The Republic of Singapore Air Force is 50 years old this year – Picture by Alert5.
Dear teachers,
Why hasn’t What’s Up gone digital? In a world dominated by screens large and small, you may wonder why we are staying true to ink and paper. There may be good reasons to digitise What’s Up one day. But, for now, the arguments for remaining a print-only newspaper are compelling. First and foremost, children need to have and hold real things. Granted, virtual is exciting. But, I believe that adults are readier for digital content because we have had our fill of pleasurable experiences with books, magazines, and newspapers. We should not deny children the simple joys of unfolding, holding up, and turning pages of a real-world newspaper that is theirs to keep. Second, it is easier to go back and forth between the pages of a print publication than a digital one. Even when aimlessly flipping through, a child is more likely to read something she hadn’t planned to. The third reason is a less obvious one. Books, magazines, and newspapers add to the overall ambience of schools, pretty much in the way that they make libraries and bookstores feel warm and cozy. Digital media simply does not have that capacity. That is why we favour What’s Up in print.
Sincerely,
Mary George
For the What’s Up team
This month’s IDEAS activities
Meghan: From actress to princess (page 07)
Excitement is mounting as Britain’s next royal wedding approaches. A glimpse of what we can expect when Prince Harry weds Meghan Markle. And, the math behind this grand event.
Whole class. To strengthen visual-spatial processing skills for literacy. Teams compete to form new words using the letters in given words. Facilitator’s Word List provided.
Plan a Void-deck Wedding – For Social Studies, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To value Singapore’s socio-cultural diversity. Each group develops a detailed plan for a void-deck wedding typical of any one of ten religions represented in the IRO.
RSAF celebrates 50 years (page 09)
An anecdote illustrates how dedicated professionals rely on teamwork to keep Singapore safe. Smart Airbases with new technologies will further strengthen the air force soon.
Fun with Sums: My Bearings – For Mathematics, level 3 – DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To practice mathematical problem solving. An exercise in word problems involving bearing, trigonometric ratios, Pythagoras theorem, speed and distance. *
Individual exercise. To strengthen vocabulary and syntax. Students examine the use of given phrases in the story and use the phrases to construct sentences of their own.
The hunters hunted – by photographers (page 12-13)
In this photo essay with spectacular images and interesting facts about wildlife predators, parallels between wildlife photographers and their subjects point to skill sets they share.
Pairwork. To apply the food web connecting wildlife. Requires charting the predator-prey relationships between the featured animals and others. *
Learning from Animals – For Science & CCE, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To develop habits of mind needed for scientific inquiry. The student identifies wildlife characteristics that given human warfare strategies resemble. *
To Antarctica and back (page 14)
Singaporean conservationist Jessica Cheam shares the story and photos of her exciting journey to Antarctica last month.
Writing A Report – For English, Level 1 – DOWNLOAD
Individual. To practice writing in the third person. Students rewrite sentences from the article in the third person using the appropriate pronouns and tense. *
A Question for Jessica Cheam – For English & Science, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Individual. To stimulate curiosity about conservation efforts. Steps for drafting a letter to What’s Up asking a specific question about Jessica Cheam’s conservation efforts.
Ouch! Animals can feel pain, too (page 15)
An introduction to animal sentience, and the growing research evidence that animals feel a wider range of emotions than scientists had realised.
What Am I Feeling? – For English & CCE, Level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To strengthen vocabulary, and to develop empathy. Students identify the feelings shown by animals based on their behaviour and actions as described in the article.
Argumentative Essay – For English, Level 3 – DOWNLOAD
Individual. To generate an outline for an argumentative essay. Using facts in the story, the student develops a stance on “Animal testing is not ethical and should be banned.”
The trouble with dams (page 19)
Why the building of dams — one across the Nile and three across the Mekong — is causing tension amongst the nations that these rivers run through.
Share A Mighty River – For English & CCE, level 3 – DOWNLOAD
Whole class. To respond to global issues. Each team speaks for one country that either the Mekong or the Nile flows through to propose solutions to dam-related concerns.
Water Ceremonies – Social Studies & CCE, level 1 – DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To learn that the same symbol (water) can have similar as well as differing meanings for local communities. An inquiry into how water is used for religious ceremonies.
*Answers to asterisked activities will be emailed to teachers on the IDEAS mailing list. To join the mailing list, please email your name, designation and school to ideas@whatsup.sg, or fill the form on the front page of this website.
At What’s Up, we do most of the work, writing stories for students to read every month. But, we know that many of our readers also enjoy writing or want to have their say. Encourage your students to write us a letter. Ask them to visit share.whatsup.sg.
VIDEOS AND OTHER EXTRAS
Our supplementary site digital.whatsup.sg contains videos, puzzles and other extras associated with the articles in our newspaper. Use them in class or ask your students to explore the site on their own.
OUR PHILOSOPHY & VALUES
We believe values should—and do—count when schools choose resources for their students. Values-driven journalism is at the core of our mission. Find out more by exploring the ABOUT WHAT'S UP link.
