Activities in What’s Up
• Contest: Siblings – page 17
• Who’s Your Favourite? – page 23
Activities at ideas.whatsup.sg
Plastic pollution
Three articles each focusing on an essential facet of this environmental crisis: “Some plastics are easier to recycle than others” (page 8), “Why can’t plastics decompose?” (page 7), and “Countries meet to tackle the problem of plastics” (page 6). Illustrating the repercussion, climate change, is “First, too much water, then too little water” (page 12) in Spain. Then, a photo essay about seals, “Life on the wild side” (page 14–15), reminds us why we must clean up the planet.
Plastic Recycling Explorers – For Science & Art, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To better understand plastics recycling. Based on the article and a video, the student creates an informative poster to educate the public about what to put in which recycling bin. Provided: cutouts of items, a recycling-bins poster template. 💠⭐
Vocab Builder — English, level 1 DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To grow vocabulary related to environmental stewardship. The student (i) examines the use of given phrases in the plastics story, and (ii) uses the phrases to construct original sentences.
Moana movies show the wonders of Polynesian culture (page 16-17)
Looks at how accurately the Moana movies portray ancient Polynesian culture. Meanwhile, “Finding beauty in old houses” (page 23–24) is about the group ArClab’s efforts to restore our built heritage. Continuing down memory lane, “The bags that changed school and travel” (page 21), “Airships are back” (page 10-11) and “Low-tech LEGO has high-tech use” (page 18) all tell stories of familiar perennials that have evolved over time.
Moanna Crossword (online) — For English, level 1
Individual exercise. To engage more deeply in the story. A 20-word puzzle with easy clues. ⭐
We Know the Way! – For Social Studies, level 3 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To better appreciate Polynesian culture. Students watch a video on Polynesian navigation techniques, do a matching activity, and use given symbols to create a map for wayfinders to find an island. 💠
Target: waste less food (page 19)
A timely look at how much food is thrown out in Singapore, and what we can do to reduce the waste. “Why it is so hard to put down a bag of potato chips” (page 13) explains the food science at work. 💠
Food Waste Warriors — For English & Social Studies, level 3 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To explore creative food-waste solutions through drama. The class forms four groups: farmers, minimart owners, consumers, and waste managers. Each group presents a skit about its focus stakeholders addressing, with creativity, a food-waste challenge. 💠
An “Ugly Fruits” Campaign— For Art, Music & CCE, level 3 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To apply knowledge about ugly produce for food waste reduction. Each group develops a campaign presentation (including a slogan, mascot, and ditty) which is presented to the class. 💠
Syrians celebrate the fall of cruel President Assad
Now that Bashar al-Assad is gone, many Syrians hope life will get better. To their north, Finland’s “Women volunteering to fight (page 11) is an example of ordinary people being determined to defend their country from enemies. The value of promoting peace recurs in “The new kid in class” (page 26-27), the first in our “Fitting In” series about building just and caring classroom communities. 💠
Our New Year Wishes for Them! – For CCE & English, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To practice empathy and perspective taking. Each group focuses on one person featured in this issue and articulates its New Year wishes for that person. 💠
Friendships: My Safety Net – For CCE & TDD, level 1 DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To be more aware of personal relationships. Extending from the Fitting In article, the student maps a web of friendships, indicating the strength of support. With prompts encouraging reflection on the value of mutually supportive peer relationships. 💠
Welcome Postcards – For CCE, English & Art, level 1 DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To experience the joy of reaching out and welcoming a newcomer. Simple steps for making a welcome card for someone new at school. 💠
The cartoon mouse that everyone knows (page 22–23)
The first in our new series about famous cartoon characters, all about the beloved Mickey Mouse. As endearing, hamsters Tee & Boba (page 28) auger in the new year by freeing their pets even as they spot a new one. Moving on to another art technique is Vincent Bal’s “Fun with shadows” (page 20-21).
My Shadowology Art — For Art, level 1 DOWNLOAD
Individual. To encourage playful interpretation of everyday objects through shadow doodles. Instructions for creating shadowology art using everyday objects. The student writes a caption for it and shares it with the class.
Build a Phenakistoscope – For Art & Science, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To createof the illusion of movement for animation. Stemming from the Mickey Mouse article, students watch a video about how phenakistoscopes work, follow steps to create their own with sound effects, and present it to the class. They then respond to reflection questions. Provided: template.
Narrative Poem: Cycles of Life – For Science & Literature, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Individual work. To explore using narrative poetry to express imagined feelings. Stemming from the Tee and Boba comics. After watching three brief videos of life cycles, the student composes and illustrates a narrative poem expressing imagined feelings of the plant/animal.
⭐ 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 Feb 2025)
