CONTENTS

1. A Special Birthday Gift to Mum 1

2. My First Swimming Lesson 4

3. Family Day 7

4. Learning to Share 10

5. French Toast for Breakfast 13

6. Still Good Friends 16

7. Being Wrongly Accused 19

8. The Treasure 22

9. Creative-writing Class 25

10. My Naughty Little Brother 28

11. Overstressed 31

12. Neighbourliness 34

13. My Favourite Dish 37

14. A Disappointment 40

15. Seeking Permission 43

16. Writing Letters 46

17. Being a Librarian 49

18. My Daddy 51

19. A Trip to the Jurong Reptile Park 54

20. Sharing Knowledge with Others 57

21. Pot Luck Lunch 60

22. The Day Santa Cried 63

23. Learning to Rollerblade 66

24. My Twin Sister 68

25. An Embarrassing Incident 71

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26. A Good Deed 74

27. Time is Precious 77

28. A Bad Flu 80

29. The Peanut Story 83

30. A Nightmare 86

31. A Bad-tempered Girl 89

32. A Proud Boy 92

33. My Ambition 95

34. An Unruly Fight 98

35. A Singing Contest 101

36. The Unwelcomed Visitor 104

37. My Favourite Movie 107

38. My New Computer 109

39. Falling into Bad Company 112

40. A Vain Girl 115

41. A Dare Devil Challenge 118

42. Saving a Drowning Boy 121

43. The Obese Boy 124

44. A Painful Lesson 126

45. The Danger of Playing with Fire 129

46. The Day I Fainted 132

47. A Ruined Birthday Present 135

48. A Sleepless Night 138

49. An Infuriated Customer 141

50. A Happy Reunion 144

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A Special Birthday Gift to Mum 1

A Special Birthday A Special Birthday Gift to MumGift to Mum1

Lynn wanted to get a birthday gift for her mother, but her savings were limited.

Write a composition of at least 120 words to describe the gift that Lynn made for her mother. You may make use of the following points:

✠ What Lynn wanted to buy for her mother

✠ Why Lynn did not have enough money

✠ What gift Lynn decided to make for her mother

✠ How Lynn’s mother felt when she saw the gift

Before you begin, construct a mind map to help you plan your story.

too expensive

ten dollars

lipstickbudgetBirthday

Gift

make an apron

Mumloved it

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Primary 4 English Compositions2

MODEL COMPOSITION

“Eight, nine and ten. What can I buy with ten dollars?” Lynn sighed.

Her mother’s birthday was just around the corner and Lynn did not know

what to buy for her. She knew her mother would love a new lipstick. She

noticed that her mother had been going around without any makeup

since she used the last bit of her old lipstick. However, ten dollars was

not enough.

Racking her brains over the gift, Lynn sauntered down the row

of shops near her house. Suddenly, a shop which displayed a sign

‘Mammoth Sale’ caught her attention. As Lynn drew closer to the shop,

she realised that it was a fabric shop. Curious, she decided to take a

look inside.

A wide array of cloth suitable for different uses was on sale. Lynn

caught sight of some cloth for making aprons. “$1 per metre. Such a

good buy!” Lynn thought. She decided to buy two metres and make her

mother an apron.

Back home, Lynn started on her apron-making project. Blessed with

a good memory, Lynn could recall all the steps involved in making the

apron which she had learnt in school last year. When the apron was

completed, Lynn embroidered the words ‘For My Dearest Mummy’ on it.

When Lynn’s mother received her gift on her birthday, tears ran down

her cheeks and she embraced her loving daughter. Never had she been

so touched and happy on her birthday. She liked the apron very much.

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A Special Birthday Gift to Mum 3

Noteworthy Vocabulary

1. racking her brains – thinking hard

2. sauntered – strolled

3. mammoth – very big

4. fabric – cloth

5. array – variety; range

6. embroidered – decorated a piece of cloth with patterns using stitches

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Primary 4 English Compositions4

My FirstMy FirstSwimming LessonSwimming Lesson2

Look at the pictures carefully and write a composition of at least 120 words. You may make use of the following points:

✠ What made you decide to take up swimming

✠ How you felt as your first swimming lesson drew near

✠ What happened during your first swimming lesson

✠ How you enjoyed/did not enjoy the lesson

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My First Swimming Lesson 5

Before you begin, construct a mind map to help you plan your story.

MODEL COMPOSITION

A recent news article about a girl who nearly drowned when she

fell into a large drain reminded me that it is important to learn to swim.

Daddy also felt that swimming is an important skill to learn. Besides, it

is a healthy sport that exercises most of the muscles in the body.

After scouting around for a couple of days, Dad enrolled me in a

swimming class. Filled with excitement and enthusiasm, I pestered

Dad to buy a swimming costume for me. I also did some reading about

the sport.

On my first swimming lesson, I turned up punctually at the Toa

Payoh Swimming Complex. To my delight, I was not alone; I had three

other swim mates too. Waiting for us was, Miss Lee, the Instructor. I

listened attentively but nervously to Miss Lee’s instructions. She told

us to get into the pool and practise our breathing. As most of us were

frightened of immersing our heads in the water, Miss Lee had a hard

time getting us started.

After some initial struggling and swallowing of a few gulps of water, I

was astounded to hear Miss Lee commenting that I have mastered the

skill. We then proceeded to learn to float on the water. After an hour or

so, I was confidently swimming across the pool using the breaststroke.

Dad and Mum were pleasantly surprised at my achievement. It certainly

was a feather in my cap!

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