Thursday, May 29, 2014

In memoriam to an idol..a most phenomenal being.. MAYA ANGELOU


Still I Rise

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.


Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

WOODPECKER (Std 4 Language Arts)


  • Suggested learning activities for the poem ‘WOODPECKER’.
  • 1.    Listening to the tapping sound of a woodpecker. Watching a video clip of an authentic woodpecker or a clip of the cartoon ‘Woody Woodpecker’.
  • 2.    Reading aloud after teacher / model readers. Paying emphasis to intonation….yes/no question (voice up) and exclamation.
  • 3.    In pairs, one taps on the table while the other recites the poem. Reversing roles.
  • 4.    In groups, coming up with a collage using recycled materials to depict the poem.
  • 5.    Talking about sounds made by different birds / animals and miming them.
  • 6.    Matching animals to the sounds they make.
SOUNDS MADE BY BIRDS AND OTHER ANIMALS
    1.  Bears…growl 
2. Bees…buzz 
3. Cats…mew, purr 
4. Cows…moo 
5. Crows…caw 
6. Dogs…howl, grow, snarl and bark 
7. Ducks…quack 
8. Elephants…trumpet 
9. Frogs…croak 
10. Geese…cackle 
11. Hens…cluck, cackle and chuckle 
12. Horses…neigh, whinny 
13. Lions…roar 
14. Mice…squeak 
15. Monkeys…chatter 
16. Owls…hoot, screech, cur 
17. Parrots…chatter 
18. Snakes…hiss 
19. Wolves…howl 

Go to http://www.percepp.com/sounds/birdpics.htm to let pupils hear recorded sounds of birds.

AT THE PLAYGROUND (Std 4 Language Arts)


Suggestions of learning activities for the poem ‘At the Playground’
1.    Listening to modeled reading by the teacher.
2.    Repeating after teacher line by line (for low proficiency pupils); selected reading alouds by pupils or reading in pairs (for higher proficiency pupils).
3.    Choral reading / jazz chants with rhythmic clapping (using syllable counts).
4.    Pronouncing words with the initial sounds of ‘sw’, ‘sl’ and the final sounds of ‘dle’. Matching words with the same initial and final sounds.
5.    Grammar in context: verb tense forms – talking about what one does at the playground and then what one did yesterday at the playground.
Swing – swung
Slide – slid
Hang – hung
Race – raced
Fall – fell
(for the higher proficient pupils- forming sentences in the present and the past simple)
6.    (for lower proficient pupils) drawing / colouring picture posters of a playground, naming/labeling things found and seen in a playground. (make it competitive)
7.    (For vocab reinforcement) completing a word search / crossword puzzle on things found in a playground / things one can do in a playground.



For weak students / with ICT

A COACH ...


... is an on-site professional developer who collaborates with educators to identify and assist with implementation of proven teaching methods.


… displays a compelling modesty, is self- effacing, understated

… displays a workman like diligence, is more plow horse than show horse

… attributes successes to factors other than herself

… looks in the mirror and blames herself when things go poorly

... knows that coaching involves learning conversations which should be mutually humanizing experiences.

... knows that talking about learning should be energizing, empowering, enjoyable, and fun, should bring
both parties alive


The Identity Conversation looks inward: it’s all about who we are and how we see ourselves. How does what happened affect our self-esteem, my image, my sense of who I am in the world? What impact will it have on my future? What self doubts do I harbor? In short… the identity conversation is about what I am saying to myself about me.
- Stone, Patton, Heen. (1999) Difficult Conversations


Develop a Teachable Point of View - A TPOV is a “cohesive set of ideas and concepts that a person is able to articulate clearly to others” (Tichy, 2002, p.74).


When you lead people, you often begin with a desire to contribute to an organization or community, to help people resolve important issues, to improve the quality of their lives. Your heart is not entirely innocent, but you begin with hope and concern for people. Along the way, however, it becomes difficult to sustain those feelings when many people reject your aspirations as too unrealistic, challenging or disruptive. Results arrive slowly. You become hardened to the discouraging reality. Your heart closes up.
- Heifetz & Linsky (2003) Leadership on the line.