Sharon Ang nurturing young readers at Scholar's I.N.C.
For kids to really learn to enjoy reading, they sometimes need a mentor to guide them and awaken their imagination.
This week,
we're featuring one of our affiliated educators who has many years of experience
both entertaining as well as educating children.
She's
SHARON ANG, theatre instructor and academic coach, and also our Super Cool
Books Reading Ambassador. Thanks to her, more kids have been exploring our Sherlock Hong and Diary of Young Justice Bao story worlds, while improving their
communication and creative skills at the same time.
Sharon is
currently the Dean of English at Scholar's I.N.C., where she also teaches
Literature and Creative Writing. After she received her BA (Drama) from the Queensland
University of Technology, she spent over a decade creating Literature and Drama
in Education workshops at both Primary and Secondary school levels. Her
sessions are conducted in a lively and motivating style, with a focus on skills
and student development. To date, all her school productions for the SYF Drama
competitions have earned medals for the respective schools.
We've included her contact details below, if you'd like to get
in touch with her for Story Talks this year (Storytelling, Book Talk, Creative
Writing, etc).
ENTER
SHARON ANG
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What do
you enjoy about the SCB stories?
The
stories revolve around fascinating characters that children can relate to. I
personally like the approach of using a sense of mystery as well as adventure
to create an initial interest. The strong element of national heritage in the
Sherlock Hong and Time Talisman series also adds value to the experience. So the stories not only
provide reading pleasure but also create a learning journey for children. The
stories make them curious about a time in the past that was crucial in shaping
the Singapore society that we have today.
What's
your personal approach to developing literacy?
Cultivating
the love of the written word is a long but fulfilling process. A book with good
characters, plots and themes that can spark an interest will definitely propel
children to read more on their own. It appeals to their investigative nature
and hence makes the learning process a self-motivated one. Also, as a mother of
an 11 year old myself, I am a firm believer, when it comes to parenting, in the
'lead by example' approach, be it reading newspapers at the breakfast table, or
winding down at the end of the day next to your child with a good book.
What can
parents do to help their kids enjoy reading?
You can
start by setting monthly themes at home. Just pick a topic and allow your child
to explore different books within this field. It can be related to their school
work, or a personal interest like Art or Animation or Animals. At the end of
the month, get them to tell you about what they've learnt. In this way it
becomes a chance to bond through sharing book reviews. Try it, it's fun!
What activities have you developed around our Super Cool Books stories?
Creative
writing has been my top priority. After being inspired by a good story, kids
will want to create something of their own, and this is a good opportunity to
help them hone their writing skills. Drama workshops and story-telling courses
are also useful, to equip children with the confidence to use their voices and
express themselves. Role-playing has especially been known to help children
become better at problem-solving, simply by getting them to step out from a
first person's point of view and adopt a second or even third person's
perspective. I'm looking forward to bringing these programmes to more kids
around Singapore and also across the region.
How can
readers and parents get in touch with you for more information?
Please
feel free to email me with any questions you may have regarding the books, or
developing literacy, or being a reading mentor. I look forward to interacting
with all of you!
Contact details:
Ms Sharon Ang
mobile: (+65) 9723 9129
email: sharonangpresents@gmail.com
Scholar's I.N.C.
1 Rochor Canal Road #06-03
Sim Lim Square
tel: 6339 3075
Ms Sharon Ang
mobile: (+65) 9723 9129
email: sharonangpresents@gmail.com
Scholar's I.N.C.
1 Rochor Canal Road #06-03
Sim Lim Square
tel: 6339 3075
