Contest in What’s Up
• Growing Stronger – page 21 (deadline 10 October)
Activities at ideas.whatsup.sg
President Trump thinks tariffs are beautiful, but they have ugly results (page 1 & 28)
A child-friendly update on US tariffs, this story focuses on why Trump is targeting India and Brazil with huge tariffs. “Balancing act” (page 25) features the world’s top slackliner, Jaan Roose, with a very different message for us.
Word Find – For English, Level 1 DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To strengthen figure-ground perceptual skills and grow vocabulary. A relaxing puzzle of 15 hidden words, followed by sentence construction using them. ⭐
Quotable Quotes – For English & CCE, Level 3 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To become more aware that there are many routes to peace and harmony. Four quotes, each with three thought-provoking questions. Followed by a whole-class sharing.
Turning the tide against plastic waste in the ocean (page 26)
About the CircularBlue with its AI-assisted vacuum cleaner removing ocean trash. More sea-tech in “Underwater highways that connect people around the world” (page 9) about fibre-optic internet cables. On land, “Bangladesh’s rickshaws go electric” (page 8), thanks to two students from China who were stuck in Bangladesh during the pandemic. More engineering feats closer to home where “Special machines help paint shops create thousands of colours on demand” (page 16-17).
Mood Colours & Poetry — For Art & Literature, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Individual exercise. To produce mood-driven abstract art and poetry. Extending from the paint-machine story. The student (1) examines artist Mark Rothko’s use of colour to create mood (2) experiments with colours to convey feelings (3) writes an art-inspired poem following guidelines.
Help Others with Your Knowhow! — For English & CCE, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To envision using one’s knowhow to do good. To warm up, the student completes a graphic organiser about the e-rickshaw story. Just as Nicole Mao did, each group then generates ideas that use their skills and knowledge to address a problem, develops an action plan for one idea, and imagines the best possible outcomes. ⭐
After a big cleanup, lotus blooms return to a Kashmiri lake (page 11)
About the restoration of Asia’s second-largest freshwater lake, the Wular Lake. On to Lake Télé’s swamp forest in Africa, where “Crocodile hunters of the Congo Basin” (page 23) endanger dwarf crocodiles. Meanwhile, in Thailand, one woman is tirelessly “Giving rescued elephants a home and a family” (page 6). In contrast, “Cute? When they invade towns, maybe not” (page 10) applies to capybaras in South America. Photo-essays “Captivating caves” (page 14-15) and “Nature up close” (page 24-25) remind us that, thankfully, breathtaking nature still surrounds us.
Caring for Animals Around Us — For English & CCE, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Whole-class activity. To understand the needs of community animals. On their own, students respond to questions about the rescue-elephant story. The class then forms five groups. Each group prepares and presents about caring for: community dogs and cats, adopted dogs, rabbits, and parrots. ⭐
The Teochew boy who became Singapore’s king of paint (page 16-17)
About the life of Goh Cheng Liang, a local entrepreneur and philanthropist. We also salute “The rising power of women’s cricket” (page 27). More superstar stories: “Singapore’s forest is a star in Jisoo’s music video” (page 19) and “Michelin and the hunt for fancy food” (page 18).
Our Food Star Award – For Social Studies and CCE, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To design an award system celebrating food for common people. Students answer reflection questions about What’s Up’s Michelin-star article and a video featuring an affordable food stall in Singapore. In groups, they design an alternative award and present it to a food-stall vendor.
Write a Life Story – For English & CCE, Level 3 DOWNLOAD
Individual. To experience constructing a life story. To warm up, the student arranges 10 sentences chronologically to tell the story of Goh Cheng Liang. The student then interviews an older family member, drafts the life story, has the interviewee validate it for accuracy, shares the story with the class, and presents a copy to the interviewee as a keepsake. ⭐
“A Kenyan farmer embraces solar power” (page 13)
Josephine Waweru shares her experience with a solar-powered water pump that saved her farm. Meanwhile, the Parker Solar Probe may be “Closing in on the sun’s mysteries” (page 12). The sun’s warmth is not always good news though, as “Melting ice destroys a pretty village” (page 7) shows.
Shadows on a Sunny Day – For Science & Art. Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Individual activity. To enjoy shadow art. Extending from the solar stories. After two videos about shadow art and experimenting with shadow shapes, the student creates shadow art.
Make a Sundial – For Science & Art. Level 3 DOWNLOAD
Individual activity. To explore the use of systematic observations while making a sundial. The student watches a video and follows instructions to make a simple sundial, records observations, and answers questions about the sundial in action. Culminates in a show-and-share of sundials in class
“Fitting In: When a class is slow to warm up” (page 22-23)
This episode of Fitting In examines why friendships may not form easily in some classes and what can be done to strengthen classroom communities. “Meet Mat, the kampung boy” (page 20-21), in our series of favourite comic characters, offers food for thought about kampung-style community living. More relationship wisdom riding on humour in “Tee and Boba” when Tee misreads a loving message.
Storytelling to Build Community – For English & CCE, Level 3 DOWNLOAD
Whole-class activity. To strengthen the classroom community through storytelling. An extension of the Fitting-In article. Based on the ocean-waste story, students list negative effects of plastic ocean trash. Given sentence starters, they connect details in the ocean-waste article with parallel personal experiences. Next, they share their stories in a whole-class storytelling session. Then, in twos or threes, they reflect on storytelling’s power to bring people closer together. ⭐
Time Traveller Mix-Up – For Social Studies & English, Level 3 DOWNLOAD
Pairwork. To exercise perspective taking. The pair (1) collects details about childhood as experienced by a couple of older adults at school (2) uses the data to write diary entries from the viewpoint of a child from the past transported to the present and another child transported in the other direction.
Same Words, Different Effect – For English, Level 2 DOWNLOAD
Groupwork. To appreciate punctuation in writing. Stemming from Tee’s misreading of a note. Students correct the punctuation in 10 given sentences to see how the meanings then change dramatically. Each group (1) selects an expressive sentence from a menu (2) uses it to first convey a positive message and then a negative message (3) perform skits to demonstrate the difference. Followed by reflection questions. ⭐
⭐ 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.
