Underwater rugby players display their speed, agility and strength underwater – Picture by Camilo Diaz/ 2017 Sony World Photography Awards
Dear teachers,
Half a year has sped by. At this time, you might be asking what your students have learnt through your efforts this semester. And, while marking exam papers, you probably had a large part of that question answered. It’s a pity we don’t have an equivalent measure for finding out about children, in turn, adding to adults’ growth and development. Nonetheless, I asked myself how I learn from kids. I’ve come to the conclusion that I gain most by listening hard to what our readers say in their letters to What’s Up. Often, the lessons are embodied not so much in their words as in sentiments they convey. Browse through a sampler of the letters (always on pages 4 and 5) and you might see what I mean when I claim that we, adults, benefit by simply hearing what kids say. Hence, we thank teachers who routinely encourage students to write to us. As your partner in education, our team appreciates the opportunity to not only teach but also learn through What’s Up.
Sincerely,
Mary George
and the What’s Up team
This month’s IDEAS activities
From child soldier to defender of the forest (page 8)
At 14, Rodrigue Mugaruka Katembo was forced to become a child soldier. Today, at the age of 41, he is a park ranger who protects the wildlife of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He recently received the 2017 Goldman Environmental Prize.
What Makes Them Tick! – For English & CCE, level 1 – DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To better appreciate park rangers’ role in wildlife conservation. A fun exercise in decoding sentences. *
Individual exercise. To be proactive in constructing a personal action plan. A menu of child-appropriate options to select and activate as advocates for wildlife.
Underwater wonders (page 12-13)
Six spectacular photographs from the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards capture the various moods that water conveys while providing for all kinds of creatures.
Individual exercise. To strengthen figure-ground perceptual skills, and to grow vocabulary. Puzzle of 15 hidden words, followed by an exercise in deriving their meanings from context and comparing them with dictionary definitions. *
Remembering Princess Diana (page 11)
Twenty years after Princess Diana died, her sons are erecting a statue to honour her memory. A look back at her legacy.
Fallen Letters – For English & CCE, level 1 – DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To engage with word construction to form a meaningful sentence. A word puzzle that spells out a wise saying reflecting Princess Diana’s attitude to others. *
Don’t Keep It Locked Up – For CCE & Art, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To explore postcards as a vehicle for expressing emotions. Steps for making picture postcards that share deep feelings.
Toys for collectors of all ages (page 15-16)
Nowadays, many adults love toys. The toy industry caters to such adults by making collectibles for these “kidults”.
June Holiday Planner – For CCE, level 1/2/3 – DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To apply reflective thought in making quality decisions. A worksheet for planning a series of holiday activities.
Individual exercise. To understand and use Standard English grammar and vocabulary accurately. Students first examine the use of given phrases in the story and then, use the phrases to construct sentences of their own.
Poet of Darfur (page 18)
Poet of Darfur Emtithal Mahmoud is an award-winning poet with a mission. She hopes to tell the world about mass killings in her hometown of Darfur.
What You Mean to Me – For English & CCE, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Individual activity. To experience letter writing as a meaningful way to communicate feelings. Steps for writing a letter to an older adult to say how much the person means to the student.
When should sports stars say goodbye? (page 23)
After Formula One World Champion Nico Rosberg surprisingly retired from the sport in December, Omar Chaudhuri looks at the demands on modern-day athletes.
Groupwork. To view critically and with accuracy nonverbal communication. A guessing game. Provided: a sheet of 20 name tags of famous sports personalities.
Art Speaks To Me – For CCE & Art, level 3 – DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To respond to art, and use it to communicate a personal message. Guiding questions for responding to artist Linda Yew’s Art To Heart (page 24).
* Answers to asterisked 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, or fill the form on the front page of this website.
At What’s Up, we do most of the work, writing stories for students to read every month. But, we know that many of our readers also enjoy writing or want to have their say. Encourage your students to write us a letter. Ask them to visit share.whatsup.sg.
VIDEOS AND OTHER EXTRAS
Our supplementary site digital.whatsup.sg contains videos, puzzles and other extras associated with the articles in our newspaper. Use them in class or ask your students to explore the site on their own.
OUR PHILOSOPHY & VALUES
We believe values should—and do—count when schools choose resources for their students. Values-driven journalism is at the core of our mission. Find out more by exploring the ABOUT WHAT'S UP link.
