What’s Up Contests [Deadline: 6 June 2025]
• Contest: Win or Lose – page 23
• Contest: My Experience of Languages – IDEAS (see below)
Activities at ideas.whatsup.sg
Lawrence Wong gets the people’s permission to continue as PM (page 1 & 28)
Shares PM Wong’s assurances as PAP continues to be the ruling party. South Koreans show that they too value democracy, as we can see from “How a South Korean president lost his job” (page 6).
Vocab Builder – For English, level 1 DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To strengthen vocabulary relating to democratic ideals. Students (i) examine the use of given phrases in the two stories, and (ii) construct their own sentences.
Helpful drones (page 10-11)
The ways in which drones are being used in reforesting, saving lives, and journalism. More on tech at the World Expo “Where nations come to imagine the future” (page 14–15), as national pavilions show off present and future innovations. “The hot-air ballooners of Brazil” (page 26) salutes old tech.
The Many Uses of Drones – For English & Science, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To learn more about drones. Individually, students (1) extract from the story the uses of drones (2) watch a video about drones use. In small groups, they brainstorm how drones can be used (1) by geologists, police officers, and firefighters (2) by their class, if they had one. ⭐
Zoo penguins spend their retirement years in comfort (page 19)
The New England Aquarium in the US has an enviable seniors’ residence for its aging zoo penguins. More about conservation, a radical animal experiment is explained in “Scientists breed puppies with extinct dire wolf genes” (page 7). “Nature’s funny faces” (page 25) celebrates the resilience of wildlife such as the blobfish (New Zealand’s unexpected Fish of the Year), and honey badgers. Sadly, exploiting our love of animals, “Pet adoption scams are on the rise” (page 8).
Caring for Aging Animals — For English & CCE, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Whole class. To understand the special care needs of aging domesticated animals. Using the story, each student completes a table describing the aging penguins’ adapted environment, special diet, and therapy. They then watch a video about caring for old pet dogs. The class forms a panel of students who know about aging pets, and the rest ask them questions. ⭐
Dire Wolf Crossword (online) — For English, level 1
Individual exercise. To engage more deeply in the story. Puzzle of 20+ words. ⭐
After the quake (page 12-13)
A child-friendly photo essay about quake survivors in Myanmar. Examining distress on a more personal level, “Fitting In: Some jokes are not funny” (page 24–25) is a precautionary tale about a student, Jasmine, whom peers target with a mean cyber prank.
Dear Jasmine, Dear Pranksters – For CCE & English, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To practice responding as observers of unkindness. An extension of the Fitting In article. Working in pairs, students compose two letters – one to the victim Jasmine, and a second one to the pranksters. With reflection prompts on what receiving such letters would feel like.
Barcelona’s academy produces another star and more are on the way (page 27)
La Masia, the famous youth football academy, has done it again — Lamine Yamal is their latest star. For more about superheroes, read about this month’s famous cartoon character in “It’s a bird… It’s a plane… It’s Superman!” (page 22–23).
Superboy: The New Kid at School – For CCE & English Drama, level 3 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To engage with the notion that kindness can bring out the best in others. Each group develops and performs a skit based on the given scenario that Superboy has joined their school. After performing the skits, the groups respond to reflection questions.
Keeping the Orang Laut culture alive (page 20)
About local efforts to educate about indigenous foods and traditions. Next, we talk to writer-translator Kelly Zhang about how “Languages give us different ways of thinking about the world” (page 21).
More About Our Orang Laut – For Social Studies & Art, level 3 DOWNLOAD
Individual activity. To better appreciate local indigenous cultural heritage. Based on the What’s Up article about Orang Laut and an additional quick read, the student follows steps for making a display with an origami sampan and paper fish filled with information about Orang Laut traditions.
Contest: My Experience of Languages – For English & CCE, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Individual activity. To deepen awareness of the role that languages play in daily life. A reflective essay contest. Deadline: 6 June 2025.
Nature’s hardworking clean-up crew (page 10-11)
A photo essay showcasing nature’s ways of interactive decay. Next, “The traditional haystacks of Romania” (page 18) tells us about the biodiversity thriving in meadows of haystacks and the value of preserving this ancient farming tradition. Dry grasses can be menacing though, when peatland fires simmer on because “‘Zombie’ fires are hard to put out” (page 9).
Making Haystacks – Past and Present – For English & Science, level 3 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To explore ideas for sustaining desirable traditions. Each student fills in an organizer contrasting past and present haystack-making and suggests ways to revive the tradition of making haystacks. In groups, they select a local tradition and present ways to sustain it. ⭐
Flipbooks: Interactive Decay – For Science & Art, level 3 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To explore decomposition through creating multi-sensory flipbook animation. Inspired by the clean-up crew article, steps for creating a flipbook display that includes sound and other effects to illustrate the process of interactive decay.
Pretty pink rock (page 1)
Continues in “Salt: Useful until there is too much of it” (page 16–17). Another facet of health and well-being can be seen in this month’s “Tee & Boba” (page 28).
Reducing Our Salt Intake – For English & Science, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Individual activity. To practice salt reduction for health. The student (1) completes a true-false exercise (2) logs efforts for three days to reduce salt intake (3) shares the experience. ⭐
Small Joys & Big Dreams – For CCE & Poetry, level 3 DOWNLOAD
Individual activity. To enjoy articulate personal joys and dreams. An extension of Tee & Boba. Two templates to depict little joys and steps towards a big dream, examine the connection between the two, and compose an acrostic poem.
⭐ 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.
