Beginning a Composition

Here are some alternative ways to begin a composition:

- SOUND EFFECTS

“Arrrrgh!” Jacy shrieked as the spider crawled up her leg. She regretted agreeing to go on the hike. In fact, she had regretted her decision the moment she stepped onto the trail.

- DIALOGUES

“Why did I ever agree to this hike?” Mona sighed. She looked around her. Everyone seemed bright and cheerful. No one seemed to mind their heavy knapsacks or the mosquitoes buzzing around.

- ACTIONS

Shifting her knapsack, Jamie kept her eyes on the trail. It was muddy and full of twists and turns. It looked treacherous, and dangerous. She did not think she could make it all the way to the end.

- DESCRIPTIONS (weather, characters, settings etc.)

Dark clouds drifted across the sky, carried by a gusty wind. Soon, they blocked out the Sun. Britney looked up, worried that an impending storm might turn the hard-packed trail into a river of mud.

- FLASHBACK

Christina’s lips were sore and dry. Licking them, she recalled how the first flames had started. That had been a narrow escape.

- BEGIN WITH THE PRESENT AND GO BACK TO THE PAST

Everytime I hear the song “Reach”, I am reminded of the time I made a fool of myself on stage…

- A STARTLING FACT

I nearly died one Sunday morning. I remember that it was a sweltering day. I had asked Zack and Cody to go swimming with me at the Singapore Swimming Club.

- CLIMAX

“I hate you Mr Crab!” Patrick screamed and dashed out of the classroom in tears. The whole class was silent as they watched Patrick stomp out.

- QUESTION

Have you ever done anything stupid in your life? I mean, something so stupid that it almost cost you your life?

- PERSONAL FEELINGS/ THOUGHTS

I know that no one will ever believe me, but it is true. I really saw an angel! She had wings like the angels I had seen in pictures and she carried a bunch of flowers. There was a light coming from her. She appeared out of nowhere and assisted me when I needed help.

- PROVERBS/ QUOTES/ HEADLINES

Matt cried as he felt the first hard blows from the principal’s cane. He regretted his earlier actions and finally understood that honesty is the best policy…

- DRAMATICALLY

“Bang!” the door slammed shut and Sheila was left all alone, with the bucket stuck to her foot, clutching the frightened white kitten.

- TRADITIONALLY

There was once a wrinkled old man who walked with a limp. Whenever he hobbled along, all the children would run to hide. All of them, except…

Book Vandals At The Library

Book Vandals At The Library

Characters

Two mischievous boys – selfish, like to vandalise public property/ like to deface books in the library, despite being caught a few times and were punished.

Teacher – was in the library borrowing some books, caught them red-handed – one tearing pages from a book and the other scribbling graffiti in the book.

Librarian – was informed by the teacher who showed her the defaced books. She reprimanded the two boys severely and told them that their form teacher would be informed to call their parents up to pay for the two books that are damaged.

Place

An air-conditioned library – so cosy and quiet, not crowded at that time as it was after supplementary lessons when most pupils were rushing home after a long day of lessons.

The two boys were alone at a deserted corner of the library sitting down to browse through the books. After reading for a while --- thought that the pictures of the book could be used for his project work on animals, so he tore the pages out of that book.

The other boy liked to draw and thought suddenly to draw a terrifying creature on that book to scare other readers.

Feelings

Did not realise that their acts were seen by a teacher who happened to walk past them.

Caught red-handed. Face turned lobster-red. Very embarrassed of their actions. Heads hung low as the teacher reprimanded them and took them to see the librarian. Again, the librarian explained to  them what they did were offences and said that their form teacher and parents would be informed. They had to pay for the two books that were defaced.

They were repentant after their parents scolded them in front of their form teacher. Promised not to vandalise library books again.

A Drowning Incident (Class Writing)

I’m Drowning!

Questions:

1.       Where were you?

2.       Who were with you?

3.       What were you doing at that time?

4.       Describe the weather on that day.

5.       How did you start to drown?

6.       What did you do?

7.       What did you think about at that time of drowning?

8.       Were you saved at the end?

9.       How did you feel after that?

10.   What lesson did you learn?

Where? / Who? / When? At East Coast Beach/ Delta Swimming Complex/ Safra (Mount Faber) swimming pool Went for a swim with my family/ friends Deep water Parents sat far away from me when I was swimming

What happened? Strong wind was blowing Dark clouds formed in the sky A small/ light drizzle Did not bother, still wanted to swim Swimming trunks/swimming costume/float/goggles/ enjoying the cool/warm/refreshing/salty water, Splashing, treading water/ creating ripples in the water Having a whale of a time Sudden low tide I was washed further away from shore Turbulent currents became stronger I had leg cramp, became numbed Panicked and screamed loudly for help Nobody was nearby Felt frantic and desperate Sinking and could not take in air Waving/flailing my arms wildly/ Tried/struggled to keep my head above water Head bobbing up and down in the water Out of breath In trouble

How did you feel after that? Parents gave a sigh of relief Thanked the lifeguard profusely Phobia of swimming in the sea Felt scared to go into the water again Parents stopped me from swimming in the big sea

How the problem was resolved? A male passer-by heard my screams for help Alerted a burly/ muscular life guard Galvanised into action Swam towards me and pulled me to shore I swallowed a lot of water My parents saw me about to drown  their heart somersaulted cold sensation hit them their heart would probably seize up a sense of foreboding settled over them Lifeguard applied artificial resuscitation on me I coughed out water

            On a scorching hot day, my parents took my brother and I to Sentosa Siloso Beach for a picnic.

When we reached our destination, we quickly found a shady tree to put down our picnic stuff. My brother and I were very excited to start swimming. We quickly changed into our swimming costumes and ran towards the sea. The water was very calm at that time. We enjoyed splashing and treading water and watching the ripples forming in the water.

After having a whale of a time playing and swimming in the water, my leg suddenly became numbed. I had a leg cramp. I panicked and screamed for help. Alas! My brother was quite far from me. He did not seem to hear my cry for help.

My head bobbed up and down in the water. I swallowed a lot of the salty sea water.

After what seemed like hours of struggling in the water, a hand suddenly grabbed me. My brother had come to my rescue!

          He lifted my head out of the water and pulled me to shore. After laying me on the sandy shore, he applied artificial resuscitation on me and I coughed out water. By then, my parents saw what had transpired and rushed towards us.

 “Peter, are you all right?” my mother asked anxiously as she crouched next to me. I grimaced and howled in pain, gesturing to my legs. My mother shot a reproachful look at my brother, while my father stood over us, his brow creased and his face ashen. My brother thought, “Why did I not keep a close eye on my brother?” Guilt gnawed at him from the inside and he hung his head low.    He rubbed my numbed leg to ease the pain there.        

Gradually, I stopped groaning and my face visibly relaxed. My parents heaved a huge sigh of relief.

           I had suffered a leg cramp because I swam too vigorously and was not properly hydrated before the swim.

            I subsequently apologised to my parents for causing them such great anxiety.

            After that frightening incident when I almost drowned, I refused to venture anywhere near a waterbody for the next month in fear that the same thing would happen to me. However, I gradually recovered my nerve and slowly picked up swimming again.

            

The BFG story

http://www.darranparkprimary.com/uploads/2/5/9/9/25990297/the_bfg.pdf

Read the book by Roald Dahl --- The BFG

http://www.scholastic.com/bfg/resources/pdf/classroom/BFG_Novel_Excerpts.pdf

Learning about Adjectives

Composition checklist

Composition checklist
Name of checker:_________________
Checked for:________________

Component		=) OR =| OR =(	Remarks
Content	Description of surroundings
	Description of characters: Appearance Thoughts Feelings Reactions
	Complication/Twist
	Clear storyline
Grammar	Past tense used correctly
	Present tense used for dialogue (if any)
Punctuation	Used correctly in main story
	Used correctly in dialogue