Strategise and hone your reading and writing skills

We all want our kids to read more and write better, but every now and then, unwittingly, these 2 habits are put on the backburner. Reasons that look justified: the child has exams, the child is enrolled in a lot of classes, the child has a lot of school work, and so on.

When we take away a storybook due to school work, we teach the kids that reading is not a fundamental habit to develop and it's something to do when only we have a lot of free time that would otherwise go into T.V. or video games. When storybooks are used as better substitutes for screen time, reading doesn't develop as a life skill, as a habit. 

Research shows that children must read something for fun - this is very different from the study- for at least 15 minutes a day and they must write something for fun - which is again very different from the studies- for at least 15 minutes a day. Fun reading and fun writing for oneself have a very positive effect on the brain. This as a habit keeps us tuned to the entire process. Of course, you don't win a marathon in the middle of a school year if you walk/run only during the vacations.

What to read quickly: 

Just a passage or a paragraph, if not a complete story

A short comic story

A short paragraph from an encyclopedia

An article from a magazine or newspaper

What to write quickly:

A paragraph on grandfather's narration of one of his past experiences

A new ending to an old classic story

A paragraph with a very random and enticing sentence

A fresh perspective (If I were a dining table)

Taking a break from fun reading and fun writing is detrimental to the organic process of creativity, imagination, language memory, flow, formatting, summary skills, and most importantly -  confidence.

Kids cannot have interest in and sustained focus while reading when reading becomes a holiday reading. Kids who don't write for fun every day find it difficult to suddenly show their best creativity when an exam or a competition demands it.

Fun reading and fun writing are as primary as bathing and brushing teeth every day. Some time management is all we need. Again, it's important to raise readers and writers who can read and write well into their adulthood. 

Syllabication

A syllable is that part of the word that contains 1 vowel sound irrespective of the number of vowels.

For example, ‘cat’ has 1 syllable as it has one vowel sound /æ/ (monophthongs). Similarly, ‘deer’ has 1 syllable as it has one vowel sound / ɪə/ (diphthong).

‘Snake’ is also a 1-syllable word as it has one vowel sound / eɪ/ (diphthong)

‘Camel’ is a 2-syllable word as it has two vowel sounds /æ/ and /ə/

‘Crocodile’ is a 3-syllable word as it has three vowel sounds /ɒ/, /ə/ and /aɪ/

Notice that number of vowels doesn't decide the number of syllables in a word.

Why learn syllabication?

1.   Better spelling

Understanding of syllables and syllabication helps us learn the spellings of big words faster.

2.   Better pronunciation

Once we know that ‘lion’ is a 1-syllable word (/laɪn/), we will not pronounce it as laa-yun

3.   Better grammar

The same word can be a noun or a verb depending on which syllable of the word is the stress point. For example, PRE-sent (prezənt) is a noun/adjective, while pre-SENT (prɪzent) is a verb

4.   Better accent

English is all about stress points. Stress points in words and sentences are very important to communicate the speaker’s intentions effectively and correctly.

(Note for parents: If you often feel that while you can understand what your on-shore boss says, he doesn't understand what you say, then you should learn syllabication and stress points.)

Cyber Safety

Be CyberSmart:

1.    Be nice no matter how much something irks you. Ignore nasty posts or comments. Don't ‘fix’ people online.

2.    Don't write hate mails. Don't threaten anyone.

3.    A post can be traced to your laptop. You are not that anonymous on the internet.

4.    Internet has an indefinite memory. Don't write something thinking it will evaporate in sometime.

5.    Don't create fake IDs ever.

6.    Alert your friends if you notice multiple accounts with their pictures. Ask them to do the same for you.

7.    Cyber bullying and hacking are not fun; they are, in fact, illegal. You don't want to get jailed, right?

8.    Don't share nude pictures with ANYONE.

9.    Don't be frank about your political views. Don't be racist or sexist.

10.Don't believe the DPs and names. They can be fake

11.Don't befriend coolguy19 or hotchick16 unless you know them well personally.

12.Don't share your account passwords with anyone but your parents

13.Don't meet people befriended online, no matter how many common friends you have.

14.Don't share your phone number, home address and school details.

15.Don't share other personal details like parents’ names, work, their credit card PIN

16.Don't visit porn-sites. Don't think that deleting history will help. What you search reflects in ‘suggested for you’

17.Keep your parents aware of your online activities. They can protect you better if they are aware.

18.You hide the wrong things from your parents, don’t you?

Stress-points in English

Stress-points

English is not a flat language. English speaking is all about stress-points (SPs): SPs inside the words and SPs inside the sentences. Without maintaining the SPs, meanings of the words as well as the sentences can change significantly. SPs decide the meanings as well as pronunciations.

Example:

‘Present’ is a 2-syllable word. Both syllables cannot be sounded at the same pitch; that is, the word cannot be monotone.

When the first syllable /pre/ is sounded with a higher pitch, it is used as a noun or an adjective. It’s pronounced as prezənt

Give me the presents. (noun)

In the present situation, you should save more. (adjective)

However, when the second syllable /sent/ is sounded with a higher pitch, it is used as a verb. It’s pronounced as prɪzent

I will present this award to her. (verb)

All words with more than 1 syllable follow SP rules. Without following the rules, either the pronunciation or the grammar or both will be wrong.

In a sentence, which word is stressed can change the entire meaning. Try saying these saying sentences with more volume at the words in bold and you’ll see:

I helped him yesterday.

I helped him yesterday.

I helped him yesterday.

I helped him yesterday.

Try saying this sentence:

It’s made of wood.

·      If you’ve said /it/ with high pitch, it’s wrong because if /it/ carried the significant intention in the sentence, it wouldn't be contracted with /is/

·      If you’ve said the word /of/ as complete /of/, it’s wrong, because in a sentence like this a preposition cannot carry the SP.

·      If you've said /made/ with high pitch, it’s wrong because if the writer meant to emphasize more on that aspect of being /made/, then /it/ and /is/ wouldn't be contracted together and /is/ would be the SP

Thus, /wood/ is the logical SP of the sentence and thus the sentence will be:

ɪtz meɪd əv wʊd

(Notice the pronunciation of /of/ in a sentence like this)

Stress-Points are very important. Without them, our spoken English may be completely wrong.

Story writing tips

Tips to enrich your story writing style:

1.   Think before you start writing: Think of the theme, genres, paragraph divisions, and characters before you begin to write. Spend 5 minutes on this. It will maintain the gestalt and length of the story and prevent you from having to re-write or end abruptly. You do not want to start with 'Potato' and end with 'Pluto'.

2.   Keep a mix of different types of sentences (short simple sentence, long simple sentence, compound sentence, complex sentence): Do not tend to overuse and/or continuously repeat a particular type. If there are too many simple short sentences coming one after the other, see if they can be joined to make a complex sentence. (Complex, not complicated)

3.   Give thoughts to your paragraphs: Your paragraphs should look connected. If you need to introduce a totally unrelated character in the process, give the readers a break in thoughts by using phrases like “in the meanwhile, somewhere far away from the village” or “while everyone was happily enjoying in the palace, a wicked witch in a remote jungle felt angry” etc. Change the paragraphs when there is a pause, a big time-leap, or a change of scene. Paragraphs are also changed to give a breather/pause to the reader.

4.   Think before using ‘and’, ‘so’, ‘then’: Take a pause before you write these words. Ask yourself if it’s necessary to use them. Avoid repeating them.

5.   Think before using 1^st and 2^nd person pronouns: Before using ‘I’, ‘you’ and ‘we’, ask yourself if you’re writing a dialogue. If someone is talking to someone there, use dialogue grammar appropriately.

6.   Maintain consistency of details: Do not spend so much space on the detailed description of one aspect, that you’ve to hastily cover the other aspects. Try to explain everything to the same extent. The aspects that you value more should be detailed more.

7.   Use idioms and proverbs: Replace ‘It rained so heavily’ with ‘It rained cats and dogs’. Replace ‘He is bragging’ with ‘He is blowing his own trumpet.’ But not too much.

8.   Use richer words: Avoid modifying all nouns and adjectives with ‘very’. Replace ‘He is very confused’ with ‘He is perplexed’. Learn root-words. Replace ‘He is an eye doctor’ with ‘He is an ophthalmologist’. Work on your vocabulary. Take one word per day and try to use it in various ways while thinking, talking, and/or writing. Have fun with a word every day.

9.   Read more: Read more stories to enrich ‘how to write’. Read more encyclopedias to enrich ‘what to write’. Better fund of information prevents errors while writing, and also gives depth to stories. For example, to write a fantasy story on aliens, one must know that aliens are creatures from outside the earth.

More:

1.   Write a draft/index before you begin the actual story. Check your introduction, narration, and conclusion.

2.   Be mindful of the timeline of your story.

3.   Do not end your story abruptly.

4.   Give characters names and personalities according to the period and culture your story is set in.

5.   Connect with your characters.

6.   Do not write the words as they come to your mind.