Activities in What’s Up
• What do you think? – page 13
• Let’s Play! – page 21
• Being a Team – page 23
Activities at ideas.whatsup.sg
Time to protect wetlands: they are more important than they look (page 1 & 28)
Our cover-page story sets the tone for more stories about the delicate balance of nature: “Ocean drifters are affected by environmental change” (page 11-12), “Boracay: the holiday island that needed a holiday” (page 22-23), and “How galaxy frogs became stars — and suffered” (page 24-25). “What bird is making that sound?” (page 20) tells us about an app for identifying birds by their calls, without disturbing their habitats.
If Frogs Could Speak – For English, Science & Art, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To experience composing a cinquain poem as an instrument for speaking on behalf of wildlife. The student (1) completes a table about the galaxy frogs’ plight (2) composes a cinquain (3) creates a mini poster with the given template to share the cinquain that speaks for galaxy frogs. The class conducts a gallery walk of the posters.
Recovery from Overtourism – For Social Studies & CCE, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To be aware of the negative effects of tourism and how they can be remedied. Individually, each student fills in an organiser detailing how Boracay, Maya Bay, and Nepal suffered from the effects of overtourism and what the respective governments did to remedy them. Then, each group plans a nature-friendly day trip to any one of NPark’s 24 nature areas in Singapore.
Moon mission (page 1)
This lead in on the front page takes us to “Back to the moon” (page 14-15), an exciting centerspread about the upcoming Artemis II mission. Back on Earth, our Special-Shapes series continues with “What’s the buzz with hexagons?” (page 26). Another story on awesome structures, “Why this city has an amazing clock” (page 11) is about the Royal Clock Tower in Mecca — reminding us that time is precious.
Artemis II Crossword (online) — For English, Level 1
Individual exercise. To engage more deeply in the story. A 25-word puzzle with easy clues. ⭐
The Power of Six Sides — For English & Maths, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To better appreciate the hexagon shape. In pairs, students (1) list where hexagons can be found (2) watch a video to learn why nature seems to love hexagons (3) design a lived-in space inspired by hexagons (4) present their blueprint to the class.
Thailand and Cambodia fight over unclear border (page 8)
Explains the reasons for the border dispute and ASEAN’s efforts towards peace. On the other side of the globe, “People suffer when leaders can’t make peace” (Page 6-7) and “Ukraine’s history of war” (page 7-8) teach about the Ukraine war. “Countries want peace, so why do some fight?” (Page 9) leaves readers with food for thought.
A Guide to Peaceful Rides — For Social Studies & CCE, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To articulate local public-transport etiquette. Each group (1) lists informal expectations when travelling by bus and train respectively (2) designs a Tourist Guide to Peaceful Rides.
Ukraine’s Story — For English & Social Studies, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To value history’s lessons on peace making. First, each student uses the article about Ukraine’s history to rearrange ten sentences in order of events. Then, each group uses the story “People suffer when leaders… “ to respond to prompts about preventing war and growing peace.
Bacteria can be trained to make safer plastics (page 17)
Good news indeed — that bacteria can be used to make less harmful plastics. Meanwhile, there appears to be a different kind of fascination with microbiology as in “These pets do not need house training” (page 13). Bringing us back mainstream is “Coloured foods need a closer look” (page 16).
Would you keep this? – For Math & Social Studies, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Individual-cum-class activity. To explore the unusual trend of keeping unconventional “pets”. After watching a video about inanimate pets, the class conducts a quick poll to gather data about students’ openness to keeping such pets. Each student follows instructions to display the data on a pie chart.
Food colours: A Closer Look at Labels – For Science & CCE, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To strengthen nutrition literacy. Students follow instructions to (1) survey food labels for added colouring at a supermarket of their choice (2) compile and present their findings as an infographic.
What is wrong with this picture? Africans want to fix it (page 18-19)
An enlightening read about historical inaccuracies in world maps that affect our images of countries. Then, we have AI-altered images to contend with as we ask, “What is wrong with THIS picture?” (Page 19-20). Shifting gears but still focusing on images is “The ‘Battle of the Sexes’ did not help women’s sport” (page 27) where gender stereotypes come into play.
Fake vs Real – For English & CCE. Level 3 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To reflect on the pros and cons of AI-generated images. Each student lists the positive and negative uses of AI-generated images, based on the article. Then, each group discusses how they should respond to a given scenario of (a) a false video of a student bullying another student and (b) a true video of the same.
Competing for a Worthy Cause – For CCE & Social Studies. Level 3 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To explore the motivation for competition. With the two “Battle of the Sexes” tennis events as an illustration, this guided discussion looks at the difference that having a worthy cause can make to our desire to win.
Going home for the New Year, with millions of fellow travellers (page 10)
A glimpse into the world’s largest human migration as people all over China head home for the lunar new year. Our Cool-It-Down series may come in handy when keeping calm in such scenarios — “Try becoming a better listener” (page 21) offers tips, with Taylor Swift as a good example. In “Tee & Boba” (page 28), it is the ants who show that potential conflicts can be averted with the right peace-promoting gestures.
From a Different Viewpoint – For CCE & Art, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To practice perspective taking. To warm up, each student responds to prompts about experiences of others not being considerate. Then, in pairs, they retell, in a 4-panel strip, the Tee-and -Boba story through the ants’ lenses. They present their comics to the class along with responses to follow-up questions.
Becoming a Better Listener – For English & CCE, Level 3 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To practise listening skills for informal conversations. Each student matches given responses to how to (1) demonstrate listening (2) check understanding and (3) affirm the speaker. They then pair up. One student enacts a make-believe difficult situation and the other demonstrates each of the three good-listening practices. They switch roles using a different make-believe situation.
⭐ 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.
