Megalai's E Learning Assignment

I came across the British Council website which is very useful for a teacher as it provides a wide variety of resources comprising of lesson plans, activities and worksheets. Although the website is to assist teachers who teach English, there is a section called BritLit that provides resources to teach literature. I also feel that these resources are appropriate for secondary level students who will eventually be sitting for the GCE O Level examinations.

URL of Website: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/britlit  

1) http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/britlit/my-daughter-fox
This is an extremely useful pack of resources which I feel will be ideal to teach unseen prose. There are three activities for the students to complete, pre-reading, reading as well as post-reading which are well-focused on aspects like perspective and focusing on contextual clues which are skills required by students when they do the unseen. There is also an audio version of the text available, which the teacher can play while the students attempt the pre-reading activity, this injects fun into the lesson as students are engaged in the audio clip that dramatises the text. After looking at the prose, the post-reading activity offers other works in the same theme, a poem for instance, for the students to look at which is also helpful.

2) http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/britlit/fish-swimming
This is based on a poem by Moniza Ali called 'Fish Swimming.' I would use this poem and the accompanying worksheets to teach students metaphors, similes and imagery as a result of that. There are links to two flash animation presentations done up by students from other schools on the site. These visually represent the poems and help the students to visualize it as well. This would enable them to grasp the concept of imagery easily. As the fish is compared to other things in the poem, they will be able to understand how these metaphors and similes contribute to imagery and hence meaning in the poem. The poem is not too long, so it is easy to work with. I would follow up the poem by getting students to use a photograph of their own and compose their own poems based on it. This lesson would have a creative writing element to it.

3) http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/world-words/chain
This is an interview with author Keith Gray, who reads an excerpt from his novel, The Chain, and also goes on to talk about how he crafted the characters in his book. This activity could be done in a lesson to teach students about author's purpose and intention, which is a essential thing that they have to think about while reading in order to critically engage with the text. An interview with the author himself will help students think that books are accessible and relatable, therefore they do not need to feel intimidated while studying a text. Students will be able to understand after hearing from the author himself that there is always a reason and purpose for aspects of a text to be in a particular way.

Thank you.

Merlion Creative Submissions

Hi All,

In the spirit of bringing our peer teaching to a close, this is what we hoped to do eventually with the students' submissions. We'd take pictures of it and post it up on the class blog for posterity. Thanks for the cooperation and the help with the session! You guys made it a lot more painless than it could have been! :D







Best,
Melissa, Jiamin, Jason and Brennan

Book Review: The Colour of Magic

Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic, is epic. Terry Pratchett, needs no introduction. He is one of the most read contemporary writers of fantasy. The Colour of Magic is part of a series known as the Discworld. It was published in 1983 as a novel and in 1992 as a graphic novel. It is as a graphic novel that I read The Colour of Magic and I will be reviewing the graphic novel.

When I first read The Colour of Magic, we still called them "comics" rather than graphic novels. I feel this is a good text to teach in school at Upper Sec level, as it has different layers of meaning that might be a little too tough for Lower sec kids. Kids love reading comics/graphic novels, especially the Japanese-Manga ones, which can be quite complex. The Colour of Magic weaves a fantasy world that appeals to students, who seem to enjoy this genre, especially now with the Twilight generation.

The Colour of Magic is like an action adventure with two almost Quixotic characters going on a series of adventures. When a tourist from a more powerful universe comes to visit Ankh-Morpork, an incompetent and failed wizard is set by the ruler to take him around safely. As a result of a tavern bawl, the entire city burns down and the wizard Rincewind escapes with Twoflower, the tourist from the Agatean Empire. They embark on a journey that is quest-like and defeat different villains and help several people in the course of their journeys.

Unknown to the characters, they are being controlled by a group of gods playing a board game.

This text can be used to introduce many themes and values. One is of course the parody of the romance genre, where a knight goes on a quest and defeats villains in an effort to either win the favour of a lady-love or glory. This is more in the vein of a picaresque novel, with Rincewind as the picaro. The idea of the anti-hero can also be introduced through this novel, for neither the cowardly, inefficient RIncewind nor the whimsical Twoflower are what we would call, "heroes". They do not fit the category or the values of traditional heroes or even modern-day heroes and do not fulfill the criteria wherein one can look up to them in admiration.

They are at best misfits.

Another important point that can be covered here is the fact that Rincewind is always being reminded of his failure as a wizard. He was a drop-out and therefore was considered an inefficient wizard. However, gradually throughout the story, he gains in confidence as he learns to solve the problems and meet adversities. This is an important life lesson for our students, that we can use to connect to their own lives. Though sometimes, we feel that we are the pawns of destiny or bad luck or any such influence, one can overcome one's situation if one has enough perseverance and confidence in one's self.

Except for a few complexities, I feel this book could have been a great text for lower sec classrooms too.