2014 Music Video

Check out this video, showing a few of the highlights from 2014 in Hulu Terengganu!

http://youtu.be/4D4ksw0GGDY

PAL Reading!

 The PAL reading program took off with a bang!  PAL reading allows students with lower reading levels to get assistance from their schoolmates that are at a higher level.  While learners at lower levels get the one-on-one support they need in a much less stressful environment, higher readers learn from teaching.  Not only is reading supported but relationships and bonds are made and a community is built. School might not seem as daunting to lower level learners when they know that someone is there for them to go to. 

The PAL reading program is easy to implement. First choose two classes and pair them up: year 1 and 3 or year 2 and 4 have worked well. If this isn’t plausible just divide your class into low and high learners and pair them up.  It is important to find books that are appropriate for the lower learners let the children choose the book they want to read. After students have been paired and have a book there are four easy steps to follow:

1)      Read together: the pair read at the same time this usually results in the lower learner listening or parroting.

2)      Read and help: the lower reads while the higher learner helps. It is important to make sure they are checking for understanding and not just getting them to parrot.

3)      Find the word: this is a good way to check for understanding have the higher learner get the lower one to identify random words in their book also get them to match pictures to  words.

4)     Spell the Word: this is optional but one the most children fell more confident in.

It is important to track what the students have read so have them fill in a chart or form on what they read. To help with motivation stickers can be given or certificates of achievement after so many books have been read additionally the group can create a book worm as a way to further build a connection.

Finally, don’t forget the most important ingredient HAVE FUN!

English Camp/Water Day @ SK Seri Buloh

On August 21st-23rd, SK Seri Buloh held an English Camp for all of the students.  Years 1 and 2 came just for the Water Day activities, and the rest stayed for the whole camp.  The English activities started on the Friday morning, when we went to the river to play 8 water games, all involving English.  The school was broken up into 8 teams, and they rotated around to the different stations to play each one. The parents also came to watch, have a picnic, and enjoy the outdoors.  A big thank you to all of the teachers who helped to run the games stations.  The students all had a great time and the enthusiasm was incredible from everyone involved!

After our activities at the river, we shared some food with the staff, students and parents, and then headed over to my house (Teacher Andrea's house) for a Treasure Hunt.  For this, the students had to search around the yard for puzzle pieces to the map of the property. Then, they had to complete the puzzle.  When it was complete, I marked the map with the location of the treasure and gave them the clue to follow.  The blue team was the first to locate the treasure, so they were given the shovel and dug up the box to find pencils, erasers, sharpeners and rulers for everyone!

After the treasure hunt, the students went back to the school.  In the evening, we had a camp fire where we sang songs, both in English and traditional Malay.  Then the students did their English performances that they rehearsed in the afternoon.  Some did short skits, some did chants, others sang songs!  It was very entertaining to see what they came up with!

We all went to sleep and the next morning, we held an informal class for the year 6 students, where they could practice their UPSR exam questions in a relaxed setting.  All in all, the camp was a great way to release the tension of the exam, and to have the students enjoy English more!
 It was a great success!

Fun Fair!

In Hulu Terengganu, after hosting their first Fun Fair with the TELL project last year, the teachers of SK Binjai Kertas decided to do it again, but this time, bigger and better.  Since they are continuing on for TELL2 this year, the mentors and staff of Brighton Education have been working together with the staff of SKBK in the planning and preparation for the events of the day called “Hari Usahawan” on June 21^st, 2014. 

Staff and students were invited from 40 of the neighbouring schools to come to SKBK and participate in the events of the day.  About 300 people came in total.  There was music, food stalls, clothing stalls, games, and a blood donation clinic, but the focus for the children was the English Fun Fair!

First the students had to ask for some free tickets, provided they asked in English!  Then they could explore the Fun Fair.  Over a dozen stations, such as Wordy Hoops (basketball), Shooting Gallery, and Magic Cups, were set up for the students to go around, play the game where they would learn or practice English, and collect tokens.  The tokens could then be traded in for prizes that the students collected throughout the day.  There was also face painting and a photo gallery.

The success of the day was largely due to the help and cooperation from 35 students of SMK Tengku Ampuan Intan.  They came over for the day to set up, run the games, and pack them up.  They all spoke only English for the whole day, especially when interacting with the children, encouraging them to also speak English.  10 mentors from Brighton Education also volunteered to come and help out for the day.  The parents and community of Kampung Binjai Kertas were also extremely supportive, as they came to the school before and after the event to clean up.  Because of the overwhelming support of everyone involved, the entire day went smoothly, with everyone wearing big smiles throughout the day.

The purpose of the Fun Fair was to make English fun and enjoyable for the kids.  Instead of running away from English, the kids were running towards English, and having a great time doing it! 

“English is fun.  Who says rural pupils don’t speak English?  They learn English through games.” –Teacher Linda, Teacher at SK Binjai Kertas

Teachers of the Month!

April: Shaheida Abdul Wahip, Norzaidah Bt. Mohamad Nor and Najmiah bt Ali

Shaheida is a non-optionist English teacher, who is trying very hard to learn the best way to teach English.  This is her first time teaching English, and in her first few months of teaching English, she has already surpassed many other English teachers who have been doing it for years.  She has made many of the materials that she learned in the first CPD during her own time with her own initiative, and implemented attention words, making her class both well behaved and enjoyable!
Excellent job, Shaheida!



Norzaidah has been helping Rob put language cards on the wall of the SAL Room.  She has been instrumental in helping Rob set up the new SAL Room at her school, she has always turned up to the CPDs and used the information from them in her classroom.

Najmiah is a non-options teacher who was very nervous about being in the TELL2 but rather than try to get out of it by changing levels or getting a letter from here GB. She took the high road and kept a positive attitude.  She said it would be unfair to the other teachers if she did those things so she faced her fear.   There is a saying “you teach who you are.”  Najimah’s students are not just learning English but how to be better people. Thank-you Najimah.

May: Yurdatina Yasin, NorLaila Ambak, and Noraini Sha'ri

The teacher of the month for May goes to Tina.  She has been extremely active in preparing for English Day at SK Binjai Kertas.  Tina came up with most of the games, getting all of the students and also the teachers involved with the day.  She also also practiced a few of the games in her English class beforehand, and adapted them to make the level more suitable.  The day was a big success, thanks to all of the SK Binjai Kertas teachers, but especially Tina!




NorLaila Ambak is the Teacher of the month for conducting the Action Song competition practice with Rob.
She has been very helpful in the English Carnicals and also has been very keen in the CPDs, using their information in the classroom.

Noraini Sha'ri

Commitment to change and to be a better teacher is hard but Noraini has embraced the opportunity that TELL2 provides.  She takes it on her own to invite the mentor into her classes and asks for suggestion and ideas. She doesn’t complain about being too busy but tries to makes time during school visits. She has taken on upon herself to reflect on her methodology.   She uses many of the ideas provided in CPD’s in her class. Her commitment led to the school placing 2^nd in the SMART English state finals.  Keep up it up Noraini! 

June: Maspah Salleh and Zarina Mohommed Zawawi

For June, the teacher of the month is Maspah.  Maspah has consistently show a positive attitude towards the TELL program, and always puts her best effort towards teaching her students as effectively as possible.  In June especially, her positive attitude was evident during the preparations for English Day at SK Matang.  She was able to get a substantial budget from the school and went out and bought prizes and school supplies to give to the students for English Day.  She also designed and wrote clues for the whole Treasure Hunt, giving all of the other teachers a break for that part of the day.
Well done, Maspah!

Zarina has been conducting a numbers learning game in her classroom, based on a game she learned from Rob at a CPD.
She has introduced many games and ideas from the CPDs into her classroom and has a perfect attendance for them.  She also has been very helpful at the Action Song Competitions as well.

CPDs CPDs CPDs!

Welcome to the blog for our Dungun-Hulu cluster!  We have started out the year with a lot of exciting activities, and are looking forward to continuing the fun throughout the next year and a half.  Here are a few of the highlights from the first 4 months of TELL2...

CPD in March: Classroom Management

For our first CPD we discussed classroom management.  We introduced a number of visual aids that can be used for that, and then made some of those materials in the school trainings that followed.



CPDs in April: Multisensory Materials and Phonics Games

During the second CPD, we learned about how kids learn in different ways, using their different senses. Not only do they learn by what they see, but also what they hear, smell, touch, hear and even taste!  So we made some materials that can stimulate all of those senses...

• Scented Play dough
• Scented Coloured Rice
• Edible Finger Paint
• Squishy Bags

For the third CPD, we had a lot of fun!  We played 10 games, each designed to practice phonics.  We also sang the Phonics Alphabet Song!  

Here is a link to the Phonics Fun Handbook we gave to each teacher.  It explains how to play each game:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e23wzxci4m5b52z/Phonics%20FUN%20%281%29.docx

Welcome

Welcome to TELL2 and Dungun-Hulu Cluster!