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Wednesday 29 January 2014

main points for today.
Characterization
-Speech 
-Actions
- Thoughts

This allows you to describe the character more vividly and allows the audience to imagine what it looks like.

Tuesday 28 January 2014

Lexile Reading Test


For Those who did not take the reading test today, I have given you all the Userid and password, pls go online to access the test using CHROME browser.


Lexile Reading Programme


Hi Class

Just a reminder that:

1) You can all resit for the the Lexile Reading Test after 30 days;
2) Retain your own individual userid and password. Do not share it with anyone.;
3) Read at least 1 book per term based on the reading list which is recommended to you.

Ms Lam

Friday 24 January 2014

Reminder

Please remember to bring money for the Boy in Striped Pyjamas book. I am not so sure myself, but just in case, bring $20. (It should be less than that)

Wednesday 22 January 2014

Learning Points for 22 January

We had our group presentation on the formative narrative assignment and Ms Lam stated her opinions on some of the groups.
These are some of the pointers..
> Figurative nature
> Most groups had too much imagery, they are to work on their figurative language
>Characterisation: creating characters for a narrative. Characters can be shown by means of description, actions, speech or thoughts etc.


The 2 learning points

Figurative language
Mood

Thursday 16 January 2014

Today's lesson

Sorry, for the late post, only got home at 9.30 pm.

Today's lesson: Setting and Mood
Setting: time (era)
             history such as artefacts
             characters live, speak and act

Language used in setting
- inter-related
- complex

Setting can also affect characters by determining the jobs and living conditions, influencing beliefs.

Complication
- what
- why
 
what and why causes the rising action, climax and falling action.
Conflict, identity/crisis, tragedy an quest

Setting & Mood



Wednesday 15 January 2014

BSP Activity Group 5

Share with your group the books and movies, which you have read or watched, that portray this tragic time in history.

The book that our group has read is the "Diary Of Anne Frank". It is about her jewish life during World War ll when the Germans took her and her family to one of the concentration camps. Her diary visually explains what is happening in the concentration camps where the Nazis treated the jews very poorly and mean. This book has a similar story based on The boy in striped pyjamas as both of them are telling the story about thousands of jewish lives at the merciless hands of the germans.

What did you learn about life of the Jews at the time?

The jews were living miserably as the Germans were nasty and cruel to them. At that time, the life of the jewish people would be very short as the jews were tortured or killed by the Germans even though they did not do anything wrong. Moreover, the jews were in pain and sorrow as they were separated from their families and they might not see their love ones agin.

Why is it important for us to remember the Holocaust?

It makes people feel shocked that humans at that time can be very cruel or ill-treated to other people. It also makes all of us feel very sad as they not deserve to face any punishments or tortures like this although they were discriminated. This incident would definitely changed the lives of many people as they would understand the consequences of people discriminating one another.
What does prejudice mean to you? What causes it? How can it be prevented or overcome?

To me prejudice is about being judgemental without a direct experience because we are being bias to one group that the other. Moreover, prejudice starts when one think that they are more superior than the other. Hence, the person starts to unfriend and ignore the person. Worst come to worsts, that the main person may convinced others to also discriminate the other kind such as in race, sex, and even facial features. I think that the only way to prevent prejudice is to inform your parents and teachers so that they can discipline the person and the perpetrator would forgive and mingle with the discriminated person.





Characteristics of a Fable
Examples from
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Teaches a moral
Bruno was obedient to his mother by listening to her rules and stop interrupting whenever she said so. Hence, Bruno's respect and obedience are morals that we should follow too.

Main characters are broadly drawn
Even though Bruno and Shmuel are from different countries and races, they are still buddies no matter what differences they have. They had a strong friendship as Bruno and Shumel would everyday be at the fence to talk and eat with each other especially for Bruno, as he was so concern for Shmuel that he risked his life to enter the camp to find Shmuel's father.



One character displays a flaw that leads to a downfall
Bruno had a hobby as a discoverer. Back at Berlin, he was overwhelmed with curiosity that he would explore secret rooms and places in their neighbourhood. However, "curiosity kills the cat" and Bruno who was the cat in the idiom was killed in one of the gas chambers due to unfortunate adventure with Shumel at the concentration camp to help find his father.





Highlights what makes us human
Bruno had humanity because he was kind enough to bring as much as he can to give to Shumel as he was hungry. Despite their secret and dangerous friendship, both of them still talked and played together as brothers even though Shumel was a jew and he is a german. They were really determined to help one another in times of need.



Plot Structure by Group 5







Done by: Brian, Zong Han and Ryan Yuen 

BSP Activity Group 6

Share with your group the books and movies, which you have read or watched, that portray this tragic time in history.
"The Diary of a Young girl" is a diary kept by a Jewish girl, Anne Frank in her time in World War 2. It portrays her hiding in secrecy to the time she was brought to the concentration camp in which she died from typhus. Anne Frank was one of the many children in the concentration camps but the fact that she had a diary full of evidence of what was happening around her made it a bestseller. It was very enticing to read this book in a form of a diary. Anne talked about a whole life including her mother and sister, how they managed to stay alive and how the Nazis treated the Jews.


What did you learn about life of the Jews at the time?
They were living in fear and were very cautious as any minute could be the minute of their deaths.They were also in pain and sorrow, having lost their family or friends and were starving with the scarce food given upon them. They also must have felt unhygienic from not having proper baths. And most of them must have been brutally hit by the Nazis so they bore hatred to the Germans. They were afraid to disobey the Nazis and quietly hid their faces. They were also wearing the same clothes for possibly weeks. We can conclude that their lives were tragic and miserable.


Why is it important for us to remember the Holocaust?
During the holocaust, millions of jews were killed just because they were jews. During the Holocaust,The young, the old, and the weak were sent to the gas chambers and then burned in crematory ovens. The Holocaust had a major impact on the world. The Holocaust proved that racism could lead to really cruel acts. During the Holocaust, there were heroes who risked their own lives just to save others, they stood up for what was right. We would not want to forget them as well or else instead of the huge number of 11 million people that were killed during the holocaust, it might have been more. It is important for us to remember the Holocaust as we would never want it to happen again.



What does prejudice mean to you? What causes it? How can it be prevented or overcome?


To me, prejudice means judging people without any reason at all and to me, it is usually used in a negative state. It happens when certain people dislike a certain something, such as religion, race, etc. We can make the change by changing people’s perspectives of certain groups, show them that what they think may not be true, make them learn to respect and accept one another, just the way they are. By doing this, people can be more bonded and not judge a book by its cover.













Characteristics of a Fable
Examples from
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Teaches a moral



Bruno had shown good character when conversing with his mother. This helps us to understand how we should respect our elder ones and be more polite.




Main characters are broadly drawn
Bruno and Shmuel were drawn together initially because of the fact that Shmuel was the only child he could play with other than his sister. The fact that they had a lot of differences did not matter because gradually they cared for each other like siblings.






One character displays a flaw that leads to a downfall
Bruno has a strong sense of adventure and exploring but that led to his death after the desire to explore the other side with Shmuel to look for his father






Highlights what makes us human
Ans: Bruno was had humanity. Despite the differences between Shmuel and Bruno, Bruno still brings Shmuel food and talk to Shmuel. Bruno did not care if Shmuel was a jew or not unlike Gretel or Lieutenant Kotler.






Plot Structure Group 6

Orientation




Orientation is the introduction or base foundation for narrative texts. They introduce the characters and visualise the settings. Here they state why the main character went outside and also described his attire. It also showed the character's attitude.

Rising Action



Rising action is the events leading up to the main problem . In here is the main character following the dog into a smoky building.

Climax




The climax is where the complication is. The main character found out people were actually trapped inside the smoky building and tries to open the door which he succeeds in


Falling Action



Falling action is the reaction of the character. When the teacher was about to give him a hug, he cut her off with a shushing motion, meaning he didn't feel noble.


Resolution




Resolution is the solution to the problem. The main character saved everyone in the building which ended up in loads of reporters interviewing him.




Language Features
Examples
Descriptive phrases
Checking me out with his big, goofy, lopsided eyes
Tense
Past tense e.g.”They were talking”
Dialogue
“Would you come out?” I shouted
“We’re trapped! The door’s stuck!”
Adjectives
Frigid air, psychotic pug.
Conjunctions
Quite suddenly, Just then
Mental processes (thoughts of the protagonist)
Things like ‘Better than you’, or ‘Contemplating World Dominance’ or ‘Shove off’

Tuesday 14 January 2014

Today's lesson



MEAL


Themes
Characters and Specific Examples
Prejudice and Discrimination
1. The Nazi Germans discriminated the Jewish citizen for their beliefs and treated them cruelly.
2. ‘Hey you!’ He shouted, then adding a word that Bruno did not
understand. ‘Come here, you— ‘He said that word again, and something
about the harsh sound of it made Bruno look away and feel ashamed to be
part of this at all.” (Page 75)
3. He thought he was superior compared to Pavel.
4. We should treat everyone with respect.
Childhood and Innocence
Characters that display childhood and innocence are Bruno and Shumel.
Obedience and Conformity
Pavel is obedience to Ralph Hoess. He listen to whatever Ralph Hoess ask him to do.
Humanity
Bruno is kind towards Pavel and Shmuel and often bring food to Shmuel.
Friendship and Loyalty
Bruno

Prejudice and discrimination
Nazi Generals

M: Main Point-  The Nazi Germans discriminated the Jewish citizen for their beliefs and treated them cruelly.

E: Example- ‘Hey you!’ He shouted, then adding a word that Bruno did not
understand. ‘Come here, you— ‘He said that word again, and something
about the harsh sound of it made Bruno look away and feel ashamed to be
part of this at all.” (Page 75)

A: Analysis-  He thought he was superior compared to Pavel.

L:Link -  We should treat everyone with respect.




Childhood and Innocence
Bruno
M: Main Point-Bruno does not understand what is happening around him.
E: Example-“ ‘Heil Hitler,’  he said, which, he presumed, was another way of saying, ‘Well goodbye for now, have a pleasant afternoon’ “ [Page 54]  
A: Analysis-Bruno does not understand certain phrases such as heil Hitler which he thought was another way to say goodbye instead of saluting a nazi dictator and he also mispronounced words such as Auschwitz to out-with and Fuhrer the fury.This proves that he does not understand what is going on during the period of time due to his innocence of childhood.

L:Link -Due to childhood and innocence, people sometimes become unaware about the things happening around them.

Humanity
Bruno

M: Main Point- Bruno is kind to Pavel and Shmuel
E: Example-  Sometimes he brought more cheese and bread with him to give to Shmuel (Page 85 PDF )
A: Analysis-Bruno sneaks food out of the house just to give it to Shmuel
L:Link -






Obedience and Conformity

Pavel

M: Main Point-Pavel listen whatever Ralph said
E: Example-Whenever anyone needed anything , Pavel would bring it immediately (Page 76 PDF)
A: Analysis- Pavel do whatever Ralph said and he does not complain about it
L:Link -






Friendship And Loyalty

Bruno and Shmuel

M: Main Point- Bruno and Shmuel were best friend and would meet at the fence often even though Bruno was not allowed to.
E: Example- “made the long trek along the fence to meet Shmuel, who almost every afternoon was waiting there for him” (Page 132 PDF) This show how loyal Bruno is to Shmuel.
A: Analysis- Bruno would sneak out everyday just to meet up with Shmuel at the fence to talk to each other. Even when its raining.
L:Link - We should always be there for our friends and family when they are alone or in need.

Summary of today's lesson

What makes a good story?
Fast-paced
Descriptive
Effective characterisation

Complication can occur in the form of a
Moral dilemma
Quest
Identity crisis

Development of a complication
Rising action
Climax
Falling action

MEAL Approach Group 2


Prejudice and Discrimination


Main Point:
The Germans; Nazis were Prejudiced against the Jews. Notable people include Lieutenant Kotler.

Evidence:
“ ‘Hey you!’ He shouted, then adding a word that Bruno did not understand. ‘Come here, you— ‘He said that word again, and something about the harsh sound of it made Bruno look away and feel ashamed to be part of this at all.” (Page 75) This is Lieutenant Kotler treating the Jews with Prejudice and Discrimination.

Analysis:
The Jews in the concentration camps were treated badly and eventually executed because they were discriminated against by the Nazis. Lieutenant Kotler discriminated against the Jews and even the servants in the household because the thinks that he is superior to everyone else.

Lesson:
In the world today, Prejudice and Discrimination is still a big issue. We can find people discriminating against each other. One such example would be racism. This is why there are riots E.g. Singapore race riots 1969. Or it could be that one party claims that they are better than the other which leads to war E.g. Civil War. It is a good practice to have Racial Harmony day and to accept our differences and work together towards a common goal.

Childhood and Innocence


Main Point:
Bruno, Shmuel and Gretel. They were all innocent and did not know what really was going on between them and the Jews.

Evidence:
" 'It must be some sort of Rehersal,' suggested Gretel, ignoring the fact that some of the children, even some of the older ones, even the ones as grown up as her look as if they were crying' " (Page 23)
“Heil Hitler," he said, which, he presumed, was another way of saying, "Well, goodbye for now, have a pleasant afternoon.” (Page 54)

Analysis:
This shows the innocence of Bruno and Gretel.  Whilst Bruno and Gretel were looking out of the window into the concentration camp they assumed that the children were having some sort of rehearsal even if the soldiers rudely shoved them into a line and barked orders at them. Bruno also just assumed that what his dad told him was another way to say goodbye, which was actually saluting Hitler. Bruno also didn’t know why the Jews had to be separated by a fence from them because he did not know that the Nazis were discriminating against the Jews.
Bruno's innocence make him wonder why the other Jews should be treated differently because of the fact that the Nazis and the Jews were different and the Nazis were trying to wipe out all the Jews. Because of Bruno's innocence, he finds it strange that they are treating the Jews differently.

Link:
We can all learn from Bruno and his innocence in a way as there is no reason why other people should be treated differently because of their religion, race, skin color etc. We should not judge or be Prejudice and Discriminate against others just because they are different from us.

Obedience and Conformity


Main Point:
Soldiers, Shumuel, Prisoners of the holocaust, Maria.

Evidence:
“ ‘What are you doing? Didn’t I tell you to polish those glasses?’ Shmuel nodded his head quickly and started to tremble a little as he picked up another napkin and dipped it in water.” (Shmuel)

Analysis:
Lieutenant Kotler ordered Shmuel and he obeyed his orders. This shows that the prisoners of the Holocaust were obedient when following the Nazi’s orders in fear that they get punished/executed.  

Link:
We have to be obedient and listen to our parents and teachers. For example if a teacher tells us to listen to him or her teach we have to follow the teacher’s orders. Or when the teacher gives us homework to do we must complete it.

Humanity


Main Point:
Bruno’s Grandmother

Evidence:
“Grandfather was very proud of his son when he saw him in his new uniform but Grandmother was the only one who seemed unimpressed.” (Page 83)

Analysis:
Bruno's Grandmother did not want Bruno's father to be a soldier as she felt it was wrong to discriminate. Both of them wants to have peace and not to differentiate others with themselves.

Link:
We should learn to stand up for our own morales and beliefs like how Bruno's Grandmother did. She found that her son (Bruno's Father) was disgusting as he was serving under the third reich which discriminated the Jews and executed them. She probably did not want her son to do all these things and therefore got disappointed with him.

Friendship and Loyalty


Main Point:
Bruno and Shmuel

Evidence:
“...Despite the mayhem that followed, Bruno found that he was still holding Shmuel's hand in his own and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let go.” (Page 213)

“You're my best friend, Shmuel... My best friend for life.” (Page 213)

Analysis:
Bruno and Shmuel had developed such a strong friendship that Bruno, due to his courage, innocence and adventurous spirit helped Shmuel find his Father when Shmuel realized that his Father was taken away by the Nazis. Whilst helping Shmuel, Bruno sacrificed his life. They were really best friends until the end and it truly shows friendship and loyalty, as Bruno went as far as to help Shmuel and losing his life.

Link:
We can learn from Bruno and Shmuel like helping our friends through tough times, sacrificing ourselves to help our friends when we can.