Unit 7: Blogging (Our Garden)
In this unit, pupils follow a class blog about replanting a school garden. They read blog entries about pulling weeds, finding a nesting bird, and discovering a mimosa plant and a fern. They write notices, study homophones and the spelling rule 'i before e', and learn the Past Continuous Tense. They also read an excerpt from Oliver Twist.
Mr. Ramesh's class is replanting the school garden. Blog entries by Kinah, Pravin, Nurul, and Kim Seng:
Mr. Ramesh explained how to clean the garden: pull rocks and stones to the corner, stack the pots next to the wall, lay the path, loosen the soil with spades or trowels, lastly make the flower beds.
Pravin took a photograph of the garden before they started — Mr. Ramesh praised him.
The class wanted to create a garden that looks like the picture they planned.
On 20 June, the pupils discovered something interesting in the garden:
Two birds were chirping loudly while the pupils were weeding under a tree.
Suddenly Nurul was screaming and running towards them, pointing at a rose bush.
They thought it was a snake and stayed far away.
Mr. Ramesh rose from the bush smiling, holding a nestling in his handkerchief.
It must have fallen from its nest. He climbed a ladder and put it back.
The adult birds chirped louder — they were worried about their baby. Mr. Ramesh is a kind person who has sympathy for those in need.
On 15 June, the pupils discovered two interesting plants:
| Mimosa plant | Also called a shy plant — its fine leaflets close quickly when touched. Has sharp thorns on its stem. Has pink or yellow flowers. | |
| Fern | Grows from spores. One of the oldest plants on earth. Over 10,000 species of ferns in the world. | |
Kinah wrote a notice to inform visitors that she will be away on a holiday:
Heading/Subject: NOTICE — Away on A Holiday (18 August)
Content: 'This is to inform all friends and visitors to Our Garden that I shall be away on a holiday starting tomorrow. I shall be back on 25 August. My cousin, Jelini, will take over my garden duties while I am away.'
Sign off: Kinah (Owner of Our Garden)
Topic ideas: Things to bring for arts and craft lesson; Changes to the examination dates; Collection of homework.
Spelling rule: 'i' before 'e', except after 'c', when the sound is 'ee'.
Examples (i before e): brief, piece, believe, handkerchief, thief
Examples (e before i after c): receive, receipt, deceive
Other (e before i): ceiling, weighing
Fill in: There is a f___ld next to our garden. (field)
Homophones are words with the same sound but different meanings. Some have the same spelling.
| two / to / too | two = a number; to = towards; too = also | |
| their / there | their = belonging to them; there = a place | |
| rose (flower) / rose (past of rise) | This is a rose plant. / A few minutes later, he rose from the bush. | |
| brake / break | We will brake if we do not water them. / We break the pots when stacking them. | |
The Past Continuous Tense shows continuous actions happening in the past. Form: was/were + verb-ing.
'was' is the past of 'am' and 'is'; 'were' is the past of 'are'.
At 7 o'clock, the pupils were pulling out the weeds.
At 9 o'clock, the pupils were carrying rocks and stones.
At 11 o'clock, the pupils were stacking the pots.
Example: A bird (chirp) in the bush → A bird was chirping in the bush.
Adapted from 'Graphic Dickens: Oliver Twist', retold by Hilary Burningham:
Mrs. Maylie and everyone in her house moved to a countryside cottage for the summer.
Look up the words: countryside, cottage, summer.
The countryside cottage was a happy place for Oliver.
Pupils discuss why Oliver was happy there.
A blog is a website where people share regular updates (called entries or posts). Mr. Ramesh's class used a blog called 'Our Garden' to record their gardening journey — including the day they saved a fallen nestling!
Homophones sound the same but have different meanings (rose/rose, two/to/too). The Past Continuous Tense (was/were + verb-ing) shows actions that were ongoing in the past — 'At 7 o'clock, the pupils were pulling out the weeds.'
Spelling rule: 'i' before 'e', except after 'c', when the sound is 'ee' — e.g. 'piece', 'believe' (i before e); 'receive', 'receipt' (e before i after c).
📝 Kosa Kata
The mimosa plant is also called the 'shy plant' because its leaflets close quickly when touched! This movement is called 'thigmonasty' — the plant folds its leaves to protect itself from harm. Ferns are even more amazing: they are one of the oldest plants on Earth, with over 10,000 species, and they grow from tiny spores instead of seeds!
Uji Minda!
18 soalan • Boleh buat!