Pencil Leads

Monday (15/03/2010)
a) March! March! March!
· First, we sang our National Anthem, “Negaraku”. They sang with their hands saluted. They were better as they sang more seriously compared previously.
· Reinforcing the positions of left and right, the proper sequences, the appropriate distance.
· Paying attention to the instructions given. The marching practice is to be performed on the actual day of receiving the award of “Junior Firefighter Badge” from the Principal.

b) Practice: Junior Firefighters.
· The kids came up individually as if performing in front of the 4 year-old class. The practiced according to the sequence. At the moment, it’s about getting them speaking 1 to 2 English sentences confidently; based on their thoughts.
· We hope to present to them next week as a few students will go for holidays. Furthermore, it gives the other kids more time to practise.

c) Hooray……..scientist!
In fact, a week ago; the class had a discussion on what we should learn further upon completing the “Firefighters’ Test”. Some suggested pilots, teachers, doctors, scientist. 10 kids chose scientist, 6 kids opted pilots, 3 opted doctors while 1 opted for teacher.
· Some experiments at Barney’s film, the recent earthquakes and also the kids’ daily activities have greatly influenced this choice.
Teacher: There are some strange kids in this class who collect broken leads from pencils. And guess what? They have wonderful strange friends who would help them with the collection.
· The class laughed non-stop and immediately Foo Soon said he collects them for experiments. In fact, Shi Jie and Jun Hong do that too. They would be glad to show us the experiment very soon.
· Meanwhile, I asked the kids many questions about “pencils”. “Why do people use pencils? How do the different people use them?”
Foo Soon: Policemen use them to summon.
Qian Joe: Scientists use them to record.
Zhe Qing: School children use to do their homework.
Chun Kit: We can use to write.
Zheng Yuan: We can use to draw.
Shi Jie: Firefighters might need them to check tools in Fire Truck.
Wei Jeen: Colour pencils are used to colour.
Devin: Waitress use them to order food.
Chun Kit: Teacher, we can recycle them.
Teacher: How did people of the past do writing? How are pencils made? Think about it and we shall discuss tomorrow.
Jun Hong: “Lak Pik” cartoon showed that people used feathers to write. Pencils are made of wood.
Teacher: What other answers can you think of, class?..........................To be continued……