April 10, 2015

Identifying the Gap between P4 and P5 English

Dominique Education, Parenting and Kids Bridging the Gap, Education, English, Series

Filling the apple of knowledge

English is a subject that I’m more comfortable teaching the kids. Being an English teacher , teaching this subject comes rather naturally to me as I’ve been doing so for more then 10 years.

Staying in a predominantly English environment the kids have ample chance to practice speaking English with our friends and family. This makes it very easy for them to practice their spoken English on a daily basis.

The problem that Monkey boy faces at the moment is him slipping into Singlish or broken English at times when they talk. This is certainly a no-no in my book as it hampers both their spoken and written ability in this language.

English Examination Format

Weightage for the different components of the English examination format has remained relatively similar for Primary 5 as compared to Primary 4. The main difference is the allocation of marks for the various sections.

In Primary 4 the total marks is 100 marks while in Primary 5 this has been doubled to a 200 marks total.

New item for Oral– Stimulus Based Conversation.

This component has been newly introduced this year to the P4 and P5 students .

The student is assessed based on the following

– Ability to speak fluently and with grammatical accuracy, using a range of appropriate vocabulary and structure.

– The ability to express their personal opinions, ideas and experiences clearly and effectively in conversing with the examiner.

– Ability to maintain good eye contact with the examiner.

This can be quite challenging for a child if he is not able think on his feet and draw out suitable words to use based on scenarios that he has been exposed to prior.

Focus tip : Expose your child to a variety of scenario. This could be through personal experiences or role play . This would build up his ability in story telling.

English Composition Format

Since 2015 there has been a change in the way a student has to write his composition. They are no longer focusing on the old 3 pictures and a question mark type of composition questions and one to a system where it is more open ended.

I’ve covered the changes to PSLE composition format in my series on – English Composition and therefore will not be repeating it here. If you are just looking at how continuous writing looks like now you can read this post here.

The main focus here would be for Monkey boy to improve on his command of English and expand his vocabulary word bank.

He would also need to write a longer essay as the minimum word count has increased from 120 words to 150 words.

He would also need to make sure that he speeds up his speed of writing as he has to do both Situational Writing and Continuous writing within the given time frame of 1hr 10 min

Changes in the Paper 2

One of the main difference in Paper 2 is the introduction of Visual Text Comprehension and a more comprehensive Open Ended Comprehension section.

What is Visual Text comprehension?

It is an assessment which tests a students ability in grasping the main ideas, key details, punctuation, textual elements and how the relate visuals to text.

The range of skills assessed include in the child while getting them to answer questions are

– skimming the passage for gist/ main ideas.

– Scanning for details

– Making inference based on the visual/contextual clues given

– Making simple generalisation based on the information given.

Even though the other components of Paper 2 are not new to Monkey boy he will need to pay special attention to answering questions in the Comprehension OE section.

Based on my teaching experience this is the section which most students struggle as they are unable to score due to their inability in giving complete answers to the questions posed.

What is assessed in Comprehension OE?

In the section the student has to be able to do the following.

– Distinguish between cause and effect.

– Compare and Contrast

– Categorise and classify given details.

– Identify fact and opinions

– Draw conclusions based on evidence given.

– Interpret and integrate information

– Identify problems- solution in a text.

More higher order thinking questions are given and been able to analyse and rationalise are key factors to ace this section.

In the follow up post I will be sharing the methods and resources that I use to help Monkey boy improve in his English.

Bridging the GAP

1) Bridging the Gap- An Introduction

2) Bridging the Gap- Identifying the Gap in Chinese Language ( P4 to P5 )

3) Bridging the Gap- Reinforcing the Learning of Chinese

4)Bridging the Gap- Identifying the Gap between P4 and P5 English.

5)Bridging the Gap- Learning of English in Upper Primary

6) Bridging the Gap- Identifying the Gap between P4 and P5 Maths

7) Bridging the Gap – Modelling and Methods in Maths (Part 1)

8) Bridging the Gap- Modelling and Methods in Maths ( Part 2)

9) Bridging the Gap- Upper and Lower Primary Science

10) Bridging the Gap- Moving from Lower to Upper Primary

11) Bridging the Gap- Moving from Lower to Upper Primary ( Part 2)

March 18, 2015

Bridging the GAP: Identifying the Gap between P4 and P5 Chinese

Dominique Education, Parenting and Kids Bridging the Gap, Education, P4/P5 Chinese, Series

Bloom or Wither?

Like a flower that has yet to come into bloom one wonders what is in store for our child. Would all the pruning and fertilizing that we are doing at the moment bear fruit? Is it worth out effort and investment?

The answer to this question will not come immediately. Only in time would we know if our efforts have paid off.

This is a gamble that I’m willing to take.

If we as a parent do not put in the effort to teach our child the skills to cope with the changes, he would certainly be placed at a disadvantaged.

I’m sure you would not want that for your child. I definitely wouldn’t not want my children to lose out in this harsh world of ours.

As Monkey boy enters Primary 5, the challenges that he faces increases. The expectation of how he has to perform academically is also much greater as compared to when he was a Primary 4 student.

Being a Primary 5 student he is facing a very challenging year as the teachers will be pumping into him all the information that is needed to prepare him for the PSLE come 2016.

Technically most of the stuff that he has to know as a upper primary student will be taught from now till March 2016. From April 2016 it is solely revision all the way till the PSLE in August .

This is certainly a crucial year for him in his journey as a student and he has to be able to get a firm foothold of everything that has been taught to him so far.

In this segment where I’m focusing on Monkey boy, I will be going through the gaps in each subjects highlighting what the differences are in the subject at Primary 4 as compared to Primary 5. I am starting with one of the most challenging subject for him- Chinese Language.

Composition Requirements for Chinese

As you can see from the above diagram even there is quite a lot of difference in the length of the Chinese composition that needs to be written. Monkey boy is doing Higher Chinese so he will have to write 200 words or more as compared to the length of 80 words which he used write when he was in Primary 4.

There isn’t the option of choosing Picture Composition as what is available is selection of given topic or to complete a given scenario with your own ending. It is certainly more challenging as he has to come up with more appropriate vocabulary on his own and to be able to describe the situation aptly.

Everything has to be explained in detailed and there is a great emphasis on the use of appropriate descriptive sentences and idioms.

Paper 2 Format

In Primary 5 everything is more complex. It is no longer just simply cut and paste the answer as you see it. There is a heavier emphasis on comprehension.

Monkey boy has to be able to do the following.

– Compare and contrast what is happening in the given situation.

– Rephrase information given from a dialogue speech

– Come up with his own conclusion and guess the next action

– Give an analysis of what was learned from the story he just read.

There are more higher order thinking questions involved and an increased need to explain why a certain action had taken place.

Chinese Oral Format

There is a higher weightage in marks for Reading and Picture Description.

Here again Monkey boy has to have a great mastery of vocabulary 词汇（字形、字义、用法）and be able to use the appropriate words to describe what he knows and sees to be able to do well in the Picture Description and Dialogue section. He needs to have build up his vocabulary word bank so that he be able to draw on the reserves stored within his memory when needed.

An overall difference between P4 Chinese and P5 Chinese

In the next post I will be sharing on the materials that I am currently using with Monkey boy to improve his knowledge of Chinese Language and to help him meet the expectations of school.