Writer's Craft : Using Characterisation to create memorable characters

My sister-in-law was reading an extract from the book, "James and the Giant Peach", to my nephew who is in Primary 2. She was sharing with my nephew how Roald Dahl used characterisation effectively to create memorable characters. The following extract is on Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker, two characters in "James and the Giant Peach".

"Aunt Sponge was enormously fat and very short. She had small piggy eyes, a sunken mouth and one of those white flabby faces that looked exactly as though it had been boiled. She was like a great white soggy overboiled cabbage. Aunt Spiker, on the other hand, was lean and tall and bony, and she wore steel-rimmed spectacles that fixed on to the end of her nose with a clip. She had a screeching voice and long wet narrow lips, and whenever she got angry or excited, little flecks of spit would come shooting out of her mouth as she talked. And there they sat, these two ghastly hags, sipping their drinks, and every now and again screaming at James to chop faster and faster. They also talked about themselves, each one saying how beautiful she thought she was. "

It is never too early to expose the kiddos to good writing. It is also never too early to expose the kiddos to effective writing techniques. Roald Dahl often creates very memorable characters in his stories. Hence his stories are good mentor texts for teaching kiddos characterisation. 

Logic puzzle - Taxi fare

Three friends took a taxi from Orchard to the Singapore Zoo. When they arrived at the zoo, the meter read $25. Each of the friends gave the taxi driver a $10 note. The taxi driver handed them five $1 notes as change. Each of the friends took one of the $1 notes. They gave the taxi driver the remaining two $1 notes as a tip.

Each of the friends had spend $9 and and the taxi driver had $2, bringing the total to $29. What happened to the last $1?

The answer will be disclosed in the next post on Friday. Happy Solving!

Common mistake in everyday conversation

Here is a common mistake in everyday conversation:
WRONG: "You better apologise as she is very angry."
RIGHT: "It would be good if you apologise..."

Who or whom?

Found a good article that explains very clearly when we should use "who" and "whom". This article is useful for parents and kiddos.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/who_vs_whom

PSLE Oral Exam Tip - Commonly Mispronounced Words in Singapore

Let us share a tip for the PSLE Oral Exam. There are some words that pupils have difficulty in pronouncing.

I have found a list of commonly mispronounced words in Singapore compiled by Associate Professor David Deterding from National Institute of Education. Kiddos are able to listen to the correct pronunciation by clicking on the words in the list.
http://videoweb.nie.edu.sg/phonetic/words-ipa/index.htm

Educational Science Videos - Wild Kratts Series

This animated series introduces kiddos to a variety of wild animals and teaches them Science concepts such as animal behaviour, habitats and adaptations. Kids who like humour and adventure will love to watch this series. Suitable for children between 4 years old and 8 years old.

As the videos often mention threats to animal habitats, parents can also follow up by engaging their kiddos in discussions on current environmental issues and conservation.

http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Kratts-Creature-Adventures/dp/B004NIX05W

Symbiotic relationships

Symbiotic relationship occurs when at least two organisms live together in a way that benefits at least one of the organisms. Mutualism is an example of a symbiotic relationship whereby both organisms benefit each other.

One example of mutualism is the relationship between the honeyguide bird and the honey badger or ratel. The honeyguide bird leads the badger to honey (benefit to badger) while the badger tears apart the hive (benefit to the bird as it can now access the honey). Watch the video below on this symbiotic relationship.

Flower of Banana Tree at Jacob Ballas Children's Garden

I took my son to Jacob Ballas Children's Garden a few days ago. This is really a fun and educational place for young kids. We saw a banana tree with a flower and a bunch of bananas. Many kiddos in Singapore are probably not familiar with the flower of a banana tree. Here's a picture to share with all:

Good Read - Ellie Belly Series

My nephew and my niece have both read the Ellie Belly series by local author, Eliza Teoh, and they simply love the series. This series is suitable for Lower Primary kiddos. The books are humorous as they chart the silly and funny antics of Ellie and her best friend, Cammy, as they go about saving a different animal in each book.

They can relate to the characters and the settings in the book as Ellie, the main character, goes to a   local school whereby teachers assign worksheets and pupils have recess and Physical Education lessons. Ellie also lives in an HDB flat.

The books contain diary entries which are contributed by children in Singapore. Hence children are exposed to this text type as they read the book. Here is a diary entry from the book, "Pawful Peril".

The author has also included the definitions of difficult words mentioned in the story. Below is an example:

I think the books in the series are good models to show the young kiddos how good authors write vividly. An excerpt below shows the thoughts racing in Ellie's head. The kiddos can learn from the author and include the character's thoughts in their own narratives.

Good Read - A Boy Name Harry (The Childhood of Lee Kuan Yew)

I saw a book on the childhood of late Mr Lee Kuan Yew in the National Library last week. A good read for kids who would like to learn more about the founding father of modern Singapore.

Good Read - Kids Discover Magazine

I came across a good magazine, Kids Discover, when I took my son to the National Library a few days ago. This magazine is suitable for upper primary kids and contains non-fiction texts. For example, the issue below contains information on Abraham Lincoln.