ACTIVITIES in What’s Up:
• Verb Find – page 2
• Contest: Acts of Kindness – page 11
• Contest: Grandmother Stories – page 21
• Under My Umbrella – page 23
ACTIVITIES at ideas.whatsup.sg
COUNTRIES WORK TOGETHER IN ICY ANTARCTICA (page 7)
When an expeditioner needed rescuing in Antarctica, countries put their differences aside and worked together to save his life. More snow on page 9’s “Reaching into the past to save the future” where even mammoths are on the cards for reducing climate change.
Brrr… It’s Cold Out There! – For Science & Social Studies, level 1 – DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To learn more about an unfamiliar ecosystem. A gap-fill passage, an exercise in unscrambling words, and a reflection question about the tundra. ✪
A Good Deed – For English, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Individual. To practise composition writing using an outline. Students answer a series of guided questions and then write a composition about witnessing a good deed. ✪
Rise Above Differences! – For English and CCE, level 3 – DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To see value in rising above differences for the common good. Students (i) identify common interests and sources of conflict of the countries in the story (ii) use a cootie catcher to discover commonalities, differences, and a shared goal to work on together. ✪
IN A PICKLE OVER KIMCHI (page 15)
Explains why Koreans were upset when a newspaper suggested that kimchi was from China. Points out that foods such as fermented vegetables do have more similarities across cultures than people realise.
Pick the Word – For English, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To practise careful reading for recall, comprehension, and inferred meanings. Students match words or phrases in the given table with synonyms from the article ✪
HOW TO MAKE STRESS YOUR FRIEND (page 16-17)
The latest research on stress shows that one’s attitude to stress matters. This article explains, in simple terms, the biology of stress and how we can make stress healthy for our bodies.
Stress: A Game Changer – For CCE & English, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To reinforce the fact that beliefs about stress matter. Students complete a gap-fill mind map on coping with stress. ✪
Weekend Fun: What Kinds of Stress? – For English & CCE, level 3 – DOWNLOAD
Individual. To differentiate between eustress and distress. The student describes four activities in terms of stress experienced and suggests how to reduce distress and optimise eustress.
MASKS THROUGH THE AGES (page 12-13)
A photo essay showcasing fascinating masks worn by various communities long ago.
Masks Inspire Creativity – For English and Art, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Individual Work. To express creativity inspired by cultural artefacts. Students (i) summarise points about any two masks in the story (ii) design a mask and (iii) write a descriptive passage about an imaginary masked person. Detailed writing tips provided. ✪
WHAT INSPIRED OUR ANCESTORS TO PAINT ANIMALS (page 20-21)
Two recently-discovered cave paintings of warty pigs in Indonesia are now considered the world’s oldest known figurative artwork. The author, an artist herself, reflectively contrasts these with Leonardo da Vinci’s sketch of a horse.
Let’s Explore Warli Tribal Art – For English and Art, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Individual Work. To explore using an ancient art form. The student (1) views a short clip about Warli Tribal art and notes its characteristics in the given chart (2) writes a paragraph about a typical day in his/her life and (3) depicts a scene from it using the Warli Tribal Art style.
WILL YOU HELP FIGHT RACISM? (page 1)
Introduces to readers our new package of digital resources, “Stories of Casual Racism”. The nine articles can be found at https://more.whatsup.sg/ . The Teacher’s Guide and activities may be downloaded from http://ideas.whatsup.sg/ .
Activities to learn about casual racism – For English, Art & CCE, levels 1–3 – DOWNLOAD
Twelve activities that can be used with the nine articles on casual racism.
Curtains Up! – For English & Drama, level 3 – DOWNLOAD
Whole-class drama project. To experientially examine casual racism in a safe space. Provided: PowerPoint presentation giving the class an overview, a different handout of instructions for each of the seven groups, and a worksheet for post-performance reflection.
✪ 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.
