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Reflections of Day 3 by Alvinn (VS)
Today, we ate a traditional English breakfast at Acorn Guest
House. Then we proceeded to the Castle for today’s lesson. Firstly, we
discussed on the books we read and how we read them. Various answers by us were
textbooks, fiction books, newspapers and online articles. I also learnt that we
read for information, learning, imagination and communication. Then we
discussed the differences between reading books and reading on the screen. For
reading, various learning that we provided were that it was leisurely,
addictive, absorbing, thought provoking and enjoyable. For reading on a screen,
various answers such as entertaining, informative, convenient were provided.
From this activity, I was able to really distinguish the differences between
reading books and reading on a screen.
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| Visualising the past |
We also learnt to understand the differences between reading
and scanning too. Reading is when we digest information while scanning is when we skim through it as though we
are looking for something. Then we did another activity where we closed our
eyes and tried to remember past enjoyable memories of reading. I wrote of the
time when I I was 7 years old when my mother read to me about Queen Elizabeth I
during my first visit to the library. I also remembered that the main reason I
asked my mother to read to me that book was due to its wonderful illustrations.
After this activity, we did a timeline from the first time
someone read to us till our reading habits in the present. We also discussed a
little about the fact that of people living in the past were called “People of
the Book” but now we were called “People of the Screen”. “People of the Book”
rely mostly on books, magazines or newspaper but “People of the Screen” rely
mostly on computers, laptops, Ipads or their phones to access the Internet in
order to read newspapers, books or magazines.
We also watched a video called “Is a magazine a broken iPad?”.
The video was about a one-year-old toddler who was more successful in
using an iPad than a magazine. Then, we gave the girl a name (Virgil) before
comparing how much things might change in 15 years’ time and the present. So,
we were supposed to imagine that it is 2027 and the girl is a teenager. Thus,
we were supposed to tell her how we used to read books during our time but now
during her time, everyone is using their iPads or laptops.
After this activity was over the class was split up into two
groups. We were supposed to debate about the advantages of reading through a
screen against the advantages of reading on a book. Our group was a pre-screen
and so we were supposed to support reading through a screen. So, we discussed
all the advantages of reading though a screen and disadvantages of reading on a
book.
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| Lunch at Tesco |
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After lunch, we had our debate. It was quite interactive and
engaging. Most of us were able to voice out our opinions about the reasons why
reading books or reading on a screen is better. After a long, tiring and really
entertaining debate, our group managed to convince Mr John that reading on a
screen is better. I really enjoyed the debate very much.
Then, Mr John told us to do a paragraph of a narrative essay and expository essay each about a blind or deaf man. I really think that this essay was very useful as it teaches us how to describe objects better and also to be more flexible in the way we think so that it would be easier for us to put ourselves in the shoes of a blind or deaf man and feel how they feel about their condition. Each time we finished an activity Mr John would ask us to read our work aloud. Overall, he told us he was quite impressed with our work and the amount of effort we put in it.
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| VS VP, Mr Chow, with a Reach Cambridge Inspector |
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| Relaxing outside The Castle |
Lastly we are supposed to write an essay on our journey from
Singapore to Cambridge. However, due to a lack of time, we were not able to
finish it. Mr John also gave out the synopsis of “The Taming of the Shrew” so
that we could read it before watching the movie “Ten things I hate about you”.
Then, we ate a traditional English dinner of Fish and Chips at the Castle and it was delicious and mouth-watering. Then, we watched “Ten things I hate about you” which is a modern retelling of “The Taming of the Shrew”. The show was really meaningful, romantic and humourous at the same time. It was a really wonderful movie and we also ate some snacks such a popcorn and biscuits. I really enjoyed the movie very much. On the whole, I really enjoyed today’s lesson a lot as it was very interactive and exciting due to Mr John’s vigour and wonderful teaching style.
- Alvinn Philips (VS)
Reflections of Day 3 by Jaslyn, Cristalle, Elizabeth (CGS)
Yesterday we learnt about the different elements that make
up a good essay which includes style, structure, focus and answering questions.
Mr John emphasized structure and ‘hitting the point’ when writing essays. For
example, he thought us how to use the road-map method to plan our essay well.
This method is useful for our planning of essays because it allows us to think
about each point in depth and to make sure it does not go out of point.
Personally, we felt that he could have elaborated more on the method as it is a
useful tool for our essay writing. After that, we had an activity on the
condensation of texts which can help us in making our essays more concise and
to the point. We enjoyed this activity because we were able to clearly see the
importance of using simple key words to make our pint easily understood. At the
end of the lesson, we were instructed to write a summary of what we have
learnt, which helped us reinforce what we have learnt. On the whole, we find
that this lesson was effective because we could understand his teaching.
Today we started off with thinking about our reading habits – how wand why we read the way we read. There was a short activity when Mr John got all of us to close our eyes and recall what we had read when we were younger. After that, he got us to draw a time-line of our reading experiences. This helped us realise how our reading habits have evolved over the years. For example, when we were younger we would only read picture books, however as we have grown older, we have progressed to reading more complex texts which require more in-depth thinking and have turned to even using technology. For example, sometimes, we use our phones or computers to read e-books instead of paperbacks. This has also affected the content we read. Reading using our phones or the computer enables us to access texts with a greater diversity of content. However, it also means that we pay less attention to the minor details of a story or article. Personally, we found this activity very enlightening for us as we became more aware of how our reading habits have changed as we mature. After that, we compared reading on a screen to reading on print, and we realised how different they are. Reading books is more of a personal activity/ experience. We do it at a more leisurely pace and enjoy the process. Reading books opens up a whole new world and we are able to empathise with the characters in the story.
On the other hand reading on screen is more interactive and
informative, for usually when we read on screen, we are often searching for
something specific to complete an assignment for example. However, when we read
on screen, we are not always focussed, and we get distracted easily. After
lunch, we had a debate on the different mediums – whether books or computers are
better. It was rather exciting and
ironic because the team supporting books in fact used computer screens to
present their argument. We ended off concluding that what matters most is the
content, not the medium, so long as the authors continue writing stories that
are good, the method of presentation does not matter much.
For the next half of the lesson, we focused on creative writing. We had a friendly competition on bad introduction for novels which benefitted us a lot, as we were able to understand what makes a good introduction and what does not. Next we were told to write an exposition and a narrative about how it would be like if we lost either our sight or hearing. This forced us to write while being more reliant on and explore our other senses, allowing us to greatly improve our descriptive writing skills. As readers, we read books that interest us, so we should know what it takes to catch the attention of a reader. Hence, through the exercise we also learnt to picture ourselves as the readers of our essays so as to make the content more interesting.
To sum up what we have learnt, reading and writing are an
important part of our everyday life. This course really made us see the
importance of such skills because being a good writer does not make you a good
reader neither does being a good reader, a good writer. In order to be good in
both reading and writing, we realised we should read deeply and not simply scan
through the texts we read, so while doing so, we will gradually be influenced by
other writer’s styles and ideas which will in turn improve our writing skills.
We found Mr John’s teaching style more engaging compared to our school teachers
and that’s probably the reason why we were able to absorb most things that he
taught us. However, we feel that he could have spoken more slowly so that we
can process the information more easily.
- Jaslyn, Cristalle, Elizabeth (CGS)
Reading in the 21st Century: an overview of the technological innovations of contemporary society and how they change the process of reading and writing
The lesson was on how reading has changed, literally. Now, we have
phones, computers, Facebook, Twitter and of course blogs! Right now, the world
is in a state of transition. Who knows in a few years time, books may suffer
the same fate as the Dinosaurs – they become extinct. In the past, humans have
been dubbed “People of the book”. Now, humans are called “People of the screen”.
Many humans, especially the young people prefer watching a movie of the book
rather than reading the book. This shows how much have changed since the past
when books were considered the best form of entertainment.
(Here's a reflection done in class by Jeremy Loh on his reading experience)
"I traveled back to a recent time when I was really engrossed with reading, probably a year or two before 2012. My brother showed me a book about magicians – My favorite! I’ve always loved fantasy and science fiction and I was so caught up in the Black Magician Trilogy Series by Trudi Canavan that I had wished for the series to never end, something I never did before.
I felt
like everything was so real in the book. The Kingdom of Kyralia, the characters
like Rothen, Lorlen, Dannyl, Akkarin and Sonea. Sonea was the main protagonist
and the way the book was written made me feel like I was her, living her life,
feeling her experiences and emotions. From an outcast to a well known and
respected magician, falling in love with the High Lord and being exiled for
learning the forbidden Black Magic just to save the kingdom from an incoming
invasion which no one believed.
I cried whilst reading the ritual of her exile
as it was written in a way that I could see it happening before me. The pain in
her heart for disappointing her mentor and close friend and being forced away
from the country when war was just days away. I have never felt that connected
to a book or character before in my life!
When I finally closed the book after
reading the final chapter, I just had mixed emotions. I was sad because the
series ended, happy at the brilliance of the writing, pitiful for Sonea as her
lover died and hopeful as a new sequel to the series would be written and
released shortly. The book really gave me a new perspective on reading, as it
was the first series that I had really thoroughly enjoyed and was actually
addicted to it. ‘The High Lord’ was the most impactful of the series as it
really brought out feelings in me that I never felt before. After all, guys are
supposed to only shed blood and not tears."
Today’s lesson also had an activity on debate. It was about whether
reading printed text or reading from the screen was better. We were to defend
reading printed text and worked with our other members to gather points that
will help turn the tide to our favor. In the process of the debate, there were
both pros and cons to both mediums of reading.
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| Debate: Print vs Screen |
For example, printed texts are cheaper yet they are inconvenient to
carry around. Reading from screens is more diverse but the reader is easily
distracted as they are constantly bombarded by various pop ups and
advertisements which disrupts their flow of thoughts.
The debate gave everyone a different perspective on each matter and
our teacher John O’Conner Gomez stepped in now and then to give his own input
into each matter as well as carry on the flow of ideas by adding his own.The debate got quite heated near the climax as both groups exhausted
every point they had to try to win others to their side.
Personally, we feel that screens are just means to disseminate
information while printed text is for deep and detailed reading during one’s
private time. Even though using screens to read is more entertaining,
instantaneous and diverse, they should only be turned to when there is no
better alternative because once you’re in the zone of reading, you’re in the
zone and nothing can disturb your one-on-one time with the book.
- Jeremy Loh and Chong Kia An (VS)
Reflection on Dinner at The Castle, and movie night
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| Fish n Chips dinner |
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| The classroom turns into a private cinema |
Today, I must say, is one of the most
memorable days among the past few days. Dinner served today was traditional
fish and chips, in Singapore, fish and chips served came in plates. However,
today's dinner came in paper packets. Mr Dan Strange then explained to us that
this was the traditional way of wrapping fish and chips. This had a strong
impact as I could now understand the different cultures and tradition between
Singapore and England. I must say that England obviously has a richer culture
and tradition than Singapore, judging from the unique way of their food
packaging.
After the sumptuous dinner of English Fish and Chips, came the movie "10 Things I Hate About You". It is a touching movie adapted from William Shakespeare's play "The Taming of the Shrew". As a romantic comedy, the director really brought out the meaning of love, the mutual love that is the important factor in the show, instead of puppy love. A character in the movie named Patrick Verona, was an outcast in school and he was deemed a hooligan. However, because of his love towards Kat, another high school student, he was willing to turn over a new leaf and quit smoking for the sake of the girl. After watching this movie, I was really touched at the movie plot. It was well written as it brought out the elements of true love. Overall, I can say that today was very memorable, with the knowledge of English tradition and the little enlightenment of true love.
- Ernest Ng (VS)
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