Grading

Dear 1D,

I am in the process of grading your participation on the class blog and the pbwiki. I would like to remind Group 7(Eleanor, Chloe, Siyi, Elizabeth & Dayana) and Group 7 (Bruce, Jinyang, Shaowei, Meng hock and Mike Shen) to post the mind map on what is plot using bublus. This is your final warning as marks will be awarded for publishing that entry.

Entries not labelled

Rebecca, Yuanting, Hidayah and Siyi please label your posts. Do check with your classmates if you are unsure how to do it.

Required Readings

Dear 1D,
I need everyone to read Chapt 8, 15, 17 and 19 in preparation for Monday's class.
I expect everyone to read and there is no exceptions to be made.
There will be a pop quiz at the beginning of the lesson and you will be sent out of the class if you fail the quiz. Performance will also affect overall grading for project.
I suggest you take your work seriously. I am considering putting up the first grading this weekend based on your entries done over this week.

Managing Group Discussion

Dear 1D,
Due to the influx of activities on our class blog, there is a need for us to tidy up the way we are posting. I need everyone to go to your previous posts and add your group number in the 'Label'. I have allocated a number for each group so refer to the list below.

Group 1 - Madeleine,Shumin,Sharifah,Marliah,Hidayah
Group 2 - Nurul,Syafiqah,Dasheni,Naimah,Iswarya
Group 3 - Luke, Hakim, Amirul, Syakir, Qhairiq
Group 4 - Vivian,Noel,Kailin,Pearlyn,Angeline
Group 5 - Adelaide, leonda,junkit,Jia huan, Bala
Group 6 - Jianting,weishan,Rebecca,Yuanting,Meipeng
Group 7 - Eleanor,Dayana,Chloe,Elizabeth,Siyi
Group 8 - Zhang zilu (bruce), Goh jin yang,Toh shao wei,Chia mike shen,Hong meng hock


You will realise that Group 7 and 8 are left blank. The reason? I have not received any post from you regarding your group. I want the 10 of you to see me on Thursday regarding your grouping.

Plot Analyzer

Decide on a particular paragraph(s) in Chapter 4 which you think it is worth discussing/re-reading. These can be funny, scary, confusing, interesting, a vivid description, or any other good part you read.
Include a storyboard or cartoon strip of the particular scene you select.

Attention to all connectors

I need you to remember that you are to connect (similarities, differences) of theme(s), character(s), key event(s) with your personal life, happenings in school or in the neighbourhood, other stories, other writings on the same theme or even other writings from the same author.

Please take note and make suitable revision during the next session at the lab or preferably in the comfort of your home.

Important annoucement for discussion directors

I noticed that you have mainly posted comprehension questions. I would like you to post questions like the following:

- What was going through your mind when you read this?

- How did you feel when...?

- Can someone summarize this section?

- Did anything surprise you about this section of the book?

- Predict something about the next section of the book.

Please revise your previous entry during the next session at the lab or preferably in the comfort of your home.

Attention to ALL 1Dians!

Some of you have started posting and that is a good sign but the frequency you are doing that is too low. Besides, you should be commenting on what your group-mates post! On top of that, Everyone has to submit an individual post! What you post will depend on your specific role in the group.

Start your discussion now

Dear All,

Now that you have agreed on your roles, please start your discussion based on your selected project choice. I expect everyone to do your part. Once again, read our wiki for instructions.

Please take a look at the discussion that is going on in 1C's blog and take their lead. Take this project seriously.

Well Done & Reminder

Angeline and Luke,

Thanks for your prompt updating on the respective roles of your team mates. The next step will be for the respective job holders to get the discussion for your team started(Refer to job description on our wiki). Remember, you do not solely have to respond using written text. You are strongly encouraged to use other medium - podcast, comics, photos etc.

The rest of 1D,

I noticed that groups have not responded to the comments which I have posted for each group's mind map. Please remind each other to start responding. Do check for comments posted in future. For those groups which have not updated me your members' roles within the group, you are reminded again to do so as soon as possible.

Please check blog regularly and engage in discussion initiated by your group. Do not wait for me to constantly prompt you. All instructions have been posted on wiki so you should not allow yourself to fall into the trap of being in a 'helpless' situation. Remind yourself it is criminal to be constantly waiting to be reminded to get discussion going. Everyone matters. It is everyone's responsibility to ensure the group is actively engaged in your term project.

Deadlines

Do take note of the following deadlines:

(1) Post on each individual group member's specific role - Sunday 27 June
(2) Everyone to sign up for an account on Shelfari - Monday 28 June

Good Job

Dearest class,

I am very happy that the class has taken my suggestions seriously and has acted promptly to my call to begin your discussion online.
I have commented on your posts and would like you to take part in the discussion as well. A gentle reminder - whenever I use the term 'you', I am referring to EVERYONE in the team. Take part actively, be responsible for your own learning. Make it an enjoyable learning experience =]

By the way, everyone in the group can add details to the mind map. In fact everyone should! All you have to do is to ensure everyone in the group signs up for a bubbl.us account. Add each other using the tab - friends which is on the right. So, the person who has done it this time round, go gather your team mates and get them to sign up!
I need everyone to add me as well. Add me using this email address - skydancer850@yahoo.com.

On another note, I need every group to add another post to our class blog. This time, I want to know everyone's role in the group. By now, everyone should have taken up a responsibility be it a discussion director, vocabulary wizard etc. Please refer to the roles on our class wiki.

After much deliberation, I have decided that everyone in 1D must sign up for an account at Shelfari. If we want to develop a reading culture, I feel strongly that we should not limit ourselves to simply reading the book. Read, reflect, comment, respond and connect to what others across the globe has to say about a book that you are currently reading, have read or are interested in reading. Get excited 1D, get really EXCITED!

Discussions Not Posted

2 days have passed since I introduced the class to bubbl.us yet I have not seen a single post of your mind maps. I would like to remind you that I am not looking for perfection but rather thinking process. So, do upload your discussion on what story-telling is about.

Grammarman

I should put this link at the reference box but have chosen to put it as a post as it seems to capture your attention faster this way.

This site teaches grammar using comics. Like all good hero stories, we have the villains (grammar ignorants) and the good guys. Hmmm, I wonder which group you belong to. That aside, for those of you who are struggling with words and enjoy comics, you are going to enjoy yourself here.

Testing Bubblus

WELCOME BACK

Project of the Year

Dear beloved,

Please check our pbwiki site for more updates on The Project of the Year - Storytelling:What is a story? You can click on the pbwiki link on the left side of our blog.

Gudelines to blogging

1. Do not give anybody your personal information or photos of yourself.
2. Use standard Ehglish.
3. Do not make racist comments on the blog.
4. No usage of vugarities.
5. I will be responsible for anything blogged in my name.
6. Do not reply to any strangers.
7. Do not reveal the name of the our school.
8. Do not reveal your address.
9. No revealing of class information.
10. Do not make any bad comments of others.
11. Hand in your post in time when teacher asked you to post.
12. No posting unnecessarily.
13. No usage of MSN language.
14. Think before you write. Post only things that are meaningful.
16. No short forms.
17. No linking to personal blogs.
18. No arguing or provoking.
19. No plagiarising. I will expand on others' idea and give credit where it is due.

[Consequences When You Break The Rules Of Blogging]

CONSEQUENSES

1st Offence:: Post an apology on the blog
:: Stand for 1/2 hour during English Class

2nd Offence:: Extra class duties for 1 week
:: 300 Words essay on 'Why You Broke The Rules'

3rd Offence:: Banned From blog for 1 week
:: Miss Chia will inform parents to ban you from using the computer for 1 week

Reading: Checking Comprehension

These questions are based on the newspaper article " Business-savvy kids turn blogs into e-shopping outlets" from YOUTHink, Jan 8 2007

1. Why do youths aged 13-19 prefer Internet shopping?
2. What products are youths trading on the Internet?
3. Why does Rachelle think "running a business is not easy"?
4. What is another word in the passage which describes someone who is "business-savvy"?
5. Why is not having an Internet banking facility a problem for her?
6. How does Rachelle intend to expand her business worldwide?
7. What is the term used to describe young people like Rachelle who are designing their own blogs and using this to set up online businesses?
8. What does "tech-savvy" mean?
9. How did Monica Lie start her online business?
10. Why does Monica prefer an online business to setting up a real shop?
11. Why do you think Monica says that it isn't safe to meet someone she knows online?
12. What does keeping "her designs exclusive" mean?
13. What does Lim Si Ping say is a disadvantage of an online shop?
14. What do you think is different about the ways in which digital immigrants and digital natives set up their business? ( you should refer to the box which says "Trading Then"/"Trading Now