Contest in What’s Up
• If I were Sunny – page 21.
Activities at ideas.whatsup.sg
Teen scientist develops soap to treat skin cancer (page 6)
Heman Bekele is Time magazine’s 2024 Kid of the Year for his innovation for skin cancer treatment. “Her language skills help people understand one another” (page 13) feature another inspiring person, interpreter Chau Nguyen.
Inventor’s Drawing Board – For Science & English, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To generate solution-focused ideas with creativity. From a video of 22 low-cost inventions, each student selects one and comments on it. Working in pairs, students brainstorm everyday problems, develop creative solutions, and present them.
An Interpreter’s Work — For English & CCE, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To better understand the work of a specialised professional. Students (1) complete a True/False exercise (2) list requirements of being an interpreter (3) role play consecutive interpretation using personal anecdotes. ⭐
Shipwrecks: treasure troves and environmental disasters (page 7)
Explores the impacts of capsized vessels, from an old Spanish galleon to modern oil tankers. Other kinds of treasure, albeit more commonplace, are the foci of “The Japanese tradition of carrying a randoseru to school” (page 18) about schoolbags, “A new kind of community library opens in Bukit Merah” (page 22) about sharing books, and “Phone numbers and postal codes tell the story of a growing Singapore (page 12).
Books: Show and Tell — For English, level 1 DOWNLOAD
Individual & groupwork. To better appreciate books. Each student completes a table about the Casual Poet Library and its books. In groups, they share their favourite books using the given prompts. ⭐
Maps for Treasure Hunts– For Social Studies & Maths, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Whole-class activity. To practice mapping. Extending from how shipwrecks are located, this activity introduces the elements of mapping. Each team hides “treasure” at school and develops a map to its location. Teams exchange maps and go on treasure hunts. Ends with reflection prompts. ⭐
Blocking the sun to keep Earth cool? (page 8)
Some scientists are exploring ways to change our climate but not everyone thinks this is a good idea. “Rising temperatures: when is it really too hot?” (page 9) explains extreme heat and climate change. Meanwhile, “Heels are out, flats are taking off” (page 23) may pave the way for more comfortable work attire, even if at the expense of corporate images. More on better work-life conditions, “Copper miners go on strike in Chile (page 11) gives a glimpse into mining communities’ challenges. With an explainer, “Do strikes always work?”. In a far more enviable situation are “Tee & Boba” (page 28) delighting in sushi making.
Evidence and Predictions — For English & CCE, level 3 DOWNLOAD
Individual and group work. To differentiate between evidence and prediction. Based on the “Blocking the sun…” story, students determine if the given statements qualify as evidence or are predictions and explain their rationale. The activity culminates in a sharing of predictions guided by evidence about whether sulphur dioxide or direct air capture shows more promise in slowing down climate change. ⭐
Listen to the Rhythms of Local Foods – For Music & Social Studies, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To create music capturing food preparation. An extension of Tee & Boba’s focus on food. After watching videos about music improvisation in the kitchen, each group composes a one-minute musical rendition based on food-preparation sounds associated with a favourite local dish. The groups perform live or use a digital app (e.g. GarageBand) to mix sounds and create the compositions.
If We Could Design Our School Uniforms – For Art & Social Studies, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To appreciate the balance of comfort, practicality, and smartness in clothing designs. Each group (1) responds to prompts about their ideal school uniform (2) designs an ideal uniform (3) presents it on a poster with an explanatory caption. The class has a gallery walk of all the posters.
Conservation breeding gives endangered species a chance to recover (page 16–17)
Introduces newcomers at Singapore’s Bird Paradise. “The link between birds and dinosaurs” (page 17) shares why some scientists think birds are related to dinosaurs. On to insects, “Long-distance fliers” (page 14–15) is a photo essay about the Monarch butterfly’s challenges to survive. Then, “Mabu: a secret rainforest island in the sky” (page 20) takes biodiversity to a different level. Finally, “Dogs help to disperse seeds to regrow forest” (page 10).
Visualising Figures of Speech – For English & Art, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To better appreciate figurative language. Presented with ten figures of speech from the “Dogs help to disperse seeds…” story, the student (1) sketches the literal meaning of each phrase and (2) completes a sentence explaining how it is used figuratively. ⭐
Wildlife Soliloquies – For English & Science, level 3 DOWNLOAD
Whole class. To grow empathy and experience perspective taking. Students form eight groups, each speaking for a different species featured in the wildlife articles. The groups compose and present thoughtful soliloquies. With prompts for developing the speeches.
Olympic memories (page 26-27)
Along with “The Olympics still brings the world together after 100 years. Will it continue to do so?” (page 27), post-Games reflections. For a timely slowing down, we have “Racing at a snail’s pace (page 24). Also celebrating the breaking of competitive records is “Fifty years of solving the Rubik’s Cube” (page 25)
Steps to Success — For English, level 3 DOWNLOAD
Individual activity. To develop a plan for an invention. The student (1) indicates the sequence of events in the Rubik’s Cube story (2) lists steps for successfully creating a product (3) shares the idea with the class. ⭐
Rubik’s Cube Crossword – English, level 1
Individual. To enhance reading comprehension. A 20-word crossword puzzle based on the Rubik’s Cube story. Online at https://digital.whatsup.sg/ .
Storytelling with Tangrams – For Math & English, level 2 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To enjoy storytelling with tangram puzzles. Following video instructions, each student creates a tangram. Students then work in pairs to incorporate their tangram shapes in a short story titled “The Mysterious Box” and share it with the class. ⭐
⭐ 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.
