Activities in What’s Up
• Contest: Learning to be responsible – page 23
• Let’s Play! From whom to whom? – page 24
Activities at ideas.whatsup.sg
Extreme heat shows that climate change cannot be ignored (page 1 & 28)
With record-breaking heat affecting everyone, it is critical to slow down climate change. Sunshine is still celebrated though — focusing on Midsummer’s Day, “It happened in June: the longest (and shortest) day” (page 18-19) and its side bar “Our tilted planet” (page 18) explain solstices and equinoxes.
Midsummer Crossword (online) — For English, level 1
Individual exercise. To foster reading comprehension and increase vocabulary. Based on the equinox stories, a 20-word puzzle. Ready by 30 June at https://digital.whatsup.sg/. ⭐
Game: Guess Our Favourites – For English & CCE, level 1 DOWNLOAD
Whole class. To become more familiar with solar-related events. Extending from the equinox stories, students guess each other’s responses to prompts about weather.
USA turns 250 (page 6)
Highly respected diplomate Tommy Koh talks to What’s Up about this special occasion, based on his experiences there. When UK’s king and queen paid a rare visit to the US to mark the anniversary, Queen Camillia brought a special gift. “Missing Roo? Queen Camilla to the rescue” (page 9) tells us more. At a more global event, “True football fans are upset at ridiculous World Cup ticket prices” (page 27).
The Many Meanings of Racial Harmony Day – For NE & English, level 3 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To appreciate the diversity of perspectives about RHD. Extending from the big-event stories. Students first work in pairs to construct three questions and then conduct interviews about what RHD means. Quotes are shared with the class. Each student then writes a thoughtful statement about how one celebration (in this case, RHD) can have different meanings for different people. 🔶
Harmony Slogans — For English & CCE, level 3 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To express convictions about true friendship. Extending from the Roo story. Each group imagines how Winnie-the-Pooh and the buddies stayed good friends despite their differences. The group then makes a banner with a friendship slogan for RHD. 🔶
Banksy’s newest sculpture gets people talking (page 12)
About the statue’s sudden appearance in London and its cautionary message. Also drawing crowds are the hand-made puppets by Wes Anderson, “The filmmaker who does not like CGI or AI” (page 17). Almost two centuries old, “A masterpiece that captures the beauty of birds” (page 16) is a book that is part of The Birds of America series by artist and ornithologist John James Audubon. Side bar “Singapore’s own nature drawings” (page 16) is about local paintings commissioned by William Farquhar.
Handmade Still Matters — For Social Studies, CCE & Art, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To better appreciate hand-made products. Extending from the Wes-Anderson story. The students (1) select items they prefer to be handmade and explain why (2) make a thaumatrope following video instructions (3) write a story about their future selves visiting a museum of handmade things that have become rare. ⭐
Bird Art Inspired — For Science & Literature, level 3 DOWNLOAD
Individual activity. To exercise thoughtful observation and respond poetically to natural-history art. The student visits the website of John Audubon’s The Birds of America, articulates appreciation of any two of his drawings of birds, completes a table by turning scientific language into a poetic style or the reverse, and composes a free-form poem about any two birds. The poems are then shared with the class.
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet in Beijing (page 8)
Explains why the meeting was closely watched by people around the world. As global leaders would know, we use “Different words for different places” (page 24), as modelled by Thai K-pop superstar Lisa. Along similar lines, “The fast-food restaurant chain that made Chinese food popular in America” (page 10) looks at how Panda Express recipes were adapted for their target customer base. 🔶
Our Fusion-food Creation — For English & Social Studies, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To explore adapting traditional food to suit a new customer base. Extending from the Panda Express article. The group completes a table to describe Panda Express’s successful business moves. After discussing the pros and cons of changing traditional food recipes to suit foreign tastes, the group imagines starting a specialty food stall, adapts a local dish for foreigners, and promotes it through a flyer. 🔶
David Attenborough’s 100 years of life on earth (page 22-23)
About this inimitable naturalist’s childhood that paved the way for his life’s work. There are other ways in which “Humans and other animals” (page 14-15) connect, as seen in this photo essay. Then, with just two award-winning photos, “The hunter and the hunted” (page 21) dramatically illustrates nature’s food chain. In contrast, penguins are seen patiently “Waiting their turn” (page 1) to dive into the icy ocean waters. Finally, in Attenborough spirit, “Tee & Boba” (page 28) help us to see that, in nature, tininess is relative after all. 🔶
One-Minute Nature Documentary – For English Drama & Science, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To explore the use of documentaries for wildlife education. After watching three very brief documentaries narrated by David Attenborough, the group follows guidelines to plan a minute-long documentary about a local wildlife — animal or plant. Includes a micro lesson on types of filming shots. All groups present their sketches of the scenes, along with narration. Template provided.
Tiny Things, Big Impact – For Art & CCE, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To apply creativity in demonstrating the beauty of tiny details. Inspired by Tee & Boba. The students select a commonplace item at school, enlarge a detail to create artwork that transforms their close-up texture into a landscape. A gallery walk of all the artworks is followed by a brief guided reflection.
A world run for those who cannot (page 25)
About the recent Wings for Life World Run in Vienna, a fundraising event for those with spinal cord injuries. 🔶 Shifting to prevention is “Why wearing a helmet is a smart move when skateboarding” (page 26).
Put Safety First – For English & Science, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To reinforce the importance of preventing injuries when playing. The student uses the helmet story to fill in an organiser on the vulnerability of the brain and how a helmet protects it. Each group selects a sport played by at least one member, creates an infographic sports-safety poster, and displays it in the classroom. ⭐
How high can a skyscraper go? (page 11)
With the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia about to set a world record, this story explains some of the challenges of designing very tall buildings. As designing goes, “The predictable yet surprising cube” (page 20) zooms in on the lure of this familiar shape found all around us.
Cube Trivia – For English, level 1 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To strengthen reading comprehension. Based on the article about cubes, the student matches the given facts with their corresponding details. ⭐
If I were a Skyscraper Lift – For Science & English, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To practice imaginative perspective taking. Based on the skyscraper article, the student (1) fills in a table about skyscraper challenges (2) completes a problem-solution matching activity (3) writes a diary entry from the point of view of a lift in a skyscraper. ⭐
Model Towers: Withstanding the Wind – For Science & Art, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To apply and test design skills. A contest in which a wind test determines the strongest model skyscraper. Students work in twos or threes to construct their models within given parameters. For instance, only readily-available scrap materials are to be used.
How Lea Salonga opened the world to other Asian performers (page 19) 🔶
How this Filipina superstar scored many firsts on stage and on screen. For youth who seek stardom, “Game over: When video gaming for a living, very few succeed (page 13) is a reality check but goes on to explain that this sunrise industry does offer a multitude of other jobs.
Responding to Pro Gamer Plans – For English & CCE, level 3 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To practice articulating responses in a dialogue. Using the details from the video-gaming story, the students individually write responses to given statements by an imaginary person who wants to leave school to become a full-time gamer. Then in pairs, students role-play the two scripts. They share their reflections on the experience of the activity.
⭐ 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 Racial Harmony Day (21 July 2026)
