2019 PSLE Discussions and Strategies (Children born in 2007)

[ammonite]

phtthp:

If don't start to train them now to learn to be independent : next time, how are they going to study IP track, themselves ?

(We can't study for them, when they go Secondary 1 : only 3 years' time, from today. 3 years, is quite fast)

you already have your eyes on the prize when we haven't even selected a target.

I agree that we cannot study for them in sec 1, ds1 is 95percent on his own now. I don't even know what his books look like or what tests he had or what marks he got. I just sign everything and ask if he understands his mistakes. Very occasionally he would ask me for help.

But I find there is a big jump in maturity and independence in P5 and 6. In P4, I will still supervise and guide quite a bit. Also different kids have different learning styles and needs. My ds2 learns very differently from ds1 and I have had to adjust both pace and method of explanation for different subjects.

[lee_yl]

MrsKiasu:

sleepy:

Both my kids attended how to draw mind map sessions but both not using mind map to aid their studies. They find it too messy and quite a chore to draw mind map.

during our time (later part of our edu period), have that too..but i dont really use it. my own notes could be messier

My children enjoy drawing mind maps. They simply copy from the Ultimate Sc guide book. Sometimes they use colourful markers to draw until very artistic like that. I don't check thru what they have drawn but will praise them very nice. No, I don't think we use it in our daily life but I think it makes learning Sc fun and concept clearer.

https://s28.postimg.org/7h5o9hm9p/IMG_7221.jpg\">

[jetsetter]

lee_yl:

MrsKiasu:

[quote=\"sleepy\"]Both my kids attended how to draw mind map sessions but both not using mind map to aid their studies. They find it too messy and quite a chore to draw mind map.

during our time (later part of our edu period), have that too..but i dont really use it. my own notes could be messier

My children enjoy drawing mind maps. They simply copy from the Ultimate Sc guide book. Sometimes they use colourful markers to draw until very artistic like that. I don't check thru what they have drawn but will praise them very nice. No, I don't think we use it in our daily life but I think it makes learning Sc fun and concept clearer.

https://s28.postimg.org/7h5o9hm9p/IMG_7221.jpg\">[/quote]I think sleepy meant Tony Buzon's Mindmap, not Charts like the above.


https://s27.postimg.org/pi4yl2c0j/i_OS-_Testing-_Mind-_Map-1.2.png\">
The real Mindmap can be a real mess, based on our corporate training last time. I'd say, stick to the conventional linear charts for clarity.

[lee_yl]

P4 Sc where got so complicated one! :razz:


Btw, my children attended the Tony Buzan Sc holiday prog before & they like.

[jetsetter]

phtthp:

sky minecrafter:

Just my 2 cents worth... K2 Berries, P4 TH.

Mine currently go to JEC cos I already have a set of TH notes & I only need assistance in Comprehension... Apologies for barging in the conversation...

Hi sky minecrafter,

Your P4 child still with JEC (Jiang Lao shi), at Fu Lou shou complex ?

How u find JEC P4 zuowen ?
do they provide P4 model answer for zuowen ?

Last year (2016), my kid attended JEC P3 zuowen for one Term, but withdrew because find it hard, they don't provide Chinese model compo answer.

(this year, for 2017 P3 batch : not sure whether JEC provide, or not)

phtthp:

You mentioned WLS gives model essays after their weekly in-class CW. I think that's very useful for paying customers. But are WLS' essay topics similar to the common ones that MOE schools set for exams?

Does WLS make them write descriptive CW specifically on weather, festivals, a relative, nature, my holiday, my hobby, my pet, abstract theme, unforgettable incident, etc.? As you know, P3-6 kids in China write a lot of 命题 essays, unlike our lower pri students who are conditioned to write didactic essays that invariably end with a moral/lesson/key takeaway based on Confucius values/Di Zi Gui/Good Citizen and so on.

However, most SG students want a quick-fix solution as they join late in P4 or even 5. They prefer a centre that packages/spoon-feeds them with Frequently Appeared Topics and samples that they are likely to see in school. They haven't the time for seemingly irrelevant / unexaminable topics. Unfortunately, in JEC (not sure about WLS), they do not believe in 拔苗助长。 Just like what they do in China, JEC will train one on 人物描述，大自然描述，感情描述 techniques etc. from young, so that the kid can APPLY the appropriate hao ci hao ju to any remotely obscure topic thrown at them. That could be the reason why some students wondered why they spent 1 lesson writing 100 words about 下雨天! If I'm not wrong, TH Zuowen also adopts this method. 1 lesson could be solely on Chinese onomatopoeia.

Someone in the WLS thread also mentioned that WLS adopts a memory-based approach, making it no diff from JEC. What does the poster mean by that? JEC makes them memorise hao ci hao ju (I mean, really long 'ju', like moxie chunks) on the spot after brainstorming the compo plan as a class. Thereafter, they proceed to write down the compo - under closed book conditions. Because they've already memorised chunks in class, there is no weekly moxie, so your dc's weekdays aren't saddled by external HCL HW. No model essays are prescribed because JEC doesn't believe in memorising cookie-cut templates. But you can request discreetly for good samples from teacher. Looking at some good samples (16-18/20) done by some students, I see they've not only employed 100% hao ci hao ju taught during that particular lesson, but in terms of transition words, dialogues, intro and conclusion, there are some slight variations too.

[jetsetter]

lee_yl:

P4 Sc where got so complicated one! :razz:


Btw, my children attended the Tony Buzan Sc holiday prog before & they like.

I mean the shooting curves and squiggly lines; categories & sub-cats hovering on top of one another. It's more suitable for brainstorming, but for index cards/notes, I prefer the facts to be presented in rows and columns - for easy recollection!

[lee_yl]

jetsetter:

lee_yl:

P4 Sc where got so complicated one! :razz:


Btw, my children attended the Tony Buzan Sc holiday prog before & they like.

I mean the shooting curves and squiggly lines; categories & sub-cats hovering on top of one another. It's more suitable for brainstorming, but for index cards/notes, I prefer the facts to be presented in rows and columns - for easy recollection!

I think when the children reach secondary school where Science concepts become more complicated, they should find a way to revise which is best suited for oneself. Either write notes or draw mind maps, up to the individual.

Right now, after we go through one topic, they draw out one mind map, helps to simplify the concepts and consolidate what they have learnt. I don't keep their mind maps, they go straight into the bins!!

More like this process helps them to recap while they draw these mind maps out. For revision, may be messy to trace out what they have drawn

[Imp75]

Personally I don’t find mindmaps helpful. It is just a re-hash of the broad categories of topics under one theme but it does not provide any depths or explanations. It might be good for our times when we memorise facts but in today’s world, it’s about application. I find that if I use mindmaps to teach or consolidate, my kids are not going anywhere in their learning.

[MyPillow]

my dd treats it like a Art work , just like leeyl girls, she designed with colors and nice bubbles and boxes - more like a piece of craft . ds is lazy one, will not draw a mind map , he said all in his mind why need to spend time to craft out - like real err.. :skeptical:

to certain extent , a simple mind mind may help kids to see the concept, similarities and differences
kids sch like to use mind map for EL compo too

[jetsetter]

mindmaps help our team brainstorm for ideas. normally secretariat will draw it on the white board so all can see the inter-relationships, then someone transposes it into a memo.


for exam cramming, I had my own mnemonic devices that were similar to mindmaps but not presented like tony buzon’s. I also used a lot of acronyms for humanities subjects last time. I recall I distilled to 1 or 2 index cards with a list of acronyms on the eve of exams. But for science subjects, acronyms won’t work too well.

mindmaps are good for compo writing.

have not tried it on science though, as the facts are fairly straight-fwd in lower block science. Just read notes/guide a few times, the facts get etched…

it’s the application/process parts that need a bit more drilling, like IMP75 shared.