oval, round, triangular, heart-shaped, chubby
COMPLEXION	Fair, dark, tanned, freckled, wrinkled, rosy, pale, spotless, silky, smooth, creamy, baby-soft, glowing, paper-thin, translucent, olive, light-brown,
HAND	Scrawny, claw-like, thin, big-knuckled, blue-veined, plump, fat, chubby, arthritic, rough, soft, firm, shaky, calloused, clean, tattooed, large, small
CHEEK	Rosy, chubby, hollow, dimpled, soft, pale, blushing,
BODY	Fat, thin, lean, curvy, fit, skinny, slender, tattooed, well-built, feeble, flabby, frail, beefy, brawny, muscular, pear-shaped, stocky, statuesque, an hourglass figure
CLOTHES/SHOES/ACCESSORIES/	Elegant, glamorous, tidy, smart, messy, untidy, sloppy, skimpy, casual, sophisticated, old-fashioned, punk, rock-star, trendy, worn

TASK 2: IDENTIFY THE EMOTION

ORIGINAL: She was waiting for her friends at the bus stop.

NEW: Looking at her watch, she was wondering, why aren't they here yet. She looked at the bus, passing by slowly, crowded with passengers. She hums her favorite song while listening to people talking around her. She stared at her phone, giving them a few more minutes. 

TASK 3 : DESCRIBING PLACES

What do you see?	What do you hear?	What do you smell?	What do you feel?	What do you taste?
A lot of people wearing MSM shirts.	People talking and laughing around me.	Smell of sweats (sour).	Hot and tired (after the aerobic dance)	-