OE 4 - Meng and clay kitten

Sentence . Phrase . Word .

A routine for capturing what a reader found meaningful from a text. 

Description: The Sentence-Phrase-Word thinking routine helps learners to engage with and make meaning from text with a particular focus on capturing the essence of the text or “what speaks to you”. 

      Meng was about to enter his school when he came across a clay model lying on the pathway. Picking it up, he saw that it was a tiny round-eyed clay kitten, which was clearly the work of skilled hands. He pocketed it with the intention of taking it to the General Office, where the Lost and Found basket was. However, on his way there, he met his friend Raj who had an idea for their Drama Club. So engrossed was Meng in the discussion that the clay kitten totally slipped his mind.

        The morning flew past and soon it was almost time for recess. Meng reached into his pocket for tissue paper and felt the rough texture of the clay kitten. The moment he took it out, the girl who sat next to him pounced on it.

     “So cute!” squealed Sally. Her shrill voice immediately attracted a group of classmates. They clustered around the table to admire the clay kitten with exclamations of surprise at Meng’s talent. Basking in the warmth of his friends’ admiration, Meng hesitated a second before giving a weak smile. He kept quiet, thinking he had not exactly told a lie.

        On his way to the canteen, Meng felt a tap on his shoulder and turned round to see his classmate, Rina. She asked, “Meng, did you really make that clay kitten? I happened to lose a similar one this morning.” Meng’s eyes widened when he realised that she knew the truth. Caught off-guard, he did not know how to respond and thought of an excuse to escape. Mumbling that he had to go somewhere, he walked away quickly. During the lesson after recess, Meng’s teacher had to call his name a few times to catch his attention as Meng was plagued by remorse over the clay kitten incident.

      That night, worry led him to stay up late. Meng considered telling his friends that he had not made the clay kitten, but thought it would be strange to bring up the topic out of the blue. Besides, he would be too embarrassed to face them after that. Perhaps, the least he could do was to tell Rina the truth. Only when he had decided on what to do did he finally fall into a fitful sleep.

      The next day, he caught hold of Rina during recess. “Oh, I’ve known it all along. Don’t worry. I didn’t tell anyone about it,” Rina said reassuringly. With a thankful smile, Meng returned her the clay kitten.

Over the weekend, Meng decided to make a clay model for Rina as he was grateful for her thoughtfulness. Meng thought he could simply follow the video instructions on clay modelling that he had found on the internet, but it took him two laborious days before he could produce a clay lamb that he thought was decent-looking.

      On Monday, at the ring of the bell for recess, Meng took out the clay lamb.

      “So cute!” There was no hiding from Sally nor the rest of the class. Again, those sitting nearby rushed over to have a look at the clay model. Meng’ face heated up and flushed a deep red, but this time he decided to speak up.

     “I didn’t make the clay kitten that you saw last week,” he muttered. “That was Rina’s work, but I did make this clay lamb.” Rina shot him an approving glance and said, “Well, I think you clay lamb is just as cute!” His friends thought so too and passed the clay lamb around to admire it.

      Having cleared the air, Meng’s heart felt lighter. Seeing how his friends gushed over his creation, he experienced a deep sense of satisfaction and wondered why he had not been honest in the first place. Being admired for something he did not do seemed so meaningless now.

      At the canteen, Meng sheepishly handed the clay lamb to Rina who received it with a knowing grin. “Well done!” she said with a twinkle in her eye, and Meng knew she was not just referring to the clay lamb.