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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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. :)