Activities in What’s Up
• Fallen Letters puzzle – page 21
• Who’s Your Favourite? – page 22
• Contest: Finding Courage – page 23
Activities at ideas.whatsup.sg
Singaporeans will vote for their representatives in elections in May (page 1 & 28)
Introduces the basics of Singapore’s general elections. Students can learn more about Singapore’s elections by visiting our website, https://digital.whatsup.sg/.
GE2025 Crossword (online) — For NE & English, level 1
Individual. To become more familiar with electoral processes. Puzzle of 20+ words with easy clues. At https://digital.whatsup.sg/ by 21 April. ⭐
Fasten your seatbelts – this car is ready for take-off (page 9)
Looks at the latest models of flying cars. As exciting is “Laos hopes this train will speed up development” (page 8) which applauds the high-speed Laos-China Railway. We go back in time for “Lost and found: Southeast Asia’s talented sailors (page 18) reminding us that amazing travel tech has been around for longer than we once imagined.
Travel Tech: Our SciFi Vehicle – For Science & Art, level 3 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To enjoy daydreaming to develop futuristic prototypes. Each group systematically brainstorms, negotiates details, and develops a prototype of a never-before vehicle for local travel. Groups present their protypes using infographics.
Stranded astronauts return safely to Earth (page 10)
How astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore survived their unexpectedly long stay at the International Space Station. Incredible as it may sound, Commander Williams participated long-distance in a marathon on Earth. “The pain and satisfaction of running a marathon” (page 25) takes a closer look at the pull factor for such enthusiasts. Even Tee can’t resist the lure of space travel and other epic journeys, albeit in his imagination, while Boba finds the challenges of ordinary life are sufficient in “Tee & Boba” (page 28).
Homonyms: Same-same but Different — For English, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To have fun with homonyms. Just as the same places held different meanings for Tee & Boba, this exercise explores homonyms doing the same with words. Each student composes sentences with a set of homonyms. The pair then compares their interpretations of the homonyms.
A Place to SMILE About — For English & Diversity Education, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To practice oral storytelling and appreciate the diversity of lived experiences. Just as Tee & Boba had different associations with the same places, the students compare their memories of the same place at school. They apply SMILE to structure their stories for sharing with each other.
Fun Facts about Marathons — For English, level 3 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. Presenting information. The worksheet presents a set of numbers extracted from the story. Using the clues in the given statements, students fill in the corresponding number for each one. They then trace the local marathon scene and construct a similar write-up using sentences and numbers and display it as a poster. ⭐
In the mobile age, does Britain still need these old phone boxes? (page 20-21)
These iconic but obsolete phone booths are being repurposed in creative ways. “Hello? Calling for new ideas for old phone booths” (page 21) gives examples. Shifting gears to intangible heritage is “Use cutlery or fingers? How dining styles changed” (page 24). Our heritage stories continue with “Hello! It’s Winnie-the-Pooh” (page 22-23), the fourth in our Favourite Comic Characters series.
Repurpose: All the Right Angles – For Art & Environmental Stewardship, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To express creativity through artistic repurposing. Students repurpose empty cereal or other food boxes and decorate them in the abstract style of artist Ben Nicholson. To prepare, they watch a video about repurposing cereal boxes and another about the artist.
New Uses for Phone Booths – For English & Art, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To illustrate and describe new ways of using old things. From the story, each student lists the ways each city repurposed their phone booths and how residents benefitted. In groups, the students discuss ways of repurposing an old phone booth if one were donated to their school. They illustrate its new usage, where it would be located in the school, and who might benefit. The groups present their ideas to the class. ⭐
Environmental Impact of Dining Habits – For English & CCE, level 2 Coming soon
Individual exercise. To think of ways to reduce environmental impact. Using the story, each student lists the various ways people around the world eat their meals. They then examine the reasons for using cutlery versus using hands to eat and speculate each way’s impact on the environment. ⭐
My Friendship Honey Jar – For CCE & Art, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Individual activity. To value friendship. The student (1) responds to a videoclip of Pooh and friends by answering prompts about helping (2) follow instructions to make a keepsake jar with honeycomb cells of personal friendship experiences and honey drops of reminders about being good to others (3) dip into the jar whenever they need a booster to value friendships.
American President Donald Trump wants more land (page 6-7)
Why many countries are unhappy that Trump wants to take control of places beyond the United States. Side bar “How some places changed hands in the past” is a brief on the colonisation of Singapore, Bombay, the Philippines, and Poland, and how they achieved self rule. Then, we look at an often-neglected aspect of the world wars — the contribution by men and women drafted from the colonies. “Remembering the Africans who were sent to fight in a faraway war” (Page 19) is about one young man’s efforts to tell a fuller story.
Ephemeral Art: Here, then gone – For Art & CCE, level 3 Coming soon
Individual activity. To experience expressive arts. The student follows instructions to (1) create ephemeral artwork reflecting memories of someone or something (2) reflect on the fleeting nature of ephemeral art (3) compose a 4-6 line poem about the short-lived beauty of the artwork in relation to their memories (4) participate in a whole-class sharing of the meaningfulness of the experience. This activity extends from the story about memories of world war African soldiers.
Making Singapore a little wilder (page 13)
How our parks and gardens are being made more attractive for wildlife here. Meanwhile. the photo essay “Wet and wild” (page 14-15) treats us to award-winning Wildlife Photographer of the Year underwater pictures. Moving on to prehistoric wildlife is “Dinosaurs large and little” (page 16-17) with “Scientists are still not 100% sure which were the biggest dinosaurs ever” and “Tiny dinosaurs, big impact”. Fast forward to a team of innovative, determined women “Cleaning up a mangrove in Mexico” (page 12), a boost to reviving wildlife there.
Taking Action: Our Stories – For English & CCE, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Individual. To practice writing short personal accounts. Students use the story to detail how the Guardianas del Conchalito women overcame each obstacle stated in the worksheet. They then recall and write down past personal challenges and the actions they took to overcome them. ⭐
Breathe New Life – For Social Studies & Art, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To experience developing an action plan for underused spaces. To warm up, students ask each other True-False statements about the clean-up of the mangrove in Mexico. They then use a graphic organiser to develop a proposed plan for using that space.
⭐ Answers to these 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.
