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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Essay #11- The Shipwreck

Age Group: Lower Primary

It was a school holiday, and John wanted to go on a cruise and island fishing trip. His father, mother and sister all agreed. Unfortunately, the ship capsized in a heavy storm, and they fell into the sea. They floated for a long time time and soon drifted faraway. Soon, they saw an island in the distance and swam towards it.

They saw a cave and went in because that was the only suitable place to sleep in. Father made a fire for the whole family, but then John heard a hissing noise. There was a snake in the cave. They ran out of the cave immediately.

They decided to sleep on the beach, because the snake was still hissing loudly in the cave. When the family slept, they all had wonderful dreams. John dreamt that he built a beautiful tree house with grass for a roof. Father dreamt that he was sleeping comfortably in a cave without snakes. Mother was very hygenic, so she dreamt that she had a nice warm bath. She dreamt that a ship came and rescued them.

In the morning, they told each other their dreams, but Father interrupted them and said that John’s dream was the best. He also said that they should build a treehouse to live in.

That day, they set to work. They used wood instead of grass to make the roof because grass would cave in. At last, after a lot of sawing and hammering, the treehouse was ready, except for the furniture, which they decided to make later.

When the furniture was done, they knew that they had nothing to worry about. From that day onwards, they relaxed and played. Father fished, while Mother swam and the children played catching on the beach. They knew that they had a place to live in happily ever after. They never ever wanted to wave a ship down to rescue them, because they likd the island so much!  


Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Essay #10- A House on Fire

Age Group: Lower Primary

Pitter, patter! John was watering the plants happily in his backyard. He was distracted by a choking smell coming coming from his neighbour’s house, and his neighbour, Mr. Tan, and his family were at the market. John did not know that, and he ran to their house and knocked on their front door, but no one was in the house.

He quickly told his father about what he had seen. His father looked out of the window and saw that Mr. Tan’s house was on fire! He asked the neighbours hurriedly for help in putting out the fire.

All the neighbours arrived carrying buckets of water.  They threw water to put out the fire. People came and went, and always leaving with two empty buckets, but the fire raged on.

They called the fire engine to put out the raging fire, because the fire was too much for them. When the fire engine arrived, the firemen sprayed water on the fire, putting it out.

Fortunately, nobody was hurt, only the wall was slightly damaged. serving as a memory of that fateful day. John became a hero, and Mr. Tan remained grateful to John forever.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Essay #9- An Encounter with a Snake

Age Group: Lower Primary

John was a greedy boy and he would eat anything edible. One sunny afternoon, when John was walking down the path, he saw a tall rambutan tree, bent low from it's fruits. John looked up and he saw bunches of ripe rambutans, waiting to be plucked. He drooled all over his shirt, longing to eat the rambutans.

“I know what!” John exclaimed. He climbed up the tree impatiently, hoping to savour the sweet taste of rambutans in his mouth. He reached for a bunch of sweet, ripe rambutans on a thin branch.

All of a sudden, a snake slithered out from behind the tree trunk! John yelled, “Yikes! Help! Snake!” He dropped the bunch of rambutans and fell off the branch, and with a loud ‘thud’, he landed painfully on his rear! A man saw him fall and called for an ambulance. When the ambulance arrived, the man helped John up the ambulance.

In the hospital, the doctor examined John and told him that he had fractured his leg during the fall. He also told John that he had to keep him under observation for ten days. Feeling miserable that he had a fractured leg and could not walk for a while, John stayed obediently in hospital. Even though John was still greedy, he would never eat another rambutan again.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Essay #8- A Robbery

Age Group: Lower Primary

Mary was alone at home, watching television. Her parents were at a dinner party, and they had told her to sleep early and take care of the house. Mary did not go to bed early. When she was watching her favourite programme, someone knocked on the door. She shouted, “Who is it?” but no one answered. She ran and opend the door.

A surprise awaited her, for standing in front of her were two gruff-looking men! One caught hold of her while the other one tied her up. They used a hankerchief to tie around her mouth so that she could not shout.

Mary struggled but the men threatened to kill her if she tried to escape. Then, they used tools to pry open the drawers. They ransacked Mary’s house and they found a lot of jewellery and valuables.

Just then, Mary’s parents came home. They saw a truck parked outside their house. It surprised them. What surprised them even more was that they found their front door open. They peeped in and saw their house was in a mess. They heard a squealing noise coming from their bedroom. They guessed they must have been robbed, so Mary’s father used his mobile phone to telephone the police.

The police arrived and caught the robbers just in time. The police told Mary’s parents that they were wanted criminals and gave Mary’s parents five thousand dollars as a reward.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Essay #7- The Drowning Incident

Age Group: Lower Primary

It was raining heavily. Sumei was walking next to the canal when she accidentally slipped. The canal was flooded, and the strong current easily swept her away from the blocks of flats she live in. she tried to shout for help, for she did not know how to swim, but the place was deserted.

No one saw her, except for a little stray dog, who jumped immediately into the canal to save her. She was about to lose her consciousness, when she felt herself being pulled onto a pavement.

She was awoken by something licking her face. When she opened her eyes, she saw a little dog, and a crowd had formed around the dog and her. They had seen how the little dog had saved her life, and they were astonished. Sumei’s mother kept the dog, and they showered it with love and what it needed most – food. 

Friday, January 7, 2011

Essay #6- Bees and Wasps

Age Group:  Lower Primary 

            In many ways, bees and wasps are similar. They are both insects, Like other insects, their bodies are divided into three parts: the head, the thorax and the abdomen. They have three pairs of legs and one pair of antennae. They all have a sting and strong jaws. Some of them live in colonies, but most of them live alone.

            However, in many ways, a bee differs from a wasp. A bee has heavy rounded body, whereas the wasp has a thin body. It’s very hard to see a bee’s waist, but a wasp has a thin waist that you can see easily. A bee has a lot of hair on its body, whereas the wasp has not much hair on its body. A bee feeds on nectar while the wasp feeds on insects.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Essay #5- Squirrels and Mice

Age Group: Lower Primary

            In many ways, squirrels and mice are the same. They are both mammals. Like other mammals, they have a coat of fur to keep themselves warm. They have four limbs and sharp teeth for gnawing. They also live in hollows or holes and have long tails.

            However, in some ways, squirrel differs from a mouse. A squirrel has a thick coat of hair, but a mouse has a thin coat of hair. The squirrel’s tail is long and bushy, whereas the mouse’s tail is long and thin. The squirrel eats nuts and acorns. while the mouse eats bread, grain rice and almost anything. The squirrel lives in a hollow of a tree, whereas the mouse lives in a hole in a building. And the squirrel stores food for the winter but the mouse does not.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Essay #4- The Chaotic Elephant

Age Group: Lower Primary

The sound of circus music drifted out of a white tent on a field. The elephant act had started! The ringmaster led the elephant into the circus ring. “And now, Emily, the elephant, will balance on this small, strong block!” the ringmaster announced. The spectators, who were mostly children, cheered loudly. Suddenly, an aroma of ripe fruits came drifting into the tent.

            Emily longed to eat the fruits, and somehow or other, she broke free. She trumpeted as she thundered out of the ring and into the streets. The spectators were terrified, and they all ran out of the tent. It was chaotic, everyone was panicking. The ringmaster raised his voice, trying to calm the people, but the shouts and screams of the audience drowned out his voice.

            Emily stomped straight to the market, making a terrible noise. She started guzzling down the fruits heartily. The audience that had seen her at the market surrounded the market. The ringmaster hurriedly contacted the police.

            The police came and ran after the chaotic elephant. The police shot Emily with a tranquiliser, making her unconscious. The crowd that had gathered around them sighed with relief. At last, they managed to put the elephant back into her cage. They thanked the police.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Essay #3- An Autobiography of a Dog

Age Group: Lower Primary

Hi! I am a puppy who was born in an Australian pet shop. My mother is a golden retriever. I am a male puppy. I was born on 22nd January 2000. I was sent to Singapore when I was about three months old. I was curious about the world, so I did not really mind leaving my mother.

When I reached the pet shop, the owner of the pet shop gave me some food to eat and some water to drink. I enjoyed talking to other dogs at the pet shop. One day, a man with spectacles came into the shop. The minute he set his eyes on me, he wanted me. I knew I was ready for a new home.

When I got to my new home, I was exactly four months old. My owners loved me a lot. There were three girls, one eight years old, one seven years old and the youngest was five. The oldest one often played with me. The second girl liked to give me rubs on my stomach. The youngest one and her mummy were afraid to come near me.

Once, their cousin sat on my cage and the cage was dented. It was very funny.

Now, I am two years old and my owners love me and I still get rubs on my tummy from the children. They think that I’m part of the family too! I am in all the family photos. 

Monday, January 3, 2011

Essay #2- The Burglary

Age Group: Lower Primary

One night, when Tom was taking a stroll around his neighbourhood, he saw a shadowy figure climbing over his neighbour, Mr. Lim’s wall. Mr. Lim was a very rich and generous man. Tom thought, “This can’t be Mr. Lim! He doesn’t stay up so late! He should be asleep already!” It came into his mind that it could be a burglar! The burglar was carrying what looked like an empty sack.

Tom quickly went to the nearest telephone booth and dialed ‘999’ for the police station. He reported to the police everything that he had seen and the address of the house. The police reached the scene in no time.

The police set up an ambush for the burglar. When the burglar climbed slowly down the tree, the police surrounded the burglar and arrested the burglar.

The burglar was forced to remove his mask and it turned out to be Mr. Lim’s ex-employee! Mr. Lim’s ex-employee was angry at Mr. Lim for firing him and decided to get back at him. He was also jealous because Mr. Lim had a lot of money and refused to pay him more money when he fired him. When they got the truth from the employee, they drove him back to the police station. The next day, Tom received a silver plate with a description of what he did engraved on it and a letter, saying, “A good neighbour deserves a reward!” He knew who it was from!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Essay #1- A Centipede in the Classroom

Age Group: Lower Primary

            Every time I see a centipede, I will remember that incident…….

            We were having our Mathematics lesson when Rani suddenly stood up and screamed. She looked very frightened. Mrs. Su, our Mathematics teacher, asked her what had happened. In response, Rani just looked down at her schoolbag.

            All of us looked at her schoolbag too. There was a large centipede crawling on the floor near Rani’s schoolbag. Rani’s face was very pale, and she looked as if she was going to faint. Mrs. Su said, “I know what to do!”

            Mrs. Su quickly took off her high-heeled shoe and used it to squash the centipede. “Squelch!” went the centipede and Mrs. Su swept it into the dustbin. Mrs. Su called Rani’s father and mother. She told them she was in a state of shock.

            Rani’s parents thanked Mrs. Su and invited her to a “dinner and dance” party! Mrs. Su happily accepted their invitation.