Candidates participating in the Good Literature and Writing contest organized by the Department of Education and Training of Tan Binh district in October 2024 play folk games before entering the exam room - Photo: H.HG.
Play folk games and write your feelings
On October 16, at the Good Writing Contest organized by the Department of Education and Training of Tan Binh District (HCMC) for secondary school students, the contestants were very surprised when they were asked to... play a folk game.
Nearly 100 contestants spread out all over the school yard, experiencing games like throwing a ball, jumping rope, hopscotch, playing chopsticks, playing hopscotch...
"Those were relaxing and extremely interesting moments. We tried to conquer the games to receive rewards. After finishing playing, I and other candidates were allowed to enter the exam room and do the test. Reading the exam questions, I was even more surprised when the content of the exam questions was related to our experiences when playing folk games" - Tuyet Nhung, a student at Quang Trung Secondary School, said.
Meanwhile, the Good Writing Contest for the 2019-2020 school year organized by the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City caused even more surprises. At the testing site, each candidate was given a black blindfold. They wore the blindfold and experienced finding their way in the dark, then sat at the dining table and had breakfast like a blind person.
In addition, with the intention of letting students listen to the confidences of nature, the contest organizers also let the contestants get lost in a polluted, stuffy area, filled with plastic waste (the contestants still wore blindfolds). Next, the contestants were guided to go to a cool green garden, with lots of trees.
After that unforgettable experience, the students entered the exam room and officially took the test. The exam that year for 6th and 7th graders was: "Love aroused from experiences"; for 8th and 9th graders was: "I experience - I grow up". That year, Bui Ngoc Han - class 9/4, Pham Van Chieu Secondary School, Go Vap District - exclaimed: "The contest gave me a lot of surprises: surprises from the way the exam was conducted, the exam questions, and even the award ceremony".
After playing the folk games, I and other candidates were allowed to enter the exam room and take the test. Reading the exam questions, I was even more surprised when the content of the exam questions was related to our experiences playing the folk games.
Tuyet Nhung (student of Quang Trung Secondary School)
Strong innovation in exam questions
In recent years, along with the policy of innovating the teaching and learning methods of literature in high schools, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training has strongly innovated the way of making entrance exams for grade 10. Even popular contests such as Good Literature and Good Writing, Growing Up with Books... have also been improved according to the above policy. In which, candidates always experience a certain activity before officially taking the exam.
At the Growing Up with Books 2024 contest (organized by the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City), contestants had the opportunity to experience Nguyen Van Binh Book Street, District 1.
"I thought that after listening to the expert's instructions on effective reading methods, we would take the test. But no, the contest organizers gave us money, and the groups discussed, agreed, and went to the book street to choose and buy books to send to friends in Can Gio district (a remote district of Ho Chi Minh City - PV)", a contestant in Phu Nhuan district happily shared.
Similarly, when participating in the Growing Up with Books contest in 2023, all contestants will be taken to visit the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History. Contestants must overcome the challenge of "reading a large page of a book", which are events throughout the process of building and defending the country of our people. They will read history through antiques, exhibitions of paintings, models, data, through the explanations of museum guides... not just reading texts and sentences in books.
Of course, experiential activities are always the intention of the contest organizers. After experiencing the very special "reading" journey as above, the contestants returned to the contest room to design a book with the theme "My history book". The book consists of three main parts: historical imprints, lingering thoughts and emotions, and messages from ancestors.
The Growing Up with Books 2024 exam requires candidates to complete a mini reading diary. In it, they will title the book, decorate the cover, and briefly record the method of quickly reading a book.
* MSc. Tran Tien Thanh (literature specialist, Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, member of the committee that created the questions for the contest "Good Literature and Good Writing", "Growing Up with Books"):
Evoking emotions in students
Organizing for students to experience before taking the exam with specific requirements is the way to help students develop their qualities and abilities. Through many years of innovation in testing methods, I have noticed that students have expressed the breath of life better, more authentically, with less formulaic and empty writing...
Literature must be closely linked to life! This is not only reflected in competitions. Currently, many teachers in Ho Chi Minh City have been organizing field trips for students to experience life... during the teaching process. This is one of the methods to arouse students' emotions, making literature more interesting and useful...
Inspiration for innovative teaching methods
As a teacher who has accompanied her students through many years of taking part in competitions such as Growing Up with Books, Good Literature and Good Writing..., Ms. Doan Xuan Nhung - a literature teacher at Vo Truong Toan Secondary School, District 1 - expressed: "Although these are just grassroots competitions, the way the competitions are organized and the content of the exams like in recent years have created a positive effect.
We are inspired to innovate teaching methods, increase students' experiences, exposure to reality, and the real life happening around them. From there, students learn literature better and love reading more...".
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nhung-cuoc-thi-doc-dao-o-tp-hcm-di-thi-nhu-di-choi-tha-ho-sang-tao-202410210952089.htm
Comment (0)