Contest in What’s Up
• Ideas for Cass – page 17
Activities at ideas.whatsup.sg
COUNTRIES ARE STRUGGLING WITH EXTREME WEATHER (page 1)
Massive floods in Pakistan, severe drought in China and the US, and other extreme weather occurrences remind us that urgent human action is needed.
Crossword Puzzle (online) – For English, Level 1
Individual exercise. To engage more deeply in the story. Puzzle of over 20 words with easy clues. ⭐
A PLUCKY YOUNG WOMAN IS IMPROVING LIVES IN GAZA (page 10)
Despite gender biases, engineer Majd Mashharawi is creating waves with her SunBox and Greencake inventions. Meanwhile, librarian Wahida Amiri is fighting for the rights of girls and women in her country (see “Brave librarian stands up for women in Afghanistan”, page 8).
Celebrate Peace Day (21 September)– For Social Studies & CCE, Level 3 DOWNLOAD
Whole class. To commemorate Peace Day. The class (1) plans and carries out a Peace Day activity and (2) participates in The Peace Wave by observing a minute of silence at noon.
Vocab Builder– For English, Level 1 DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To strengthen vocabulary and syntax. Students (i) examine the use of given phrases in the story and (ii) use the phrases to construct their own original sentences.
WINDS OF CHANGE: THE RETURN OF CARGO SAILBOATS (page 11)
Two brothers built and launched a modern-day cargo sailboat — an example of greener shipping. “How heavy-lifting rockets will transform space exploration” (page 12–13) show that technology is helping to reduce waste on that front too.
Green inventions for Shipping – For Science, Level 3 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To distill and present about novel green ship designs. Each group gathers facts about a green shipping invention and presents it to the class using PowerPoint slides. Provided: list of five green inventions with video links. ⭐
STEPPING OUT IN STYLE WITH UPCYCLED CLOTHES (page 16-17)
In Uganda, designer Bobby Kolade is transforming old clothes into designer pieces. More about fashion icons, “Two Japanese designers who dared to think differently” (page 20–21) is a salute to pioneer Japanese designers Issey Miyake and Hanae Mori who died last month.
A Piece of Decalcomania – For English & Art, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Individual activity. To see fashion design as a form of artistic expression. Part I: appreciating the unique designs of Issey Miyake and Hanae Mori. Part II: using decalcomania to design children’s clothing.
TALKING ABOUT … TALKING (page 18-19)
Two engaging articles about the evolution of human speech: “When was talking invented?” and “How did people talk in the Stone Age?”.
Talking with Signs – For CCE, Level 1 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To explore signing to communicate. After watching a video, members use the given diagram to sign sentences to one another and to spell out members’ names in sign.
Let’s Create a Timeline – For English, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Individual activity. To practise using a timeline for organising information. The student (i) completes a given timeline based on the article (ii) creates a new timeline. ⭐
Words to Live By– For English, Level 3 DOWNLOAD
Individual activity. To value language mastery. Four mini activities: (1) spotting spelling errors in signboards (2) reflecting on the value of mastering languages (3) learning to say “Hello”, “Thank you” and “I love you” in five languages (4) responding to a quote by Nelson Mandela.
HOW THE QATAR WORLD CUP WILL BE DIFFERENT (page 22)
Changes we can expect in this year’s World Cup. The working conditions of foreign workers is a concern that may resonate with the rider featured in “Food delivery riders deserve better work conditions” (Page 7).
Working with the Unexpected – For English & CCE, Level 3 DOWNLOAD
Individual activity. To explore incongruity in life. The student (1) lists three differences between the 2022 World Cup and previous ones (2) generates ideas about incongruous objects and reflects on feelings about incongruity in daily living (3) develops and shares a short story titled “A Series of Unexpected Events” using the given template.
TEE & BOBA (page 23)
When a lizard tries Tee and Boba’s antics, the adorable duo realise that humans do not always treat other small creatures with as much love and understanding.
Should Appearances Matter? – For Science & CCE, Level 3 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To value all living things by looking beyond physical appearances. The pair (1) classifies a list of endangered animals as either appealing or unappealing to the public (2) gathers facts about one “unattractive” animal (3) makes a brief speech to convince the class that their unattractive animal is as valuable to the planet as the more attractive ones.
⭐ 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.
