2017 PSLE Discussions and Strategies
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phtthp:
From my DC teacher who is the HOD of Science, she said for 1 mark OEQ, either full mark or Zero no 1/2 mark will be given according to PSLE marking.
hi ShevW,
Can you kindly clarify :-
from which source of information you obtain : that is either zero or one mark, no such thing as half mark ?
Confirmed by who, specifically ?
In my daughter's school, for Section B (Open-ended) questions, the Science Tr did give her half a mark, not totally zero, for she answered partially correct, but not fully correct.
I am not referring to 2 marks OEQ. -
lee_yl:
Not true right?
yes the sc teacher told us for 1 mark question, only 1 mark or Zero given, definitely no 1/2 mark will be given according to PSLE markingShevW:
[quote=\"xn_mummy\"]I noticed this year marking is quite strict for Science OEQ. I have asked the school teacher and was told
a. correct keyword required
b. sequence of answering is required, which they said use Claim Evidence Reason (CER)
c. any conflicts concept will get marks deducted.
I guess this partly why is not easily even to get 1/2 marks now.
1 mark question can have two main points. If you miss out one but got the other correct, 1/2 mark will be given.[/quote]Possible to get half-mark if concept words are not wrong.
S'times, the student may hv identied correctly the parts but identified or express the concept & process wrongly, then it'll be marked \"zero\", even this the parts was correctly indicated.
Example![](\"https://s26.postimg.org/yrao848ih/IMG_2947.png\")
https://s26.postimg.org/yrao848ih/IMG_2947.png\">
(a) Name the property of material that Junxiong studied. (1 mark)
Student's Ans :- The hardness of the material
(b) Based on his results, which material, R or S, is more suitable to be used for the string to fly a kite? Explain your answer. (1 mark)
Student's Ans :- The string with material R. It can hold more masses and is, therefore, stronger and will not break as easily as material S.
Student's ans (a) is deemed as out of P6 syllabus.
Student's ans (b) was not correctly expressed & the concept of \"force\" was not applied even tho material R is correctly identified.
Model Answers :-
(a) Strength of material (this is the correct property in Junxiong's study)
(b) R. Matetial R is able to withstand a greater force without breaking, than material S.
Strict indeed to drive future scientists to be accurate and explicit in writing their sciencetific papers for International Confetence!
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Sorry pic look abit small. I had trouble resizing. Took too much time
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English LC: fire ants is annoying or dangerous? Because scientifically it is dangerous… wow now LC testing Science too.
A typical fire ant colony produces large mounds in open areas, and feeds mostly on young plants and seeds. … For humans, this is a painful sting, a sensation similar to what one feels when burned by fire (hence the name) and the after effects of the sting can be deadly to sensitive people. -
ShevW:
Hello! Newbie here! Anyone know what that specific sentence(in passage that was read) and question on the dangerous/annoying characteristic of fire ants was in LC? Friend's DC put dangerous because she thought question was : How do people normally find fire ants? and she put dangeous as she claimed she heard the reader say \"Fire ants are actually more dangerous than annoying\" implying that people probably perceive them as annoying but scientifically is dangerous. DD is sure she will only get 18/20 in LC for English, which is her forte. Hope her Paper 2, oral and compo pulls her up because I notice the PSLE booklet English papers are easier than her Prelim paper. Only 9 days till start of PSLE!! :siam:English LC: fire ants is annoying or dangerous? Because scientifically it is dangerous... wow now LC testing Science too.
A typical fire ant colony produces large mounds in open areas, and feeds mostly on young plants and seeds. ... For humans, this is a painful sting, a sensation similar to what one feels when burned by fire (hence the name) and the after effects of the sting can be deadly to sensitive people.
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Speaking about the PSLE booklet, anybody able to PC me the answer sheet for 2016 Science PSLE paper, both MCQ and OE? DD say she tore out of her book and teacher took it but I would like to do some revision with her if possible. Would really appreciate it if anybody sends ASAP. TIA!
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wondermommy747:
I actually heard the reader say: Fire ants are more annoying than dangerous as they can damage your electrical appliances... Also, the passage also said that you can heal from a fire ant bite after a few days, so people know that they will recover from a fire ant sting easily. The question is also asking for a person's point of view, not the scientific fact. So the answer should be annoying. Good luck for your daughter's english papers btw!
Hello! Newbie here! Anyone know what that specific sentence(in passage that was read) and question on the dangerous/annoying characteristic of fire ants was in LC? Friend's DC put dangerous because she thought question was : How do people normally find fire ants? and she put dangeous as she claimed she heard the reader say \"Fire ants are actually more dangerous than annoying\" implying that people probably perceive them as annoying but scientifically is dangerous. DD is sure she will only get 18/20 in LC for English, which is her forte. Hope her Paper 2, oral and compo pulls her up because I notice the PSLE booklet English papers are easier than her Prelim paper. Only 9 days till start of PSLE!! :siam:ShevW:
English LC: fire ants is annoying or dangerous? Because scientifically it is dangerous... wow now LC testing Science too.
A typical fire ant colony produces large mounds in open areas, and feeds mostly on young plants and seeds. ... For humans, this is a painful sting, a sensation similar to what one feels when burned by fire (hence the name) and the after effects of the sting can be deadly to sensitive people.
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DD1 put "annoying". That’s right, because the reader said something like how fire ants are more annoying than deadly.
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BePersevere:
Dear BePersevere,Dear Parents,
I am at my wit’s end how to help my son with science open ended portion. He used to do reasonably well for paper 2 but in recent prelim, he failed horribly. While revising the upper block yesterday, he suddenly broke down and told me he does not even know what kind of answers the teachers are looking for. I was totally taken aback as this is the first time in 6 years that he snapped while revising. He claimed he does not even know what he does not know. Even when most or all key words are there, it was zero mark everywhere on the paper which he could not understand why. I am not sure if the above is a common problem for science.
This is one subject that I am unable to help him at all. I asked him to check with teacher what was wrong with his answers and to me, his wrong answers appear similar to the corrections. He said his classmates did check with teacher but all were brushed off as teacher said ‘wrong means wrong, sit down and copy down the correct answers….. go back to revise and memorise’. To me, science is more than just memorizing.
Normally we use the top school papers but I think the issue is with the wrong answers in the answer sheet. Unless parents are able to understand and mark on their own instead of relying on the answers, top school science paper may end up doing more harm than good.
As PSLE science is just 2 weeks away, I hope experienced parents here can share with me how I can help my child to gain back his confidence and study effectively. The last I want is for him to get burnt out and suffer a mental breakdown.
If it is not appropriate to share or post here, I hope some kind soul can send me a PM. Thank you in advance.
I am really sorry to hear about your situation. Right now, what your son needs most from you is your reassurance and support. Very often, our DC wants to do well in exams because they want recognition from us parents and to meet our expectations. Let him know that you will be happy so long as he has put in his best effort, regardless of the outcome.
If he has been performing consistently reasonably well in his Science papers except for this one paper, there has to be a reason for this. I think it will help for you to speak to his Science teacher and understand where he has gone wrong. For myself, whenever my DS has wrongs in his answers, and if neither my DS, DH or myself understands the 'model' answer given by the school or why marks are deducted, we will seek further clarifications with the teacher. Sometimes, kids cannot understand even though the teacher has explained, and perhaps this is where we can step in to help, after all they are only 12 year-olds. If you can, really try to meet and speak with the teacher. By so doing, it will also show your DS that you are with him on this journey.
Science is definitely not about memorising. It requires OIC - Observation, Inference and Concept. Everyone has different approaches to the final 2 weeks countdown to PSLE. Be it getting your DS to do more papers, or going through his mistakes in past practise papers, have a chat with him and agree on what he feels comfortable doing at this stage. At the end of the day, building up his confidence is important. -
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