Grammar is the core of learning any language. It sets the foundation in children to develop their linguistic skills. It simply means to have a greater command by being able to listen, speak, read, and write the language eloquently and be a confident communicator. Parts of speech is one out of the many facets of English grammar. Under parts of speech too, there are several components from which we will learn the very first one today, ‘Nouns’.

Words that define names of people, places, things, a state, or a quality are known as ‘Nouns’. The classification of nouns can be into two forms, singular and plural. Given below are types of nouns with some examples.

1. Proper Noun

A person’s name or the name of a place, institution, or a company is known as a proper noun. It is more personalised and always starts with a capital letter.

E.g., Adnan – Name of a person

E.g., United Arab Emirates (UAE) – Name of a country

E.g., Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – Name of an institution

2. Common Noun

It is used as a general name of something such as a person, place, or an object.

E.g., Dr. Amjad Khan hails from the Middle East and is currently practicing in Dubai. He is an amazing doctor and is well-known in the city.

In the above sentence, the common nouns are doctor and city whereas Dr. Amjad Khan, Middle East and Dubai are proper nouns.

An easy differentiator between common and proper noun is to check, ‘What is it’ for a common noun and ‘What is the name’ for a proper noun. E.g., It is the best mall in Dubai. So, ‘what’ is the ‘mall’ which is general in nature and if you ask, ‘What is the name’, the answer will be ‘Dubai Mall’ is the best mall in Dubai. So, ‘Dubai Mall’ is the proper noun which is specific in nature.

3. Collective Noun

A noun used to describe a group of people, animals or things is called a collective noun.

E.g., New Zealand team, executive committee, achievers squad, angelic choir

In the above sentence, team, committee, squad, and choir are collective nouns. Collective nouns can be in singular or plural form.

E.g., The choir ‘is’ going to perform at 8 a.m.

E.g., The girls in the choir ‘are’ dressed beautifully.

In the above two examples, note the ‘is’ and the ‘are’ which have reference to the same word ‘choir’ but it depends on the meaning of the sentence and the words are used in singular or plural accordingly.

4. Abstract Noun

This category of nouns is used to describe an idea or a concept, a quality, or a condition of something. Abstract nouns do not have any physical entity which means you cannot see and touch them.

E.g., Love, Friendship, Happiness, Resilience, Perseverance, Forgiveness

5. Material Noun

When we use a name to mention any kind of materials or substances that is known as a material noun. It is something that is felt by our senses.

E.g., Ayesha bought gold today from the Dubai Gold Souk.

In the above sentence, gold is a material noun whereas Dubai Gold Souk is a proper noun.

6. Concrete Noun

The names that are used for tangible or material things that have a physical existence which we can see and touch are known as concrete nouns.

E.g., Chair, Bed, Music Player, Car

E.g., Electric cars are being launched across the globe in the present age.

In the above sentence, ‘cars’ is a collective noun.

8. Uncountable Noun

These are the nouns that cannot be counted and cannot have a plural form.

E.g., Water Food Music

9. Verbal Noun

These nouns are derived from verbs but in actual they do not have the properties or the action of the verb.

E.g., amazing cooking

E.g., beautiful stitching

E.g., excellent driving

The -ing words cooking, stitching, and driving are verbal nouns and not actual verbs.

10. Compound Noun

When a noun is made up of two or more than two words, it is known as a compound noun. These are usually two separate words that align together as one word with a hyphen in between or more than two words come together, connected with the hyphen. In some cases, there is no hyphen in the words joint together.

E.g., fair-skinned

E.g., father-in-law

E.g., face-off

E.g., babysitter

E.g., boyfriend

E.g., bandwagon

Certain compound nouns can be made into plural form but it is not necessary that the ‘s’ is added only at the end of the word. The ‘s’ could be added at the end of the first hyphenated word out of the three joint words. E.g., fathers-in-law. By adding the ‘s’ to the ‘father’ this compound noun becomes plural.

11. Gender Specific Noun

These are the nouns that describe whether something is male or female.

E.g., Actor / Actress

E.g., King / Queen

Please note that some people do not identify themselves as male or female. Hence, in such cases, use your words appropriately.

‘Reading Eggs’ is the multi-award-winning early learning resource that supports your child’s learn to read journey with carefully designed online reading games and activities that are easy to follow, self-paced, and highly engaging for young children. By incorporating ‘Reading Eggs’ into your child’s daily routine, you will be helping to prepare them for the same structured learning they will need to succeed and feel confident at school. The lessons use colourful animation, fun characters, songs, and rewards to keep children motivated. The programme includes over 3000 online books, each ending with a comprehension quiz that assesses your child’s understanding.

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Olympiads are exams that allow students from all over the world to compete with each other on a similar instructive level. These exams provide an absolute judgement in the subjects of Math’s, Science, Computer skills and English and analyse their competency as compared to national or international students. Students are motivated toward academic competency as they are judged according to their logical thinking and scientific reasoning. Students from not only the Middle East but all over the world prepare for these competitive exams which identify unique talent and help prepare the students for many difficult competitive exams. As they aspire to become doctors and engineers, these exams groom them for the many exams and courses they will need to undertake in their journey.

In the UAE, these exams are conducted at two levels, one after the other. They measure the proficiency of students in mathematics and reflect their strengths and weaknesses. Studying for the Olympiads requires working smart as well as working hard, therefore while you have to practice each topic numerous times and persevere, there are also some tried and tested tips that one can follow while preparing for the math’s Olympiad. Let us list some of them below:

Knowing the syllabus will help you prepare a schedule and eliminate studying irrelevant topics. Make a complete list of the topics beginning with the most important ones to the least important, that will give you a gist and lesson plan of what to begin with. In Dubai, the Olympiad’s syllabus is aligned with the school curriculum which makes it convenient for the student to study the topic along with the teacher who does it in school. The only difference being a more in-depth analysis of the topic and core concepts is to be done for the Olympiads. Preparing notes for each chapter and topic will be useful to refer to at the time of revision.

The Olympiads are not your run-of-the-mill exams or tests as in school so your approach to each topic would have to be more in-depth and critical. Practical and theoretical applications of the topics and gaining deeper insights will be of immense help. Solving papers and worksheets from previous years will help you get a better understanding of what to expect when it comes to how the questions are framed. Usually for grades 5 to 12, there are 50 multiple-choice questions to be solved within the hour. Time is of the essence here and so not poring over one question for too long is key. You must begin preparations for these exams well in advance so that you have adequate practice and time for improvement.

Effective study preparation involves making a timetable and following it. Put up a copy of your study schedule and list of topics side-by-side on the wall in front of you so that you may refer to it. Doing so will keep you on track, motivated and organized. Having a clear vision for all tasks makes a significant impact on the approach to your studies. It is alright to fall behind sometimes but the faster you manage to get back on track, the better your preparation will be.

When it comes to preparing for exams within the GCC areas, it has been found that many schools and parents’ Favour Mathseeds for their children. Mathseeds is a leading global Ed-tech platform created by Mathletics. It is the perfect online tool for mathematics that you can use to create a strong base for your children. It provides learning in a fun and educative manner using real-world instances keeping students enthralled and engaged. Instant assessments and progress reports give you an understanding of your child’s learning curve and what you can do to support it. Mathseeds covers numeracy skills aligned with school curriculums beginning right from kindergarten. It is very easily accessible from any device and can be set up in minutes. The Olympiads are no longer a far-fetched dream now and are very much within your grasp. Help your little one reach for the stars with the help of Mathseeds.

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TechnoKids, as we know it, is an excellent platform that presents Technology Projects to K-12 students in Dubai and other Middle East regions. These hands-on technology projects are in sync with STEM pedagogy and make learning of various serious tech topics, easy & interactive. One such project is TechnoMission for students of Senior Grade 8-12 class and through this Blog, we would like to highlight the different aspects of this project, such that implementing it in the classrooms becomes easy.

Project Overview: An Introduction to TechnoMission

This project is focused on teaching kids some database skills. Database Skills are technical skills that a computer professional needs to work with complex database and manage it effectively. Planning, structuring, and constructing data in an effective manner, can lead to an impactful output.

Students need to complete the following tasks step-by-step:

In Session 1:

Students go back in time and find out the roots of space exploration. When was the first time that a space study was conducted? What were the space exploration projects undertaken by former scientists? All these answers are pretty useful to get intrigued about Space Studies. The TechnoMission projects provide a ready-made database of all the important events and timelines to delve deeper into the topic, which students need to read through.

In Session 2:

Now that students have a rough idea of the history of Space travel, they role-play and become astronauts themselves. Remember when your class teacher asked you what would you like to be when you grew up and some answered astronauts? Well, now that times have changed, children actually get to experience what it’s like being an astronaut virtually by using digital media. Through TechnoMission, students use Microsoft Paint and edit the photograph of the astronaut by placing their faces on the spacesuit. This gives them the entry ticket to TechnoNASA through which they can enter their personal details into the Space Exploration Database.

In Session 3:

The next step is Mission Cyberspace! Here, you are expected to collect some more information about space mission from the World Wide Web and store it in the information database. Students need to fill in a sheet depending on their respective topic and record the Facts in an organized manner with pictures.

In Session 4:

Here students create a table with titles such as name, description, date, and category. Now they have to fill up the details in the respective columns so that data is presented in a neat fashion.

In Session 6:

Students make a report using a standard layout in the Layout View. Our little space explorers also have the liberty to play with orientation, styles, and colors, to make the layout attractive. Once everything is in place, the report can be printed and submitted to the class teacher within IB school in the GCC region. On conclusion of this stage, children feel a sense of accomplishment and deem the Mission Complete!

The Following specifics are therefore captured in TechnoMission:

• The kit includes: A teacher’s Guide, Student Workbook, Customizable Resources, Templates, Letters to Parents, certificates of completion, and much more.
• The following topics touched upon: Language, Arts, Math, and Science
• Tech Skills honed: Data Management, Graphics, and Photo Editing
• Programs Introduced: Microsoft Office, Paint, and Access

Therefore, TechnoMission which is popularly subscribed to in Schools across the UAE, is a module worthy of investment. In the words of Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam, former President of India and Project Director of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization), “You have to Dream before Dreams come true.” So, let us give wings to our children and dream big with the TechnoMission project.

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Immersive storytelling has numerous benefits. Children look forward to story time in school and demand a storytelling session before bedtime with their parents. Stories improve brain development & imagination and studies have shown that it also helps in retaining information more effectively. As a reader, you must be wondering what the connection between Math and storytelling is. Well, to get this perplexing question answered, continue browsing through this Blog.

‘Math’ as a subject, often infuses students with fear and leaves them regretting memorizing tables and learning complex equations. But what if math problems were told in the form of a story? Would it make the subject more interesting then?

Few books that focus on teaching Kids Math concepts;

#1 A Million Dots

How much is a million? Are there a million stars in the sky? What is the significance of a million? A Million Dots is a fantastic book that helps the readers imagine what a huge number ‘million’ is. The exaggerated context of figuring out how many shoe boxes would be needed to construct a Pyramid adds a bit of drama and excitement to number counting. Nonetheless, children will enjoy the colorful illustrations on each page and won’t stop until they’ve read it from cover to cover.

#2 Math Curse

Do you remember your toughest day when you had to multitask and had only a few minutes at hand before you left home? Do the laundry, cook a meal, and take a shower, but all at rapid speed! Phew! That needs some time management skills. In school the math teacher always asks children complex problems like; there are 8 chocolates, and it has to be shared amongst 4 students, or 2 bananas and 3 mangoes have to be divided amongst siblings! In this book, all this sums up as a Math Curse. But one smart girl is on a mission to break this curse. How does she do it? Read the book to find out more. Numerous preschools in Dubai across the Middle East deal with Math anxiety at an early age, where children have to deal with the pressure of memorizing numbers. But ‘Math Curse’ is really a game changer, where children will really come to enjoy the subject or maybe even get obsessed with it.

#3 Tangled, a Story about Shapes

Imagine a day out in the park, playing with your friends under the summer sun. Author Anne Miranda uses her brilliance to bring together 16 shapes and send them to a park. What happens next is a funny episode. While playing in the jungle gym, all the shapes get entangled with each other. Circle over the triangle, inside the square, and whatnot. Oh, what a mess! The shapes are laughing and crying for help at the same time. Who do you think will come to their rescue? Which shape will make an entry as a Hero and untangle them all? Read on to find out. You can order Tangled on Amazon and get it delivered to your address within the UAE.

#4 A Gebra Named AL

A multi-award-winning novel, ‘A Gebra Named AL’ is a must-have in your book collection. The story uses fiction to unlock the wonders of a fantasy world while teaching students algebraic expressions. Julie, the main character is a young teen lost in the land of Math. While walking through the number maze she finds herself introduced to Al the gebra (a zebra that is named Algebra) and also horses who carry elements from the periodic table. While searching for a way back home, she has fun learning the fundamentals of algebra and chemistry. We don’t know how soon Julie will get home, but she will definitely remember what was learned, thanks to the interaction with her new buddies.

Setting the right foundation for learning Math is important, especially for young students who are of ages 3 and above. A good start ensures a strong base where basic concepts are clear, so that moving forward, more complex math equations become easier to solve. Mathseeds is a unique platform that rewards students at every stage of learning and motivates them to indulge in problem-solving techniques. Many parents and teachers support the Mathseeds program by subscribing to it in the GCC regions including the UAE. Come join Mathseeds, and fall in love with quirky characters, structured lesson plans, and exciting rewards. 

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Space has always been a captivating subject for people of all ages. From the vastness of the universe to the smallest details of the planets and stars, space science offers endless opportunities for exploration and learning. Here are five fascinating facts about space and space science that will leave you in awe:

The sun is a star, and it is the center of our solar system. It provides the energy that sustains life on our planet. The sun is classified as a G-type main-sequence star, and it is estimated to be about 4.6 billion years old. In addition, the sun’s magnetic field and solar wind extend beyond the planets and affect the entire solar system. Solar flares and coronal mass ejections can disrupt Earth’s magnetic field, causing communication and navigation disruptions and beautiful auroras.

There are estimated to be over 100 billion stars in our Milky Way galaxy alone, and there are billions of other galaxies in the universe. This means that there are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on Earth.

It’s hard to comprehend the vastness of the universe and the number of stars it contains. The study of galaxies and their evolution is an important topic in modern astronomy.

Space exploration has led to many technological advancements that we use in our daily lives today. For example, GPS technology, satellite television, and weather forecasting are all possible thanks to space exploration.

NASA’s space program has also led to advancements in medical technology, computer technology, and materials science. As private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin continue to innovate, we can expect more exciting advancements in the near future.

Robotify is an online platform for learning robotics and coding, and it offers exciting modules related to space exploration. One of its most popular modules is “Axel’s Space Adventure,” which takes learners on a journey through space while teaching them the basics of coding and robotics. The module features a space mission where learners must code and control their spaceship to complete various tasks. Robotify’s space-related modules are a great way for kids to learn about space and technology in a fun and engaging way. In addition to “Axel’s Space Adventure,” Robotify offers modules on space rovers, Mars missions, and more.

The UAE is making significant strides in space exploration, and Dubai is at the forefront of this progress. In 2019, the UAE’s first astronaut, Hazzaa Al Mansoori, went to space and conducted experiments on the International Space Station. The Middle East is also working on sending a probe to Mars, which will study the Martian atmosphere and climate and search for evidence of water on the planet. It is exciting to see the progress being made in this field across the GCC regions. Dubai’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre is responsible for developing the Emirates Mars Mission, and it has also launched the DubaiSat-1 and DubaiSat-2 Earth observation satellites.

In conclusion, space science is a fascinating subject that offers endless opportunities for learning and exploration. Whether it’s through fascinating facts, exciting online modules, or the advancements being made in space exploration, there’s always something new and exciting to discover. With the UAE and Dubai making strides in space exploration and platforms like Robotify making space-related learning more accessible, there has never been a better time to explore the wonders of space.

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