Teachers Day is a time for children to learn to give even while they continue to receive – Picture by PIXABAY.
Dear teachers,
In preschool, the teacher-student relationship hinges on the adult reaching out, caring, and giving to the child. Appropriate as this may be during the early years, a gradual shift needs to take place as children grow older — they must learn to give even while they continue to receive. How else would they experience reciprocity?
Middle childhood brings with it a readiness for exploring more deeply such nuances of healthy human relationships as, by then, children’s brains are better equipped. Most older kids realise that there should be both give and take amongst peers. They know to affirm one another through words and actions, often even hoping to be best friends forever.
However, they may not discern any such equation in their relationships with teachers. We should help them to mature on that front, and surely there is no better time than during Teachers Day celebrations. All it takes is for you, teachers, to truly enjoy your students’ efforts to show you how much they care. Your positive response increases the likelihood of students seeing give and take as desirable in growing healthy relationships.
On that note, we hope you have a wonderful Teachers Day!
Sincerely,
Mary George
for the What’s Up team
This month’s ideas activities
NASA to replace telescope in space (page 8-9)
After decades in space, the Hubble telescope will retire in October. Its larger and more powerful replacement, the James Webb Space Telescope, could tell us more about the beginning of time.
Figure It Out — For Mathematics & Art, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Individual Exercise. To solve a novel problem through reasoning. The challenge: how to fit 18 mirrors into a space telescope’s nose cone. Steps for making miniature hexagons, and using them to test solutions to the problem. *
Starry Starry Night – For Music & CCE, level 3 – DOWNLOAD
Whole class. To express appreciation of stars through music. Steps for picking songs about stars and performing them for the class.
Welcome to the North Natuna Sea (page 10)
About Indonesia renaming part of the South China Sea. Sidebar “Disputed Names” shares three other examples of renaming: the Sea of Japan, Londonderry, and Myanmar.
Were on Earth? — For Social Studies, level 1 – DOWNLOAD
Individual Exercise. To become familiar with the locations of the seas and oceans. On the given world map, students name 14 marked locations after unscrambling the clues. *
Individual exercise. To strengthen vocabulary. Students first examine the use of given phrases in the story and then, use the phrases to construct sentences of their own.
Extraordinary architecture (page 12-13)
A photo essay presenting eight spectacular images of architecture that was inspired by nature – an inspiring read.
An Inspiring Mural — For Art & CCE, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To explore artistic expression through murals. Students design a mural on a drawing block for a corridor or wall within the school.
Pick the Winner — For Art & English, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Whole-class activity. To verbally express art appreciation. Steps for each student picking a winner, and sharing the rationale in a three-minute presentation. With PowerPoint slides.
An artist ahead of her time (page 15-16)
The life story of Yayoi Kusama, a superstar in the art world.
Pairwork. To gain a deeper understanding of the freedom that forgiveness brings. Guiding questions for shared reflection in response to Linda Yew’s “Art To Heart” about forgiveness.
Groupwork. To practice perspective-taking. Focusing on six individuals featured in What’s Up, group members speculate about gifts that each of the six would love to receive.
Woman warriors are not just fiction (page 19)
Tracking Wonder Woman from her first appearance in comic books to a TV series and now to the blockbuster movie, we look at the values personified in this superhero.
Contest: Design a Shield — Art & English, level 1 – DOWNLOAD
Individual Exercise. To incorporate symbolism into artwork. A worksheet for drafting the entry to our What’s Up design contest.
Our Conversation — For English & CCE, level 3 – DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To reflect on society’s gender role expectations. A reflection guide for thinking about gender-related issues such as equal opportunities at work.
Modern fashion that glorifies our past (page 22)
This month’s Heritage Hero, local fashion designer Priscilla Shunmugam who is internationally known for her Asian fusion clothes, hopes her designs make people think about heritage.
Groupwork. To approach recycling with innovation and creativity. Requires students to recycle suitable items to create art pieces that may be used as pendants or keychains.
* 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.
