Dear Teachers,
The CALSDA office is buzzing with excitementwith the International recognition that CALSDA has received from The Society of Teachers of Speech and Drama(STSD),United Kingdom.
The Teachers Diploma of The Colombo Academy of Language Skills and Dramatic Art has been recognized as a qualification to receive the Full International Membership of The Society of Teachers of Speech and Drama (STSD), United Kingdom. The Board of Managementand the Panel of Examinersof CALSDA are delighted that the high quality of the Teacher’s Diploma that CALSDA offers has received International recognition.
Please note the new CALSDA email address:
We are now receiving entries for the second session of Practical and Theory Examinations for this year. Please refer the official closing dates and forward your entries to our office at your earliest convenience in order for us to process the entries to suit your date preferences.
PRACTICAL EXAMINATIONS 2014
Second Session
Period of Examinations - September -December 2014
Official closing date of entries- 8th August 2014
THEORY EXAMINATIONS 2014
Second Session
Date of Examinations - Saturday 18th October 2014
Official closing date of entries - 8th August 2014
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CLOSING DATES FOR THE THEORY EXAMINATIONS WILL BE STRICTLY ADHERED TO.LATE ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED (AFTER THE OFFICIAL CLOSING DATE) ONLY UP TO ONE WEEK AFTER THE CLOSING DATE. ENTRY FORMS AND BANK SLIPS SHOULD REACH THE CALSDA OFFICE NOT LATER THAN ONE WEEK AFTER THE OFFICIAL CLOSING DATE OF ENTRIES.
Please collect all the certificates and cups of your Prize Winners who were unable to attend the CALSDA Prize Givings held this year from our office during our office hours - 9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. Monday to Friday.
A Diamante poem is a seven-lined contrast poem set up in a diamond shape.
The first line begins with a noun/subject, and second line contains two adjectives that describe the noun/subject on the first line. The third line contains three words ending in -ing relating to the noun/subject. The forth line contains two words that describe the noun/subject and two that describe the closing synonym/antonym. If you are using an antonym for the ending, this is where the shift should occur. In the fifth line there are three more -ing words describing the ending antonym/synonym, and the sixth line has two more adjectives describing the ending antonym/synonym.
The last line ends with the first noun's antonym or synonym.
To make it a bit simpler, here is a guideline:
Line 1: Noun or subject
Line 2: Two Adjectives describing the first noun/subject
Line 3: Three -ing words describing the first noun/subject
Line 4: Four words: two about the first noun/subject, two about the antonym/synonym
Line 5: Three -ing words about the antonym/synonym
Line 6: Two adjectives describing the antonym/synonym
Line 7: Antonym/synonym for the subject
An example of an antonym Diamante Poem:
Dreams
Delightful, wonderful
Exciting, daring, fascinating
Kings, queens, monsters, giant skittels
Raging, horrifying, terrifying
Vicious, horrible
Nightmares.
An example of a synonym Diamante Poem:
Monsters
Creepy, sinister
Hiding, lurking, stalking
Vampires, werewolves, mummies and zombies
Chasing, pouncing, eating
Hungry, scary
Creatures.
IMPROVISATION DRAMA GAMES
Improvisation drama games are a creative way to entertain children while teaching them.
Games can be played in small groups with the teacher suggesting the scenes or problem that the children must work together to solve.
By asking your students to use their imagination in creating dramatic situations, to use props in different ways and to use popular themes, the games can be played many times while maintaining the interest of the children. Late For School
The Late For School dramatic-improvisation game is for four or more children. Two (or more) children pretend to be students in a class. One child plays the role of the teacher, and another plays a student who is running late. The late student has to improvise a dramatic scene explaining why he is late for school and how he eventually arrived. The actors do this by watching the actions of the other children (playing the part of students) who mime dramatic situations that the late student must explain.
Freeze With A Prop
In Freeze With A Prop, the teacher places a box full of props in front of a group of children in the class. The first student must picks up a prop and use it in a dramatic but unusual way. The main rule of the game is that each prop has to become something else, so a broom can be used for something other than sweeping. After a minute, another child taps the first student on the shoulder. The first student freezes, and the next child takes over and begins using the prop in an entirely different manner. This continues until all the children have used the prop twice. A new prop then is selected.
Superheroes
Superheroes is another dramatic-improvisation game. Each student makes up the name of his or her own superhero and decides on the powers the superhero wields. The teacher suggests a situation that has occurred and a problem the superheroes must solve. The superheroes must work together and combine their powers to solve the problem.
WRITER’S PROFILE
Calef Brown
Calef Brown is a contemporary American children’s poet, writer and illustrator. He is the author of the No. 1 New York Times best-seller ‘Flamingos on the Roof — Poems and Paintings’ (2006).
Brown’s childhood had been spent in many parts of the United States such as Vermont, Manhattan, Philadelphia and Boston. He had studied at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He started his career creating art for magazines such as Newsweek, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Time, and Travel + Leisure.
He has become interested in children’s books because he wanted to create something of his own that would unite art and text in imaginative flights of fantasy that would have a longer shelf life than the magazines that he was contributing to.
Brown has created many colorful and character filled collections of work. Some of his books include He is the author and illustrator of Polkabats and Octopus Slacks: 14 Stories(1998), a collection of story poems that won the Marion Vannett Ridgeway Award for Poetry; Dutch Sneakers and Fleakeepers: 14 More Stories(2000), a Parents’ Choice Recommended Winner; Tippintown: A Guided Tour(2003); Flamingoes on the Roof: Poems and Paintings(2006), winner of the Myra Cohn Livingston Award for Poetry and a 2007 Children’s Book Council Choice; Soup for Breakfast: Poems and Pictures(2008); and Hallowilloween: Nefarious Silliness(2010).
In addition to his success with his work in children’s literature, Brown still contributes covers and art work for periodicals. He has taught illustration at the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and the Maine College of Art in Portland.
According to his website, his favorite place in the world is India. Four of his many books were written during his visits there.
Combo Tango! by Calef Brown
Dance lesson number one.
The Combination Tango.
Listen to the lingo.
This is how the steps go:
Boogie to the banjo.
Bop to the bongo.
Freeze like an igloo.
Stomp like a buffalo.
Drop like a yo-yo.
Swing like a golf pro.
Flip like a hairdo.
Tumble like a domino.
Swivel on your kneecap.
Wobble like a mud flap
Take a little catnap.
Do it all again!
Birthday LightsbyCalef Brown
Light bulbs on a birthday cake.
What a difference that would make!
Plug it in and make a wish,
then relax and flip a switch!
No more smoke
or waxy mess
to bother any birthday guests.
But Grampa says, “it’s not the same!
Where’s the magic?
Where’s the flame?
To get your wish without a doubt,
You need to blow some candles out!”
A GOOD POEM
by Tom Zart
A good poem paints a picture
For both your heart and brain.
It doesn't need a second chance
To make its meaning plain.
A good poem is like the flower
The lily or the rose.
God plants it in a poet's brain
And there its beauty grows.
A good poem like a cardinal
Is pregnant with song
You can't help but hear its message
As it sings what's right or wrong.
A good poem helps us remember
What the joys of life are for
It makes us want to love someone
Till death comes knocking at our door.
Tongue Twisters
Tongue twisters are known to help develop speech skills and widely used in speech therapy.Here are some tongue twisters for you to try out in your classes.
- Do tongue twisters twist your tongue?
- An ape hates grape cakes.
- Friendly Fleas and Fire Flies.
- I saw a saw that could out saw any other saw I ever saw.
- A box of mixed biscuits, a mixed biscuit box.
- Penny's pretty pink piggy bank.
- Freshly-fried fat flying fish.
- Crisp crusts crackle and crunch.
- Six slippery snails, slid slowly seaward.
- Sounding by sound is a sound method of sounding sounds.
- If two witches were watching two watches,
which witch would watch which watch?
A WAY WITH WORDS
Just look at the words below. Doesn't make any sense, does it? Now sit back and try to read the text. The text will explain itself.
EVERYONE NEEDS A LAUGH !
TEACHER: Tommy, where is your book ?
TOMMY: It’s at home, ma’am.
TEACHER: And what is it doing there?
TOMMY: Having more fun than me!
…………………………………………………………...
TEACHER: Sam, what is the outside of a tree called ?
SAM: I don’t know.
TEACHER: Bark,Sam. Bark.
SAM: Bow, wow, wow!
TEACHER SUPPORT MATERIAL
A series of work books, past question papers, a CD of vocabulary pronunciation (Grades Introductory to Six), specimen Spoken English passages for reading, re-telling and listening comprehension are available for sale at the CALSDA office. For revised rates of the books available, please check with the office staff. These materials can be purchased between 9.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. Monday to Friday.
………………………… ………………………….
Varuni Jayasekara Zulfika Musafer
Executive Director Director of Examinations
For and on behalf of the Board of Management