Contest in What’s Up
• Help Ben Choose – page 17
Activities at ideas.whatsup.sg
NATURE’S LONG-DISTANCE TRAVELLERS (page 22-23)
Factual storytelling laced with gentle humour. A wildlife cartoonist and birdlife activist team up to tell us all about migratory birds. Followed by “Elephants’ best friend” (page 24–25), Binod Bora who partners local communities in Assam to reduce conflicts between humans and elephants.
Migratory Birds Crossword (online) – For Science & English, Level 1
Individual exercise. To engage more deeply with the migratory birds cartoons. Puzzle of 20+ words with easy clues. ⭐
Human Versus Elephant – For Science & English, Level 3 – DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To practice perspective taking. Guided by prompts, the student fills speech bubbles with what elephants and villagers might say to each other, and Mr Bora to each side, plus to all of them.
UKRAINIAN TEENAGER INVENTS DRONE TO HELP FIND DEADLY LANDMINES (page 10-11)
Because he wanted to help in some way, teen Igor Klymenko has invented a drone that detects landmines. Meanwhile, “France’s creative repairman” (page 21) creates pothole art when he decides he cannot wait any longer for road repairs.
The Difference I Can Make – For Social Studies & CCE, Level 3 DOWNLOAD
Individual. To explore being a change agent. A step-by-step worksheet for planning a small project that will help to address a concern of the student’s choice.
Game: Secret Manito – For CCE, Level 1 DOWNLOAD
Whole class. To enjoy doing good anonymously. Guidelines for playing a whole-class game where each Secret Manito affirms another student for a week. Followed by a class reflection of the experience.
BALLPOINT PEN (page 14-15)
Part of “My Stuff” series, all about this humble writing tool. “Biro: the writer who needed a better instrument” and “Making writing easier” give us the history. Side bars: “Famous names” and, of course, “Fun facts about ballpoint pens”.
Loopy About Pens – For Art & CCE, Level 1 DOWNLOAD
Individual. To enjoy expressing creativity through doodling. After watching a video on doodling, the student creates artwork using a favourite pen.
The Making of Pens – For Science & Technology, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Individual. To learn about pen-making processes. Guided exploration into imagining and then learning about modern pen manufacturing. ⭐
THE APPEAL OF MASCOTS (page 18-20)
Three pages of lovable (and some, not so lovable) mascots. Read “Merli turns five!”, “Hero in a Jerry Mouse suit”, “Other Singaporean mascots”, “Mascots from around the world”, and “Unusual suggestions for an Olympic mascot”.
Fact vs Opinion Adjectives – For English, Level 3 DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To strengthen critical thinking. The student has to (i) identify adjectives in a given passage and the What’s Up story (ii) decide whether each adjective is a fact or an opinion. ⭐
Mind Map: Mascot Suggestions – For Science, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To synthesise facts about wildlife. The task is to create a mind map about the creatures mentioned in the “Unusual suggestions…” story.
KEEPING SUGAR OUT OF REACH (page 6)
What governments, hospitals, and schools are doing to help people take less sugar. Features a local primary school that does not have a drink stall or vending machine anymore.
Bar (of sugar) Chart – For Science & Health Education, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Individual. To heighten awareness of sugar consumption and nutrition labels. Given an example of a fictitious drink, steps for reading labels of two snacks and two drinks, calculating added sugar content, and displaying the data in a bar chart.
Menu for Healthy Drink Stall – For CCE & Art, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Individual activity. To explore the promotion of healthy traditional drinks. The student gathers information about local traditional drinks to create a poster of the menu for a healthy drink stall at school.
TEE & BOBA (page 28)
This month, the lovable hamsters talk about Hygge, a Danish word for finding happiness in little things.
What is Hygge – For English & CCE, Level 3 DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To explore the concept of Hyyge for well-being. The student (i) lists experiences that might qualify as Hygge and those that do not (ii) elaborate on two favourite Hygge moments.
Hygge for Hurried Times – For English & CCE, Level 3 DOWNLOAD
Individual activity. To proactively plan for Hygge moments. With the help of an example, steps for developing a simple plan for a Hygge experience.
⭐ 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.
