Our Happy Learning Blog

Critical Thinking Games and Show-and-Tell (15 and 16 November 2007)

2007-11-17T09:30:00.001-08:00

After the exam, we had an interesting hands-on activity. Pupils had to use match sticks to solve a pattern with a challenge. The fastest group to solve the puzzle was awarded 3 stars for their group. This activity is an excellent post-exam game as it triggers critical and logical thinking in our pupils.

On the last day of school, pupils did a Show-and-Tell. They could bring their pets (except big animals), or their favourite items (such as books and toys) for this activity. After a pupil had done a show-and-tell, other pupils asked him/her question about the item. By doing a show-and-tell, their confidence level is increased. In addition, this activity gives them an excellent opportunity to practise their public-speaking skills. :)

14 November - Acrostic Poem on Elephants

2007-11-17T09:02:00.000-08:00

Pupils had a lot of fun and excitement on Wednesday. After watching a documentary video on Thai elephants, pupils were given a task. In their groups, they had to create an acrostic poem on "Elephants". I am glad that my pupils had tapped on the useful information from the video in their poem. This acrostic poem group activity has given my pupils a great opportunity to practise their writing, speaking and oral presentation skills. Their level of creativity can be heightened as well. :)

9 November 2007 - Show-and-Tell of Book Review

2007-11-09T06:25:00.001-08:00

On 9 November 2007, pupils did a show-and-tell with their group members. They were given a storybook last week and they had to write a Book Review based on the book. In their Book Review, they have to tell their classmates the title of the book, the author, the genre of the book, their favourite character and lastly the summary of the book. After each pupil had presented to their group members, each group will nominate a best representative to present his/her Book Review to the class. Pupils enjoyed this Show-and-Tell as they had the opportunity to recommend the books they had read to their peers. Show-and-Tell is also an excellent strategy for pupils to practise their reading and speaking skills. :)

30 Oct - Action Research in the Classroom with 3-Caring

2007-10-31T14:47:00.000-07:00

On 30 October, during our Science lesson, 3-Caring pupils became young researchers as they were involved in an Action Research project. The purpose of my project is to evaluate whether pupils would enjoy learning Science through music and songs. Pupils were given 2 worksheets with the same questions. For worksheet A, they had to complete it based on their prior knowledge. After that, a mp3 song about Mammals was played. Through the song, pupils would be able to answer all the questions in the worksheet. After the pupils had listened to the song twice, a comparison of the answers on both worksheets was made. There was a significant improvement in Worksheet B as compared to Worksheet A. After completing both worksheets, pupils were given a questionnaire for them to provide feedback about this learning strategy.

26th October - Stimulating Mind-Games for P6 Pupils

2007-10-28T04:30:00.000-07:00

On 28 October 2007, 6-Respect pupils had a fun hands-on activity using matches. They were grouped into smaller groups of four/five. I drew a pattern on the whiteboard, followed by a scenario. Based on the scenario, pupils had to reposition/remove/rearrange some matches to form another pattern. E.g. Can you reposition 2 matches to make the fish face left? My 6-Respect pupils had a lot of fun. This game is not only congnitively-stimulating, it also encourages group work and team-cooperation too. The first group which was able to solve the problem, would be awarded the highest points. The rewards are yummy candy. :)

4 October - Learning about Magnets

2007-10-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

During our Science supplementary lesson on 4 October, my pupils had an experiment to find out whether different objects are magnetic or non-magnetic. The pupils grouped into groups of 4 or 5. Each group was given a bar magnet and a bag (consisting of a wooden stick, cardboard, paper-clips. balloon, iron nail, steel plate, aluminium foil, marble, paper, plastic spoon and granite). They had to cooperate and observe whether the object is attracted or not attracted by the magnet. Pupils had a lot of fun. They also did an experiment to find out which parts of the magnet is the strongest. Pupils were amazed at the number of paper-clips that can be attracted by the poles of a magnet. :)

18 Sep - Science Supplementary Lessons with 3-Caring

2007-09-18T14:41:00.001-07:00

During my Science Supplementary lessons, my pupils were grouped into small groups of 4 or 5. They were given a word splash worksheet. I showed them a list of questions with a missing blank for each question. My pupils had to find the correct word/answer from the word splash worksheet. We had a lot of fun. :)

17 September - Pictorial Comprehension

2007-09-18T14:35:00.001-07:00

During my English lessons with 4 Respect pupils, I did a pictorial comprehension with my pupils. As the comprehension passage is about volcano with many abstract vocabulary such as "mantle" and "magma", an illutration of these parts would be clearer for pupils to understand.

12 Sept- Motivating P6 Pupils in Art Lessons

2007-09-13T08:12:00.000-07:00

As the P6 pupils will be taking their PSLE soon, stress level could be rather high for them. Hence, during the Art lessons on 12 Sept, I decided to get my pupils to do a motivation card for themselves to boost their morale. The art lessons were conducted in the school canteen. Pupils created "footprints" by using their clenched fists. Next, I wrote down some examples of motivational quotes on the whiteboard for them. Each pupil had to write down a motivational quote for themselves. To make this Art lessons more interesting, I told them to write well-wishing messages for one another. Hence, pupils are able to motivate each other. In this way, I am sure that their level of confidence and motivation would be greatly increased. :) Good luck to our P6 pupils in your PSLE examinations!

10 Sep - Science Supplementary Lessons with 3-Caring using IT and group work

2007-09-11T07:05:00.001-07:00

On 10 September, we had a cooperative group activity using an exercise from the Science Workbook. As my pupils have learned about the 5 main human systems, each of them is assigned a system whereby they would go to the noticeboard to copy the function of the system. After that, they would share their answer with their group members. For the next activity, each group was given a worksheet with pictures of different organs from our human systems. They had to predict and discuss the given organs and write them in the blank spaces on the worksheets. After ensuring every group had completed their discussion, I showed them a flash animation from http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/systems.html. Pupils were delighted to participate in "placing" the organs into the body of the cartoon man. It was certainly an enjoyable supplementary lessons for us. To reward the pupils for their group participation, each of them was given a delicious and chewy gummy candy. :)

A BIG "Thank you" to all my wonderful students

2007-08-31T09:17:00.000-07:00

This is the first Teacher's Day Mr Ang has celebrated as a teacher. I am joyful to receive card and little gifts from my students. I always encourage my pupils to make cards for their teachers instead of buying them. The cards they made would be the only one in the world. It will be the most unique one too. Nonetheless, I thank every student for making this Teachers' Day Celebration so meaningful to all the teachers in Peixin. The best gift a child can give to his/her teacher is to be an obedient pupil, pay attention in class and study hard. This is the best gift a teacher would love to receive. :)

Interdisciplinary lessons - Art with English Language for 4-Respect and 6-Respect

2007-08-30T09:21:00.001-07:00

For my Art lessons with 4-Respect and 6-Respect, I encouraged them to write an acrostic poem in their teachers' cards about their teachers. In this way, the pupils can write creatively and also express their gratitude to their teachers in a very meaningful way. :)

30 August - Dramatisation in English Lesson

2007-08-30T08:51:00.001-07:00

During our English Language with 4-Respect, dramatisation technique was used. Pupils role-played the characters in the picture composition. 5 boys roleplayed the 5 children in the picture. Three other pupils roleplayed the two drivers and a motorist on the road. The children "helped" the driver whose car had broken down. Dramatisation is extremely effective as pupils could relate to the characters' feelings, actions, and thoughts more easily. Hence, they can comprehend the picture better. :)

Recycling - Making a Building

2007-08-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

During our Art and Craft lesson on 24 August 2007, pupils had brought many recyclable items such as plastic bottles, paper boxes and cardboxes. Children should know the importance of recycling. Here is a pupil from 4-Respect with his excellent model of a tower made using recyclable materials. Great effort! :)

Our mini Garden in the Classroom

2007-08-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

My pupils were holding pots of plants they had planted in the classroom. It is important for them to develop an interest in caring for living things. On the metal tray, there are various seeds (such as saga seeds, angsana seeds, rubber seeds), and underground stems (such as potato and ginger) for my pupils to observe and learn.

27 August 2007 - A VIsit to our School Eco-garden

2007-08-28T08:05:00.000-07:00

We had a fun mini excursion to our School Ecograden. Over at this garden, we explored the life cycles of animals such as frogs, butterflies and fishes. We were also delighted to see a butterfly feeding on the nectar on the flowers. Over at the garden, my pupils could see what a sucker (young plant of a banana tree) is. They were glad to know that besides reproduction by seeds, some plants such as pineapples and bananas grow from suckers. :)

27 August - Demonstration of Paper Recycling by Mdm Lee

2007-08-28T07:38:00.000-07:00

We had a demonstration of paper recycling in the Science Lab by Mdm Lee. 3-Caring and 3-Integrity pupils were surprised to know that used paper could actually be recycled and made into something useful. Some brillant suggestions given by the students were bookmark, Teachers' Day Card and post-cards. 3-Caring would be making their own recycled paper in September. :)

27 August 2007 - Identifying Adjectives from 2 Book Reviews

2007-08-28T07:21:00.000-07:00

During our English lessons, I taught my pupils the structure of a book review. After that, we played a game. I grouped my pupils into 2 small groups. Each group had to examine a book review (in their textbook). They had to find as many adjectives as they could from their book review. The group with the most adjectives became the winner. :)

24 Aug - Using drama to learn about photosynthesis

2007-08-25T01:34:00.000-07:00

On our science lesson, we had a drama where pupils role-played "plant", "water", "carbon dioxide", "oxygen"
, and "sunlight". The other pupils read the script of the drama. My pupils enjoyed themselves a lot and we had a lot of fun. Dramatisation is certainly an effective and visual way to learn Science. It builds up the confidence of the pupils and also inject fun and excitement in learning. I could improve on this drama but just choosing a few pupils to read the scripts while the rest could watch the performance with leisure. :)

As closure, as my pupils have learned about carbon dioxide and oxygen, I gave them a challenge to find out what the 4 main gases in the air are.

23 August 2007 - English Supplementary (Picture comprehension, identifying past continuous tense and past tense from the passage)

2007-08-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

During my English supplementary class with 4-Respect, I had improvised a normal comprehension passage with another aspect of grammar. As some of my pupils from PRC need more guidance in their vocabulary, I did a pictorial comprehension with them. Hence, they were able to visualise the story in the comprehension passage. After my pupils had completed the comprehension questions, I told them to pick out past continuous tenses and past tenses from the passage. From this activity, my pupils are able to identify what past continuous tenses and past tenses are. :)

23 August 2007 - Learning about History of Chinatown using the Internet

2007-08-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

During our Social Studies lesson, we had found how the names of some streets in Chinatown come about. An interesting website we had visited was http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown,_Singapore. My pupils were surprised to know that Sago Street got its name because in the 1840s, there were a number of sago factories located there. Hence, IT is definitely a useful tool in learning about the history of Singapore. :)

21 August - Group Activity during Science Lessons

2007-08-21T06:13:00.001-07:00

On 21 August, we had a group activity during our Science lesson. The class was divided into small groups of 4 or 5. I displayed many flash-cards on the whiteboard for my pupils to select the appropriate ones for the activity in the workbook. To enable those pupils at the back of the class to see the texts on the flash cards, I had decided to use the visualiser. My pupils had a lot of fun today. :)

Supplementary Lesson 20 August - Group Work, Newspaper articles and IT

2007-08-20T06:51:00.000-07:00

During our supplementary Science lessons today, we had a lot of activities. The first activity was a group activity whereby pupils worked in small groups. I showed them questions from an assessment book using the visualizer. Each group had to discuss and write their answers on the laminated board. We had a lot of fun.

After the MCQ group activity, I shared with my pupils newspaper articles on Global Warming. They had a better understanding about global warming and how it results in climate changes all over the world.

After that sharing session, I distributed a worksheet about Plant Parts. Using the website (lead.com.sg), pupils watched a flash animation and filled in the correct answers on their worksheets. I had tapped on the creativity of my pupils as they were instructed to draw a magical plant on their worksheets.

We certainly have an enriching Science supplementary lessons today.

Pupils, ask a science question and win a prize!!!

2007-08-16T08:53:00.000-07:00

Dear pupils, here is a great opportunity not to be missed. I am sure that many of you have a strong passion in Science. There is a contest to win an international prize, simply by asking a Science question which could lead to a scientific breakthrough

This contest is organised by Molecular Frontiers Foundation. You can submit your science question by logging on to www.moleclues.com. The closing date for submission of questions will be April next year.

20 boys and girls with the most profound queries will attend the Molecular Frontiers Summit at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm next May, where they will receive prizes worth S$765, including a new wireless mobile device on the market, like an iPhone.

Regards,
Mr Terrance Ang

Examining a flower - Chrysanthemum or Orchid

2007-08-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

On 14 August, we had a Science Activity on "Examining a flower". Each pupil was given either a chrysanthemum or an orchid. The activity in the workbook requires the pupils to paste the parts of the flower into the workbook. However, I stretched the ability of my 3-Caring pupils by showing them pictures of these flowers with their parts labelled. Hence, by examining their flowers and comparing to the pictures from the visualiser, they had learnt the various parts of a flower such as petals, sepals, anthers. They would be learning about this when they are in Primary 5. My pupils were also astonished to know that a flower has a male and female organs. Hence, from this lesson, they had learned that a flower does not only turn into a fruit, it has 2 sexual organs too. :)

Science Lesson on Plant System

2007-08-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

On 7 August, we did an experiment where we put a lily plant into a bottle of coloured water. This experiment is to show that the stem of the plant transports water to other parts of the plant. Although our lily plant withered and died, we had learned many valuable lessons. Firstly, the plant died because I added poster colour into the water. As the poster colour contains oil and other chemicals, it resulted in the plant to die. A food dye (used for making jellies)should be used instead. In addition, a white rose would be a better flower to be chosen for this experiment as the flowers of the lily plant are coloured pink. Hence, any change of colour will not be obvious. The stem of the plant was cut and my pupils were given the chance to touch them. From this experiment, they have learned that the stem of the plant really transport water to other parts of the plant. :)

Science Lesson integrated with IT

2007-08-04T22:37:00.001-07:00

On 3 August 2007, during the Science lessons, I show 3-Caring pupils a PowerPoint I created. I had placed some hyperlinks of websites illustrating different cycles of animals such as whale, cat, frog etc. Pupils were excited to learn more details about the life cycles of these animals. As a lesson closure, I had challenged my pupils to find out the names of the cells of a plant which transport water and food through the the plant. This activity caters to high-ability pupils who enjoy challenges. In addition, pupils who have the desire to learn beyond their level, would be delighted to know that they would learn about the name of these plant cells in Primary 5.

Pictorial English Comprehension, PowerPoint animation slides "The Brave Lion and The Tiny Mouse"

2007-08-04T22:19:00.000-07:00

On 31 July 2007, during the English lessons with 4 Respect, we did a "Pictorial Comprehension". As most pupils in my class (especially those from the PRC) need more guidance in English, this approach is extremely useful for them. As we analysed the comprehension, sentence by sentence, I illustrated the flow of the comprehension passages through drawings. I am glad that my pupils could grasp the comprehension passage better. Most of them could even get all the questions correct. As a reward, I showed them my created PowerPoint slides entitled "The Brave Lion and the Tiny Mouse". They enjoyed the animation from the slides very much. I promise them I will show them other animation slides next time. :)

Art lesson - "My Singapore"

2007-08-04T21:51:00.000-07:00

On 31 July 2007, during our Art lessons, we had a brainstorming about the significant landmarks and icons which represent "My Singapore". After my pupils had given me their responses, I showed them many colour-printed pictures of some landmarks. We had a gallery walk, whereby pupils observed the pictures and gathered ideas on how they could draw them . This Art lesson is in conjunction to the upcoming National Day. Happy 42th Birthday Singapore!!!

Group Activity for 3-Caring Supplementary Class

2007-07-31T09:41:00.000-07:00

On 30 July Science Supplementary lessons, 3-Caring had a fun group activity to recap on the theme - Cycle. Pupils were grouped into small groups and each group was assigned a group letter. I used the visualiser and showed them MCQs from an assessment book. Pupils had to write their answers on their whiteboards. Upon hearing the chime from my ding-bell, they flashed their answers. The 2 groups with the highest score won themselves a packet of yummy candy each.

Sharing of Social Studies Project with Classmates

2007-07-31T09:03:00.001-07:00

On 20 July 2007, I had returned my P6 pupils their Social Studies Project. They had researched on a Southeast Asia country (based on their own choice) and made a comparison in similarity and difference in the aspect of culture with Singapore. A marking rubric is attached to each project outlining the scores. Through this SS, project, my pupils have developed a greater understanding towards our neighbouring countries.

Integration of Art/ Craft with English 25 July 2007

2007-07-25T08:12:00.000-07:00

This is another integration of Art/Craft with English. In the previous Art lessons, my 6-Respect pupils had already created a picture story using pictures from newspapers and magazines. They had written a narrative based on their picture story. Today, my pupils wrote a composition about their best friend. They have to describe how their friends look like, how old are they, their hobbies and dislikes, and a thing they admire about their friends. I am glad that my pupils enjoyed the Art lessons a lot. :)

Story Mapping with 4 - Respect

2007-07-18T07:09:00.000-07:00

Today, 25 July 2007, 4-Respect pupils did a picture composition on the title "A Fire" during the English lessons.

I had used the Pyramid approach before in helping them plan a composition. Today, I had used a different approach in writing a picture composition. The story mapping approach is very simple yet organised. It allows pupils to fill in relevant information into the respective categories, such as Main characters, supporting characters, setting, problem and solution. I had added in another category called Coda (for pupils to add in their reflections or the valuable lesson learned).

I am very glad that my PRC pupils find this strategy very useful for them. I am sure with more practices in the use of story-mapping, they would improve.

Welcome to Our Happy Learning Blog

2007-07-15T00:28:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Our Happy Learning Blog.

Hi, I am Mr Terrance Ang. I am a teacher in Peixin Primary School. In our blog, you can see some of the engaging learning activities we have during our lessons. If you have any feedback or enquiry, please feel free to drop me an email at mr_terrance_ang@yahoo.com.sg Thank you :)