advice to a young sylv-i-an dragon on going to school by Rg Gregory

advice to a young sylv-i-an dragon on going to school

by Rg Gregory

when you step out of the wood and go first time to school
you have to be so specially careful if you're really a dragon
to put the most innocent expression on your face you can find
and not flip your flappers (unless the others don't mind)
you must be very strict with yourself - be sure not to act the fool
you'd be far happier i think to get your mother to tie a tag on

saying - this dragon is sweet no matter how fierce she seems
and letting everyone know you were born in a wood (well at least
a sylv-i-an creature) and not used to clatterings and bangings
that can set a dragon's scales on edge with their thwangings
schools never are you know the paradise of your dreams
they have a tendency in everyone to bring out the beast

or maybe when you get there you should do a dragon-dance
and get everyone hopping around the place breathing fire
or burn up a prince or two - to show how that game is played
taking their minds off the fact you have a back like a saw-blade
and a tail so fierce it would keep the bravest child at a distance
but whatever else you do dear dragon definitely do not perspire

a perspiring dragon will have the whole school holding its noses
dainty dragons do not sweat - the first lesson to be deeply learned
in any dragon's book of school-etiquette - a proper dragon-daughter
must always carry with her a large supply of odour-cologne-water
(for use ten times a day) to keep her sweeter than a bunch of roses -
so advised (o young sylv-i-an dragon) you will never be spurned

Tips:

• What kind of dragon would you imagine a young Sylv-i-an dragon to be like? Look at the words used in the poem
  
• What does the word "Sylv-i-an" suggest about the dragon?
• Sylvian or Sylvania is a word of Latin origin, and is used to mean "forest-land" or woods.
• E.g. 'Pennsylvania" means Penn's forest-land or woods
• Hence, a Sylvian dragon means what?

Questions to answer:

1. Who is the persona of the poem?
2. What is the title of the poem?
3. Who is the poet?
4. Describe the characteristics of a young Sylvian dragon. Refer closely to the poem and support your answer with the words and images used in the poem.
5. Compare and contrast the theme and mood of this poem with "First Day at School" by Roger McGough.

Have fun,

Mr Lee

Poetry Homework 2

Ok. This is not a 'kiddy' poem. Try it out.

When I realised I wasn't so brave after all by Alex Chaplin

Everyone had jumped the ditch on the building site.
It was about five wide, fifteen feet deep with wooden stakes
driven into the bottom
If I fell in I would most certainly break a few bones
My shoes were clogged and leaden with mud.
I didn't want to jump.
The others sitting on the other side were jeering me on.
I denied being afraid.
I stood at the slipper edge of the ditch and looked down at
the blunt, yellow, roughly hewn stakes
sticking at odd angles
The smooth wet walls of the ditch.
The wet, red, muddy ground on either side.
I took a few paces backwards and began to run.
My nerve failed me at the edge. I stopped dead almost sending myself in.
I eye the others.
They knew I couldn't do it.

Questions.
1. Explain why the boy did not want to jump the ditch. Give as many reasons as possible.
2. Explain why the boy was under pressure to jump across the ditch. What evidence can you find in the poem?
3. "I denied being afraid".
Why do you think the boy did this?
4. Describe an experience that you had when you were afraid to do something but you felt a lot of presure to do it anyway. How did you cope with the situation?

Youth Day Poetry Present :)

The Crocodile by Roald Dahl

For Youth Day, I have for you a short poem by Roald Dahl, the same writer who had written The Witches, animated by YourFriendInABox. Its a good scary poem for all children:) I want you to listen to the rhyme and rhythm. Notice that the heavy beats contribute to the regular, if scary, rhythm.

You might like to consider doing something like this later in the year too :)

The Crocodile

"No animal is half as vile As Crocky–Wock, the crocodile. On Saturdays he likes to crunch Six juicy children for his lunch And he especially enjoys Just three of each, three girls, three boys. He smears the boys (to make them hot) With mustard from the mustard pot. But mustard doesn't go with girls, It tastes all wrong with plaits and curls. With them, what goes extremely well Is butterscotch and caramel. It's such a super marvelous treat When boys are hot and girls are sweet. At least that's Crocky's point of view He ought to know. He's had a few. That's all for now. It's time for bed. Lie down and rest your sleepy head. Ssh. Listen. What is that I hear, Galumphing softly up the stair? Go lock the door and fetch my gun! Go on child, hurry! Quickly run! No stop! Stand back! He's coming in! Oh, look, that greasy greenish skin! The shining teeth, the greedy smile! It's Crocky–Wock, the Crocodile!" JUST ENJOY THIS VIDEO:)

We are learning Poetry in Term 3

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

Homework Task for 1E3

This term we are learning poetry. The video that you had just watched in the above post is an animated version of the Shel Silverstein poem "Where the sidewalk ends." It is a mysterious poem, full of hope and good things.

You can watch the video, which is helpful and also read the poem.

Homework Task 1.
1. What do you think is the THEME of the poem and why?
2. What is the poet saying in the 1st stanza of the poem?
[A stanza is like a paragraph. So this poem has 3 stanzas]
3. What is the poet saying in the 2nd stanza of the poem?
4. Are the 2 stanzas different? if so why?

Homework Task 2
Illustrate/Draw the poem in a piece of white paper or drawing block A4 size.

Complete Homework Task 1 and 2 on the same piece of white paper or drawing block.

Homework Task 3
NB: Remember you also have the simile homework to do in your Literature Note book.

Good Luck.

Apologies for other videos

YUP. All the videos rock, even Liqi's puzzling one. I need to apologise as I was not able to upload Ruidi's group's video as there is an error in both Part 1 and 2. I really think the setting was very well drawn and therefore the whole stage was very exquisite. Also I cannot upload Zhofirah's group video as I do not have the softcopy. :) Enjoy all the videos that you had done for exams in Term 2 everyone :)

Clyde and Group

This video is very attractive. the colours are bright and the puppets are very defined. All these enhance the presentation and reinforces the key ideas. However, it is very short and abrupt and I cannnot see the whole of the witch! That is a pity.

LiQi and Group

Liqi's video is rather puzzling for me. The background and props confuse the audience. The graphics and animation seem unrelated to the task. I also do not understand why the girl is speaking Chinese in the video. Marks: 15/25

Ady and Group

This video displays some originality and the group is somewhat able to link the ideas together. However, the props are not well utilized and the audio is inconsistent. the background is quite distracting. I did enjoy the fact that Ultraman was there though. Marks 16/25

ChenChao and group

The graphics does assist the audience in the understanding of the key ideas. However, the background is not very suitable for the task. The audio although clear, only partially assist in communicating the main idea. The props are not fully used to put across the ideas. Marks: 18/25

Bennett and Group

This displays a great deal of originality and all ideas are linked cohesively. It is clear and the narrative is quite humourous. The graphics reinforce the key points. They could do better for the colour-scheme though. Marks: 23/25

Clara and group

Video: This is an excellent one = 20/25
It has an original script, and the props are quite well done. The audios is clear and the ideas are communicated well. The graphics and animation assist the audience in understanding the flow of the content. 20/25

Term 2: Week 3 Writing 2nd Drafts and Creating Media Files

On Friday I would like to speak with the following students in groups:

1st Period
1. All students who had written the book reviews
2. All students who had designed the advertisements
3. All students who had created the How_To Documents

2nd Period
Friday tasks:
1. To write the script for the How_To Transformation
2. To plan for how the process can be done.
Please refer to previous posts on media for this aspect.

3rd Period
For this Friday everyone has to bring the following items to create the stage and puppets for the media segments as every group would have decided on the How_To assignments.
1. A small box for the stage (refer to my biscuit box in the posts below)
2. A few cardboard pieces for puppets
3. A few sticks (ice-cream or any other stick) to attach to the backs of the puppets
4. Coloured paper, coloured pencils or markers, glue, scissors
5. A small plastic bag to put ALL YOUR RUBBISH in so you won't dirty the classroom.

Put items 1 to 4 together in a small box/plastic bag so they would be easily accessible to all. You can label your property and after the lesson, you can place it in my box so you won't lose them for 4th week.

My Video of Miss Trunchbull going on Safari

This video shows Miss Trunchbull going on Safari where she had a fight with a snake. She won the fight (as she is very stubborn and must always win) and created a snake belt out of the snake. I had used my Canon auto focus camera to video-tape myself. This was my 3rd try as I had to do this with only me to manipulate the puppets and my friend to use my camera so it was rather shaky. Make sure everyone in your group helps you so it would be easier to video-tape the work.

You need to do the same for your own videos. In Week 3, we will work on the video and puppets. I suggest you have a script, the How-to article and the materials to create your video. You need to PLAN your work. Please refer to your workplan.

Media work

In the media section of your task, you DO NOT need to act in your own video. You can create puppets like the following, depending on your group task. For this project I created several puppets for my character Miss Trunchbull from MATILDA, as she is my main character.

If you are doing Witchery News, your main character may be a witch who is turning a girl into a rock, or the Boy into a mouse. So you would need 1 witch puppet, 1 mouse puppet and one puppet for the Boy. You would also need one or two versions of the boy as the transformation may take some time. he may get smaller and smaller until he turns into a mouse.

Picture 1

I needed 2 versions of Miss Truchbull, one with the snake belt and one without. I made sure that my snake puppets can be manipulated easily, made from drawing paper and coloured.

Picture 2

I had to create the bus, the lion and snakes. then I had just pasted a stick behind my puppets so I can manipulate them from the top.

Picture 3

I then put them all separately so I would know the sequence of my story. Notice, my stage is small. Look at the box in this picture.

Picture 4

This is a closeup of the lion, made with my cat toy. The lion's mane is made of paper only. Note my stage background. The setting is already done and pasted.

NOTE: You can click on the pictures to make them bigger and clearer.

Term 2 Wk 2: Hand In Drafts on Thursday 1/4/10

Hand in drafts on Thursday 1/4/10

Monday 29/3/10 - All leaders must hand in the names of their group members with their assigned jobs.

for eg
Group 1: Group Leader Ruidi - Book review
Priscilla - article about something in the mouse world
Si Yin - A How to article (refer to the CA test)
Ai - advertisements
Ruolin- Shopping Guide

Thursday 1/4/10- All leaders are to collect all the work and put them in my pigeon hole. I would make comments on each piece of work and you would have to write a final written piece of work. Students who have no drafts to hand on Thursday may have to complete their work away from the group. You are advised to either staple your work together as a group or put them in a plastic bag so none goes missing.

Group 3: Chen Chao's group - Please complete the work on time.

Leaders:
Ruidi & Li Qi for The Mouseketeer Daily
Chen Chao, Zhofirah and Bennett for The Hunt
Clara, Clyde and Ady for Witchery News