Singapore ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) last year – Picture by cwgoodroe.
Dear teachers,
This month, every school in Singapore will receive a couple of posters from us. One is an attractive, child-friendly version of a UN Convention that Singapore ratified last year — the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). The second poster is an enlarged What’s Up article about racial discrimination. The schools will also get two IDEAS activities to be used with the What’s Up article. The What’s Up article is the first of our new ten-part series, “Regardless of Race”.
Those of you who are familiar with What’s Up would know that our news stories often pit the inherent goodness of humans against the evil fuelled by various forms of discrimination. We see Singapore ratifying ICERD as a call to work even harder to help children know what having the right to live in dignity means. Sensitive though these topics are, you can use our ICERD resources with your classes fully expecting that What’s Up content will always be inclusive and nonthreatening. Also, if you have scenarios of racial discrimination that you’d like examined in this series, please do let us know. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mary George
What’s Up editor
THIS MONTH’S IDEAS ACTIVITIES
Space Force: Donald Trump’s plan to protect America (page 6)
President Donald Trump has announced plans to unveil a new branch of the US military called space force. He claims that it is to protect American interests in space.
Space Force Logo Design — For Art & English, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Individual. To use artistic expression in creating meaningful symbols. Students are to design a logo for a hypothetical space force, and explain its details in labels or captions.
The problem with plastic bags (page 7)
A clear explanation of how plastic bags harm sea life and the environment, with an effective infographic of what is happening and how individuals can make a difference.
Pairwork. To better appreciate flowcharts as visual aids. Students fill in the given flowchart on the problem with plastic bags. *
Planting trees to fight climate change (page 10)
We examine why planting billions of trees every year has worked better in certain reforestation programmes than others. Examples are from Pakistan, China, and several African nations.
Open Letter to NParks — For English, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To practice formulating arguments, as well as letter writing. After brainstorming, students compose an open letter to NParks suggesting how Singapore can help the world.
Green Campaign: Visualising Change — English, Art and CCE, level 3 – DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To communicate the story through a visual form. Students are to create an infographic to explain the state of deforestation today and the importance of trees.
A promise to treat all races fairly (page 11)
Explains the ICERD and why world leaders decided they must have a stronger-worded document than the UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights). Teaches about apartheid, and the holocaust as events that led to these UN documents. This article leads into the children’s version of the ICERD (abridged) on page 12-13.
Decode the Secret Message— English & CCE, level 1 – DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To strengthen comprehension skills for nonfiction print media. Answers to multiple-choice questions unravel a local slogan for ICERD. *
Art Speaks to Me— CCE & English, level 3 – DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To respond to art as a stimulus for reflection. Three scenes from the ICERD poster, depicting schooling, medical services, and music, that invite response.
Jupiter’s growing family (page 14)
Astronomers have discovered 12 new moons orbiting Jupiter. The article explains how they were found. Side bar “Myths about our moon” debunks some common moon myths.
Moon Haiku — For English & CCE, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Individual. To experience the haiku as a poetic form. Students are to write a haiku about moons, with an effort to evoke vivid imagery or emotion. Given: detailed guidelines.
Pairwork. To promote a more literary appreciation of astronomy. Students source for and share stories about the names of moons. They then suggest a name for Earth’s moon.
Bridges big and beautiful (page 16-17)
Featuring gigantic bridges in China, this is a lesson in types of bridges, their incredible technology, and how they bring communities together.
Creative Writing: A Potato Farmer’s Story — For English, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Individual. An exercise in imagination and perspective taking. Students are to write an essay, from farmer Mr Liu’s standpoint, on how the Beipanjiang bridge changed his life.
Songs about Bridges — For Music & English, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To enjoy iconic as well as original songs. A fun, creative activity that looks at why some songs are memorable, and to compose a song about a Singaporean bridge.
Giving materials new lives with ‘thrifty’ design (pages 20-21)
Introduces the ideal that good designing of any product includes planning for how materials can be reused or recycled. Examples range from cars to bricks to spider silk.
Thrift in My Life – For CCE & Art, level 3 – DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To promote creativity and an awareness of environmental issues. Students work in groups to make products by reusing items in their everyday life.
More species or fewer? (page 23-24)
The world is losing species, yet we are discovering more. A closer look at why some scientists believe that we are in a new age of wildlife discoveries.
Combining Sentences – For English, level 2 – DOWNLOAD
Individual. To practice forming compound sentence structures. Students combine each of six given pairs of simple sentences into compound sentences. *
*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.
