Friday, October 17, 2008

Photo Album

Salam!

Sila lawati
http://picasaweb.google.com/pibg272 untuk mengimbau kembali kenangan beberapa aktiviti sekolah yang telah diadakan.

Setakat ini, gambar aktiviti-aktiviti yang telah dimuatkan dalam Photo Album kita adalah:
  • 2009/02/15: Sukan Tahunan Sekolah ke-4
  • 2009/01/17: Hari Anugerah Cemerlang 2008
  • 2008/11/13: Keputusan UPSR
  • 2008/10/24: Sambutan Hari Kanak-Kanak
  • 2008/09/26: Majlis Khatam Al-Quran
  • 2008/07/20: Gotong-royong Perdana
  • 2008/06/18: SkyTrek Adventure
  • 2008/03/23: Sukan Tahunan Sekolah ke-3
  • 2008/02/13: Persaraan Pn Rahimah
  • 2007/11/18: Hi-tea Appreciation
  • 2007/11/03: Majlis Anugerah Cemerlang 2007
  • 2007/10/28: Karnival Mesra Dua Tujuh Dua
  • 2007/10/23: Program RIMUP
  • 2007/09/10: Lawatan ke Langkawi
  • 2007/08/29: Sambutan Hari Merdeka
  • 2007/08/17: Solat Hajat
  • 2007/08/16: Kem Bestari Solat
  • 2007/07/26: Majlis Penyerahan Zakat Asnaf Bank Rakyat & Ceramah Kesihatan
  • 2007/07/15: Majlis Ihtifal Sekolah2 j-QAF
  • 2007/07/08: Majlis Perpisahan Pn Nona Asiah
  • 2007/06/26: Hari Terbuka
  • 2007/05/17: Hari Guru
  • 2007/04/19: Maulud Nabi
  • 2007/03/30: Lawatan ke Safari Wonderland, Melaka
  • 2006/05/18: Pertandingan Kuiz Kesihatan
Sesiapa yang mempunyai photo berkenaan apa-apa aktiviti di sekolah kita, saya harap dapat dikongsi bersama. Sila hubungi En Muhadzir ataupun mana-mana AJK PIBG.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

20 Examples of Grammar Misuse

Grammar just ain't what it used to be, it seems. When we explained the difference between "fewer" and "less than", following Tesco's policy shift on this matter, readers told us what grammar rules they see being flouted or find confusing. The list was a long one. Here are the best.

1. The one that really annoys me is how people suddenly seem to confuse "have" and "of", as in: "I could of learnt how to write properly." There's no excuse for it!
Pete, Sheffield

2. The phrase "for free" is becoming commonplace and is used often on television and it's wrong. It should be "for nothing".
Mary, Basingstoke

3. That guardian of our language, the BBC, is full of solecisms these days; just one example: 12 pm. There is no such time; "meridiem" as in am ("ante meridiem" means "before noon") and pm ("post meridiem" means "after noon") means midday. The 12th hour is neither before nor after midday. So please, BBC use either midday or noon with midnight the correct term for the other end of the day. This is not being pedantic; in these days of 24-hour days, it is often not readily apparent what time 12 pm might be.
Mervyn, Usk, Monmouthshire

4. If you do something to change a situation, then you "effect" a change. If your circumstances are changed by an action, then the change has caused an "effect". You cannot "affect" a change in something, nor can you be "effected" by one.
Rob, Lyme Regis

5. I get annoyed at the reckless use of apostrophes, for example, the plural of CD can't be CD's.
Shahed Alam, London

6. Many people, including public speakers, incorrectly use "I" instead of "me". For instance, they would say "She said some very kind things about George and I", thinking that they are being polite or grammatically correct. An easy way to remember which to use is: if you would say him or her on its own, use me; if you would say he or she on its own, use I. For example, "She said some very kind things about him".
Lorraine, Aylesbury

7. Incorrect use of reflexives make my blood boil. I think that for someone to say "yourself" and "myself" when they just mean "you" or "me" is possibly out of a false sense of politeness, or maybe the insidious effect of TV soaps, or both. Those who use it correctly can give "themselves" a pat on the back.
John Self, Wisset, Suffolk

8. How about "none of them is" and "none of them are"? Most people would use the latter whereas the former is correct. "None" is short for "not one" therefore "not one (none) of them is" would be used. Most newsreaders still get it right though - on the BBC anyway!
Emily, Bristol

NOTE: Fowler's Modern English Usage says that "none" is not short for "not one" and although using a singular verb is more common, using a plural verb has also been an acceptable option since the reign of King Alfred.

9. Similar TO, different FROM, compared WITH. Not "to" used for all of them!
Susan, Brisbane, Australia

NOTE: Fowler's Modern English Usage says: "The commonly expressed view that 'different' should only be followed by 'from' and never by 'to' or 'than' is not supportable in the face of past and present evidence or of logic." It adds that "compare to" is to liken and "compare with" or "compare to" is used to point out similarities and differences. The BBC News website style guide differs with Fowler's on this last point. It says that when pointing out differences, "compare with" should always be used.


10. Here's one they often get wrong on BBC news! BBC reporter: "Then they opened fire on us". This is incorrect. In military terms there are two methods of shooting at an enemy, controlled-fire and open-fire. I.E. you are not opening anything so using the past tense of open is incorrect. The correct expression should be "Then they open-fired on us"
JWTH, Belfast

11. I find the increasing, incorrect use of "literally" annoying.... "I literally went blue with anger!!" "Really?" I ask.
Ned, Wallingford

12. The proper use of "its" and "it's" seems to confound many people, with "its" being a possessive and "it's" being a contraction of "it is". I've seen this mistake made even in some rather lofty publications...
Eric, Berlin

13. It annoys me when people use "due to" when they mean "owing to". But then I'm a pedant.
Guy, London

NOTE: The BBC News website style guide says "due to" means "caused by" and needs a noun, but "owing to" means "because of" and relates to a verb. Hence, "the visit was cancelled [cancelled is the verb] owing to flooding" is correct. So too is "the flooding [flooding is the noun] was due to weeks of heavy rain".

14. As a secondary teacher, I'm beginning to despair when it comes to "they're", "there" and "their"; not to mention "to", "two" and "too". Why are we so afraid to correct these simple mistakes which make all the difference at a later stage?
Alexandra, London

15. There is also confusion over lend and borrow. I keep hearing school children asking "to lend your pencil" when what they actually mean is to "borrow" the pencil.
Ian Walton, Bedford

16. I cringe when I hear BBC reporters say "amount of people" when it should be "number of people"!
Jill Thistlethwaite, Leyburn, UK

NOTE: Fowler's says "amount" is used with nouns that are not countable, such as "amount of forgiveness" and "amount of glue" - but "number" is used with countable nouns, such as "number of boys" and "number of houses".

17. I don't like it when people say: I can go there "by foot" instead of "on foot"....the right preposition to use is ON.
Daniela, Urbana, IL

18. The usage that I find particularly irritating is that of a single noun with a plural verb, for example: "the team are happy with their victory", or "management have congratulated the workforce on the recent increase in productivity". Team is a singular noun so it should read "the team IS happy..." or "the team members ARE happy", the same applies "management HAS congratulated..." Also, what has happened to the word "versus", abbreviated "vs"? Now all we see is "v"; it is even read like that in sports announcements.
Lucia, Horndean, UK

NOTE: The BBC News website's style is that sports teams and pop/rock bands are always plural.

19. A classic confusing rule is the one that states that one is supposed never to end a sentence with a preposition. While this is easy and appropriate to follow in most cases, for example by saying "Yesterday I visited the town to which she has just moved" instead of "...the town she has just moved to", it becomes troublesome when the verb structure includes a preposition that cannot be removed from it, as in "At work I am using a new computer with which my manager recently set me up", which cannot correctly be changed to "...I am using a new computer up with which my manager recently set me".
Philip Graves, Stockholm, Sweden

20. Stadiums, as a plural of stadium, rather than stadia.
C. Matthews, Birmingham, UK

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Building a Solid Math Foundation

Building a Solid Math Foundation

A solid math foundation is vital for children to succeed. Without solid math skills, children will probably have a lot of trouble in school and afterwards.
Students with weak basic math skills find the subject increasingly confusing and difficult (and get poor grades). You might notice that your child starts to develop math anxiety. When a child develops a solid math foundation, you'll be amazed at how the stress caused by poor math skills disappears. You might even hear your child say that math is fun!
Building a solid foundation in math requires a systematic approach. Too many children do not get the broad introduction and ongoing practice that builds confidence and deep understanding. The primary mistakes that parents make in teaching/coaching math are:
having too narrow a focus. Parents tend to overemphasize arithmetic and overlook the other math areas.
reviewing math concepts out of sequence.
This article will discuss what is an adequately broad approach to teaching math and present how Time4Learning, an online learning system, provides such a foundation for each grade.
A strong math elementary math curriculum teaches these five math strands (yes, there are many other ways of grouping these areas into as few as four and as many as eight different areas but we like this approach): * Number Sense and Operations - Arithmetic and place value.
* Algebra - From the youngest age, learning to recognize patterns and sets ("pick the small red fish") creates the groundwork for working with unknowns and algebraic variables. * Geometry and Spatial Sense - When children build on their knowledge of basic shapes, they increase their ability to reason spatially, read maps, visualize objects in space, and eventually use geometry to solve problems.

* Measurement - Learning how to measure and compare is an important life skill that encompasses the concepts of length, weight, temperature, capacity, time, and money.
* Data Analysis and Probability - Using charts, tables, and graphs will help children learn to share and organize information about the world around them.
What is Time4Learning?
Time4Learning.com is an online subscription site popular for homeschooling, afterschool, and summer use. As an example, let’s survey how this curriculum builds a a broad math foundation through the shifting it’s focus among these diverse math strands.
Foundation Building - PreSchool and Kindergarten Math –
The preschool program combines language arts and preschool math into one integrated learning sequence. It starts with the basics such as following simple instructions given verbally by cartoon characters such as "Click on the Crayon". Once the children are interacting successfully, they will learn through a fun set of learning games the basic concepts such as similar and different, quantity, sequence, comparisons, and shapes. Notice that the focus is on learning about sets and features which is pre-algebra. The features and patterns get more complicated and basic geometry is introduced. Then at the end of preschool and in the kindergarten math program, the concepts of comparative quantity and greater and less than are introduced. The focus is not on the simple question of having the kids learn to count up to ten although it is taught.

The Basics of Arithmetic – First to Third Grade Math –
Advancing to first grade children will turn their primary focus to numbers and operations. They will learn to add and subtract numbers to one hundred. First grade math will include learning more about geometrical figures and objects, measurement of length, weight, capacity, time, and temperature, use of money, graphs and charts used for data analysis and prediction, and algebraic patterns. In second grade math children will compare and order whole numbers to one thousand, they will group objects into hundreds, tens and ones, relating the groupings to a written numeral. In numbers up to 1000, the children should know the place value of any designated digit. Second grade math introduces fractions. By the end of second grade and in the third grade math program, reinforcing math skills met in previous years, children will move on to a more rigorous structure. Third grade word problems can combine multiple skills in the same problem. Children will work with numbers through the hundred-thousands or more. They learn about decimals in the context of money and get experience with fractions up to 100. Third grade math opens them up to a greater understanding of measurement techniques, geometry and algebraic thinking. It will be a challenging year as they are presented with many new and complex concepts.
Not Just Arithmetic – Fourth and Fifth Grade Math –
The major math strands for the fourth grade math curriculum are number sense and operations, algebra, geometry and spatial sense, measurement, and data analysis and probability. This year they are expected to know basic multiplication and division. They will recognize that two fractions are equivalent or non-equivalent and learn to add and subtract fractions using drawings, story problems and algorithms. During fourth grade, math students use a wide variety of tools and procedures to measure length, area, volume, and perimeter. They investigate angle measures, learning about the common angles of 45°, 90°, and 180° (straight angle). They'll learn to use these angles as reference for measurement of other angles. During fifth grade math, students master the concepts and mechanics of multiplication and division including the commutative, associative and distributive properties. They are expected to learn to factor and recognize prime numbers to 100 and recognize squares. Fifth grade math students are taught to find factors of numbers including the rules of divisibility and to determine if they are prime or composite. They express whole numbers as products of prime factors and determine the greatest common factor or the least common multiple of two numbers up to 100 or more. In fifth grade they multiply by powers of 10, demonstrating patterns. They identify and apply rules of divisibility for 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, and 10, and use models to identify perfect squares to 144.
Sixth to Eight Grade Math – More sophisticated geometry, problems, and algebra
In sixth grade math, students build on what they learned in fifth grade math, which led them to the decimal base-10 number system, finding factors of numbers to 100, and multiplication of decimals to hundredths. They compare decimals to fractions, and add, subtract, multiply and divide decimals and fractions. It will be an exciting year full of new, complex math concepts. During seventh grade math children learn about decimals, percents, exponents, scientific notation, ratios, and square roots. Seventh grade math opens them up to a greater understanding of measurement techniques, geometry and algebraic thinking. In eighth grade math, students work with positive and negative numbers, exponents, and the order of operations, as well as scientific and standard notation. They learn more about working with whole numbers, fractions, mixed numbers, decimals, and integers.

Summary
There are many successful approaches to curriculum from hands-on applied mathematics to strict standards-based education. However, all the best curriculum take a broad approach to the math curriculum and struggle to provide a coherent sequence with ongoing review and reinforcement of previously-learned skills and concepts. Time4Learning's math curriculum provides a good example of how to broadly develop skills through the elementary and middle school years.