Many interesting genres!

As explained by workshop co-ordinator, Ms Quah Hwee Loo, “We do have library promotional activities, like a readership award per semester for each level and librarian award per month in recognition of their contribution to the library. However we want to do more to promote the school library and increase interest in reading, especially for the Upper Primary, as it’s harder to interest the P5 and P6 students; the lower Primary students are still ok.”

Conducting the workshop on 19 June at the School Library Media Resource Room were NLBA Trainers Zubaidah Mohsen and Faridah Ibrahim. They spoke on the many genres of fiction including Fractured Fairy Tales which are traditional tales told with a new perspective and a contemporary twist, Pourquoi Tales, from French word ‘why’, which explains the way things are especially in nature, and Contemporary Realistic Fiction which relates real world situations involving bullies, separation anxiety, new sibling rivalry etc.

Mdm Tang Li Koon, Mother Tongue (Chinese) Teacher, exclaimed, “This workshop is great! It introduced so many different varieties of books! I didn’t know there were so many!” Agreeing, Sharlynn Tan added, “I’ve learnt a lot about the different genres.”

Ms Tan, English / Maths / Science Teacher, was interested in the wordless books in particular, as were all the teacher librarians. “I can’t wait to introduce the wordless books to the students! This can generate a lot of creativity in them!”

Creative book review!

Added Maslinda Samuri, English Teacher, “I’m now thinking of what to do with the students with all those books that were introduced, especially picture books and wordless books.” Ms Samuri also attended the Library Symposium in Woodlands Regional Library recently. She commented that although there were similar topics covered, overall this workshop was good as it included practical hands on session for them to discover and learn more.

Storyboarding.

Creating further buzz was the Group Activity & Presentation which included creating a Book Review, Storyboarding, and a Book Web. Mrs Devi Maninaran, Mother Tongue (Tamil) Teacher, enthused, “This workshop gave me ideas on how to present book reviews in a creative manner using pop-up art materials. I especially like the idea of using tangrams for storyboard writing, as children can be creative in constructing stories. This is the first time the school has organised such a workshop. Previously there was a lack in ideas on how to keep the children engaged in reading. Now I have many ideas!”