Form Teachers Sharing PSLE Preparation
Supportive home & school Let s work together collaboratively to boost their emotional strength & building SEL competences in students Self-awareness Being in tune with own thoughts, feelings & actions makes children better learners https://www.edutopia.org/blog/8-pathways-metacognition-in-classroom-marilyn-price-mitchell Being able keep track of what they re doing and work out ways to make things work better next time Questions asked by a child who displays self-awareness: What is my pet subject? How far am I from my target? What else can I do? What went on right about my exam preparation that I should do more of it?
Supportive home & school Self-management develop good habits. To be able to independently complete tasks & take an active role in monitoring & reinforcing their own behaviours display of self-management report to school punctually be present on all school days even after PSLE (programmes planned) work towards targets and goals set have 9 to 10 hours of sleep per day submit work assigned punctually complete work assigned to the best of their ability practice self-control
Supportive home & school Relationship management develop positive relationships with others Make talking about their feelings a natural part of your conversations Watch the following video clip to help students learn to cope with conflict management between friends - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v4xo_tx9yc
Supportive home & school Social Awareness ability to understand & respond to the needs of others develop empathy for others show respect for others Responsible Decision Making guide & encourage children to work out solutions to problems faced aware of possible consequences to actions
Affirm - Promote Growth Mindset Help child view challenges & failures as opportunities to improve Affirm child s positive qualities You re a very motivated learner. You re so excited to learn much more about the topics. Use positive, uplifting messages Day by day, you ve made a steady progress in your learning. You ll achieve the target you ve set for yourself in time to come. Encourage child to persist in completing an activity despite difficulties Life s problems wouldn t be called hurdles if there wasn t a way to get over them. unknown authors Help child discover new strategies to improve skills Let us organize all your materials so that you are more in control. Praise child for her mental strength You ve pressed on despite the difficulties you ve faced.
Standard English Language Sharing
SSR Sustained Silent Reading (10 min) Sharing of book read by teacher or some pupils To promote reading for enjoyment and sharing of good books SR Supported Reading (Narrative texts) Reading for understanding and enjoyment Predicting and questioning Follow-up activities Vocabulary Grammar items Sentence manipulation Writing Process KWL Know-Want to Know-Learnt (Non-fiction texts) Helps readers relate a new topic to what they know Anticipate what they will be reading about Become involved in the text by having them look for information they want to find
PSLE Format English Language Paper Components Marks Weighting Duration 1 Situational Writing Continuous Writing 2 Language Use and Comprehension 55 27.5% 1h 10 min 95 47.5% 1h 50 min 3 Listening Comprehension 20 10% Approx. 35 min 4 Reading Aloud Stimulus-based Conversation Total 200 100% 30 15% Approx. 10 min
Situational Writing Strategies Be mindful of the Purpose, Audience and Context Purpose: Why are you writing the task? Stated as part of the question. Is the writer expressing her gratitude, to inform, or to appeal for help? Audience: Is the writer writing to someone of authority or to someone whom she is not familiar with? Context: Understand the flow of events in the situation Tone: Using appropriate choice of words when addressing the intended audience Example Write a letter to the residents of your neighbourhood asking them to return your rabbit to you if they see it.
Paper 1 Continuous Writing Strategies Examine the question carefully e.g. Write a composition of at least 150 words about an unfortunate day. (theme) Use one or more of the 3 given pictures Spend 5 min on planning 40 minutes to write 5 min to check Expand main ideas with details Exploring more on the characters. Senses, Thoughts and Feelings, Actions and Behaviour
Comprehension Take time to read and really understand Need to read the text at least twice Make connection to the text using prior knowledge and linking ideas within the text Check using: Tenses, Agreement, Punctuation and Spelling Example Do you think the author prefer to go out or stay at home? Support your answer with information from the passage.
Reading Aloud Strategies Clear pronunciation *Be expressive according to the text Fluency: pausing at the right moment. No jerks or awkward pauses Varying pitch Varying appropriate tone Example At that moment, Fandi realised that he was so absorbed in his conversation that he had forgotten his manners. He quickly stood up and offered his seat to the elderly woman.
Conversation Opinion (give own) Reasons (say why) Examples (relevant ones) Personal responses (from reading, watching movies, talking & listening to others) Introduce ideas based on interaction, have eye contact Example What kinds of food do you enjoy eating, and do you think your diet is a healthy one? Additional prompt What sorts of exercise do you like and why? (if not, why not?)
Possible topics common to students experience School events Co-Curricular Activities Family Friends National events Community (neighbourhood) Personal (likes / dislikes) Example: Tell us about a lesson which you enjoyed very much.
Key Strategies Focus Intervention Explicit teaching of language skills and components during supplementary lessons e.g. Writing, Synthesis and Transformation, Comprehension Use of PSLE Questions or exam questions as exemplars to illustrate the various strategies to answer questions, in particular the open-ended questions. June Holiday Master classes Close the specific learning gaps before the Preliminary Examinations
Foundation English Language Sharing
SSR Sustained Silent Reading (10 min) Sharing of book read by teacher or some pupils To promote reading for enjoyment and sharing of good books read. SR Supported Reading (Narrative texts) Reading for understanding and enjoyment Predicting and questioning Reading strategies Text types and features Follow-up activities Vocabulary words Grammar items Sentence manipulation Whole-text study Writing Process KWL Know-Want to Know-Learnt (Non-fiction texts) Helps readers relate a new topic or information to what they already know Anticipate what they will be reading about Become involved in the text by having them look for information they want to find.
Examination Format PSLE Foundation English Language Paper Components Marks Weighting Duration 1 Situational Writing Continuous Writing 2 Language Use and Comprehension 10 30 26.7% 1h 10 min 60 40% 1h 20 min 3 Listening Comprehension 20 13.3% Approx. 35 min 4 Reading Aloud Stimulus-based Conversation Total 150 100% 30 20% Approx. 10 min
Situational Writing (about 15 min) Be mindful of the Purpose, Audience and Context Purpose: Why are you writing the task? Stated as part of the question. Is the writer expressing her gratitude, to inform, or to appeal for help? Audience: Is the writer writing to someone of authority or to someone whom she is not familiar with? Context: Understand the flow of events in the situation Tone: Using appropriate choice of words when addressing the intended audience Example: You came across a poster. You know that your best friend, Sharon, who is 11 years old, loves to sing. Write an email to Sharon asking her to take part in the singing competition.
Paper 1 Continuous Writing Strategies Examine the question carefully Write a composition of at least 120 words based on a given situation Example: What happened in class one morning during a Science lesson (pictures showing cockroach and students being frightened) Use all given pictures and create own ending Spend 10 min on planning 40 minutes to write 5 minutes to check Expand main ideas with details Exploring more on the characters. Senses, Thoughts and Feeling, Action and Behaviour
Comprehension Take time to read and really understand Need to read the text at least twice Make connection to the text using prior knowledge and linking ideas within the text Check using: Tenses, Agreement, Punctuation and Spelling Example: 1) Why had Kumar s mood changed? 2) Why do many people call the Merlion the lion-fish of Singapore?
Reading Aloud Strategies Clear pronunciation *Be expressive according to the text Fluency: pausing at the right moment. No jerks or awkward pauses Varying pitch Varying appropriate tone Example: Yong Meng replied, Perhaps we can make little gifts like key chains. This way, we can save money and contribute more to the fund-raising. The game is really fun. I m sure it will be a great success!
Stimulus-based Conversation Opinion (give own) Reasons (say why) Examples (relevant ones) Personal responses (from reading, watching movies, talking & listening to others) Introduce ideas based on interaction and eye contact Example: Do you have a game that you enjoy playing? Tell us about it. Additional prompt: How do you usually spend your free time?
Possible topics common to students experience Classroom Co-Curricular Activities Family Friends National Day Community (neighbourhood) Personal (likes / dislikes) Example: Tell us about a time when someone helped you.
Key Strategies Focus Intervention Explicit teaching of language skills and components during supplementary lessons e.g. Writing, Synthesis and Transformation, Comprehension Use of PSLE Questions or exam questions as exemplars to illustrate the various strategies to answer questions, in particular the open-ended questions. June Holiday Master classes Close the specific learning gaps before the Preliminary Examinations
Mathematics Sharing
Mathematics Department Vision and Mission Vision Appreciate the beauty of Mathematics; Enjoy the process of Problem-Solving Mission To foster students interest in Mathematics and develop their ability in mathematical problem-solving
P6 Key Develop a good understanding of the numeracy concepts and their connections - Whole numbers, Decimals, Fractions, Ratio and Percentage Make connections between different topics Model drawing and Ratio method as key strategies Acquire proficiency in calculator skills Procedural fluency in approaching problems Develop confidence and perseverance in solving problems From Strategic to Reflective Learners Exam preparation and management
PSLE Format Standard Mathematics The table below shows the PSLE Format for Standard Mathematics. Our P5 SA1 and SA2 last year are of the same format as PSLE to ease them into seating for PSLE. Our CA1, SA1 and Prelim this year will also be of the same format. Accuracy in calculation Speed and time management Perseverance and staying focused
PSLE Format Foundation Mathematics The table below shows the PSLE Format for Foundation Mathematics. Our CA1, SA1 and Prelim this year will also be of the same format to ease them into seating for PSLE. Calculation Accuracy and Speed are equally important for the Foundation paper
Polya s 4 Steps Problem Solving 1 Understand 2 Plan Choose a strategy Model drawing and Ratio Method (Key approaches) Other heuristics (Progressive learning across the levels) 3 Do 4 Check O O Is my Solution Reasonable? Can I Solve it Another Way?
P6 Key Strategies Revisiting P3 to P5 Topics Targeted supplementary lessons to revisit P3 to P5 topics concurrently to help the students recall and strengthen the concepts and skills Align and connect P3 to P5 concepts to those learnt in P6 to develop a deep understanding of Math concepts so that students will be able to apply their skills and knowledge more effectively to solve a variety of problems Important to build their confidence and train their speed and accuracy
P6 Key Strategies Maintaining Rigour and Focused Intervention Using PSLE Booklet (2014 to 2016), we want to get the students used to the exam format and maintain their focus in exam settings Use of past years PSLE questions (2009 to 2013) in the topical worksheets to provide sufficient exposure and maintain rigour Our June holiday lessons will also focus on helping our students to approach problems with similar constructs. Through these formative assessments and summative assessments like CA1 and SA1, we will be able to diagnose and identify the students areas of weaknesses for focused intervention
Science Sharing
Science Syllabus 2014 (Standard Science) THEMES LOWER BLOCK (P3 & P4) UPPER BLOCK (P5 & P6) DIVERSITY Diversity of living and non-living things Diversity of materials CYCLES SYSTEMS Cycles in plants and animals Cycles in matter and water (matter) Plant system Human system (digestive) Cycles in plants and animals Cycles in matter and water (water cycle) Plant system (respiratory and circulatory systems) Human system (respiratory and circulatory system) Cell system Electrical system INTERACTIONS Interaction of forces (Magnets) 1. Interaction of forces 2. Interaction within the environment ENERGY Energy forms and uses (Light and Heat) 3. Energy forms and uses (photosynthesis) 4. Energy conversion
Science Syllabus 2014 (Foundation Science ) THEMES LOWER BLOCK (P3 & P4) UPPER BLOCK (P5 & P6) DIVERSITY Diversity of living and non-living things Diversity of materials CYCLES SYSTEMS Cycles in plants and animals Cycles in matter and water (matter) Plant system Human system (digestive) Cycles in plants and animals Cycles in matter and water (water cycle) Plant system (respiratory and circulatory systems) Human system (respiratory and circulatory system) Electrical system INTERACTIONS Interaction of forces (Magnets) Interaction of forces (Frictional force, gravitational force) Interaction within the environment ENERGY Energy forms and uses (Light and Heat) Energy forms and uses (photosynthesis)
2017 PSLE - New Format Question Type Number of questions Subtotal Total Duration Standard Science Multiple choice Open-ended 28 12-13 56 44 100 1h 45 min Foundation Science Multiple choice Structured Open-ended 18 6-7 5-6 36 14 20 70 1h 15 min
P6 Key focus Explicit Teaching of Process Skills Observing Classifying Using apparatus and equipment Comparing Communicating Inferring Formulating Hypothesis Predicting Analysing Generating Possibilities Evaluating Higher order thinking questions which are common in PSLE will be taught
Support provided to your child in the preparation for PSLE Explicit teaching of process skills during supplementary lessons Use of PSLE Questions or exam questions as exemplars to illustrate the various strategies and/or techniques to answer Science questions, in particular the open-ended questions. June Holiday Master classes Close the specific learning gaps before the Preliminary Examinations
Process skills taught explicitly Steps to follow in answering procedural questions Sample Question used to guide the students in answering process skills questions explicitly
Practical Laboratory Work To arouse students curiosity and to guide them to understand the concepts through hands-on and collaborative work To promote scientific thinking through hands-on practices 13/02/2017 44
ARA Strategy A nalyse Read and understand Study diagram Underline keywords R A ecall pply concepts Observe, Concepts, Evidence*, Compare* (OCEC)
Apply through the use of OCEC* Explain how such a system is able to lower the temperature of the surrounding air. Give a reason for your answer. The mist increases the amount of water droplets in the air. [Observe from the picture and question stem] Thus, the water droplets gain heat faster from the surroundings and evaporate faster, [Concept], removing heat faster from the surrounding air. [Evidence from lower the temperature ] Thus, the temperature decreases.
Parental support in Science Learning Developing a habit of annotating and identifying scientific terms in the question stem is important. Parents can highlight this as revision is carried out at home. Some studies have found that everyday parent-child conversations can contribute to supporting children s scientific understanding as meaningful parent-child interactions are a possible mechanism for cognitive change.