Primary 1-2016 Course Guide The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. - Lao Tzu
THE LEARNING LAB At The Learning Lab, we practice an active learning approach, where students are encouraged to engage with the text or topic being taught, think critically, and participate in class through guided discussions and other activities. While building a solid foundation for exam excellence is a mission for us, we also believe in going beyond exams and school curriculum, nurturing a lifelong love for learning in our students.
OUR CURRICULUM With a deep understanding of the MOE syllabus and judicious application of best practices from both local and overseas top-ranking schools, our curriculum writers teach and test the effectiveness of our curriculum every week to ensure that beyond just securing high scores, our students have the courage to challenge assumptions, learn beyond traditional curricular boundaries, and develop a sense of curiosity in life.
OUR NURTURING AND PASSIONATE TEACHERS Teachers at The Learning Lab go through a very stringent selection process. We look for young, energetic, bright and driven individuals from the top local and other brand-name institutions overseas, and demand the best from them in terms of academics, leadership skills, and the ability to deliver inspiring lessons within a conducive learning environment. All teachers at The Learning Lab are required to undergo an intensive Incubation Training Program. Conducted by our senior teachers and trainers, this program focuses on subject mastery and content delivery, student psychology and parent management, and includes role play observation and appraisal sessions.
OUR CONDUCIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT Meticulous care is taken in every detail to ensure a conducive learning environment for our students. At The Learning Lab, we maintain a teacher-student ratio of 1:12 to allow for optimal student-teacher engagement and increased effectiveness of teaching methods. We endeavor to create an environment that consistently engages. Within the classroom, we are persistent in our efforts to ensure that every single lesson delivered to our students is relevant, challenging and most of all, fun. Our corporate-styled boardroom settings are used to sharpen our students oneto-one and group presentation skills.
OUR STELLAR TRACK RECORD In the 2015 PSLE, over 91% of TLL students scored an A* of A. In particular, more than 55% aced the PSLE by achieving a T-score of above 250. Of note, 326 TLL students attained top scores in the 280s, 270s and 260s. With our distinctive brand of education that ensures both academic excellence and world-readiness, our students are equipped with exceptional skills, and making just the right headway.
Percentage of A* s & A s Per Subject * ENGLISH 94% CHINESE 94% 94% of our English students scored either an A* or an A 94% of our Chinese students scored either an A* or an A MATH 91% SCIENCE 91% 91% of our Math students scored either an A* or an A 91% of our science students scored either an A* or an A * Based on 2015 PSLE results collated from P6 2015 students at The Learning Lab
ENGLISH This course develops students writing, speaking, reading and listening skills, enhancing their overall language appreciation and mastery. Students hone key writing techniques, question analysis, comprehension skills and oral communication skills through a series of structured lessons featuring workshops, presentation modules and intensive practices on essential examinable components. The Learning Lab s curriculum is also specially developed to expose students to some of the best features in the Gifted Education Programme and the mainstream curriculum. The focus is on the development of critical reasoning skills as well as creativity. Through case studies of global icons and current affairs, as well as exposure to the best works from celebrated authors, students are introduced to interactive, thoughtprovoking lessons that will enable them to think beyond the confines of the classroom and become world-ready global citizens.
COURSE COMPONENTS Primary 1 Writing Components Narratives and Personal Recounts Descriptive Writing Critical Analysis of Suggested Responses* Sentence Construction Exercises Comprehension Passage and question analysis Exam techniques for best answers Deeper inferential questions* e.g. tone/perspective of author Opinion questions Reading Specially curated book collection Orals Effective communication skills for exams and real-world situations Literature An early introduction to literature Vocabulary Intensive and challenging development* Grammar Grammar mastery Grammar workshops Real World and Life Skills Advanced topics and current affairs in passages - The Careers Series - Iconic Cities Series - Technology and Science - Sports and Entertainment Individual Presentations and the Elevator Pitch Critical thinking skills Note: * denotes GEP components denotes The Learning Lab additional components
We cover each English component in detail, teaching the necessary skills and techniques. WRITING Analyzing the question Brainstorming for ideas Structuring the essays SITUATIONAL WRITING Letter Report Speech Proposal Email CONTINUOUS WRITING Narrative Personal Recount Reflective Expository EDITING COMPREHENSION Analyzing the questions Studying the text Sourcing for answers Packaging the answers SUMMARY 1 2 3? SHORT QUESTIONS VISUAL TEXT
INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE Analyzing the text Forming a personal response Identifying the techniques NARRATIVE PASSAGES from Great Authors CRITICAL ANALYSIS POETRY RE AL WORLD SKILLS Nurturing Future Leaders INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATIONS! CRITICAL THINKING GOAL SETTING
CHINESE This course develops advanced skills in students writing, speaking, reading and listening, enhancing their Chinese language appreciation and mastery. It will help students taking both Chinese and Higher Chinese in their schools excel at the Chinese examinations and in the Chinese world. Our curriculum is specially developed to expose students to some of the best features in the Higher Chinese and Chinese curriculum. The focus is on the development of higher-order cognitive skills as well as creativity.
COURSE COMPONENTS Primary 1 Writing Mastery of character strokes Sentence structures - basic and complex Composition and creative writing Vocabulary Complete coverage of MOE vocabulary list Thematic word banks beyond exams Comprehension Passage and question analysis Exam techniques for best answers Cloze Passage Reading Character recognition Specially curated book collection* Structured reading program* Storytelling Orals hanyu pinyin Mastering transcription and intonation Language Awareness Idioms, proverbs, and their origins Introduction to Chinese literature - poetry and the classics Contemporary and classical songs Real World and Life Skills* Advanced topics and current affairs in passages - The Careers Series - Iconic Cities Series - Technology and Science - Sports and Entertainment - The Best of China Past and Present Individual Presentations and the Elevator Pitch Critical thinking skills Effective communication skills for exams and real-world situations Media Studies in preparation for the new PSLE syllabus Note: * denotes The Learning Lab additional components for Primary 1 and 2 only
We cover each Chinese component in detail, teaching the necessary skills and techniques. WRITING Developing a simple and realistic plot Building-up good descriptors and phrases SUGGESTED RESPONSES? WORD BANK MIND MAPS COMPREHENSION Reading with understanding Analyzing questions Sourcing with accuracy Formulating an adequate answer Developing critical thinking skills and global views
! GRAMMAR Building a solid foundation Improving language skills SENTENCE STRUCTURE 1 2 3 APPLICATION OF VOCABULARY COMMUNICATION Building fluency and confidence Articulating thoughts and feelings Describing scenes clearly and in detail READING INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATION PICTURE DESCRIPTION CONVERSATION
MATHEMATICS Combining a curriculum that is catered to school needs with carefully designed materials to reinforce basic skills, concepts and critical thinking skills, we create a culture of exam savvy students who are skilled in time management and self-audit practices, and trained in effective revision. Our students learn to conceptualise topics clearly, and continue to build a bird s eye view of the parallel connections within their curriculum. Included in our math curriculum are GEP Math modules, specially crafted to expose our students to interesting higher-order thinking questions in the fields of logic, patterns and spatial sense.
COURSE COMPONENTS Primary 1 Whole Numbers Numbers to 100 Number Bonds Ordinal Numbers Number Patterns Addition within 100 Subtraction within 100 Multiplication Division Money Data Analysis Picture Graphs Problem Solving Heuristics* Fundamental Skills for Model Drawing* Meta Cognition Math Olympiad* Measurement Length Time Geometry 2-dimensional shapes 3-dimensional shapes* Pattern Sequences Note: * denotes The Learning Lab enrichment components
At The Learning Lab, the materials are carefully crafted by the dedicated curriculum team. Our Primary mathematics curriculum is customised to meet the needs of students from a variety of schools. NOTES & EXAMPLES To cover important concepts and formulae. Detailed explanations by teachers in class. FOUNDATIONAL TUTORIALS To ensure a clear and firm knowledge of the basics. Focus on content, formulae and technical mastery. DRILL TUTORIALS To build a firm foundation of the basic technical skills through ample practice. INTERMEDIATE TUTORIALS To expose students to higher order thinking questions. Focus on strengthening problem solving skills and applications of the mathematical techniques.
1 2 3 EXAM & TEST ORIENTED TUTORIALS To target exam-type questions. Focus on familiarising students with different types of examination questions of varying difficulties and expand their repertoire of questions. PRACTICE TESTS To test student s knowledge of the year s work and serve as revision. To develop important examination skills like time management, reading questions carefully, minimising careless mistakes and auditing. TOPICAL QUIZZES To assess student s understanding of each topic. Trains time management skills during tests. CUSTOMIZED LESSONS To cater to different students needs. There will be teaching time, practice time and Q&A time for each lesson. To ensure each student s questions from school are answered in each lesson. Students will also receive tutorials suited to their school syllabus to ensure reinforcement of concepts and ample practice.
To register for our Primary Programs, please visit: www.thelearninglab.com.sg TheLearningLabSingapore thelearninglab