This month’s IDEAS activities
Horror in Syria (page 6)
The story explains the complex civil war in Syria, and what life is like for people there.
Interview with a White Helmet — For English & CCE, level 3 – DOWNLOAD
Pair-work. To promote thinking about altruism and leadership. Each pair constructs five interview questions with likely answers, and role plays interviews with the White Helmets.
Compare & Contrast Instagrams — For Art & CCE, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Individual. To encourage empathy and perspective-taking. Students draw Instagram posts that they imagine would be typical for a child in Syria and one in Singapore.
The Man behind Alibaba (page 9)
Profiles Jack Ma, one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, who continues to think big.
Create a Timeline – For English, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Individual. To practise reading for comprehension and use timelines as a visual aid. After reading the article, students fill in a timeline based on Jack Ma’s life. *
Levelling the playing field for people everywhere (page 10-11)
Two stories — “Rights campaigner fights for Thailand’s stateless people”, and “‘Women of the World’ helps refugees adjust to life in US” — about helping displaced people.
I Can Help, Too – For English & CCE, level 3 – DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To build community and reflect on how everyone can play a part. Students discuss how they can help a displaced child who has joined their school.
Writing a Profile – For English, level 3 – DOWNLOAD
Individual. To practise writing a profile. Students fill in a table with examples from the two stories, and then plan their own story using the same table.
Exploring Italy’s ghost towns (page 14)
Showcases Santo Stefano di Sessanio, a small town in Italy that has been revived as a tourist destination. Other once-dying towns are following suite.
Woo Them Back! – For Art & English, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To experience multimodal marketing. Steps for each group to design a tourist campaign for Santo Stefano di Sessanio, including posters and a three-minute pitch on TV.
Ghost Town Busters – For CCE & English, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To better understand rural-to-urban migration. Using three people’s scenarios, students suggest ideas to enable the individuals to be entrepreneurs. *
Spotting racial discrimination (page 15)
To be able to treat all people fairly, we must first know what racial discrimination looks like. Six scenarios from everyday life illustrate the many faces of racial discrimination.
STRONG together — For English & CCE, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To explore the ethos of just and caring communities. Each group constructs and performs a skit that illustrates how the six victims in the story help one another.
Stop! Rewind. Go. — For English and CCE, level 3 – DOWNLOAD
Whole class. To better understand that life’s scripts can be rewritten. A brainstorming activity to convert the six given anecdotes into ideal scenarios.
The biggest bird that ever lived (page 16)
An elephant bird’s egg found in a museum cabinet recently has triggered this closer look at what is known about the elephant bird, which went extinct in the 17th century.
Elephant Bird: My Artist’s Impression — For Art & English, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Individual. To promote imagination and extrapolation from text to visuals. Students draw what they think the elephant bird looks like, based on information in the article.
The Diary of Paige Langle –– English & Literature, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Individual. To express creativity in writing. Imagining that Paige Langle keeps a diary about fantastical finds in the museum, the student writes one day’s entry.
US politicians want to ban eating cats and dogs (page 17)
The US initiative also appeals to other countries to do the same. The story examines society’s biases in condemning the human consumption of some animals, but not others.
Debate: Animals: Friends or Food? Let’s Debate — For English & CCE, level 3 – DOWNLOAD
Group-work. To encourage a nuanced consideration of both sides of the issue. Students to use information from the article and engage in mini debates, with all students participating.
Compose a Jingle –– For Music and CCE, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Group-work. To appreciate catchy and iconic jingles. A fun, creative activity that looks at why some jingles are so memorable. Each group then composes a jingle about animal rights.
Should we expect better behaviour from sports stars? (page 23)
Our sports columnist gleans lessons about sportsmanship from Serena Williams’s recent outburst and other such examples.
Sportsmanship 24/7 – For CCE & English, Level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To value sportsmanship in everyday living. Each group responds to a list describing sportsmanship and suggests how the list can apply both on and off the field.
*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.
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