Learning Log 7

Dear Mrs. Woo,

I feel that the Romeo and Juliet performance is a really interesting experience. I also get to have a chance to know my classmates better and how they react to setbacks. I really think that this performance help me to understand the value of teamwork, cooperation and friendship, these are the reasons of a successful performance and values that cannot be taught in school. We also grow much closer to each other. I alone cannot handle many difficulties, but with friends, we can overcome any challenges that come our way!

For me, I know that my group did well despite the odds. We had had many difficulties during that period as we have to juggle our CCAs , homework, test, and other activities. Because of these activities, some of our teammates have to arrive late or not come at all. Therefore, most of our practice sessions did not always have a full rehearsal. We have to prepare loads of things such as back drop, drinks, tables, chairs, rapier and other things that we needed for the performance. My group knows that all these preparation takes time, so we sacrificed most of our precious time just to finish these things. Not only that, we had to practice and memorize our lines! Even though all these difficulties are a pain in the neck, they help us to understand the value of teamwork and how to handle our time properly. J I am touched on how much my teammates sacrificed to make this performance successfulJ. So, all in all, I enjoyed this experience (5 minutes of fame:D) and it helped me to grow stronger in many ways.

Well, according to what I have gone through, I WILL (100%) recommend it to the sec 2s next year as it will teach them a lot of lessons on the values of life that cannot be taught in schools. It is also fun and exciting to perform in front of an audience! I know that they are going to enjoy it, trust meJ. Being an audience is also thrilling! I don’t know why but it is like you are watching an acting performance for free! I wouldn’t want the sec 2s next year to miss all this fun, right? :P

Oh yes, I hope that my group will get high marks for this Romeo and Juliet performance as we have put in a lot of effort and time in making this performance successful. J

Melisa Lukito(9)

2 Commitment J

Learning Log 6

Dear Mrs. Woo,

In your enjoyable literature lessons, I learnt a lot about literary devices. I know that these literary devices will help me score in my exams; hence, I made an effort to understand and memorize each and every one of them.  There are three types of literary devices that I have learnt during your lessons. In lesson one; I learnt about Imagery and Figurative language type of literary devices. In lesson two, I learnt another type of literary device called Sound devices. And in lesson three, I learnt the hardest and last type of literary device called Diction and Sentence Structure.

I found out that some of these literary devices were already covered during my secondary one period; this helps me to understand the old and new literary devices better. You also said that some of the literary devices in Imagery and Figurative language are important, such as, simile (comparison between two distinctly different things), kinesthetic (descriptions to do with movement), metaphor (qualities of an object is applied to another), personification (the attribution of human beings to inanimate objects), visual (descriptions to do with what we see) and symbol (an object that stand for something else, usually something more abstract). J

The new literary devices that I have never heard of during lesson one was, auditory( descriptions to do with what we hear), olfactory( descriptions to do with what we smell) ,gustatory( flavor descriptions) and tactile( descriptions to do with what we touch).

In lesson two, I learnt a literary device called sound devices. There are rhyme (the similarity of ending sounds existing between two words), rhythm (the beat stresses – claps – as you read a passage or poem) and tone (an oral expression). The sound devices that are new to me are, alliteration (the repetition of initial consonant sounds, to produce a rhythmical effect) and onomatopoeia (the formation of words, which echo the sounds that they describe.)  

In lesson three, all the literary devices, called diction and sentence structures, are quite difficult to understand and use. There are a total of ten of literary devices in this section. And they are, connotation (the associated images and ideas conveyed by a word), oxymoron (a single image, made up of contradictory), hyperbole (a deliberate exaggeration to emphasize a point or feelings), paradox (a statement which seems self-contradictory but turns out to make a good sense), simple sentence (a sentence with one main idea), complex sentence (one or more main idea in a phrase or clauses), incomplete sentence (truncated sentences which reflect excitement), exclamation (a strong statement showing feeling or emphasis), rhetorical question (a question to achieve an expressive tone different from a direct question.) and lastly, repetition (using a word or phrase to multiple times). 

In conclusion, I learnt a lot during your literary devices lessons and it helped me to understand more about these literary devices. I hope that you can give us more practices as I still don’t quite get the hang of it yet. I look forward your future lessons regarding about unseen poems.J

Melisa lukito (9)

2 commitment

Learning Log 5

Dear Mrs. woo,

The previous lessons that you have with us was quite interesting and challenging at the same time. I learnt how to approach an unseen poem. Firstly, I need to understand the overall meaning of the text. Secondly, I should do a close reading. Lastly, I need to provide a personal response. I have learnt many literary devices such as connotation, paradox and hyperbole J But I have a hard time remembering them all. I suggest that you should give us more unseen poems so that we will know how to tackle unseen poems that we are not familiar with easily.

The new note on unseen poem that you gave me was really specific and new to me. In the new unseen poem notes, I learnt that there is nothing special about an unseen poem or prose passage, and you should approach them in the same way you would do with any piece of prose or poem. I learnt that tackling the unseen poem is slightly difficult as we will be competing with time. And when we approach the unseen poem, we must at least read it 3 times! This will take a long time to complete. I also learnt the DO’S and DONT’S when tackling the unseen poems. Organizing my answers is easy… as long I follow the rules (IBC / PEEL)

I understand that I must also be able to express my ideas coherently and persuasively. I already got the idea how to do this but I still need some help J so I think you need to give us loads of unseen poems in the future.

Melisa lukito (9)

2 Commitment

Learning Log 4

Dear Mrs. Woo,

   I must say that the Macbeth performance is a very interesting and interactive play that requires loads of teamwork… not to mention TIME!!! But it was a great experience to perform to an audience and to observe how other performers show their creativity with their props, actions and how they deliver their speechJ

  Before the Macbeth performance, my group and I were scared that something might go wrong during the performance or if one of us will have a nervous breakdown of some sort. Even though there were some imperfections, we really did our 100% best and stick together as a teamJ. Some of the unplanned imperfections are, we completely forgot to bring some of the props, the sound effect is missing, we were short of a witch broom stick, and finally, we do not even look like witches….

  After the Macbeth performance, my team and I were smiling and talking. We were not worried for our results as all of us knew that we did our very best. I should also say that all of the groups put I a lot of effortJ Most of all, everyone enjoyed themselves.

  I benefited and learnt a lot through this magnificent experience with the class. I have learnt to plan my time properly and interact better with others. I think that this play was a complete success!

Your student,

Melisa lukito (9)

2 commitment 

Learning Log 3

Dear Mrs. Woo,

    After I searched the internet for predictions to share with my fellow classmates, I have learnt that only a few predictions came to pass and others are just myths, comments or simply fake. There is one president who predicted that there will be robots and technologies far beyond creation (this prediction was made in 1958, if I’m not mistaken) and it did come to pass! Robots that can play soccer, space travelling and many more. One of the predictions that never came to pass is that the world will explode in 2011. ~_~

    I have learnt that predictions can be quite misleading and can really hurt you. For example: One day, early in the morning, you get a text message saying that your beloved one will die in your house next year. How can we start a day like that? But some predictions are just too good to ignore, one of them is when you are told that you are going to prosper in the future. J

On the day when my classmates shared their events about a prediction, it was really interesting and creepy at the same time (one of them includes talking to a ghost). I used to ignore predictions people or strangers tell me but after today, I think I am starting to believe some of them… Like Dawn’s, Wei Qi’s and Amanda’s events about their encountered predictions. Overall, the lesson on predictions is interesting and enjoyable J

  I hope that the next few literature lessons would be even more interesting and exciting!

Your student,

Melisa lukito (9)

2CMT

Learning Log 2

Dear Mrs. Woo,

     I have learnt that people make up superstitions when they are not sure about certain things. For example, when we do not know how the sun rises and sets, people make stories or make-believes to answer the question.

Some of the superstition I heard from other classmates are just nonsense, some say that we should finish all the rice that we get in our plates so that in the future, your husband or wife would be pretty or pimples. These are just stories to help the children finish all the food given to them even if they did not want to. But I enjoyed the class very much.

I think that you should have given us more superstitions to make the class more interesting.

I also learnt some things during the presentation on act 1 scene 1 in the literature drama on Macbeth. I learnt that acting as a character is pretty hard as we need to sound, walk and act, like the characters that we are playing as. And acting is not one of my talents.

I think that the lesson is very fun and enjoyable because we can learn from other students about the way a witch sounds like. And also learn from their mistakes.

I suggest that we should get into groups and practice our witch voices so everyone can have a go.

Your student,

Melisa Lukito (9)

Learning Log 1

Dear Mrs Woo,

      The literature lesson on cinquain is really interesting as it is new to me and I enjoy writing and describing things with the cinquain. It is easy and simple to write a cinquain as it only requires 5 lines and a few words.

      Some things that I have learnt from the cinquain lesson are, the word "cinquain" is delivered from the French word cinq, which means five. This explains why cinquain is a five-line poem. There are also some rules we should follow when writing a cinquain.

     Line 1 should be a one word title. Line 2 must be a two word description.  On line 3, I should write 3 actions that describe the title. Line 4 should be the four word phrase on my feelings of the title. And the last line is a reflection on the title (one word).

*no suggestions for improvement*

Your student,

   Melisa Lukito