English homework

Dear all,

Please complete your spelling and dictation corrections at home. The phrases for the spelling bee test can be found below.


1) a frail old lady

2) provide her with some relief

3) instinctively

4) I shuddered at the thought of an unexpected event

5) vicious assailant

6) money is the root of all evil

7) permanent imprint in my life

8) the whole episode happened witin seconds

9) physical and mental assaults

10) in an attempt to deter similar cases

English homework over the weekend + Answers for synthesis questions

Dear all,

Please learn the class spelling and dictation list that I have compiled over the weekend. From next week onwards, there will be class spelling and dictation on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in preparation for the composition test on Friday 12 October. The printed copies of the spelling and dictation list have been given out earlier in class.



1) Sheila said, "I am leaving for London tomorrow."

Sheila said that she was leaving for London the next day.

Or

Sheila said that she was leaving for London the following day.


2) He is handsome. He has an ugly character.
He is handsome but has an ugly character.


3) The final year examination is near. The boy still has not revised for his examination. (yet)
The final year examination is near yet the boy still has not revised for his examination.

4) “I am going to Finland,”says Jim.
Jim says that he is going to Finland.

Monday  1 October

The moon cast its silvery glow on the pavement below as Alex strolled home from his tuition centre. As he approached the bus stop, the smell of smoke rushed into his nostrils. Alex started to cough. Looking up, he saw a reddish glow in a distance. The word “fire” ricocheted through his mind. Without hesitation, Alex sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him to the scene.

1) his mouth was agape in horror

2) contacted the fire brigade

3) stared blankly at the burning inferno

4) fluffy columns of smoke billowed out of the windows

5) as pale as a sheet

6) trembled like a leaf

7) fire was too intense

8) stared at the scene that greeted his eyes

Tuesday 2 October

       Appearances are deceptive. I have learnt it the hard way how wise this saying really is. Looking at the remnants of the broken pieces of furniture along the corridor, I swallowed the sob that rose in my throat. It was such a dreadful experience, one that had caused me countless sleepless nights and unimaginable nightmares in the dark. Though I had survived the ordeal, fear seemed to have transformed into my constant companion.

1) half awake and groggy from sleep

2) slumped into the comfortable couch

3) exhibited a mega-watt smile

4) scrambled to get the keys

5) rummaged through the drawers

6) defenceless against the intruder

7) traumatic experience

8) time would heal my painful wounds

Wednesday 3 October

       “Why is the taxi taking such a long time?” Ali grumbled as he was waiting at the taxi stand. It had been a long wait and he was in a hurry to go for a job interview. He did not realise he was late and was on the verge of calling a cab. The afternoon sun shone brightly on Ali as he waited impatiently at the taxi stand.

       The silence of the deserted streets indicated to Ali that the taxi would not be arriving any time soon. Just as he was about to call a cab, an elderly lady carrying a branded bag strolled along the pavement. She was hobbling on a walking stick and seemed to have great difficulty in her movements

1) was scared stiff

2) regained his composure

3) road blocks were set up immediately in the vicinity

4) track down the snatch thief

5) was able to apprehend him

6) sentenced to two years imprisonment

7) related the critical information to the police

8) crime does not pay

English homework for Tuesday 25 September

Dear all,

Kindly bring all your class library books for the annual class library book stock taking exercise. In addition, please try the synthesis and transformation questions below.

1) Sheila said, "I am leaving for London tomorrow."

Sheila said that _______________________________________.

2) He is handsome. He has an ugly character.
He __________________________  but has ________________________


3) The final year examination is near. The boy still has not revised for his examination. (yet)
___________________________ yet the boy____________________________.

4) “I am going to Finland,”says Jim.
Jim says that ____________________________.

Homework over the weekend

Dear all,

I'll start grammar revision with our boys next week onwards. In order to make revision enjoyable for all, I've given our boys each a task i.e. to create a grammar game over the weekend. The grammar topic that each boy needs to work on is listed below. 

Homework:

1) Bring Grammar and Vocabulary Book.

2) Learn the spelling words for week 3 and dictation passage for week 4. Test on the spelling words and dictation passage on Monday 24 September.

3) Create a grammar game on the topic assigned. Include an instruction manual to explain how the grammar game is played. Bring the game on Monday 24 September. The pupil with the most innovative and popular grammar game will be rewarded with a Nerf Gun.



Grammar Topics

For boys with Index no. 1 - 5, please create a grammar game on Idioms.

Idioms are expressions that would have different meanings if you took the words apart.

Here is an example:

In the dark- the meaning of the idiom is that you don’t know what’s really going on. They didn’t want her to know, so they kept her in the dark about it.

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Boys with Index no. 6 - 10, please create a grammar game on prefix.

A prefix comes before a root word and changes the meaning of the word. For example, if you take the root word "game" and add a prefix, it becomes something different.

pregame- before the game

postgame- after the game

It’s helpful to know the meaning of a prefix to help you figure out a word. Take a look at the following prefixes and the root words they’re attached to.

un-means not: unhappy, untied

over- means excessive or completely: overconfident, overjoyed

hemi- means half: hemisphere

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Boys with Index no. 11- 15,please create a grammar game on suffix.

A suffix goes at the end of a root word. It can tell you when something happened by changing the tense of a verb, modify the root word, or change the meaning.

A suffix is a letter or a group of letters attached to the end of a word to form a new word or to alter the grammatical function of the original word. For example, the verb read can be made into the noun reader by adding the suffix -er; read can be made into the adjective readable by adding the suffix -able.




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Boys with Index no. 16 - 20,please create a grammar game on homophones.

Homophones are words that sound the same, but have different meanings. Usually they are spelled differently, but they can also be spelled the same. An easy way to remember this is to remember that you listen and speak when you are on a phone. When you hear the word “phone” in homophone, remember that it means that the words sound the same or are pronounced the same. Here are some examples of homophones that are spelled differently and have different meanings:

paws/pause, flee/flea, pole/poll, ate/eight, one/won

Here are a few homophones that sound the same and are also spelled the same, but have different meanings:

rose (the flower) and rose (past tense of rise), bear (the animal) and bear (to tolerate)

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Boys with Index no. 21 - 25,please create a grammar game on contractions and compound words.

A contraction is word that is a shortened form of two words put together.

We cannot go to the store today because we did not behave.

We can’t go to the store today because we didn’t behave.

You can also use contractions to add some variety to your writing.

A compound word combines two words to make one word.

For example, playground and stovetop are compound words. So are classroom and baseball.

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Boys with Index no. 26 - 30,please create a grammar game on antonyms and synonyms.

An antonym is the opposite of a word. It is often used to help a writer show the difference between two things. For example, a writer might say something like this, “Yes, they were sisters, but they couldn’t have been more different. One was tall. The other was short. One was very loud. The other was super quiet.”

Synonyms are words that have similar meanings, while antonyms are words that have opposite meanings. Instead of repeating that he’s running, he can also be sprinting, bolting, or whizzing by! A thesaurus is a great resource when it comes to synonyms and a dictionary can also be helpful.

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Boys with Index no. 31 – 35,please create a grammar game on simple present and past tense.

SIMPLE PRESENT - is used to describe an action that is occurring in the present, at the moment of speaking. The simple present is used when the precise beginning or ending of a present action, event, or condition is unknown or is unimportant to the meaning of the sentence. In short, the child's communication intent is about the action, and unconcerned about time of action aspects.

SIMPLE PAST (Regular and Irregular)- The simple past is used to describe an action that occurred in the past, sometime before the moment of speaking. The regular past tense verb is marked with the [ed] ending as in (walk - walked). Th


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Boys with Index no. 36 – 41,please create a grammar game on phrasal verbs.

Phrasal Verbs

A phrasal verb made up of a verb (usually one of action or movement) and a prepositional adverb--also known as an adverbial particle (of direction or location). There are hundreds of phrasal verbs in English, many of them (such as tear off, run out [of], and pull through) with multiple meanings.

Re: Homework over the weekend

Dear all,

Please learn the dictation passage (week 1) and spelling words (week 2) for spelling and dictation test on Monday 17 September.


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In addition, for boys who would like to improve their writing, please improve the story below by adding more descriptive phrases, adjectives and adverbs in the blanks. Write it on a piece of A4 size paper and bring it to school on Monday.


Optional writing practice:

                                                           A race against time

Have you had a race against time to save a life before? Well, a few weeks ago, I had to save not one but five lives! Sounds incredulous? Let me share with you what happened a few weeks ago...

I was bored to tears outside the boutique selling ____________________ , waiting for my mother to be done with her shopping. Out of boredom, I decided to ______________________________. As I ventured near the passageway leading to the toilets,I noticed a faint sound coming from the rubbish bin that was situated at a corner. At first I thought it was a figment of my imagination. However, as I went closer to the rubbish bin, the faint sounds grew _____________________________. Strange, I thought to myself. What could be making that noise?

Curiosity killed the cat. How true! Removing the cover of the rubbish bin, I was shocked to my core when I discovered a big brown box. Although it was sealed, there were many tiny holes punctured on the lid of the box. What were the odds of finding a peculiar box that could emit strange noises in a rubbish bin?

I threw caution to the wind. Without second thinking, I _____________________________. To my utter horror, I found five pinkish bodies squirming in the box. Yukes! I instinctively dropped the box and _____________________________.

"Meow!!" Goodness, those wriggly bodies were none other than newborn kittens! Upon closer inspection, I realised the kittens were really feeble. They seemed to be scraggy and ______________________.

"There you are, Elijah! I thought I told you to wait ..." Mother lost her words momentarily when she saw the contents in the box beside me. Silence.

"Mom, these kittens, they look so weak!" I tugged at Mother's hands in attempt to elicit a response from her. Being an animal lover, _____________________________.

"Mom, there's a veterinarian right at the end of the shopping mall. Shall we bring the kittens there?" Mother nodded. Carefully, both of us ______________________________. After an awfully long wait at the veterinary, the kittens were given a thorough check-up and properly cleaned. Apparently, the kittens have not been fed for a few days and were on the verge of dying.

Wasting no time, Mother and I purchased some __________________________. As the newborn kittens were so young, they could not take solid food. Hence Mother had to be their surrogate mother. We took the kittens back home to tend to them.

Looking back at this incident, I came to a realisation that ____________________________. I promised myself never to __________________________________________.

Homework for Monday 10 September

Dear all,

Please complete the handout on commonly misspellt words and tenses. Check your answers below.

SA2 Oral examination will commence tomorrow. Please do your best!

These are the excellent mindmap posters created by Yu Chuan and Yan An. Great job!

Commonly misspellt words

1)      Roamed

2)      Restaurant

3)      Maintenance

4)      Equipment

5)      Because

6)      Occasion

7)      Experience

8)      Privilege

9)      Disappear

10)   Vacuum

11)   Past time

12)   Special

13)   Beautiful

14)   Believe

15)   Acceptable

16)   Statement

17)   Interesting

18)   Orientation

19)   Quarrel

20)   Tomorrow

21)   Possession

22)   Guarantee

23)   Noticeable

24)   Religious

25)   Mischievous

26)   Foreign

27)   Argument

28)   Judgement

29)   Knowledge

30)   Tongue

31)   Scissors

32)   Ridiculous

33)   Grateful

34)   Referred

35)   Sociable

36)   Innovative

37)   Compassion

38)   Integrity