EL Homelearning

Do a research on the natural habitat of mockingbird. In your research, include the kind of flora and fauna you think exist in Maycomb and explain why the mockingbirds live in Maycomb.

The mockingbird lives in open country with farmland, and it eats ants, beetles, grasshoppers, seeds and berries. In Maycomb, many people (like Miss Maudie) have farms, so there would be some mockingbirds. They live in areas with open land or low shrubs, so it is very common in the suburbs.

Many of those living in Maycomb must own farms, so there is space for the mockingbird to thrive. There must also be many fruit trees in Maycomb, to feed the mockingbird. In Alabama, many fruits trees such as apple and peach trees, which many gardeners (like Miss Maudie) grow to beautify their land, thrive.

It seems that Maycomb must have many pests like ants, beetles and grasshoppers.

The temperature in Maycomb ranges from -1°C to 33°C, suitable for many plants, in which ants, beetles and grasshoppers can live, to grow.

Therefore mockingbirds should thrive in that region.


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Draw a map of Maycomb. Take into consideration the locations of the homes, the streets etc.

The 2010 blog is here.

InfoComm Assignment

You know what lesson/assignment I'm talking about. I submitted mine a few minutes ago. As I checked the whole class simply by changing the last two digits (y09hci0218 - y09hci0244), I noticed that the only other person who submitted was Fabian. Seems like the class either did not know how to do it or (I hope this isn't the reason) just didn't want to do Mr Yong's stuff. Not very surprising, though. Though I didn't expect it to be so drastic, I expected the majority not to hand up, half of these people don't know how to do it and the other half not to care about it. Maybe you could post your comments.

Influenza A (H1N1-2009)

The H1N1 flu has spread here more that two months ago. As we learn more about the virus, we found that it isn't very scary after all. Even with Singapore's rising H1N1 death toll, Singapore has stepped down many measures like assembly bans and hospitalisation. It seems that H1N1 is not much worse than seasonal flu. The government did a lot more to fight SARS in 2003 than the current H1N1 flu. SARS made the news headlines almost everyday then. A video was also made for it. The H1N1 flu is definitely going to die out as more and more people get infected then immune to it.
SAR-VIVOR

This week was the first week this year in which I had to stay back in school from Monday to Friday. It may be considered one of the busiest weeks for me, taking into account I also will be having something tomorrow (Saturday).

But there's a lot of exaggeration. It isn't so "busy" after all. It just passed the record's criteria of "having lessons after lunch". Most of the days the time is very short. Monday I was dismissed at 3:33, Tuesday at 3:17, Wednesday at 4:02, Thursday 2:05, and Friday 5:06. Friday is the usual CCA day so it can't be shortened too much.

Day 2 Assignment
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I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed — and gazed — but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

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The first two stanzas describes the scene; how things are seen in bird's-eye view.
"Continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle on the Milky Way, they stretched in a never-ending line along the margin of a bay." It shows the vastness and beauty of the sky.
The third stanza shows how good and fortunate the narrator is to be there.
The last stanza says that when the narrator is at rest, he remembers what had happened earlier.

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Written In March by William Wordsworth

The cock is crowing,
The stream is flowing,
The small birds twitter,
The lake doth glitter
The green field sleeps in the sun;
The oldest and youngest
Are at work with the strongest;
The cattle are grazing,
Their heads never raising;
There are forty feeding like one!

Like an army defeated
The snow hath retreated,
And now doth fare ill
On the top of the bare hill;
The plowboy is whooping—anon-anon:
There's joy in the mountains;
There's life in the fountains;
Small clouds are sailing,
Blue sky prevailing;
The rain is over and gone!

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The first stanza shows the liveliness in the farm. The second paragraph is also quite similar but more focused on the joy in the farm. This poem was written to rhyme in pairs.

Day 1 Assignment
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I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed — and gazed — but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

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Hyperbole
"They stretched in never-ending line"
"Ten thousand saw I at a glance"
To show the vastness of the sky. (Same as Metophor)

Personification
"The waves beside them danced, but they out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;"
To show the liveliness of the waves.

Metaphor
"They stretched in never-ending line"
To show the vastness of the sky. (Same as Hyperbole 1)

Simile
"I wandered lonely as a cloud"
To relate loneliness to clouds.

Symbolism
"A poet could not be but gay, in such a jocund company!
I gazed — and gazed — but little thought; what wealth the show to me had brought:"
Shows the relaxing mood.