P4 English Composition Being Considerate

We wrapped up Term 2 at Thinking Factory at the end of February. I have gotten to know my students better as all the students in this P4 class are new. Though, 4 of them are siblings of my former students. (A fun fact I realised last week, was that all 4 former students had scored A* for their PSLE English!)

In Paper 2, I focused on identifying the subject in subject-verb-agreement. While many of my P4 students are able to get their answers right, they are simply guessing. This is most definitely possible if one reads a lot and English is their first language.

However, there are limits to this as they move on to P5 and P6. Therefore, now is a good time to teach them how to identify grammatical structures and clues.

For writing, we explored different writing techniques such as settings and the use of personal thought and conflict during our weekly writing sessions.

One of the compositions that we worked on in Term 2 was Being Considerate. Here we had worked on a character’s personal conflict to make him/her more realistic. Adding some personal conflict to a story can also add a different element to a narrative.

In Term 3, we will work on being more independent writers as SA1 approaches. I have also started on Oral testing with them.

For more information on our P4 March Oral and Writing March holiday workshop or our new P4 class on Thursdays 5pm-7pm , please email me at thinkingf09@gmail.com

Primary 4 composition model:  Being considerate

“Di Di Di”  “Please mind the platform gap” a voice spoke in multiple languages.  I entered the train with my heavy school bag and bulky science project in hand.  I wiped my sweat with my arm, panting hard after a long day in school. I scanned the train for a seat.  At the corner of my eye, I noticed a seat.  As I approached it, a large, well-built man pushed me aside and sat down.  I looked at him and gave him a glare.  The man ignored me and whipped out his phone.

“Next Station Orchard” the voice spoke.  Orchard?  I thought, it is the city and now is peak hour.  The train will get crowded very soon.  As the train arrived at Orchard, people got off the train.  The people at the train station were getting ready to board but before they did, I swiftly found an empty seat, sat down and enjoyed the air-conditioner.

Soon, the train was packed like sardines.  There was hardly any breathing space.  Just as I was dozing off, an old lady boarded the train.  She was carrying bags of groceries.  She looked old and frail.  I watched her reaction as she saw no one was willing to give up their seat for her.  She sighed and stood still.

I thought should I give up my seat?  If I do, then I can’t rest and there will be no space to put my belongings on the ground.  I would have to hold them for the rest of my journey home and that would be quite long.  But if I don’t, the old lady might fall as she will be tired and weak for she will be holding the groceries for quite long.  I looked around.  Everyone was glued on their phones and could not care less about the old lady.  It was a hard decision.  I was torn.

Suddenly, the train jerked and the old lady fell.  Her groceries scattered on the train floor.  Without thinking about the consequences, I helped her up and gave her my seat.  I then helped her pick up her groceries and returned them to her.

The old lady gave me a smile and said, “Young girl, thank you for helping me up, giving up your seat and picking up my groceries.  I really appreciate your help. I wish more young people were like you.”  I beamed with pride, as everyone on the train looked at me.  “I gave a wave and exited the train.  I smiled to myself as I walked home. 

I learnt a lesson, true happiness was about giving and not getting.  Being considerate to that old lady really made me feel genuine happiness.