Winds Of Change

During one of my rounds of observation last week, I came across a young teacher who was to me, a little bit ambitious in her lessons. What I mean is, for young learners, it would be best for them to be given a little bit of new knowledge but with lots and lots of emphasization, repetition and encouragement, so that they would be able to grasp our lesson in context.

Quantity does not necessarily brings out the best of quality in almost every task undertaken. It would be a joy and teachers' utmost satisfaction when our subjects show a remarkable level of understanding of what is it that we are imparting to them. From experience, young learners would feel satisfied with whatever new knowledge gained and would be very happy to know that they are good in any particular area. Giving away an abundant of compliments to them does not hurt too.

Im very proud of this particular teacher who was able to prove that she is indeed a very good teacher. This morning I was very pleased to see a tremendous improvement in her methods of teaching and approaching her students. What pleased me most was her ability to use objects in the classroom to convey her message. It was obvious that the students enjoyed and understand her lesson better than they did the week before. The best part was, she herself felt very good about the lesson and her way of teaching.

I wish all the best to this wonderful teacher who is willing to correct whatever error she may have conducted and has the strong tendency to improve herself. Congratulation.

Elements Of Drama

Character

• Person who appears in the play
• Basic part of playwright's work
• Conventions of period and author's personal vision affect treatment of character.
• Major and minor characters
• Explanation and development of major characters is essential
• Useful distinction between; 

             -heroes (or heroines) and villains -good and bad guys -virtue and vice
Plot

• Describes the structure of a story
• Shows arrangement of events and actions
• Structured with acts and scenes.

Theme

• Plot is the body
• Theme is the soul
• Conflict between individuals, man and society, man and some superior force or man and himself.
• Events from conflict make up the plot
• Able to state it in general terms and in a single sentence

Dialogue

• Provides the substance
• Each word uttered contributes to its overall effect
• DECORUM must be established, i.e. what is said is appropriate to the role and situation of a character
• Exposition of the play:

                    - often falls on the dialogue
                    - establishes the relationships, tensions or conflicts of later

Introduction To Drama In The Classroom

The Guide Book

• Use of drama in classrooms teaching & learning
• Shows enormous potential of drama as a learning tool
• Improve students’ interest in using the English Language
• Not about training actors and actresses
• Explore human conditions, stimulating students to better understand themselves and the world
• Not prescriptive but ideas to share
• Teacher decides
• Photocopiable handouts or task sheets
• Friendly, useful, adaptable
• Joyful and fun learning to suit teaching environment and students
• Your students “gulping and gasping” for more!

What is Drama?

• Performances where actors work together to represent stories by impersonating the actions and speech of imaginary characters
• Usually performed on stage for the audience

Why Drama?

• A social art where no one person can produce a play by himself.
• A collective effort and product of many relationships: writers, director, actors, a group of people who design and build the stage, props, costumes etc.
• Introducing drama to children gives opportunity to seek knowledge, create a presentation, be someone or something, explore a situation and to work and learn together with friends and strangers.

"Tell me and I will forget.
Show me and I will remember.
Involve me and I will understand."                          - Chinese Proverb

Graphic Novels Is Like But Not Comics

Aim(s)   -  40 minutes
To compare and contrast Graphic Novels and Comics

To identify features of graphic novels
Materials

Pictures from graphic novels and manga comic; manila cards

Steps

2. Divide students into groups. Distribute sets of pictures from graphic novels and manga comics.
3. Students sort out the pictures to get pictures from Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, Black Beauty, Mystery of Boscombe Valley Denko Oshoko-Manga comics
4. Students compare and contrast the features of graphic novels and manga comics.
5. On the white board, teacher places two charts with headings and notes as a guide for pupils look for the features of graphic novels and manga comics.
6. Students enter features of graphic novels and manga comic on the two charts pasted on the white board in front of the class.
7. Individually, students to enter details into handout 1, which is a table contrasting graphic novels and manga comics. Teacher summarizes referring to the features of graphic novels.

Notes

Preferably carry this out so that students will know the features of the graphic novel.
Four sets of pictures are given.

Using The Graphic Novels In The Classroom

• Treat it just like a book or a comic book. Read, read and enjoy reading.
• Keep it fun. Introduce fun activities while exploring the graphic novels . Extend the activities to go beyond the text, to areas found in real life.
• Open up their minds while trying out these activities using graphic novels as a take off point.
• Use graphic novels as materials for language learning as students are familiar with them. Graphic novels are interesting materials in an easily understandable format for youngsters.
• Encourage students involvement and participation in the activities by making them play the leading roles.
• Create a sense of ownership by assigning responsibilities to the students. Some of them can serve as experts or consultants because they probably know more about comics than the teacher .

Graphic Novels In The Classroom

• Teachers and educationist are now aware of the strong attraction that comics have over young people.
   Most youngsters would not read novels but they are most willing to read comics.

• Making the most of this attraction, graphic novels are now being brought into the classrooms as a means of getting youngsters to read.
• As opposed to common beliefs that comics are all violent, raunchy, or sexist there are now classics such as Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, David Copperfield by Charles Dickens and Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain as graphic novels.
• The words in graphic novels are minimal, yet the pictures help youngsters to comprehend.
• Second language learners give up reading if texts are too wordy. Graphic novels pull in reluctant readers rather than pushing them away as the visuals function as clues to help their understanding.
• A good picture paints a thousand words. As the pictures in the Graphic Novels are universal, they are readily recognized and accepted by the reluctant second language reader.

Why Use Graphic Novels?

• In an increasingly visual culture, the use of graphic novels will definitely promote literacy especially amongst the younger generation due to the elements of humour and fun.

• Encourage reluctant readers to read as the medium of visuals complement reading of graphic novels. They are more appealing to the eye.
• Visuals have a very strong impact on the reader, who makes meaning through pictures and images.
• Graphic novels offer value , variety and creativity. Pictures make texts more accessible especially to second language users and reluctant readers.
• Offer diverse alternatives to traditional texts – text light, actions faster and more reader friendly format.
• Introduce literary works like the classics to young adults who would probably not read them in their traditional novel form.
• Reading graphic novels may require more complex cognitive skills than the reading of texts alone. (Lavin 1998).
• Makes learning effective as graphic novels promote brain based learning making use of both the right and left brain.

Graphic Novels - Introduction

By definition “graphic novels” are “ novels whose narrative is conveyed through a combination of text and art, usually in comic strip form.”                  - Eisner,W (1978) -

The term “ graphic novel” is now generally used to describe any story book in a comic format that resembles a novel in length and develops as one piece of narrative work. Novels are presented as books in linear form; picture books tell a story with text accompanied by illustrations; films work with moving images and dialogue but graphic novels combine all these elements as a medium for story-telling.

“They are like prose in that they are written in printed form, but they are also like films in that they tell a story through visual images.”      - Smith. J(2005) -

In a graphic novel, readers derive information visually from pictures which are presented in sequence. Facial expressions and physical movements are relayed visually so much so that they, “… graphic novels are literature in cinematic format .”

Teaching Modules For English Literature Component 2010

Form 1
Poetry
The River
Mr.Nobody
Short Stories
Flipping Fantastic
Graphic Novels
Black Beauty
The Boscombe Valley Mystery
Journey to Centre Of The Earth

Form 4
Poetry
In The Midst of Hardship
He Had Such Quiet Eyes
Short Stories
QWERTYUIOP
The Fruitcake Special
Drama
Gulp and Gasp

Merperkasakan Bahasa Inggeris Dan Memartabatkan Bahasa Malaysia

Satu lagi program Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia untuk membantu memajukan dunia pendidikan di Malaysia, seiring dengan pemesatan persaingan dunia teknologi sekarang ini. Program ini apabila didalami dan difahami, akan menjadi pemangkin kepada kepesatan penambahbaikan dalam proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran di dalam mahupun di luar bilik darjah. Untuk Labuan, bagi memastikan dunia pendidikan warga Labuan tidak ketinggalan dalam mengejar kemajuan ini, berbagai usaha yang melibatkan kerjasama berbagai pihak telah diatur.

Ini mengingatkan saya kepada jasa-jasa guru-guru di Labuan yang selama lebih sedekad ini, telah memerah keringat, berkongsi idea dan pandangan selain dari berkorban dalam banyak perkara. Semua ini semata-mata untuk membantu pihak jabatan memastikan warga pendidik Labuan maju dan membudayakan pendidikan berkesan.

Kepada semua Jurulatih-Jurulatih Utama yang telah dilatih dalam berbagai mata pelajaran, khususnya Bahasa Malaysia dan Bahasa Inggeris, jasa tuan puan tidak akan pernah dilupakan. Perjalanan kita masih jauh dalam memastikan penambahbaikan alam pendidikan anak-anak kita diutamakan. Tuan puan telah banyak menyumbang, masih sedia menyumbang dan tentunya akan menyumbang lagi.

Kepada Pn.Siti Zahara, Pn.Wan Shariha, Pn.Rodziah, Pn.Nurul, Pn.Rohana, Pn.Zaleha, Pn.Matilda, Pn.Faridah, Pn.Khatijah, Pn.Simah, Pn.Janawati, Pn.Jamalia, Pn.Hamidah, Pn.Norhasheila, Pn.Noraliza, Pn.Janet, Pn.Hajayti, Pn.Norela, Pn.Juliana, Pn.Chin, Pn.Jasintha, Cik Suriani, Cik Ratna, Cik Yoke Peng, Cik Lim, Cik Pamela, ramai lagi lah, tak tersenarai di sini. Mereka ini selalu diiringi oleh En.Yahya, En.Hasnan, En.Justin, En.Jaafar, En.John, En.Ashraf, En.Cheah, En.Zamri dan ramai sangat lagi. Walau tidak sempat dirakamkan, mereka semua tetap di hati. Kepada sesiapa yang tidak mengenali dan mengetahui,  mereka adalah tulang belakang kejayaan bahasa-bahasa di Labuan.

Sekalung tahniah kepada mereka dan anda semua yang akan tetap. Jom kerja lagi.