- This topic has 137 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated April 19, 2025 by
.
-
Posts
-
-
Summary for Lesson 1
In our first writing lesson together, we focused on descriptive writing, thinking about the three fundamental building blocks: high level vocab, literary techniques and sensory language. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help write the descriptive pieces assigned for homework. It also contains some really important and helpful links, the inspiration for the gorgeous work the class did on up-levelling their vocab to an even more vivid and sophisticated level, and finally our discussions on sensory language, creating atmosphere, avoiding cliche and using unique and original literary techniques to grab the reader’s attention. The students were absolutely brilliant in today’s lesson, everyone was super engaged and full of fantastic ideas. Really great work today everyone and lovely use of simile and metaphor- very impressive work! See you next week 🙂
Descriptive writing video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSoRzTtwgP4
Video about creating unusual and quirky metaphors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wrq6AnYuxI&feature=youtu.be
Homework
-
-
-
In the noisy amusement park, color light are flashing at every were. Ferris wheel are spinning. It looked like the colors are spinning. People stand together, having a sweaty smell in the air.Some excited people shouted. We can see the entire city from the top of the ferris wheel.
-
-
The bright lights covers all over the playground, there are red, yellow, blue light stripes are all over the playground. There are people yelling to sell their foods and some others that was shouting on the roller-coaster. There are high and low buildings, but it made the play land more squished.
Ferris wheels are more than one and there looking’s are different too, some are with long stripes and some have with wooden seats on them. Different shops have light bulbs all around them, and the costumer are different at any time. The costumers for the shops are just like money to them so then when their costumer buy something then they will shout even louder. And the lights made the night that became just like the day, even though it is mid-night, but you still can smell the food’s yummy smell.
Little flags are the most interesting things, some of them will talk about what will happen in the following weeks, some will talk about what will this shop sell, and some might even say where is the funniest place to go.
If a wind blows by then you could hear the sound that the people on the roller-coaster make, then you will want to try it too. And the children are telling their mom if they want this or that, or crying loudly, and if you are walking to the playground you might as well hear the noise. But you still can taste the yummy foods for example ice-cream, it is fun but crowed.
Many of the activities you need to line up for a long time and sometimes when you finished it you thought that it was really fun and you will want to play another time, but then you still need to line up that long so most of your time is not playing but lining up to play. But some activities don’t need to line up so now your time is just relaxing and have fun!
Going to a playground can make you feel excited nervous or calm. And that’s what you really need to feel the happiness and be relaxed, it is just like a reward for yourself so you need to express yourself and do any thing you want, it is just a place that can make you feel right and to play, so a play ground is really just for all these things to let you feel better.
-
-
I am in a sleepless playground. There are many snacks, which smell good. There are many people, so it is too loud that even a horn can’t be louder than the voice. It is an amazing thing to know that I had never seen a Ferris wheel in this big. Although the wheel is as tall as a tower, it is still very stable and fun, not like a round tower, boring and un-stable. I believe there must have a roller coaster.
The big wheel is so big that it is even bigger than the sun! I have never seen any wheels like this! This isn’t like the tire on the car, it’s brighter. This is the most beautiful circle that I’ve ever seen. I think when we are on the top of this wheel, we will see a complete picture of this playground. It must be lightful, although we haven’t gone up there.
I see a roller coaster on the wheel by accident, and it must be excited. Will it be fast? I don’t know. I think every roller coaster must be excited. But I know that it won’t be a place to look at the beautiful picture. It is also bright but not as bright as the wheel. However, the wheel is not as fast as the roller coaster. I remember my first roller coaster ride was terrible, so this roller coaster must be faster than that, because that first roller coaster is a child one.
After I have finished riding the wheel, I race to the snacks, because I am very hungry now. I saw many foods that I have never seen and make me very want to try them. I buy some for my friends, because they want me to buy some souvenir for the project for introducing anywhere. I also buy some snacks that I met before. The air smells like barbecue, hot dogs, and candies, and my mouth is full of things, too.
What a nice visiting! There are wheels, roller coasters, performances, snacks, etc.! Maybe I should take my friends to this place again. They will love this! I don’t think this place is any worse than other, although I hate the roller coaster, but everything else is wonderful! If next time this place don’t have much people, I will be able to play everything in this playground and talk to my friends.
-
-
Summary for Lesson 2
In our second lesson together, we focused on narrative writing, thinking about the different stages to writing a narrative story that we could use to create compelling and capitvating stories. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help write the narrative stories assigned for homework. It also contains the step-by-step process of story-planning, focusing on the seven elements of narrative writing such as plot, point of view, symbolism and theme. We completed work on how to hook the reader- for which the students came up with loads of amazing ideas such as the techniques of description and in media res. I was super impressed by everyone’s work today, they planned some lovely ideas. Great work everyone, see you next week 🙂
The video from the beginning of the lesson (the GCSE one): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee-3qumk6E0&feature=youtu.be
Homework
-
The wind blew in the big wild mountain, hikers were walking in a long path with all kinds of voice raring over and over. Suddenly, a huge rain begins wind and rain were a mess, and even some of the trees and plants are uproot and was been blown into the deep valley. And everyone was shocked.
The hikers ran into a mess, some of them said that they would still go and explore, but some think that the need to go to the cave to wait until the rain was over. Then the hikers split up a part, then a huge howl came it was the lion!
Some of the people that is in the cave was save, but the others ran away for their life’s. The lion was more and more close, everyone was scared, but some of the smart people said that they could lie down on the grass and not breath and let the lion think that they already died. So of they did, the people just lie on the cold grass. The lion cached up with them, and got closer, it sniffed and sniffed everyone was afraid that they would be eaten by the lion, and even the people who hide in the cave sweat for them.
But lucky the lion was not hungry it was just curious about the humans, and now the rain stops it is now the time to let the hikers explore new things. But at this moment they were very caution because no one wanted to see that lion again.
Then they explored something amazing that there was a small hedgehog that is in the dirt and was very dirty. One hiker picks it up and put it in her hands and said that she will adopt the hedgehog the hikers heart melted because of the creature that was cute, but no one cares about it.
Then one of them said that they can find the hedgehogs mom, so of they went, they searched and searched, and at last they found its mom in a pond were the waterfall is. The woman fist gave the little one a bath then took it to her mom. It was very warm when the animal and the animal’s mom met, and everyone was happy.
Then they went to see the waterfall it was so spectacular, and all the hikers are amazed, the water it so clear that they even could see some fish swimming in there, this is an artist artwork and the artist is the nature.
The hiking ends up, but that kind of recall can not end it is a time that they face life and death and they survived, and that they’d helped a small creature to find its mom. This kind of experience will never disappear in their mind, t is lovely and full of challenge.
-
-
On a sunny day, a mountaineering team went hiking together. They are preparing to have dinner on the mountaintop.
Just as they were climbing up the mountainside, they encountered a very steep slope. Several strong men tried to climb up with their bare hands, but all failed. When they were in trouble, a clever woman came up with a solution: she found a rope. Let the strongest man be at the bottom, and everyone step on the shoulder of the person below, overlapping. In this way, the woman at the top successfully climbed to the top of the slope, tied the rope around a large stone, and the remaining people grabbed the rope one by one and climbed up the slope, finally reaching the top of the mountain.
After overcoming this difficulty, everyone felt very happy and proud, and their sandwiches and tea became even more delicious. -
-
“It’s you? You killed her, accidentally?” I shouted, astonished. The man in hunting wear stands still, nodding slowly. Everyone was quiet, staring at each other. A woman burst into tears, her husband hugging her tightly. Who is the woman? What happened?
Three days ago, my family and my best friend, Emily’s family went to Rockwell Mountain to camp together. We’re going to stay for two weeks. It was a Sunday, the beautiful blue sky had no clouds at all. The adults planned to meet the famous hunter, Mr. Carter, so they could hunt together and taught us some tricks of hunting.
The second day, when the adults were hunting together in the woods with Mr. Carter, Emily and I decided to play hide and seek. She will be the hider, and I will be the seeker.
Emily was good at hiding. Usually, she stays low and moves slowly until she finds a good spot to hide herself from me. The Rockwell Mountain was so big, so I was a little bit worried about Emily getting lost in the woods. Just as I was about to step and find her, a loud bang of gunshot erupted from the forest, followed by a scream. I was frightened, is Emily hurt, or is it just the adults hunting animals? With my body trembling, I rushed back to the house, shut the door, closed the windows, and waited for my parents to get back.
“Ding!”the door rings. I was scared to answer the door. I peeked out of the curtain, seeing it was Mr. Carter. Relieved, I answered the door. Mr. Carter said straightly:“It’s me. I accidentally shot her, thinking she was a rabbit or some animal. I’m so sorry.”
That explains everything. Everything has been solved, and it’s time to go home.
-
-
What a terrible holiday! It was ruined! I have been all day learning! I am Mars, a five-grade student. This summer vacation was terrible, just because nothing! My parents let me answer questions on a book, and that made me very unhappy. I can still see that dark cloud, right on top of our house. Whatever, everyone else used a real vacation to full their vacation, I used homework!
It is the most terrible holiday ever. I went on an ordinary holiday, like playing games, or going to other friends’ home. However, after the first week, my mom gave me much homework, like practicing a test. I thought, ‘I don’t need to take that test, why I should practice it?’, but my mom said it, so I should do it. It was too much and too hard! One of the questions is filling the blanks with sentences, and I failed it every time. In my school, I just need to read the passage for one time, even half time, then there will be an obvious answer. However, in this book, even though I read 5 or 6 times, I still think every answer is whether all right or all wrong.
After I finished the hard vacation, I found out that I really need to take the test, and I passed it. It was hard really, but it was worthy.
-
-
Summary for Lesson 3
In today’s class we continued our writing lessons thinking today about emotive writing. We began by writing short descriptions trying to evoke particular emotions from the reader before thinking about analysing the connotations of words to uncover what kinds of emotions they communicate. We then looked at Pepys’ diary describing the Great Fire of London and then discussed what historical events we could write a characters’ diary entry for. The class created some historical characters and finally touched on what they needed to remember while diary writing. Fantastic work everyone, particularly when thinking about how word choice can make us think differently about emotions in a piece. Well done and see you next week 🙂
Homework
-
Covid-19 pandemic
Beep! Beep! I was a little girl called Dora which was in the Covid-19 pandemic period and was really sick.
My head hearts and my arm were really hot, it was just like fire and I was very uncomfortable. And I hated when the nurse came, she always makes me get many shots and hanging bottles. It hearts a lot and every time it feels very tight and when I saw the blood, I will feel scared. And at many times I will cry.
With my eyes closed I felt like that everyday had been so long that I hope I could be better. Nothing ever happens, in the hospital I could only hear the adults talking but in mummering. I wanted to go back to school and see my friends, play with them and talk about what had happen in school. I wanted to have my old life back, but not just lying on the bed and doing nothing.
One night, when I was going to sleep, suddenly a nurse came with a serious looking, I knew that she was going to give me another shot again. But this time it was the worsts! I had five different needles on my hand, it was just crazy! That night I even didn’t sleep well, I woke up with two big black panda eyes and was very sleepy.
After a wile it was time for breakfast, when the nurse came to give me the food, I am very hungry, so I ate a lot. The warmth of the soup makes me happy. And the nurse happily said that I am not so sick so I could go to out and walk!
I am amazed about it and I thought how many days have, I didn’t breathe some fresh air. So off I went, it was amazing when I saw the plants and flowers and I am so astonished, the world was full of color and things that don’t know.
But happy times was always short, I came back to my room and was going to get other shots. Time passed by I felt like everyday was hard and tuff, but I believe that one day I will go out of this “cage” and discover the new world.
And that day finally came! When the nurse happily said that I am going to go out the hospital, I am so excited that I have no time to eat my breakfast but running out and discover the world! I finally reach the time to go out, although I have faced many challenges, but I survived from that. Until this day I still remembered it.
-
Covid-19 pandemic
Beep! Beep! I was a little girl called Dora which was in the Covid-19 pandemic period and was really sick.
My head hearts and my arm were really hot, it was just like fire and I was very uncomfortable. And I hated when the nurse came, she always makes me get many shots and hanging bottles. It hearts a lot and every time it feels very tight and when I saw the blood, I will feel scared. And at many times I will cry.
With my eyes closed I felt like that everyday had been so long that I hope I could be better. Nothing ever happens, in the hospital I could only hear the adults talking but in mummering. I wanted to go back to school and see my friends, play with them and talk about what had happen in school. I wanted to have my old life back, but not just lying on the bed and doing nothing.
One night, when I was going to sleep, suddenly a nurse came with a serious looking, I knew that she was going to give me another shot again. But this time it was the worsts! I had five different needles on my hand, it was just crazy! That night I even didn’t sleep well, I woke up with two big black panda eyes and was very sleepy.
After a wile it was time for breakfast, when the nurse came to give me the food, I am very hungry, so I ate a lot. The warmth of the soup makes me happy. And the nurse happily said that I am not so sick so I could go to out and walk!
I am amazed about it and I thought how many days have, I didn’t breathe some fresh air. So off I went, it was amazing when I saw the plants and flowers and I am so astonished, the world was full of color and things that don’t know.
But happy times was always short, I came back to my room and was going to get other shots. Time passed by I felt like everyday was hard and tuff, but I believe that one day I will go out of this “cage” and discover the new world.
And that day finally came! When the nurse happily said that I am going to go out the hospital, I am so excited that I have no time to eat my breakfast but running out and discover the world! I finally reach the time to go out, although I have faced many challenges, but I survived from that. Until this day I still remembered it.
-
-
English writing class 3
March 13, 2135
Today, the U.S.A is throwing bombs to us. I just woke up, seeing everyone rushing around like mice meeting a cat. The U.S.A is the cat, and we are the mouse. I ran outside, not knowing what’s happening now. I saw crazy people carrying toys, foods and other thing to their cars, or even trucks, as if they are going to live on their “moving homes”. Adults shouting to kids, kids shouting to adults, the message passed on into my ears.Suddenly, I truly realized that we are dangerous here as I smelled the scent of fire. I raced back to my house, feeling a bit anxious, at a loss of what to do. I remembered that once a time, I dreamed about myself getting lost at a huge amusement park, couldn’t find my phone, running around. But now, it’s in real life, really happening, and I need to do something about it. I took some canned food, a sleeping bag, some communication equipment, and my favorite toy, my car model my best friend gave me.
The loud noise is closer and closer to us. I jumped on my little truck and raced toward the edge of the city. I needed to drive slowly on the crowdy, muddy dirt road because there were always people running around doing everything but nothing. I felt nervous about whether I can survive this disaster or not, unsure about what will happen next, and sad for those who already dead without knowing. If we can get out of here, we will be safe for now, but not forever.
Wish me good luck
Andy
-
-
Dear diary:
As a loud bang, I woke up from a tent. It was big and comfortable. This is my third day as a pawn. I have always been looking forward for being pawn, and I really did that the day before yesterday. I thought that day, “Wow, I’ve really done this! It doesn’t let me regret the time that I learn sword!”
After a “long” ride, I “soon” arrived at the military camp. It was amazing! There are many camps, water, fire, etc. Some one thinks that this place is boring, I feel that too, because of that annoying, boring practice. That was a nightmare! I can’t do anything, but I really improved my strength. There are many different weapons, but we are not permitted to touch them.
After a while of boring practicing, my superior told me that we must go to the Guandu battlefield. I was excited, not only because at least I can see what a real battlefield looks like, but also, I know this battle, which was one of the Chinese most famous battle, almost everyone knows. I already know we will win by using the 70 thousand pawns against the others, and they have 700 thousand pawns. I really thought I will tell my friends about this thing, but I can’t. I used that sword that I used for years, and I really hurt some people, and I have never thought that feeling ever before. It was amazing for me! Imagine this, you used your favorite weapons and helped this city! Isn’t this great?
I was tired and exited. I came back, feeling exited. I’m surprised that I can come back alive! What will happen next? I am really looking forward for my new life now, I thought, tomorrow will be another nice, exciting day.
-
-
All the things in the city were normal, very normal. The planes soaring in the air, people hanging in the street, traders shouting over each other, competing about who sells the most goods. But then, the air started changing. The cloud covered the sun. The wind started blowing.
I woke up and peeked out through the curtain. The sun shined brightly in the sky, smiling at the people going to work. Maybe dad was in there too, I thought. I’m only six, so Mom needs to stay with me during the day. Mom said that we can go to the toy shop and buy whatever toy I want, since it was my birthday. Thinking is not how you do things, Mom always said. So, I jumped onto my cute little pony mat, changed my clothes, and started the day.
A few minutes later, I was at the front door, waiting for Mom impatiently. I wanted to keep calm, so Mom will say that I’m a good patient kid, but I’m so excited to buy my favorite toy! If I show Dad my little pony pencil case, Dad will say that It’s a good choice.
Finally, we walked through our beautiful garden, toward our car. On the way out, I felt that the flowers were laughing or smiling at me. It didn’t feel well, and I don’t know if it’s good or bad.
As I had expected, I got my perfect pony pencil case. I hid it in my little backpack, not letting anyone see, including me. When we got into our car, a loud bang spread over the city, followed by a second bang and a third bang. I am frightened and scared. I curled up un my seat, and Mom told me to be calm. The city broadcast then told us, residents, to go to the air defense center, and they will keep us safe.
On the way to the air defense center, I saw a huge traffic jam because everyone was heading toward one place. We fought our way to it and finally got safe from that disaster.
-
-
Summary for Lesson 4
In today’s class we learned about literary techniques, digging into what these were and how to match techniques specifically to genre and style. We began by discussing different kinds of techniques and their purpose before practicing using a range of techniques. We then learned about suspense and how to select particular types of language to create a strong sense of suspense. Finally we focused on foreshadowing, delving into the different ways in which it can be created and then trying it out ourselves. Incredible work today everyone, particularly in understanding the idea of techniques as being about language as an art. Keep up the amazing job and see you next week 🙂
Homework
-
In a dark, cold, night, A black shadow quickly ran in the the house. The air was a little bit wet. The house was dark and quiet. There was a bloody smell in the air.
At the morning, Mike woke up with a yawn. Suddenly, he hear a loud sound from outside:“Mr. Mike! Mr.Mike! There are a murder!” Mike walked out of his house. He ask what happened. And Mr.David said:“Ms.Sam died in her house! Last time we saw her was last day. Nobody saw people went in her house!” Mike frowned :“Take me to her house.”
They rushed to Ms.Sam’s house. Her house was a two store house, but with less windows. I observe the windows and the outside of the house, and walked in. It look huge in Ms.Sam’s house. Everything was expensive. Mike suddenly think about some thing. He ran up to the 2nd floor and ran in to the bedroom. Like what he was thinking, the safe deposit box was opened. nothings was in there. Mike thought for a while. So the murderer comes for money, he thought.
Suddenly, he saw a little bit of blood leading out of the window. He saw a fingerprint, too.“Tell officer Percy to come here.” He said to others. After a while, officer Percy came. He search all over the house, and take the finger print to the police station.
Three days later, officer Percy come to Mr.Mike’s house and said:“The fingerprint lead to Mr.White.”They went to Mr.White’s house and ring the doorbell. “Who is there?” said Mr.White. Quick as a flash, he started to run. The other police jumped out from the grass and catch him.Percy smiled:“Let us go to the police station to hear what you had done.”
Mr.White confess his crime, and Mike are going on the TV for his action. It was a lovely week for him.
-
-
Lila was shocked with fear, under the truth there was still something, a pail white bone with red dimond on it. When she quickly packed it into her bag, suddenly a huge wind came, and the tornado was just in front of the cave. Lila ran with fear, but she was so afraid that her father would know it, so her legs shocked hardly, she wanted to run but her legs wabbled and wabbled, at last she couldn’t hold. She sat on the floor with her mouth wide open, because the tornado was coming!
Woosh! Woosh! The tornado was just like a big lion on the field, it was now in front of Lila. Suddenly a huge wind came and the plants around Lila shook hardly, and some even was blown away. And it came. Lila was blown up by the tornado, she thought that this was the day that she would end her life. She closed her eyes and waited for the death.
One minute two minute three minute…… she waited and waited, but nothing had happened, she was now in a place where there are huge plants growing there and saw a bad man that is running to here and going catch her. She ran and ran but the man was just still there running and running. Know she thought of an idea to play hide and seek to that man. She ran to some tall plants and climbed on them. The man lost the people who he needs to catch so run around and around.
It was soon night that people were still finding Lila, and Lila thought that she would just sleep on the plant and wait. But just then the plant grew smaller and smaller and Lila fell off. Then she heard the man’s voice with anger “I finally found you naughty girl!”
Lila didn’t think more than just run away, she run faster but the man was too. At last she was so tired and thought about that what kind of scary things will the man do with her. She suddenly thought about the pail bone that has a red and on it she remembered that there was a word “ooosh” so she thought that if she said that word something might happen, so she shouted out.
When she finished her head hurts a lot. Just then she heard her mom calling her and when she opened her eyes again she saw that she was still in her bed and realized that it was just a dream.
-
-
Play, play, play! Kids just want to play. I believe that our school must build a huge playground for kids to play. It’s not only for the kids, but also for the school! Schools with a huge playground, or playing area, will attract so many children to come. A huge playground can also change others’ thinking about our school: Wow! A huge playground! My kids will be very happy to be there.
If you build this playground, kids or even parents will love you. Children can play happily, move happily, and learn happily. Children moving around more will make their happiness increase, causing them to learn focused and behave better in school time.
You want to play or learn? Of course, children will LOVE to play. Please build me, build us, build the whole school a happy playground.
-
-
Summary for Lesson 5
In today’s class we studied persuasive writing, thinking through the different voices, styles and techniques we can use in this type of writing. We began by discussing the way in which persuasive writing is about influence, brainstorming ideas of techniques. The class learned and practiced three advanced techniques and we then applied this to thinking about logos, ethos and pathos. We wrote a persuasive piece in response to a prompt, looked and example answers and discussed their strengths and weaknesses. Finally the students thought about how to create an authoritative tone in their writing; excellent work today everyone, really strong understanding and sharing throughout. Fab work 🙂
Hyberbole vid: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z6h72sg
Anaphora vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr970RgZu8w
Homework
-
To the headteacher of Grade5:
Hi, my name was July, a Grade5 student. I think the school should spend the £1 million from the government for same cool, virtual reality glasses.
Buy some VR glasses will make our school better, and make teacher’s life easier. VR glasses can make student focus, because it are playful. Students can saw colorful image with VR glasses. It would be cool and fun to lean with it.
Also, It can make teacher’s life easier. If school have this, teachers will have the best place they want to work. And they can teach by the invisible whiteboard.
Lastly, VR glasses equal many equipment like computers, iPads, and whiteboard. If the school have this, we don’t need these computers. Instead, we can do things(like typing)on the 3D world.
This is why we should use £1 million to buy some VR glasses. Maybe you can think about it?
Sincerely,
July Bi
-
-
Dear grade five teachers,
My name is Claire, a grade five student. And I think that the government should grant $1million dollars to the poor people.
Buy some books and teachers to let the students learn, or then they couldn’t have a better life, but people are all equal.
Also, if we make them learn well, then even some intelligent will pop up and make our life better and better.
At last it can make that poor place be a place that many other countries people wanted to go, like making a sculpture and it can give more jobs to all the people who live in that place.
This is why that I think the $1million dollars to grant on.
Your sincerely,
Claire
-
-
Dear all teacher who teaches grade five:
Hi!
I am Mars, a grade five student. I think it is a good idea to grant 1 million dollars for the poor students.
First, there are many student here, and some of them has a great future or many great ideas. We must give them help. It is a good idea to buy some electronic equipments to let them think school is fun. Don’t you want them to be a great teacher and help you?
Second, they may have a potential of learning, what we need to do is just to encourage them. It’s easy, just use the money to buy something.
Last, upgrading the environment is also important. If the air always permeate a awful smell, can you tolerate it? Of course not! If you can’t, then don’t expect we can!
That is what I suppose to use 1 million dollar to grant.
Sincerely,
Mars
-
-
I believe that learning from experiences is better than learning from books. Learning in that scene will be more efficient than learning from a fake scene. When you figure a question out on your own, you will know better when you met it next time. If I let to choose the two ways to learn, you must like to try it yourself than hearing me telling you about what it feels like, smells like, looks like…
Also, books or other information written on paper, sometimes, will be wrong. Books are written by people that tried that thing out, it’s their thoughts about it. It may not be what you think, so don’t believe in others, believe yourself. Will you want to see your friend spending five days to finish reading a long information book, but found out that all the information is wrong? That’s a waste of time.
So, please learn from your experiences than from the books, it’s a better way to learn and will help you improve.
-
-
Summary for Lesson 6
Today we studied argumentative essay writing, reflecting on the difference between this and a persuasive essay and then studying different techniques and structures used in argument building. We learned about concepts such as thesis statements, thought about different types of evidence and step-by-step planned out some argumentative essays in response to lots of prompts. Finally the class conducted a debate, working in teams to present watertight arguments centred on logos, ethos and pathos- which they did a particularly impressive job on! Really superb work everyone, I can’t wait to read your pieces for this week. Very well done 🙂
Homework
-
Imagine you are trying to learn something. Would you rather learn with a book or through experience?
I believe many people will choose to learn with a book. First, books are clear. Books will always provide clear information. For example, when reading a book about something suspicious. Second, if learning anything needs an experience, what if you are reading about Harry Potter? You can’t just run into the wall between number 9 and 10 platform! Third, books are very convenient. You can’t always take an experiment materials everywhere, whereas you can take a book to anywhere.
But some people might think it’s better to gain an experience. First, books can be unreal. However, experiences cannot. For instance, sometimes a book said antimatter will not explode wherever it was. Can you believe it? No! Second, if you try to learn dancing from books, can you really master it?
In my opinion, they all have good things. If we learn PE from books, we will only get more ideas. In addition, if we learn math through experiences, it would also be a waste of time.
-
-
Summary for Lesson 7
In our lesson together, we focused on informative writing, thinking about how to write informatively/ expositionally in the context of newspaper writing. The powerpoint with all the resources is attached below, which should be used to help write the articles assigned for homework. It also contains our thoughts on how to structure a newspaper, how to create an eye-catching and effective headline, the students’ ideas about the important features of newspaper writing, and their thoughts on who their role models are and why. On the final few slides, there are also some really great examples of articles written on different people’s heroes from The Guardian, which will be super helpful to the students when it comes to writing their homework. Really well done for your work today everyone, it was fantastic hearing all of your ideas on headlines and how to capture a reader’s attention. I was also super impressed by your knowledge of the purpose of different structural features of newspapers; well done everyone, have a lovely week! 🙂
Here is the video on newspaper writing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flq29zwRrZA&t=59s
Homework
-
-
Wonderful work here July, well done! You have chosen some very important aspects of Hellen Keller’s life to focus on, digging into the way in which she is a disability advocate and all the books she has published. You have reflected on the themes of never giving up and maintaining hope very nicely and I really enjoyed the way you used images and sub-sections to make your work pop off the page. The idea of learning and starting over again is a very powerful inspiration and I really liked that you focused on education throughout your biography of her- well done! To make this even better, just be careful with your tenses. Because you are talking about things that happened in the past you should use the past tense i.e., Helen Keller was sick when she was very young. The disease made her blind and deaf… She learned with Anne Sullivan… She grew into a girl. Reading your work out loud could help you hear where you are using the wrong tense. Overall fab work here well done 🙂
-
-
-
Incredible work Andy, well done! You have used the newspaper template here beautifully to create a piece that is eye-catching and compelling to read. I loved the way you have used quotations, reflecting on some of the most important ideas and themes surrounding education and learning and helping your reader to feel you have lots of expert thinkers to back you up. Your writing is very persuasive, using some really powerful language and I love your ending which uses a one-sentence slogan vividly to drive your point home. Your ideas are sophisticated and your writing is inspiring; lovely use of images too! To make this even better, could you give an example of a teacher who has made a difference, you could choose a famous example i.e., Aristotle or Einstein, showing us how one teacher can impact the world. Overall fab work well done 🙂
Corrections:
Teachers are very important in our lives
They make us smarter, so we can teach our kids
Keeping the community of Earth alive
Teachers make scientists, engineers and other humans
-
-
-
-
-
Hey Mars- yes of course it can, great idea!
Beautiful work Mars, well done! I really loved how you have told the story of Li Taipo through his relationship to poetry, reflecting on the way this changed throughout his life. You have then quoted his poetry which is a great idea as it demonstrates to the reader why you have been so moved and touched by his poems. I enjoyed learning his biography, about how he burnt his poetry and how he moved to many mountains, which gave us a great sense of who this man was and the way he chose to live his life. You’ve used the features of a newspaper fantastically, such as images and incentives for the reader to buy the newspaper, and have used colour and font to catch the reader’s eye wonderfully. To make this even better, could you give us some more information about why he is inspirational, i.e., what makes him special? What did he do in later life? When did he live? Overall fabulous work well done 🙂
Corrections:
Famous Chinese poet
Lived in Sichuan before the age of 25
-
-
Summary for Lesson 8
In today’s class we looked at rhetorical devices, thinking about how they can help us in argumentative and persuasive writing. We discussed the idea of rhetoric, learning about the Ancient Greek conception of it, and then looked at a Mandela speech considering how he had used rhetoric to make his point. The class brainstormed ideas of things they are passionate about and learned some devices such as allusion and pathos. We then wrote the opening to their speeches, thinking about utilising the tone of the powerful and about how to harness emotion. Well done everyone, strong work today. keep it up and see you next week 🙂
Homework
-
I am prepared to die
One day changed my entire life. That day I was just going to see the doctor and let her check my body ( if it is healthy or not), but then that doctor said something to another doctor and he came and said to me in a sad voice that I am going to die soon. My heart suddenly broke, I ask the doctor if he can save my life but the answer, I got was so bad because I got a cancer so the doctor can’t help. That night I had a dream, it was when that day came and I am very weak and was just going to close my eyes, with my family members bursting with tears and me closing my eyes with a dream that I can’t open my eyes again. I suddenly woke up with fear, my feet were cold like ice and my face shocked white as a paper. I don’t want to face this kind of tragic, I still want to play and have fun with my friends, Why is it so unfair that everyone except for me was alive and me facing the death. But then I knew that I cannot be afraid of it, I just need to have super fun in these time and when I die I will be the happiest person who died.
-
-
-
-
Why do Students Need To Do Homework
Do you ever think about life with no home work? It is cool and good though, but actually, it is bad in some ways, too.
First, you won’t learn thing with out homework. Because in class, teacher told you how to do the work, so you will think you know how to do(in fact, not).But homework will let you know if you know how to du the work.
Also, homework can make you more smart. It could let you be more skilled to do the thing.
In conclusion, homework was good for us. Now, think about it, are you still think life with no home work was good?
-
-
Have you ever thought of having a cat? Cats to people are like best friends meet together when their hard time. Cats are friends, cats are helpers, cats are the one who encouraged you. So why don’t join our organization to save and protect stray animals?
First, we can enjoy the process. if you met a cute, stray little animal, will you want to forsake from it? It’s like leaving your favorite thing in the snow and never look at it. However, protecting a stray animal is hard by yourselves, and you can tell us where it is, and we can help to protect it from uncomfortable environment.
Second, we are experts, so we can help you understanding what animals want to do to you, and how can you protect them or make friends with them. Understanding animals is very important. Imagine you are in a wild forest, and you can see a cat. If you want it to help you, what if you can’t understand it?
For summary, please join us, it’s important and enjoyable.
-
-
Summary for Lessons 9 & 10
In today’s class we completed our writing course, finishing up with a workshop on writer’s voice and a mini mock exam. We discussed how to categorise our own writing and how to leave an imprint of ourselves in the way we use style, voice and language. We looked at free-writing exercises and how thinking about your ideal reader can help you work out what is unique to your writing, and the class discussed how they felt about different genres and why. We then completed a 45 min exam to sum up all the class’s knowledge and work over the past ten weeks. Well done everyone, impressive work today and I can’t wait to read your work. Keep it up and I will see you soon 🙂
Homework
-
Little test in class:
Is science or art more essential to humanity? This question requires deep thinking. Science can practice humans’ skills of understanding and solving problems, it can make all the things in humans’ lives clear, solved and organized. Art can practice humans’ skills of creativity and designing structures, it can make humans’ lives more interesting and full of fun.
Science is what the left brain do. Science can keep you to think and be active and let you learn to organize things. For example, a good company or person that owns a good company uses the thought of “I need to control it” to make it a huge company.
On the other hand, art is what right brain do. Art can let you to create whatever things you want and try/experience things out. For example, those famous people that creates a new company and provides others a convenient life like Apple uses the thought of creative and the thought of “I want to try it out” to get to the end.
At last, I want to state that I think art is more important in our lives than science because it can leads us to explore the world and things that we don’t know. Which one do you think is more important?
-
-
Elixir of life (want it or not)
I think that we should keep it. Don’t you ever think about death? But then the world had suddenly made thing that is elixir, a thing that can make no people die and all the people will live happily after, and that is just in front of you, you must take action. Making people’s life to live forever can let people be happier and don’t live with too many stresses, also when you life for ever you could explore more things and our economy and society will be better. For example, a scientist died but he/she did a lot of good research, but it was lost so it means that the hole research will need to start over, but if that scientist lives forever he/she could finish the research and tell it to the world.
I think that we should destroy it. If all the people live forever and many people will get a lot of illnesses. For example caner, you are always ill and very uncomfortable living in this world, you will want to die but you need to live forever so that illness will go with you forever. Also the population will decrease so much and with no decrease, but then cities and towns are all full then we need more space to live. But how can we make more space? Then many small countries need to live on the sea or even the sky and they might be afraid of going on an airplane, but they cannot die, or they are seasick, but they can’t find another place to life and people will all want to die. But my opponent may say that the government can let the people have no more babies. But do you want to live in a place where is full of old people and with no children playing on the grass? And in your life, there you will always have traffic jams. But my opponent may say that, but the government get let more people build roads, but then where would the others live? If the people all use elixir then the world will be very squished, SO, WE NEED TO DESTORY IT!!!!!
-
-
Summary for Lesson 1
In today’s lesson we began our new course on the elements of writing, thinking in this class about character development. We began with a discussion of what character development required, debating whether characters act as the most important element of a story. We spoke about static vs. dynamic characters and came up with ideas about our favourite characters from literature in reference to this dichotomy, discussing why an author may choose to have a static character and what message that may achieve. We also touched upon elements of character creation such as motivation, goals & internal and external characteristics. Finally, the class dug into character creation of their own, thinking about how to build their characters into compelling, three-dimensional ones and how an understanding of a character’s past can help facilitate a deeper analytical reading of their role in a story. Really creative and brilliant work today class- I loved hearing your ideas about your character’s motivations and fears and thought your grasp of the static vs. dynamic character debate was excellent! Very well done and see you next week 🙂
Video on character development: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqKxLx3As28&feature=emb_logo
Homework
-
When I got home, I went right up the stairs and opened my personal computer to play the best game ever made, Minecraft. I phoned my best friends, Ruby and Henry, to play because we’ve decided to play together this night on the web to compete. We’ve met just yesterday and became friends right away; we were all loving to play cool video games.
I’m new to the school, and everyone all seems weird to me, but Ruby and Henry introduced me to the rest of the class and so, we became friends. I’m very a Friend Expert.
“Hey, Ruby. Wanna play?” I shouted through my phone. I heard Ruby laughing and shouting some nonsense in his room. I knew that because he always listens to pop music when he is alone in his room. I called Henry too in the phone the same way.
About two minutes later, we are all in the room I created and started to place blocks to star to our online battle. We’d planned to build first for about twenty minutes and start our 1v1v1 game right away. Everyone needs to get foods to prevent us from dying from huger and trying to kill others at the same time.
I remembered for once, I played Minecraft on Saturday, and I’m stunned. A player that I don’t know is keep winning as if he is the king and experts of this game. After I told them, they can’t even believe it.
We started right away quickly and started playing. I’m always winnnning so I believe that my luck today is also very good.
I crouch in my blue lazy sofa and opened my laptop. My room is very blueish because I like blue, so almost everything is blue in my room. My sofa, bed, pillow is all blue. the thing I loved most about my room is how I’ve cleaned it so hard that I even believe it is better than everyone’s in school, including the girls.
…
“BOB!” gosh. My mom is calling me for dinner, and we’ve just played for 6 rounds. I shut my laptop right away and stomped downstairs.
“Darling, I strongly believe that you need to read more.” My mom sighed, “Mia’s vocabulary is better than you are now.”
“Okaaaaay” I sighed back, swallowing my plate of spaghetti, “I’ll go read and then sleep”
…
After reading, I lied down in my bed and curled like a ball. I set the alarm clock to 07:07 because 7 is my favorite number.
I sank into my own world and think and understand the world more.
I thought about all the girls in my class. Ruby and Henry told to me that girls in our class were not as annoying as the others in the other classes and, I know that in fifth grade, you need to be very carefully when contacting with the girls. If you don’t, everyone will say loudly about things like “Ooh! Bob like the girl!”
But that’s true. And I do not like it.
-
-
Maggie said to her dad, Mo,“Why there are a person with fire in his hand outside?”
Mo jump out of his chair, run to the window, and look out. There is a person, with fire, and he is staring at Mo’s house.
“Pack your things and get to the bed!” Mo shout to Maggie. Maggie had never seen his father like this. So she quickly packed her things and run back to her room.
On the bed, she heard the front door open. Maggie heard Mo calling that person look dangerous ‘Dustfinger’. Mo let him in, and talk directly to him:“I will not read anything again! Don’t you see what happen to you and my wife? You know what will happen!” About my mom? Maggie thought. She also heard Dustfinger called his dad’ Silvertongue’.
Dustfinger and Mo talk about things happen before. Maggie know that her mom is change with Dustfinger, so she is in the book Inkheart. She know that her dad have special powers.
In Maggie’s heart, she want Mo to read her mom back. So she run out of her room, and shout to her dad:“Why you don’t read mom back? Is it because you didn’t love her?” But Mo said strongly:“No! I know what will happen if I want to read her back. It is so dangerous!”
-
-
Once upon a time, a bird was born with no wings, and its mom and dad were very surprised, but still call it “Wingy”, because they have named it before it had been born.
One year later, Wingy went to school. Although it can’t fly, it still got some friends. But of course, there are some bad students hate it, and every time Wingy tries to play like them they will laugh at it. This made Wingy was afraid of going to “Bird School”. This situation has likely appeared on the special students in that school in first grade, first month. Soon Wingy has discovered that these bad birds had never laughed at it when it was class time. It was the best time in school. Finding worms, catching worms, swimming…… whatever it is, Wingy can master it as it touched it. Wingy were very happy to find out that. Test is near and the teachers wanted them to catch lunch every day. Wingy imagined that these three bad birds would have envied it for having so much food while they had none.
There was just one thing always a nightmare of Wingy. When it was flying classes, it can only run and swimming (because it can’t fly.). But that didn’t matter. Wingy can still find out what it likes to do. When it went has finished school, it got a good score and has been invited to a company, but Wingy has different plans. It decided to help these birds who can’t fly. At that moment, Wingy has never wanted to hide that secret again, and it had never dreamt about what would happen if Wingy has wings. Wingy made a school in that land called north pole. It was cold of course, but Wingy made many warm houses and ever house had already prepared a cozy bed. Wingy wants to help every bird that was special because of certain reasons.
-
-
Summary for Lesson 2
In today’s lesson we completed our work on plot development, thinking about the different ways in which we can think about, inspire and workshop story arcs and plot points. We spoke about several different approaches to plot in writing, beginning with discussing the notion of the plot pyramid (Freytag’s pyramid) and whether it is structurally necessary to writing, then moving on to thinking about the seven archetypes of plot and finishing with an exercise involving working with inciting incidents, characters and classic story-lines in order to create fresh and exciting plotlines. We touched on the role and importance of the inciting incident and the students articulated their thoughts brilliantly throughout the lesson, sharing some excellent ideas and analysing their own writing styles and approaches beautifully. They came up with very creative story ideas and used the different plotlines fantastically throughout the lesson, building on their ideas with wonderful energy. Great work everyone 🙂
Homework link: https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/elements-of-plot/
Inciting incident video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKBsZS846o8
Homework
-
I do some corrections.
The sky was as dark as ink on snow-white paper. There was no sound, except for some crow’s cries. Looking in the only window that has light on, you could see Maggie and her father, Mo, staying in their home. Maggie was reading her favorite book, silently, right on the carpet beside the window. Mo was reading a book in his chair. Suddenly, when Maggie looked out of the window, she saw a shadow with fire standing outside their yard. The fire was very clear in the night. Who is it? Maggie thought. She called Mo, “Why is there a person with fire in his hand outside?”
Mo stopped for a moment, jumped out of his chair, ran to the window, and looked out. Maggie was right. There was shadow, with fire, and he was staring at Mo’s house.
Mo knew who it is in his mind. “Pack your things and get into bed!” Mo shouted to Maggie. Maggie had never seen her father like this. She quickly packed her things and stumbled back to her room.
From her bed, she heard the front door squeak open. Maggie heard Mo calling the dangerous-looking man ‘Dustfinger’. Mo let him in and said to him directly, “I will not read anything again! Don’t you see what happened to you and my wife? You know what will happen!” About my mom? Maggie thought. She also heard Dustfinger call her father’ Silvertongue’.
Dustfinger and Mo talked about things that happened before. Maggie felt bad after learning that her mom was not just missing. She also knows that her dad has special powers.
Why doesn’t Mo read mom back? Maggie thought with anger. In her mind, there was only one idea, which is heckling Mo. She ran out of her room, and shouted at her dad: “Why don’t you read mom back? Is it because you didn’t love her?” But Mo said firmly: “No! I know what will happen if I want to read her back. It’s too dangerous!”
-
-
-
“Hey Ben, what is the homework today?”
“First, read the first two chapters of Matilda, second, practice grammar, third, finish practice 302, for the 16thtime. Why don’t you just simply note it down, Warren?”
“Sorry, my bad.”
I was a first-year student at St. Smyth’s Grand School for Boys and Girls, and I was pretty much the best student there. I can calculate extremely hard math problems in my head. The writing skill of mine was even better than some of the teachers in the school, including the principal.
Although I am good at English and Math, my PE skills suck. “As bad as a fish climbing a tree,” my PE teacher Mr. Raymond had complemented me like that, and those were his own words. But still, about every person said that I was the best student here, and I really mean about every person.
Alexander Dunhill was the school’s second-best person, so it is not a secret that he is jealous of me. Plus, he was a bully. That means that he would bully me any second. For once, he almost got me kicked out of the school! From that time, I realized that this school was the worst place on Earth (well, maybe better than surviving in Antartica for no gear at all).
“Ring, Ring!” That is the bell for dismissal. No doubt, Alexander was waiting for me behind the door. When he saw me, he leapt into action, but to his surprise, I easily sidestepped and punched him hard in the belly. Remember how Mr. Ramon complimented me in PE class? That is for running and jumping. In fact, my fighting skill wasn’t too bad. For starters, I practiced 1 hour each day to prevent Alexander from jumping on me. Plus, he always waited for me there after dismissal, so I was well prepared for the fight. After a few dodges, punches, and sidesteps, Alexander ran away with shame on his face.
“Well, this time you win, but next time, you will not have that luck!” -
-
-
Summary for Lesson 3
In today’s class we explored the element of setting, thinking of many different perspectives and ways of categorising setting- from the geographical to the locational to the cultural. We began by discussing what role setting plays in a story, before moving on to thinking about the ways in which a character’s relationship with their setting mirrors real-life conditioning by one’s environment. We looked at two famous examples of setting from Harper Lee and Zadie Smith, considering the ways in which they utilised place and time to reflect the tone of their novels. The class completed a planning task on setting which they did really well- diving deep into settings to place a story against. Finally we touched upon advanced setting techniques- i.e., setting as character, setting as metaphor- workshopping various ideas on how to develop a character’s environment. Amazing ideas everyone, very well done for all your hard work and great ideas on the vocab exercises too! See you next week 🙂
Setting video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORKI1h1xWLM&feature=emb_logo
Homework
-
A large city in the 1960s
In that time, on the road there were many people and less people on the bus and cars, because in that time the ones who can buy the car is the rich people. And the others could only just walk and there will always be overcrowded and even the others drive car, but they will still move slower. People running cause of that they might be late for work and the morning seemed very busy.
In the noon time it is much quieter, if theirs one person walking on the road you could even hear that person’s footstep very clearly. At that moment you can close your eyes and leave this busy town for a wile you could have your own time staying in peace and calm.
But when it is afternoon your daydream will be waked from a loud noise far from the road, and that mean the workers are coming back if you move quicker than them you won’t need to wait for a long time to home, but if you’re so unlucky that you are stuck in the huge crowd you will hear hundreds of voice talking and that is just like all the animals roaring. Some sounded thin and high, but some sounded low and a bit scary. To get out of this crowed is always a big problem!
-
-
Nowadays, people do not need to work, all the robots were doing all the chores. They just need to fix some of the robots which is broken and can’t be used. But that will change…
I’m Andy, a modern-day engineer. I do not have to worry about anything except my engineering work. There will be very delicious food ready on the for me, and my bed will be cleaned automatically every morning. Today is my big day. I’m going to invent and test a new artificial intelligence robot, ROBx14.
After I went into the automatically opened door, I met my boss. We talked for a bit about how we can test the ROBx14 by using some weapons to see if they can defeat it. ROBx14 is a robot designed for wars not on earth, which is space wars.
After a few minutes, I entered the Space Defeat Lab, where we test the robots. I told my partner to stay away and pressed the ON button. Suddenly, the robot’s eyes light up with red lights. It jumped straight toward us without any pause. I don’t know what to do because I’d never met anything like this. The robot jumped straight by us, heading to somewhere maybe more important…
-
-
1960s big city
In the early 1960s, there are no good technology. Also, in that time, it is very dangerous. There are people with guns and many bad guys kidnap people. But our story is happening in a big city of 1960s.
Max woke up early in the morning. He heard a sound come from outside: “Mr.Max! There are a letter for you!”
Max went out and open the letter. The letter said:
Dear Mr.Max,
Please help me because my son is missing. He went to his friend house, but he didn’t come back. When we asked his friend, she said he didn’t com to her house. Please please please help us. My house is in xxxstreet xxxhouse.
thank you,
Sam
“kidnap again?” muttered Max……
-
I correct my work. Here is my homework:
1960s big city
In the early 1960s, there was a person called “Blue Beard” who kidnapped young people. He was elusive, alway disappeared before the police come. Our story is about a sleuth in this dangerous time. Max all ways come for the kidnap cases.
It was early in the morning. Max woke up because of the sound coming from outside: “Mr. Max! There is a letter for you!”
Max tiredly went out and opened the letter. The letter said:Dear Mr. Max,
Please help me because my son is missing. He went to his friend’s house, but he didn’t come back. When we asked his friend, she said he didn’t come to her house. Please, please, please help us. My house is at xxx Street, xxx House.
Thank you,
Sam“Another kidnapping?” muttered Max……
-
I plus some thing
In the early 1960s, there was a person nicknamed “Blue Beard” who kidnapped young people. He was elusive and always disappeared before the police came. Our story is about a sleuth in this dangerous area. Max always dealt with kidnapping cases.
It was early in the morning. A loud sound from outside break the goodness of morning, “Mr. Max! There is a letter for you!” Max rubbed his eyes and touch his glasses on the table. He slowly put on his glasses and get out of his bed tiredly. Max also use a lot of time for finding were his slippers is. This make him more angry and drained.
Max yawn with exhaustedly, then marched out and take the letter. The letter read:
Dear Mr. Max,
Please help me because my son is missing. He went to his friend’s house, but he didn’t come back. When we asked his friend, she said he hadn’t come to her house. Please, please, please help us. My house is at xxx Street, xxx House.
Thank you,
Sam
“Another kidnapping?” Max muttered with excited……
-
-
In the year 4070, everything changed. Newton’s Law of Physics has been proved wrong. The city is already floating, and the only transportation is a magic stick that can teleport you to any place you want. About one third of people are on Mars, Moon, and there is even one sixth of people who live in outer space. Now, Humans are 5D animal and successfully teamed up with the Mars alien. Also, money did not exist anymore. When a baby is born, 3 robots will help the child ’till the child does not want them to. In addition, people can control their life, so that means that they can control their death and birth and about anything.
-
-
“HOW CAN THIS CITY HAS THAT MUCH SLEALING?!”I said. 1960, March 9th. I am a detective from China. I have no idea why this city has so many things for me to do. In my memory, everyone in China will not steal for something, then I don’t have too much works to do. However, in America, it seems like everyone likes to steal.
“I must stop it!” I said, “The stealing is too much!” I went to every house of people. Today is a day that is peace. The government said that everyone who did any bad thing, got killed, so no one want to steal, so I can visit the people that had been stolen before. I saw everyone set a bell on the bike, diamond, and things. “Aha! That’s it! The bells!” I said to myself, “but the bell is too big, everyone can see it. How can I make it small, and it can make sound?”
And then everything is simple, I tried to make a lock that can rang the bell inside, but every time I tried, and I give to the police, he can easily figure out what is the password and open it by not making a sound. After hundreds of trying, I finally gave out the final product. This time, even the police can’t open it.
After I invented this thing, and everyone is using it, I lived again with a “resting”work.
-
-
Summary for Lesson 4
In today’s lesson we touched on the huge topics of form and structure, thinking about different and experimental ways in which to treat these two elements. We began with an analysis of structure, digging into different approaches, and students completed a writing exercise which they then used to analyse their own use of structure in small groups. We touched on the notion of story beats and the way of using a three part beat structure to keep the story moving (goal, but, therefore). We then moved onto form, considering ideas such as how form can change the way a story is presented, illustrating this through thinking about poetry and experimental forms of fiction i.e., telling a story through newspaper clippings or social media posts. Fantastic and engaged work from the class today, I was really impressed by the contributions and ideas throughout. Keep up the amazing work 🙂
Homework
-
-
This is my upgraded version:
1
The ocean is blue
Where I explore the new
Enamored of the freedom
Missing our mom
2
A sea gull explores its new world——the blue ocean. Under the bright sun, it flies lightly and quick, happy and excited. It loved the freedom but still missed it’s mom.
-
-
1
Flower and Snow
The flower is bright,
The snow is white.
How can these appear together,
When it’s not December?
2
Dear diary:
It was very strange that I saw snow today. It was March, so it was spring. How can I see a bunch of snow in the warm sun? And it was the season of flowers, I couldn’t believe two marks of two seasons were seen together. Hope tomorrow I won’t see snow again!
Mars -
-
1
I went to home,
by my own.
I don’t have parents to pick me up,
’cause they forgot,
the time of dismisal.
2.
Dear Diary:
Today, I went to my home by myself, so it’s no secret that they has forget the time to pick me up(witch is bad).
-
-
Summary for Lesson 5
In today’s class we thought about narration and how to use our narrative voice to make our writing pop. We spoke about how to use perspective to suit our stories, playing around with 1st, 2nd and 3rd person. We completed some vocabulary exercises, using some high level vocab to create interesting sentences, and then thought about techniques such as unusual narrators, from unreliable narrators to supernatural ones. The class shared some amazing ideas today and came up with some very good thoughts on how to change the narrator to alter the mood of their pieces. Very well done everyone- you all were super attentive and came up with some interesting relfections on the way perspective functions today ! See you next week 🙂
Homework
-
Part 1, from the perspective of the shop
“Beep, beep.” the cars on the street shouted to each other. A yellow mini car parked by and there came a short person with thick glasses. He looks like a detective.
“Come on!” shouted the detective-like person to the mini car. Another tall skinny person stepped out of the car door.
They walked straight toward me and walked in. The short man must want to just buy something but maybe there will be something happening in here. He peeked at all the people inside me and chose a small toy which have a small card laying beside him saying “Detective Rob New Released Toy!”
The short man smiled.
“Oh, that short is the Detective Rob, and the tall man must be Docter Ian!” I thought.
At this most busy time in a day, I can lower my weight very fast because everyone in town buys things from me at this time.
“Thief!” Detective Rob shouted, “There, running on the street!
“Catch him!” Docter Ian screamed.
There, running on the street, was a small boy seizing a small Detective Rob toy.
Part 2, from the perspective of home
“Slap, slap.” The sound of people running on the road become stronger and stronger. Speeding on the road, Bob took a small toy. After him, there are a whole group of people, leaded by Detective Rob.
Bob rushed straight into me and slammed the door. Inside my body, he gave his Detective Rob toy to his little brother, Ethan. Ethan smiled widely and hugged Bob.
Outside, Detective Rob shouted through the door and banged on the door. “Come out of here, you thief.” He screamed.
Bob stood up and after he took a deep breath, he opened the door.
Docter Ian walked forward and leaned down: “Why are you stealing a toy, cute child?”
“My parents died years ago, and we don’t have any money, so I can just steal to live. Ethan wanted a small detective toy, so I went and stole it. I’m very sorry!” Bob sobbed.
“Oh, we can find you a foster home to live, and promise me that you will never steal again, is that all right?” Rob asked.
“Yeah, I promise!” Bob replied, still crying.
“Okay then, it’s decided!” Rob exclaimed.
“Hooray!” Bob and Ethan shouted together.
-
This is a creative and imaginative piece Andy with a strong sense of action and perspective, well done! You effectively bring the settings (the shop and the home) to life by giving them their own viewpoints, which adds an interesting and unique storytelling element. The use of onomatopoeic sound effects such as “Beep, beep” and “Slap, slap” help to create an immersive atmosphere fantastically. Your structure is clear, and the story flows really well between the two perspectives. The shift from an exciting chase scene to an emotional resolution is a great idea, and the ending provides a satisfying conclusion. The interaction between Bob, Ethan, and Detective Rob adds depth to the story, showing themes of hardship, kindness, and redemption. It also uses suspense really well, well done! To make this even better, some sentences need slight corrections for clarity. For example, “Another tall skinny person stepped out of the car door” could be “A tall, skinny person stepped out of the car.” Similarly, “leaded by Detective Rob” should be “led by Detective Rob.” I would also love to see you add more detail about Bob’s emotions during the chase that could strengthen the reader’s connection to him. Overall, this is a fun and exciting piece with a strong sense of movement and perspective—great job! 🙂
-
-
Old tree to little, young trees
Humans always think trees do not talk. Instead, we can talk, just in our way. The sound of the leaves, the sound from the whistling treetop, even the way we let animals bring our words to other trees—all of these are ways to talk. I am an old tree that has stood here for about a century. I watch the humans battle, build, and talk.
The first time I saw people killing and hurting each other was when I was a young tree. A good woman plant me in her yard. Her children always play with each other in the yard. One day, a soldier tells her that her husband died in the war. At that time, I didn’t know what is “dead”. I know that when the enemy comes here and kills women and kids. Thankfully, they didn’t find where the woman and her children had been. After they go away, the woman and her children come from where they hide and go away. I shake my leaves to wave goodbye. They hug my trunk and go away.
I had never seen them again.
I stand there lonely until some human comes. They point at the ruin and take cars of material here. I see them building a city on the ruins. I am unhappy about this because they destroy my most precious memory. I admit the houses they built are beautiful. They also plant new trees around me. This gives my black-white life a colorful draw. The technology is growing fast. The old city became a big, brand-new city with tall buildings.
Today’s story is finished here. Young trees, you can listen to the rest of the story tomorrow!
-
This is a thoughtful and reflective piece with a beautifully unique perspective July, well done! You bring the old tree to life as a storyteller, giving it wisdom and emotion, which makes the narrative stand out. The idea that trees communicate in their own way adds depth and originality to the piece, and creates an entire narrative world to see this story through. Your descriptions effectively contrast the past and present, showing the impact of war through the tree’s eyes, the line “they hug my trunk and go away” is so beautifully written. The moment when the tree waves its leaves goodbye is especially touching, reinforcing its deep connection to the people it has seen come and go. The structure is clear, with a natural progression from the tree’s youth to the present day. The ending, where the old tree pauses its story for another day, creates a sense of continuity and tradition, making it feel like an ongoing tale, and I love how clearly we get a sense of the tree’s personality for example where he says he “admits” the houses they build are beautiful. To strengthen the piece, have a think about the clarity of your grammar and sentence structure. Some sentences could be smoother, and make sure you stay in the same tense throughout the story. Try reading your story out loud to help you check your grammar. Overall, this is a beautifully imaginative and poignant story with a really strong narrative voice, well done! 🙂
-
-
This is not the first time for me to be a culprit. I can always do bad things. Without being found, until that man called detective come. Every time I want to let my sidekick go to steal something, he will find out who did it. I tried to catch him, but he always sneaks with a bunch of children, so I had never even seen him.
“Enough!” I shouted, “We can’t be caught again. We need to catch him!”
“But how? We didn’t even saw him, how can we catch him without knowing who he is!” my helper asked
“Maybe we can know who he is. Come with me!” I commanded my sidekicks.
We went into a place with four walls all black. “Aha! Here it is!”
“What are you talking about, boss?”
“I said, don’t call me boss again! You can call me anyway you want, except ‘Boss’. For your last question, my answer is you don’t need to know.” I opened a computer on a table. “let me search ‘detective’……Sherlock? Never. What? There was no one who was a kid? That is okay……let us give it an upgrade……It’s it! A child called ‘Lind’ were very smart and helps the police to detect bad things, and he was very good at pretend someone, that’s why we cannot even saw the same person. Let me see……Lind always pretend a girl, because he was a boy……nothing interesting. Give it another upgrade……that’s good, Lind has a special hand, his right hand has 6 fingers, and his left hand only has 4.”after searching these information, I let my sidekicks go to sleep for a night, and tomorrow they will go to find and catch Lind, and what I need to do is just rest.
-
This is an intriguing and suspenseful piece with a brilliant sense of mystery and tension Mars, well done! You put the reader into the mind of the culprit, giving them a determined yet frustrated personality, which makes the perspective really interesting and unique. The idea of a child detective who is a master of disguise adds an exciting twist to the story too- very creative work. Your use of dialogue helps to build the characters and move the plot forward, particularly the back-and-forth between the leader and their sidekick which adds to the building tension (I love the line “don’t call me boss again!”). The moment when the protagonist searches for Lind’s identity on the computer is a clever way to reveal key details and build suspense, showing not telling, and the discovery of Lind’s unique hand trait adds a strong hook, setting up the next part of the story really well. I love the tone you’ve used too which reflects crime novels beautifully, thinking about the snappy, clever way they are often written. To make this even better could you expand upon the protagonist’s emotions—such as their frustration with Lind or excitement at uncovering his secret—to make the character even more compelling? Overall, this piece is a really unique and creative one with strong tension and an engaging mystery, very well done 🙂
-
-
Summary for Lesson 6
In today’s class we started work on persuasion, thinking about logos, ethos and pathos and using strong openings and closings in our writing. We started by thinking about the importance of getting your audience to trust you and listen to you, before looking at how to structure a persuasive piece. We came up with specific vocab for persuasive writing and the class wrote some amazing strong beginnings and endings to a persuasive piece. Finally they played a game of just a minute to sharpen their argument skills. Incredible work today everyone, well done for your brilliant use of persuasive techniques that we learned about too! Keep up the wonderful job 🙂
Persuasion video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2dEuMFR8kw
Techniques video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRVOLqvXNmg
Homework
-
I strongly believe that technology is destroying students’ childhoods. Of course, technology makes students to have more time used in social media and not for learning, which strongly effects students’ eyesight. It can also make students lazy because of the convenient of doing everything, and make them not independent, which is relying on the technology.
Firstly, technology developing causes students to spend more time on social media, hurting their eyesight. Nowadays, kids spend so much time on social media chatting with friends, watching shorts and more and more unsuitable things for small-age child. It may create bad eyesight for the children, and they can’t fix it anymore.
Secondly, technology can make students lazy. After the technology improved, we did not need to go grow plants and weeds to feed ourselves, we can just simply click on our phone and food will arrive. All the students do now is to curl in their couch and get whatever they want.
Thirdly, technology will make students not independent, which will affect their future. They may rely on. the technology so much that if they lose their devices, they cannot even live! That will impact their future growing and their power to live alone.
In conclusion, it’s undoubtedly that technology is destroying our childhood. In which students spend more time on their devices than in the nature or outside playing is a terrible memory of their childhood and is unbeneficial for their learning path.
-
-
Many people think that technology is good for us. But exactly, technology is destroying our childhood.
First, it lets children think less. Many questions are good enough to let you think deeply. But technology like AI can give you the correct answer, and you don’t need to think. If children think less, their brains won’t be strong. The brain goes strong by practicing, and if you are using AI, it won’t be “practice”. It will also be a trouble for the afterlife. For example, when a kid doing his/her work, there is a very difficult question. And he/she uses AI to answer the question, it is AI’s work, not he/she’s work. This will make his/her brain not practice, and he/she will not be smarter anymore.
Secondly, high technology will make it more difficult to separate real and fake works. It is very important to know whether the work is done by you or by the robots. If the technology is very good, some people will use it to do their work, and if the teachers don’t find it out, it will be their work. Also, this technology can make fake books. Even though there are rules that you can not copy other books, many people will still do it. The rule is for the authors to have more strength to write more books. But if many people copied it, the authors won’t write anymore.
This is why I think technology is destroying our childhood. -
-
When it comes to technology, you will probably think it is a genius invention. But in fact, it was slowly and slowly, ruining our child life.
To start with, video games are a big problem. They are designed to let you play alone and never stop. In my class, there are people that play games on the computer. Even I sometimes play video games and can’t stop myself from it!
To make my statement stronger, AI (artificial intelligence) is another bad thing, even worse than the last one! If there is a really really hard question, students, or even some grown-ups will ask AI. That will make the children become more dependent, while the world needs independent people to survive.
Lastly, there is fake stuff on the internet. If they learned something bad and did it to an important person, it will be the child’s dooms day.
In a nutshell, the children were dying because of technology. -
-
Summary for Lesson 7
In today’s class we looked at argumentative writing, thinking about how to form airtight arguments. We spoke about the importance of defining our terms and also of a strong thesis statement, practicing writing these in reference to famous books and films. We thought about two different prompts to write persuasively on and the class shared some amazing ideas about how to capture a reader’s attention. We also looked at how to use coherence, cohesion and organisation to improve the flow of ideas in an essay and the class shared some great ideas on vocabulary they had practiced using. Wonderful work everyone, very well done and keep up the great job! 🙂
Homework
-
Are violent video games linked to real-world violence?
Today I am going to talk about are violent video games linked to real-world violence, and I will tell it from two ways, one is that it would make the people think that it is okay to be a violence, and then they would be violence, but in the other hand there is many people who is afraid of it and they might even have a lot of sickness.
First, it will make people be a real violence. When they play that game for many times, they won’t be afraid of it and think that it is a good thing to do, so then they will start bulling others and do violent things, and when they succussed for once, they would be more violent, and when they done it for so many times they would really be a violent. And the others will be bullied even harder, so the people that where been bullied won’t feel good.
Secondly, it will let the person who is afraid of playing that violent game be more afraid. Imagine that every night you are dreaming about scary things, and if you don’t want to play it the “violent people” will force you to play it, or then they will make fun of you or even hit you. And that kind of bad cycle will go again and again, and at last you will have many sicknesses, and you’ll always feel unwell. And there is no one to help you so you will feel very lonely too, because the others are “violent peoples”
-
-
Violent video games are linked to real-world violence as it can affect students’ action in real life. It can make small child that can’t make good choices pretend to fight in the real world, causing real damage to others. They may also try some dangerous action which appears in the video games in the real world.
Firstly, violent video games can cause students to think and act different to a violent action. For example, if someone did something violent in their real life, they may run straight into the fighting people and fight to pretend the characters in video games. They just think that it is cool, so we need to ban violent video games.
Secondly, they will also try some dangerous action in their real life. They do flips or other “cool action”, which they thought it is, in their schools or other places which is very dangerous. That can affect many students in the world, to cause very huge damage to their body.
-
-
Do you like to play fighting video games like ‘Lets Fight’ or ‘Lean Mean Fighting Machine’? The ordenary anser to this question might be something like ‘yes, I really liked it’. But researchers have found out that if the average time of playing violent video games is less that 1 hour per day, the player’s Violent Tendency Index will decreases by 51%. If the players play more that 2 hours nonstop, the Violent Tendency Index will increases 89%.So, Violent video games are linked to real world violence
Firstly, playing violent video video games will let the players wants to be the characters. Somebody will ask: The players know that it isn’t OK to fight people. But they will just simply ignor you. They think it is cool to be the boss and have all other people do whatever they wants. And that is a kind of bullying people.
Speaking of which, children who play M-rated violent games show higher tendencies toward physical fights, hostility toward peers, and arguments with teachers. Also, schools report higher bullying incidents among frequent violent video game players.
To finish up, violent video games really are linked to real-world violence.The doctors from Tsinghua University(Beijing China), Peking University(Beijing China), California University(California, US), Harvard University（Massachusetts,US）,Stanford University(California,US), Columbia University(New York, US), and University of Oxford(England,UK) and other universities have proved that violent video games are linked to real-world violence.
-
-
Summary for Lesson 8
In today’s class we looked at debate and counterargument, picking apart different ways through which we can view argument building and rebuttal. We thought about the importance of defining the terms of the question and brainstormed both sides of a debate question, using this to build counterarguments. We learned about the importance of acknowledging both sides of an argument in order to further prove your main ideas, using counters and rebuttals to demonstrate how you have weighed the evidence and stuck to your conclusion. We then had some mini-debate presentations. Excellent work today everyone, well done for your fantastic ideas and keep up the great work! 🙂
Homework
-
Should we colonize space？I think that we should.
First, I can let us learn more about science. For example, at first the people’s think that the earth was flat, but when we really first went to the space then we would find out that it was actually round. But if we don’t do it, we won’t know the truth about the space and the other stars in there.
Secondly, it can let us explore more. For example, we at first don’t know anything about the world around us, but when we really flew on the sky and saw the stars and other things, we would know the truth about it. But not just imagining what it will have and what does it look like.
-
Excellent work Claire, well done! I really love your idea linking to all the things we never knew or explored in the past, such as thinking the earth was flat, which gives the reader a beautiful sense of the wealth of information we could discover through exploration. I really enjoyed the way in which you reached into the past to help us think about the future, offering some fantastically emotive reasons to look further into the solar system. You have stated your argument wonderfully clearly and your structure is very solid and fits together well. To make this even better, remember to include a conclusion, summing up your argument and leaving the reader with a final thought to think about, or a rhetorical question, or a final persuasive technique that ties your argument together. Overall super ideas well done 🙂
-
-
Should we colonize space? I believe not.
Considering all the possibilities, I strongly believe that we need to make our earth better instead of colonizing space. Colonizing space will cost more and have more risks than making our planet earth better, so we should not do it.
Firstly, the cost will be huge if we try colonizing space. We need to create space rockets, do experiments like launching experimental space rockets and prepare resources like foods and water to live in the space. A space rocket can cost millions and billions!
Secondly, the risk will also be very big. The space rockets have a small percentage of failing to launch, failing to land, or happen to have something bad during the ride. Therefore, colonizing space is actually doing experiments with people’s life!
In conclusion, colonizing space is not a good choice as it cost a lot and have a lot of risk. WE should consider more about making our earth better instead of going and living on other planets.
-
Brilliantly argued Andy, well done! You’ve taken a strong and clear stance in this piece, and your points are persuasive and well organised. I particularly like the way you’ve broken your argument into clear sections, using logical reasoning to back up your ideas. You have also offered a beautiful alternative: putting that energy and money into our life on earth, which is a great idea and gives the reader a sense of hope. The tone is passionate but controlled, and your conclusion brings the piece to a confident and thoughtful close. To improve this further, think about how you could strengthen your persuasive techniques: could you add a rhetorical question, a startling fact, or a powerful metaphor to hook the reader more deeply? Additionally, you might consider briefly acknowledging the opposing viewpoint to show balance before reinforcing your own. Overall, this is a really convincing and clearly structured piece, well done 🙂
-
-
Should we colonize space? I think not.
First, colonizing space is very dangerous. We may face many problems. For example, we may find other creatures (like Aliens) in space. Also, rockets may be destroyed for many reasons. For example, rocks flying in space could destroy rockets.
Also, colonizing space will need a lot of money and workforce. Making rockets need a lot of money, and also need many workers and energy. If we make the rocket and send us up to space, we need a lot of material to make shelters. The rockets may be facing many things, like broken, and it will need materials to fix. But rockets won’t have enough space to take materials. Even if we have space, there will be less space to live people, and if there is not much space to live people, we will need to build more rockets for us.
In conclusion, I think we shouldn’t colonize the space because it is very dangerous, and it will need a lot of people working, also it will need a huge amount of money.
-
Great work July, well done! You’ve expressed your opinion clearly from the very opening and structured your argument in a thoughtful and logical way, giving clear examples. Your ideas about the dangers of space travel, including the potential for encountering unknown creatures and the threat of damage to rockets, are vivid and persuasive, and play upon some deep human fears such as fear of the unknown. I also really liked the practical thinking in your second paragraph, especially the point about limited space for materials and people; this shows careful thought about the real-life challenges of space colonisation beyond the initial project. To make this even better, you could try to vary your sentence structure a little more for impact and consider using persuasive techniques like rhetorical questions or emotive language to grab the reader’s attention even more. Overall, fab work and a sophsiticated argument, well done! 🙂
-
-
How will AI affect our daily life?
“Their capacity to parse and generate human-like text has made it possible to have more dynamic conversations with machines.” “There is a potential risk of diminishing critical thinking skills if users depend too heavily on AI-generated content without scrutiny.”
Virginia Tech Engineer, AI—The good, the bad, and the scary (https://eng.vt.edu/magazine/stories/fall-2023/ai.html)
-
Brilliant source research Andy, well done! I love your choice of quotation here, which both present some really interesting perspectives on AI and the way you have focused on ethos by using a Virginia Tech Engineer as your source, which lends lots of credibility to your argument. Great choice of a question to research and a very well put together citation for your online source- excellent job!
-
-
Summary for Lesson 9
In today’s class we learned about research and honed our persuasive techniques. We revisited the idea of ethos, logos and pathos and then used these concepts to direct us in a research task. The class learned about how to choose and evaluate sources and how to write a bibliography. We also thought about anecdotes and how they encourage pathos, and finally read a document with different persuasive techniques outlined. Very well done everyone, you all worked beautifully today and shared some excellent examples of complex ideas. Keep it up and see you next time 🙂
Homework
-
Should we focus more on space exploration or protecting our planet earth, considering human’s future?
I believe that we should focus more on protecting our planet earth. It has more possibility to success than space exploration and is more efficient than space exploration. Also, maintaining earth requires less cost than space exploration.
Firstly, maintaining earth have more possibility to success than space exploration. Because protecting and maintaining earth is all processed on land and it is our habitat, it will be more likely to success. We can solve any problems on earth using our technology (hospitals for injuries, farms for food), and we will not have to risk lives. We can make the earth better for humanity to continue to breed.
Secondly, protecting earth is more efficient to do than space exploration. We can get almost any resource, material, or tool on earth but the recourse in the space is limited. For example, if we want to get a tool in space for exploration, we need to fly back a long distance and carry the material back, which need to use a lot of fuels. On the other hand, we can produce anything at any time in a nearby factory.
Thirdly, maintaining earth cost less than space exploration. Space exploration requires expensive equipment like rockets and machines to make sure that the rocket can work normally. But maintaining earth is different. It only needs simple machines to do their work like planting trees, develop and use more lands… It is a way of less waste, but more work done.
In conclusion, I believe that maintaining earth is better than space exploration as it has more possibility to success, cost less and is more efficient. Considering that best way of keeping the human species alive and well breed, I suppose that protecting and maintaining earth is the best way.
-
Should we focus more on space exploration or protecting our planet earth, considering human’s future?
I strongly belive we should focus more on protecting our planet earth.
First, if we protect earth, earth will die slower. Scientist shows earth will may died after 200 years, after 2600 years, and after 4000000000 years. Earth may died because of people and country killing each other after 200 years. Earth will may died after 2600 years becuase humans use so much energy and this let earth’s tempreture very high, wich make earth in to a big fire ball. Earth also may died by Andromeda crushing on earth after 4000000000 years.
Also, we need our home, earth to live. Maybe some people will say that we may find another “earth”. But we don’t have so much money and people that work to make rockets that can carry all the people on earth. And if the rockets has been broken by the dangerous thing in the space,all the people on that rocket will died. The most important thing is, we even may don’t find a new home.
In conclusion, we should focus more on protecting our planet earth becuase earth will die slower, also because we may can’t find a new home.
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.