A Permission Letter

Monday (25/01/2010)

a) Welcome back, Wee Hong!
Teacher: Where did you go?
Wee Hong: I went to Hong Kong and visited Hong Kong Disneyland.
Class: What did you see there?
Wee Hong: I saw Pooh, the bear; Tigger the tiger and other cartoons. I went by an aeroplane.
· Suddenly, the kids started sharing their stories about trips. Zhi Feng flew before to Japan, Jun Hong visited his father who was working in China, Foo Soon has also been to Hong Kong, Xing Tong travelled to Melaka and etc. Thus, if they flew by plane, they had to buy tickets from Airlines.
Foo Soon: Teacher, besides aeroplane, does a pilot drive a ship? I am sure they are also call a pilot.
Teacher: Good thinking but they are known as Navigators.

b) Word recognitions.
· First we read the lyrics of “The Thinking Song”. Then, we sang together. Next, we stood up to sing and dance with the song. It’s such an encouraging song.
· As we read the lyrics, we interpreted the meaning together. Words highlighted including: think, mind, see, heart, feel, dream, solve, problem.
· Older Xing Tong shared about her experience. She said, “When I want to open a window and I can’t reach it, I stack the matresses to climb. Then, I can push the windows.”
· The class thought that it was dangerous to do that because one might just fall off the window! Thus, it is advisable to ask the help of an adult.

c) Firefighters’ vocabulary.
· I drew a few big pictures on the board so that the kids can learn to draw as well as recognise the vocabulary. Some needed encouragement such as Wee Hong and Chun Kit at drawing. The pictures included: gloves, axe, hose, ladder, fire extinguisher, uniform, helmet, fire truck, a burning house and etc.

d) Drafting a letter.
* Chun Kit: Teacher, you bluffed us. You didn’t bring us to the Fire Station.
* Gee….it’s always a challenge being a teacher. Thus, I explained to the class by drawing. I told them that this permission needs a lot of procedure stages. First, Pik Xia teacher has to call up the Fire Station for permission. Then, Mr. Hoo has to draft a letter and poste to the Fire Sattion. The Postman would have to deliver the important letter. When received, the Fire Station need to get their Chief permission. They have to check our school background and etc.
* Huang Lao Shi informed me last Friday that we could start writing a letter already which was what I needed to sicuss with the class about the contents.
Teacher: What should we write in the letter?
Shi Jie: We are from ABC Learning Centre.
Foo Soon: We want to visit their Fire Station.
Teacher: Why?
Chun Kit: We want to learn to draw the Fire Truck.
Wei Jeen: I want to draw their rescue dog.
Wei Hong: I want to learn to draw the Firefighters.
Teacher: ….haaaaa….that’s so cute! Do you want to learn about fire safety?
Class: Yes…….
Devin: And they are our heroes. We want to learn about them!
* So, I started drafting the letter together with the class. Shi Jie, Foo Soon, Jing Kai, Jun Hong and older Xing Tong assisted at writing.
* The others drew pictures to express their anxieties. Some even wrote short words.
Examples: Kwong Yong and Zheng Yuan drew the fire truck. Yun Xin drew the firefighters’ rescue dog. Chun Kit drew a Fire Station.Chia Yen drew how firefighters help the society and Devin drew how they tried catching the snake in the bushes. Chun Kit drew how they risk their lives to save people. Wee Hong drew a star for them as HEROES.

LETTER:

Dear Firefighters,
How are you? We are children from ABC Learning Centre. Can we visit your Fire Station? We want to learn about Fire Safety. We want to know you better. You are our HEROES.
Thank you.

From,
Pomegranate class,
2010.