Dear 5B,
firstly a WARM WELCOME back!
I hope you have all settled in...
As you know, practically the whole world has been caught up with the biggest soccer event for the past month and we are lucky enough to experience two weeks of the action live together as 5B.
I hope this unit has been fun and informative for all of you!
From now onwards, for every unit, we (yes not just you but me as well) will be reflecting so that we can consolidate our learning and also look back.
Unit 7 : TEN
The first day I started this unit, I realised how OLD I was when you guys did not even recognise the most famous World Cup song : The Cup of Life by Ricky Martin!!!!
Soccer may not be everyone's cup of tea. Even in my home, not everyone watches the game (and even if some do, none of them yell their head off at the television set as though the players can really hear them).
But there are many points we can take away from soccer, or even any sport for the matter.
In any game, there will be one who wins and the other who doesn't.
The one who wins has to remain humble or overconfidence is going to get to him/her eventually.
The one who loses has to remain confident or the defeat is going to define them for the rest of their life.
Either way, victory or loss - one should never let it mess with their head.
Here's a player who went to comfort each of his opponents who lost after the game.
Here's another where the winning team's players asked the spectators to clap for the opponent for the good game he played.
These are examples of true sportsmanship!
And my personal favourite:
Next, your previous achievements are just past. What matters is your present effort - every minute counts.
You could be the current World Cup & Two-Time Euro Champion but if you do not make the 90 minutes count, you will be out before you even know it. (Spain, anyone?)
You could have the best heritage for soccer but if you don't put in 100%, you are also going to be out. (Brazil- ouch)
You are someone who made it to one of the top P5 classes - good job! But that's the past, so get moving. Getting to the top class is not going to mean anything more if you don't make the effort to make each lesson minute count.
Anything can happen. Be prepared.
One soccer match is just 90 minutes. In that 90 minutes, unexpected, life changing things can happen.
Mexico had the lead against Netherlands in the round of 16 match till Netherlands scored at the 88th and 90th minute (final minute!!) , dashing the hopes of Mexico at the eleventh hour.
Germany scored an astounding 4 goals in just a matter of 6 minutes against Brazil.
7-1 Brazil vs Germany (the goals once more)
So, always be prepared for the unexpected!
You can be smart/special but you cannot do it alone.
You can be the most gifted player but you still need the support of your team to achieve.
For you - who is your team???
Parents.Family. Teachers. Your fellow 5B peers.
All of us are with you to bring you to your final - the PSLE. So, you need to let us help you and you in turn should support your fellow classmates. You are all going to play in the same match anyway - so why not do it together! You had fun watching soccer together, then why not preparing for the exams??
Strikers are usually famous because they are the ones who get to kick the ball in and score a goal. But in order for the ball to reach the striker, the other 10 players have to give him their support and get him the ball.
The teams that triumph are those whose players are unselfish and who pass the ball to anyone who is in the best position to score - they never seek individual glory.
One gifted 4-time Footballer of the Year Messi was not able to get the World Cup for Argentina. One Germany team was. And that was simply because...(read the pic!)
Indeed - there are no star players - they are one team...no other country had 18 different players scoring.
Last but definitely not the least!
For those who are shocked that I actually watch soccer - my reasons are in this link : (http://4b-the2013version.blogspot.sg/2013/02/journal-6-sports-i-like-best-is.html)
Many of you wonder - why on earth my favourite player is Miroslav Klose and my favourite team in Germany. The reason is simple - besides the fact that I love the way he/the team play , I respect them for being examples of this most important lesson :
Believe and Persevere on and on and on - You will get what you rightfully deserve there in the end!
12 years.
I am both a Klose and Germany fan for the past 12 years (as I am typing this, I realise that that means your entire lifetime and more :P).
12 years ago, I fell in love with Klose and Germany...only to witness them go all the way to the finals and lose to Brazil (2-0).
Since then, I have supported them for every Euro and World Cup (3 Euro & 3 WC(including this year's)).
Each time, it has been heartbreaking to see them go so close to the win just to lose.
2002 : Lost to Brazil in the Final(2-0).
2004 Euro: Lost in the first round itself !They went home. And came back.
(Read this to see how this major failure sparked a change ...)
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2014/germanys-world-cup-win-last-3860856
2006 WC: They were the hosts! Lost in the semi-final to Italy (2-0). They went on to be third. They came back.
2008 Euro: Lost to Spain in the Final (1-0). They became second.They went home. And came back.
2010 WC: Lost to Spain in the Semi-Final. Became third again. They went home. And came back.
2012 Euro: Lost in the semi-final to Italy (2-1). They went home. And came back.
As you can see the pattern - each time they worked and worked and each time they failed. Yet, the next tournament they came back again and again determined to win the crown and 12 years later...
2014 WC: Became Champions! Not just any Champions but the first European team to win the World Cup on South American soil ( No one has ever done this in the history of the World Cup!).
Germany records (achieved in the 2014 WC semi-final alone)
- The first team to score seven goals in a World Cup semi-final.
- Have now scored 223 World Cup goals, two more than Brazil who are in second place.
- Germany netted as many goals in this semi-final as they had in their previous six World Cup semi-finals (1982-2010).
- 5-0 up faster than any other team in World Cup history (29 minutes).
- Germany (10) only had two more shots on target than Brazil (8) in this match.
- Scored two more goals than England have in their past two World Cup campaigns combined.
As for Klose?
2002 was the first year he played in a World Cup tournament. Through loads of hardwork
He scored 5 goals in the 2002 World Cup.
He scored 5 more goals in the 2006 World Cup (won the Golden Boot).
He scored 4 goals in the 2010 World Cup.
With another two goals in the 2014 World Cup,
he has made history:
- He has equalled Pele and Uwe Seeler's record of being the only players to score in 4 different World Cups.
- He has broken the Brazilian Ronaldo's previous scoring record and created a new World Cup record to be the first ever player to score 16 goals in the history of World Cup.
- He is the first player to appear in 4 World Cup semi-finals.
- He is also currently Germany's all-time top scorer with 71 goals.
All these at the age of 36.
Did all these come easy? Definitely not.
It took him 12 years and his country 24 years.
Klose is the only player in the current German team who experienced the pain of going all the way to a World Cup final just to lose in 2002.
Long time? Yes.
But was it worth it? Absolutely.
Because, in this last World Cup of his, he gets what he rightfully deserves : the best possible ending - to be a World Cup champion and make his nation proud.
And a fan of 12 years gets her dream come true!
Do your part well and you will get what you deserve. Always remember that 5B.
.jpg)
I truly hope this unit, the sport, the teams, the players, their stories have all inspired you to be the best you can be.
I read through your reflections and am very heartened by your responses. I really enjoyed this unit and hope you did too!
Please share your thoughts on this post in the comments section. Look forward to reading them!
Ole, Ole 5B!
 |
| The Winning Team of the World Cup Quiz! |
 |
The team who could name 10 players from the German squad (Special Credits to Rafi!)  |
Love,
Ms Priya :)
P.S. For those of you still keen on the subject, here are some famous players whom you can find out more about
- Pele
- Gary Lineker
-Ronaldinho
- Ronaldo (the Brazilian one)
- Franz Beckenbauer
and some links:):
-http://www.fifa.com/index.html (Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA))
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfjD9Kz8DDY (Ronaldo's 15 goals)
- http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/videos/goals/video=2402155/ (Klose's 16)
- http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/videos/goal-of-the-tournament/ (Goal of the tournament)
- Wikipedia is a good source as well (just Google!)
Of course, it was awesome!
ReplyDeleteMs Priya, sorry I forgot to hand in the reflections to you today during recess. I was a bit distracted
ReplyDeletethe two weeks were great and better than other units especially the one we just started
ReplyDeleteI get to know a lot more than I know about football. The lessons are definitely fantastic! For once, everybody was talking about football. Even those who did not like watching world cup too! Especially on the day of the finals and semi-finals. Everyone was talking about the results and stuff. This was the unit where everyone could unit their thoughts really well. It was wonderful we could experience the football fever together.
ReplyDeleteI knew more about the players and knew more famous player (like Maradona and Muller, I really don't know there was such players!) . It was that first time I wanted to know who won, what are the scores and shouted goal for a ball. At first I could not believe I liked soccer, so I tried to shake it off. Eventually, I stopped it and continued joining the fun. It was really awesome you allowed us to watch soccer clips most of the time....rare chance! So the summary about my thoughts is --> IT'S So AWESOME I WISH FOR SOME MORE!!! lol....( I find it funny.. haha...)
ReplyDeleteDuring these sessions,i got a passion for football again :D. And, I also learned more about football and its history. We also got to learn more about the World Cup like the famous song and, that the trophy for the World Cup is actually called the World Cup. And we got to look at a lot of soccer clips. So the summary of my thoughts is just like Charmaine's -->PLEASE HAVE MORE FUN UNITS AND LESSONS LIKE THIS :D.
ReplyDeleteI learnt more football terms and more players that were legends.I also learnt that there were very big cheaters in football like Diego Maradona(hand of god) and Luis Suarez( hand of god defense version).These lessons were the best lessons ever!I wish we had more lessons like this.
ReplyDeleteI learnt that soccer in not only about winning but sportsmanship too.I really like these lessons.I really enjoy them and i hope to have more lessons like those.Thank you Miss Priya for preparing those fun lessons for us!
ReplyDeleteThis unit will be in my memory till I grow old... They were already one of the best lessons I have experienced even without really trying the football part!!!
ReplyDeleteTell me about it
Delete:p
I also really think that what Ms Priya said was true... You can't just score relying on one... You have to rely on a TEAM!! :D
ReplyDeleteI learnt that there is something called the "World Cup" every four years and I also learnt a lot about soccer and the famous players and what happens during a match and I hope we can have more fun lessons like that.
ReplyDeleteWow.....Really... Before l thought soccer was just soccer (yay, big deal.)but now l truly understand that life-changing (stuff) can change every single thing.
ReplyDeleteI think that soccer allow me to understand about sportsmanship and I also learnt that World Cup only happens every four years.
ReplyDeleteThe two weeks had been exciting and fun. We learnt different words used in soccer.(in a fun way)
ReplyDeleteWen Xuan
The 2 weeks on soccer was exciting!We learnt new terms on soccer and had a quiz on soccer on the last day of that unit.
ReplyDeleteDuring this 2 weeks about soccer, i learnt more about scoccer and its soccer players, eg. Klose(Ms Priya's Favourite) ,Maradona(The hand of god), Muller. I somehow did not know that there were such players. Before even starting this topic, i really hated soccer, As i felt it was really wierd for 20 people to be chasing after a ball, but now i started to likw soccer. And for the first time, the whole class were all talking about football. Even me. Take me for an example, i did not like soccer, but after that 2 weeks, i woke up in the morning just to watch the finals. It was so awesome, i wished i had liked soccer earlier. I felt that this two weeks were really great! Just three words, BEST UNIT EVER!
ReplyDeleteThose 2 thrilling weeks were awesome,I got to learn about Maradona and Klose.Both very skillful but they are also very different in attitude.Maradona is a proud and dishonest, he even managed to get away with cheating.On the other hand, Klose is a honest and humble player.Once he scored a goal with his hands but confessed and thats what makes him a very special player!
ReplyDeleteWho are you, anonymous??
DeleteThis unit, I learnt that make ss priya's favourite soccer player is microslav klose, and pkayers like suerez, maradona, neymar, messi and many more. Soccer was not and interesting sport to me at first, as I never watched the good teams play before. I only watched asians play soccer. I love lessons like these as we get to watch soccer videos.
ReplyDeleteI mean 'miss priya', not 'make ss priya'. Sorry.
DeleteI learnt that there were many controversial players like Diego Maradona and Luiz Suarez.I also learnt that we should not laugh at our opponents.Instead,we should encourage them to do better for the next major tournament.As for me,I think that it is not just about winning but the values that comes with it.I REALLY LIKE THIS UNIT AND I HOPE THERE WILL BE MORE OF THESE LESSONS!
ReplyDeleteDuring this unit, I have learnt a lot more about soccer than I could have imagine. Who knew Maradona was the hand of the god, or how tensing and emotional it could get etc.etc. This unit had a great impact on me and I wish more lessons in the future could be this interesting.
ReplyDeleteI learnt the soccer is not just about winning,it is about honesty and sportsmanship. People who cheat when playing,just like Maradona who used his hand to score do not have honesty and as the saying goes,HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY!
ReplyDeleteI learnt much more about soccer and especially the World Cup history,players and much more. At first I did not know much about the older Ronaldo and his record but after this two weeks I learnt much more about him.I learnt many interesting facts about many more players such as Muller,Klose,and more...
ReplyDeleteI learnt more on soccer such as the players, the teams and most importantly about the fifa world cup. Before we even started this, soccer to me is super boring and it is just a waste of time watching it. However after 2 weeks, i started to lke soccer a bit. I get to learn afew history players and even do soccer quizes. This unit is interesting for me.
ReplyDeleteDear Ms Priya,
ReplyDeleteDuring June Holidays, I was mot interested in soccer/football at all! Yet two weeks after, I am totally interested in it. I will research more in soccer players but I don't know which team to support….yet. I was thinking that the lessons were going to be boring as I don't like soccer. Yet, Our team won the quiz! I am happy and I had learned a lot from the unit and I hope to enjoy watching soccer… I really am learning lots of things! I will keep on researching!
Regards,
Yen Shyuan
I learnt that klose, miss priya's favourite player, he is humble and honest. He will tell the refeeree when he made a mistake unlike maradora, the hand of god, who is a big big cheater, he scored with his hand and to make the refeeree confused, he asked his team to cheer with him just to win in the bad way.
ReplyDeleteI learnt that Diego Maradona is famous for using his hand to score a winning goal against England but I just don't get why he is famous for doing such an unscrupulous act?!
ReplyDeleteI learnt about the history of football.I learnt about some players that i did not know before like the old Ronaldo. The hand of god Maradona is a cheater,he used his hand to score a goal but did not admit it to the referee.He is also very arrogant,he refused to sit with Muller during a press conference .He sat down only when Muller left, Maradona finally knew Muller when he scored the winning goal against Argentina.I also learnt that Klose,Miss Priya's favourite player is very honest person,he is not afraid to admit his mistakes.When he feels that the referee made a wrong judgement he will speak up even if it means that his team will lose.
ReplyDeleteI learnt more about football and how to be interested in it, rather. Although I am still quite neutral, but I still realize football is also about the sportsmanship and the quality in the game that makes it such a fun thing to watch and do. Most of all, teamwork is most important. For example, during the brazil vs germany, Brazil obviously lost as they don't have Neymar at that time. They all depended on him. Same to Argentina. No offense, but they are just doing a one-man show. Messi is definitely stressed by th e presure of the other players looking at him to score the goal.
ReplyDeleteOverall, games are for fun and leisure. Cheaters like Maradona and some others just don't get to enjoy the game as much as we do watching. They always want to win and like the game that I've played, do whatever it takes to win. But in the end what was the outcome? Your name being written nicely in the records as "CHEATER". It does you no good. Win or lose, does not matter. As long as we try our best, we can overcome anything.
I learnt that we should be friends and not be enemies no matter win or lose. The most important thing is sportsmanship and as long as we do our best in everything, we will succeed!! And overcome everything!! When playing football, we should have sportsmanship and should not be like Diego Maradona scoring with his hands and tried to confuse the referee by asking his team mates to cheer... Unlike Klose ( Germany team ), Ms Priya's idol, he is honest and has sportsmanship. When he had a handball goal and the referee did not see, he admitted to the mistake and requested from the referee to deduct the goal. We should never be a "Cheater" like Diego Maradona and should be like Klose having integrity to own up to his mistakes.
ReplyDelete