More activities:
• Contest: Pretty or Smart? – WU196 page 25
• Special packages for Total Defence Day are at ideas.whatsup.sg
Activities at ideas.whatsup.sg
SCIENTISTS SCORE IN NUCLEAR FUSION EXPERIMENT, RAISING HOPES FOR A CLEANER FUTURE (page 1)
Last month, researchers made a giant leap towards nuclear fusion as a viable energy source. The science is explained in “Energy from nuclear fusion” (page 6). Other stories on discovery and innovation include “Sticky notes” (page 14–15), and “India is on track for a fully electric train system” (page 10).
Nuclear Fusion Crossword (online) – For Science & English, Level 1
Individual exercise. To engage more deeply with the story. Puzzle of 20+ words with easy clues.
SECRET PHARMACY (page 1)
A lead into the main story, “The underwater medicine chest” (page 24–25), about the immense potential for marine life as a source of medicines for humans. On land, our wildlife focus shifts to Malaya’s bats. “Going batty” (page 17–18) is a visual treat with a cartoon, “Make durian great again”, in which a durian planter forms an alliance with bats; and an infographic, “Pollinating bats of the Malayan peninsula”.
Guessing Game: Marine Challenge – For English & Science, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Whole-class game. To grow vocabulary and nurture teamwork. Guidelines for playing a guessing game: in each round, one team’s player gives clues for its members to guess the word selected by the other team from the two marine stories. 💠
Animal Superheroes– For English & Art, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Whole class activity. To explore desirable superhero qualities. Students first work in small groups to design and create an animal superhero inspired by our “Going batty” and a video about amazing animal abilities. The class then has a catwalk of the groups’ representatives dressed up as their animal superheroes. Followed by individual reflection in response to prompts about real-life personal superheroes. 💠
FAREWELL TO SIM WONG HOO, SINGAPOREAN TECH PIONEER (page 15)
A tribute to the late Mr Sim, this brief story highlights virtues that enabled his success. Likewise, grit and determination are themes in “A Malaysian who wouldn’t give up is the country’s Prime Minister at last” (page 6). A younger role model can be found in “Sharing the gift of reading through audiobooks and braille” (page 12). Even the “Tee & Boba” (page 28) comic strip illustrates the value of foresight when crafting new year resolutions.
Fun with Braille! – For English, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To appreciate braille as a language. Given a braille chart and dots to colour, each student uses braille to answer questions and communicate a message to the partner.💠
Empathy Shoes – For English & CCE, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To develop empathy, and practice oracy. Each group selects one of eight listed characters and presents what a day in the life of that person might be like. 💠
New Year Resolutions: Atomic Habits – For NE & English, Level 3 DOWNLOAD
Individual activity. To explore an innovative approach to changing habits. After viewing a video and studying an infographic about James Clear’s atomic-habits approach, the student follows steps to apply the approach to articulate a plan for new year resolutions to break a bad habit and form a new desirable one. With slides for the teacher. 💠 SLIDES
THE WORLD LOVES BELLS (page22-23)
All over the world, environmental stewardship has included taking care of historic bells. Featuring four of the grandest, we look at why traditional bells are still loved today. Side bar “The breath of a bell” introduces Bill Fontana’s sound art. Other environmental stories include “Celebrities’ private jets: a harmful luxury?” (page 16), “Climate crisis in Somalia” (page 8), and “Tahiti, an island paradise with its share of problems” (page 9).
Idioms That Ring A Bell – For English, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To better appreciate idioms. The student (i) completes sentences with five given bell-related idioms (ii) drafts a short story using these idioms (iii) submits the story for a contest. Contest deadline: 17 Feb 2023. ⭐
He Says, She Says – For English, Level 3 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To practice perspective taking while examining contrasting viewpoints. Based on the celebrity-jet story and a hypothetical conversation between two Taylor-Swift fans, the students (i) debate the celebrity’s use of private jets (ii) reflect on their own personal activities that might also contribute to climate change.
Pen Pal in Paradise – For English & Social Studies, Level 1 DOWNLOAD
Individual work. To experience letter writing to a child far away. Following prompts, the student writes a letter inviting an imaginary child in Tahiti to be a pen pal.
THE AI ARTIST BEHIND AN AWARD-WINNING WORK (page 19)
Explains the current global conversation about the use of AI art generators in award-winning artwork. With side bars “How does AI generate art? and “Exploring AI through art”. “My adventures with AI art” (page 20–21) has artist Linda Yew share her verdict and reflections as she walks us through her tryouts of four AI art software programs.
We Can Be HI Art Generators – For NE & Art, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To appreciate the human capacity for idea generation and artistic expression. The pairs pretend to be “Human Intelligence” (HI) art generators — they create Total Defence Day (TDD) posters by first brainstorming words and images extending from the TDD theme to. The class displays its posters for TDD. 💠
AI Art: Too Easy for Comfort? – For Art & English, Level 3 DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To develop art literacy. Based on the AI-artist story, three prompts for reflection on the use of AI-generated art.
MBAPPÉ: FOOTBALL’S NEXT KING? (page 26)
Kylian Mbappé made several wise decisions along his early football journey and is now poised to be a superstar. Exciting as last month’s World Cup final was, “The next World Cup belongs to women” (page 27)! This brief article alerts us to the teams and star players to look out for. On the same page are “Striving for gender equality in sports” and a salute to “Billie Jean King” for her tireless efforts to level the playing field.
A Fusion of Cool Ideas – For English, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To draw on factual biographical content as a source for creative writing. Following the given example of footballer Mbappé, the student jots down points about two other sporting heroes, and mixes and matches the details into a fresh permutation which is then used to develop a fictional short story.
⭐ 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.
💠 Activities suitable for Total Defence Day (15 February 2023)
