Collaborating Constructively in Literature Circles

One of the benefits in working with a partner is that each one can help the other get along, explain, or make comments so that we do better on the Literature Circles. If one person comes up with a level two question, then their partner can comment and both of them can work on it and improve the question so it becomes a level three question. Another benefit is that we can get the assignment done in less time, or with the same amount of time, come up with a higher level quality of work.
However, on the other hand, working with a partner might cause some problem, or disagreement between each other. One of the problems that I had was that I didn't agree with everything that my partner thought, and also, we kept on coming up with the same ideas. For example, when we wrote our connections, we both came up with the idea that we didn't think Zachariah would die of just 50 whips. Another problem was that we had to wait for one another, so that we can go over the document and improve it. That means that we need to make an appointment so that both of us are online at the same time, and to do that, both of us have to be free at the same time. For this, we might have to spare some of our own time as well.One of the new understandings I learnt was exactly how cruel and unreasonable Captain Jaggery could be to such innocent people. I also learnt more about Charlotte's personality. I learnt that she was a very brave young lady who doesn't care about the bad things people would say when they knew she had joined the crew. As long as she is not doing any harm or wrong to anybody, and that what she is doing is right, she would go for it. And as soon as she had stepped forward, there was no turning back.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Group discussions really did help me understand this novel better. This is because every time I go to discussions, each person in the group would have questions and thoughts about the book. As we share our ideas, we get deeper and deeper into trying understand the author and the novel. I think that is is actually why we have Literature Circles and group discussions-to help each other to learn. Some of the subjects we talked about were why Zachariah was the one who was treated quite badly compared to the rest of the crew, especially when he was chosen by the captain, a white, to be beaten up. This could be a reason for the captain to have done that. I think that this is important because it is one of the conflicts that would have an effect in the story. We came up with an answer that during those times, racism was still a big issue. In the first group discussion, we also made predictions of who was the good and the bad in the novel, and what would happen next in the story.
Some of the connections I made during the group discussions were actually connections within the story. One of them were about when Charlotte overheard some sailors that were in the forecastle. A brief summary of what she heard is that these men didn't want her on board the Seahawk. I connected it with an event that happened early in the story when Charlotte first set foot on the ship. One of the sailors, Barlow, came to her cabin and told her that she wasn't supposed to be on this ship. I thought about the his purpose-keep Charlotte off the ship. I also thought about Barlow's role in the forecastle and the issue of the round robin. The other connection was just about when I traveled to Japan and also went on ships.


My predictions for the rest of the novel would be rather a happy ending. I think that Captain Jaggery might die eventually. Maybe the hurricane would put his life to an end, or he might die of killing another member of the crew-the crew might judge him and take over his place. Also, another prediction is after this voyage has ended, I think somehow Charlotte will find another opportunity to sail with "her" crew again. My last prediction is that Charlotte's father and mother might be quite angry with her since she did so many 'unlady-like' things.

Symmetrical Objects

This is an image of my glasses. It has one line of symmetry, that is located in the middle of the picture, from top to bottom. This line of symmetry cuts through the bridge.

Cute Miniature Kuala Lumpur!!

One of the most funniest times I've had as a memory wasn't too long ago. It was only one year ago, when I first arrived in Kuala Lumpur, where I am living now. Before I came here, I lived in Miri, Sarawak. Miri was the second best place I have ever lived in. We lived in a house, which was about a ten minutes walk away from school. We were a member of 'Piasau Boat Club (PBC)'. It offered us sailboats, powerboats, diving lessons, kayaks, fitness center, tennis, fishing, wind surfing, duathlon/triathlon, parties, kid's playground, restaurants, pub and bar, etc. Everything was free, apart from the member fee (RM 65 per month) and the restaurant fees. My whole family was very sad when we had to leave Miri. On the day we had to travel to KL, we set off on the plane, and I secretly cried too!


When we arrived in Kuala Lumpur, I had to stay in a temporary place first. I was shocked when I saw my condo. The kitchen of our house in Miri was as big as the master bedroom here, the master bedroom in Miri was as big as the living room in KL, and everything was nearly 10 times smaller than before. We started to wonder of how we are going to survive in this 'miniature' condo. Later, I found out that all of the houses were about this size, or some, even smaller! During the first month, we learned that KL was completely the opposite of  Miri. We discovered the 'syruped food', the amazingly confusing road signs, all the bumps on the road, the terrible traffic jam, sirens, and most important of all, we don't have anything to do.


You might be wondering why this is funny. I'll tell you why. First of all, it's the city of unexpected events. Second, I can assure that we always hear the siren every single day, without an exception. Third, we find police in the middle of intersections everywhere, which is not a bad thing, but instead of reducing the jam, the police makes everything worse. In the end, cars from all distances get stuck, and the police don't know what to do after that.


One of the most important things I learned was that I would never live in a condo again, and probably not come back to KL again after this (and I think I mean it....)!! But the thing I'm sure about is that I like ISKL, and Mrs. Reiser and Ms. Nadaraj are two of the many favorite teachers I've had!!!

On Stage!!

     A great time when I showed courage was probably when I went to Japan for the second time. Let me tell you one thing - the purpose wasn't really a holiday, but to go for the final round of a music competition! I was so excited to go there, but when it was time for the competition, I got very frightened. I was not born to be on stage.

    It was on the 12th of October, 2009, and I was in taxi, on the way to the venue where they held the competition. When we got there, a Japanese woman who was going accompany me on the piano led me to register myself, and then into a room I can practice one last time before the competition. Her name was Reiko. The registration counter gave me a number - S7. I tried to get the best out of the chance to practice. Then, when time was over, I went upstairs with Ms. Reiko to the backstage of where I was going to perform. My hands stiffened. I felt butterflies in my stomach. I tried to cool myself down, but it was impossible. I didn't want to do this anymore, but I had to. There was no choice. My mom and Ms. Reiko were both surrounding me. My dad and my brother were sitting on the audience seat, waiting to watch me. I felt so much pressure, I didn't know what to do.

     Oh no! S4 was done, and S5 got up. I listened very carefully to S5, and so far, I thought she was the best. S5 headed back to the backstage. Only ONE more to go....S6 went ahead. For a moment, I felt like I stopped breathing. I didn't want to listen to anymore. I placed my head into my hands, and I felt my mom's hands on my back, trying to comfort me. Now this was the part when I really had to show courage. S6 was DONE. It was my turn now. 


     I had to gather all my courage, as I emerged the stage. Inside, my brain was buzzing around. I tried to assemble all of what my teacher said before I went to Japan, and I had to bring it out onto the stage, through the violin. Well...that was tricky.

        When I was in the middle of the stage, I could feel my legs wobbling. Then the shaking of my hands, holding the violin. I tried to grip firmly onto my violin, since I felt it was going to drop soon. I placed the shoulder rest onto my shoulder, and rested my chin on the chinrest, which was right above it. Next, I placed my bow on the E string, the highest string on the violin. I was ready. Ms. Reiko started on the piano, then I joined in with her. For the first few phrases, I could feel that my sound wasn't as firm as it should be. Later on in the piece, I forgot about the tension, so it was abit better. Before I knew it, I was playing my last note. Then, the worried feeling stole me away. Since I wasn't allowed to look at the music score, I was frightened that I might have missed some part of piece, but then that was impossible. The pianist wouldn't be able to carry on if that really happened.

     I trudged off the stage. Ms. Reiko was following behind me. It was over. I did it, but I was pretty sure that there was no way I was going to win a prize. I went downstairs, and waited for the results to show up. I was perfectly correct! I didn't get any prizes at all, even though it was close. I did feel a little bit of disappointment, but not much because I already settled my mind that I wouldn't stand a big chance of winning a prize. So that didn't bother me too much.

     Guess what? After that, it was all touring and holiday!! I loved that part the most. Unfortunately, I don't think there's going to be a chance that I will get to go to Japan again (well at least not soon.)

http://www.google.com.my/imgres?imgurl=http://book.flythomascook.com/news/xml/images/Young%2520girl%2520playing%2520violin%2520outdoor%

Investigating the Past

Archaeologists studied artifacts from early humans to learn about the past and the lives of early humans.


A set of artifacts the archaeologists found were named “Cave art tools.” Cave Art tools had a grinder, colored minerals (in the shape of balls), a white rock, a black rock (slightly larger than the white rock.) These materials are used for cave arts. Early human’s lives were very simple. They used simple tools to make art work with. The tools were mostly natural. For example, the minerals were in natural color, and the minerals are mixed with animal fat and vegetable oil to make paint. These are also natural.


Another cave painting that was left behind by the early humans was a cave painting of animals. This painting has about 11 horses running in different directions. It also had bull in the center, which looked like it was running away from something because its neck is stretched. It’s got something that looks like a small cage in right side of the painting. Also, the painting has different levels of the grounds, and the wise thing that the artist did was he/she painted this painting on different ground levels, so the horses really look like they are moving. The artist that painted this painting was very clever to paint on different ground levels to make his/her painting more realistic.


The last cave painting I am going to introduce to you is a painting of shapes and handprints. This painting has stick deer painted on it. It is a pretty fascinating painting because the things that are painted on it don’t really relate to each other. There are deer, handprints, squiggly lines (zigzags), and something that looks like a target. None of these relate to each other, or maybe it does, just that I don’t recognize it. Or maybe the artist is trying to tell a story by painting on cave walls. Early humans probably had pretty good imagination. To tell a story by painting isn’t that easy. Early humans are also very clever. If it wasn’t that they could think of painting and how to make paint, art probably wouldn’t develop this fast until nowadays.


Early humans’ lives probably weren’t easy, with no electricity and all the technologies we have today.

Which social scientist?

Which social scientist would I like to be? Well, between an archaeologist, historian, and geographer, I would choose an.......ARCHAEOLOGIST! You would probably want to know why I chose an archaeologist. Read on and find out in the next few paragraphs.

There are three reasons of why I chose an archaeologist. The first reason is that when I was very little, I went to the beach very often, mostly on the weekends. Each time I went there, I would bring a medium - sized jar with me. This jar is for putting interesting objects such as old objects, shells, half burnt paper or wood, and many others. When I got home, I would list all the objects I could collect, and examine most of them. After that, I would pick out my favorite ones, and separate them in another jar. On Mondays, my class always had a session where you can tell the class what you did during the weekends, or whatever you want to share with the class. That is when I take the chance to present my 'interesing facts' that I found through he weekends. Even until now, I still like to collect shells and 'old' objects. Plus, now I still have all the things I collected when I was 4 years old, at the beach.

The second reason is that I like to know what people do daily, especially in the olden days. I like to learn about ancient objects and places. Studying about people's lives entertains me most of the time, and that is why biographies are the best kind of non - fiction books for me. I like animals, because not only that like to study about people's lives, but also animal's lives as well!!

The third reason is that I like to travel and tour all over the places, and I like to dig about everywhere. At the beach, I like to dig very deep into the sand until it gets abit wet. When I was about 4 - 5 years old, these are the things I liked to do. At school, I like to bury toys, and then one week later I come and see if it is still there or not. At home I hide things from my brother, and then see if he could find it. I do all these funny and silly things, but now I'm not really into them. I'm now more of a reader and collecter.


Maybe some day, I'll be known as Tem the Archaeologist! Let's wait and see.




Graphic sources: http://www.google.com.my/imgres?imgurl=http://www.picture-newsletter.com/archeology/skeleton-archaeology.jpg


http://www.google.com.my/imgres?imgurl=http://www.sanelijo.org/images/archaeology2.jpg

Who's Tem? Get to know her here!

Hello, my name is Tem, and this is my blog. I have got another name, but people usually call me Tem. I come from Thailand. My parents are both from Thailand, my grandparents on my mother's side are both from Thailand, but my grandparents on my father's side are from China, and they migrated to Thailand. That makes me a little bit Chinese as well.


I learn music, because it was my brother who started it. He first learned the piano, and later on I was interested in it. Then, a few years later, he started the violin as well, and then same thing happened  to me. I used to learn swimming because my parents wanted me to be a good and proper swimmer. I like some sort of dances, such as Thai dances, I like to sing (but not alot), listen and play music, knit and sew, because my mom likes to do it so I got it from my mom. All of the things I mentioned just now, was counted as art(apart from swimming). So you can summarize that I really like art / crafts work.


I guess my favorite color is purple, because I don't really have one. My  favorite food....hmm...well, I like sausages and sticky rice, those are the main ones. I also like omelettes and pork, which depends on how it is cooked.


Some people say that I'm shy because normally I'm quiet outside house. Some people say that I'm slow because I used to like to work at my own pace (but I can't work at my own pace in middle school though.) Some of my relatives say that I'm half funny and crazy because one second I could be so hyper and then another I could be calm and quiet.


One of my academic goals is that I would try to get a good grade in most of my subjects. A social goal is that I would make a larger group of friends. Another fact about me is that I have an elder brother named Tong, who is now in grade 8.