My guv is in Poland

Yeah, I call my daughter 'Guv'. In a way, she does govern my life. She has made me a far better person than I could ever hope to be. oh... my gal is the one in blazer n pants. The rest are her ex-schoolmates who so kindly dropped by to say sayonara to my gal.
I miss her so much I cannot bear to enter her room. I know I may sound overtly pompous but seeing her off to Poland as a JPA scholar knocks sense into me...that I must be a 'cool' mom.
AS mom and a teacher, I realise all we need to do is provide them a stable and love-filled home, educate them like there's nothing more vital, and just be there for them. Every hour they toil in study, we should be their 'rock', pat their backs, tousle their hair, make them a good cup of tea/coffee and just listen to them. She is my first PhD thesis for real, two more coming soon (I pray that be true!).
I know I had better stop my prattle...but what better reward could a mom and teacher get other than watching her child/learner realise her dreams.
To all the other 8 moms who had to let go of their babies that day on the 25 August...I salute you all!

Where the Wild Things Are

A great book to use for the Chapter Book idea I posted earlier would be the all-time favourite book by Maurice Sendak. It may contain few words but the illustrations by such a master story-teller would be ample stimulus for you to use in class. The film version is coming out soon. My class is already working on a readers theater script based on this book. My student Luqman, who reads the part of Max is already my favourite reading model. The possibilities with this masterpiece is endless. If you have not read it............DO SO NOW!

Using books in class

Chapter Books
Have you ever found a great book that you would like to use with your class, only to find you don't have enough copies for an entire class set? Perhaps all you have is one copy. Chapter Books is an activity that might help solve your dilemma. With a single copy of a novel you can provide your students with some great learning experiences.
Directions:
A. Select a novel appropriate for your class's reading level and interest. Make sure this is a copy you don't mind destroying (literally).
B. Separate the cover of the book from the pages, being careful to keep it in one piece.
C. Separate the chapters from each other. You may find that you have to make machine copies of certain pages since the last page of a chapter may be on the back of the first page of the next.
D. Orally read chapter one to the whole class. Develop comprehension by asking literal, inferential, and evaluative questions about the content. Discuss literary aspects of setting, characters and their traits, plot ( a must for this activity), suspense, etc... Record the responses for each skill on separate pieces of chart paper.
E. Divide the class into three or four groups. Give one of the separate chapters to each group.
F. The group is to read the chapter, write three comprehension questions about its content, and discuss whatever literary skill on which you wish to focus.
G. Next the group records its responses on sheets of chart paper, beginning with the plot and ending with the comprehension questions complete with answers.
H. In chronological order, the groups share the content of their chapters and display their charts for the entire class to view.
I. After all the groups have shared, read the next chapter orally to the entire class, once again discussing and recording your areas of choice.
J. Assign separate chapters to groups, repeating steps F-H until all chapters but the last have been completed.
K. Make sure the last chapter is one that you orally read to the class.
L. Provide a culminating activity for your students that focuses on the content of the entire book.

In Praise of Good Teachers

We are all indebted to our teachers
These are the teachers who taught us
all the things we know and do today
Now you ask – who are these teachers?
Teachers are the instructors, trainers,
tutors, coaches, lecturers and professors
from the kindergarten to the university

Teachers taught us how to read and write
They explained how to search for the logic
behind every statement and argument
Teachers demonstrated to us in many ways
how to approach problems and solve them

Whenever we make mistakes and commit errors
Teachers always remind us that there is
nothing to be ashamed of because
we are still apprentices and not yet masters
Sometimes, when we are depressed
our teachers are always there to motivate
us with sweet words of encouragement

They taught us that the world we live in
is a planet which rotates and revolves
That on this planet there are two-legged,
four-legged and multi-legged creatures
That human beings belong to the two-legged
species and have many colors and languages

Our teachers taught us that one man can
make a difference in the world we live in
Men like Abraham Lincoln, Mao Tsetung,
Lenin, Mandela, Mohammad Ali and Bill Gates
Our teachers are sources of inspiration
Can we live without teachers? You decide!

By Julius Babarinsa

Hennaed palms...

This picture depicts one of the most memorable moments of my time in the USA. Here we were, women from almost ten different nations, of varied cultures and ethnicity, of different religions and belief systems. Yet we bonded on this one rainy evening. We celebrated the fact that we were women and teachers. We celebrated our differences. We rejoiced in each others happiness. For that one evening as rain poured outside, we washed off our preconceptions, peeled layers off our warped world views and we celebrated each other. We celebrated each and every one and the fact that we had been put together by IREX in Kent State University because we deserved to be there.
Therefore, ladies of IEP Kent State U, 2007... I salute you! Thanks for the memories.

New Must READ Book...

Do read Cindy O'Donnell-Allen's The Book Club Companion: Fostering Strategic Readers in the Secondary Classroom, Heinemann, 2006, 192 pages.
The author provides much needed guidance in the preparation and facilitation of book clubs by answering questions such as "How do I prepare students for choice in texts?" and "How do I support my students in using open-ended responses?" You will find strategies such as 1-2-3-Predict, Mind Map, and Picture This; The Punctuation Prompt, Quotation and Response, Real Book Letter and The Sticky Notes Bookmark.
This is a really great book for teachers who want to be agents of change and get students to direct and take responsibility of their own learning.

Co-Academic Activities

I just returned from a 3-day, 2 night workshop on how to administer co-academic activities for the English Language Clubs/Societies held at Swiss Inn, Sungai Petani.
Other than getting to meet fellow English teachers, I also got to learn quite a lot. It's amazing how much more there is to learn and unlearn and then relearn. Over more than 100 teachers from the state of Kedah got insights into how to train choral speakers, debaters, public speakers and drama actors. What's more is that we got illuminated on how to judge these competitions and thus be able to train our students better.
English teachers tend to be a fun lot and this fact was proven true yet again. I managed to meet a few old friends and forge new friendships.
Now what I cannot wait for is to find the students to train for public speaking.

Imaginative materials: yummy yummy yummy!

Came across these interesting teaching ideas at http://www.onestopenglish.com

1. There are lots of lovely idiomatic uses of food and cooking language - for example ‘That’s a meaty problem.’ ‘It was a half-baked plan.’ ‘Oops - now I’m in the soup.’ ‘She’s full of beans.’ ‘What’s cooking?’ ‘It was a piece of cake.’ You can spice up your lessons (oh, there’s another one!) by making up a short story that includes five or six of them. In class, don’t mention the food idioms. Tell the story and let students enjoy it and discuss its basic meaning. When you think they have a good understanding, explain that you’ll repeat the story - but this time they should listen for any idioms connected with food or cooking. Tell the story again and at the end review all the idioms and their meanings. Make sure students also get practice trying to use the items themselves.

2. Choose our cheese!

• Record a food advert from TV, if possible with an advertising jingle (it doesn’t have to be in English).
  
  
• Show it, then give students a food item, e.g. tinned beans or chocolate and ask them to prepare a short TV advert themselves (which they can show the class later on).

In sickness and in ...

Seriously not feeling too well lately. The downfall of being diabetic. On a 2 day medical leave, hence absent in school. Wonder if my students went 'YAHOOOOO!!!!' or did they lament that their English teacher was not there to ignite their brain cells.
Been thinking of what I could do to further spark their thinking skills. I would love to bring in songs and movie clips but sadly, facilities aren't available.
On a brighter note, my darling first-born got her official A-level results today.......straight As! Way to go girl! I am brimming with pride...hope my cuppeth don't runneth over! My second-born got a haircut today and she was practically hopping mad that I refused to tell her hair-dresser what to do with her hair...well, it is her hair and being almost 16 she should make up her mind. My third-born, my one and only son...hmmm...nothing much to say about him as I hardly get to see the lil guy. He's either too busy with his computer, books, TV or his phone calls. Yeap, phone calls... not from adoring gals (not that I know of yet!) but guys who need aid with their computers.
How these kids grow!
I miss my mom. Watching my own children and how they react to me remind me how much of a mother she was to me. So where ever you are Amma..........I hope you are proud of your grandchildren.
*Forgive the personal tone in my post today. After all a teacher is first and foremost a child, a sister, a wife, a mother. These roles define me. Pray to God I am all these to the best of my ability.