2019 PSLE Discussions and Strategies (Children born in 2007)

[Giggler1]

Zappy, thank you very much!

[Mummy_Tang]

Hello !


Checking in! DD2 taking Psle in 2019…hope I am not late…

[quixation]

wow… i didnt know 2019 thread already up… Good to have some support for parents ! thank you. Plus I see some familiar nicknames since our kids were like toddlers! Now i dont feel alone!


To be honest, I am struggling to decide if I should send my DD for tuition to "cheong" for PSLE like what most people do… I wonder if its gonna add on to their workload from school in P6, plus taking time out to relax the mind… I hear kids complaining that they are too tired doing tuition homework, spelling plus school. I also had a few friend’s kids who started to hate the subject after PSLE and dont ever want tuitions for say Chinese in Secondary school. One girl even told me she started to hate Chinese because of the "last min" tuition for PSLE…

How many of you are also in my shoes? That we are undecided about sending our kids for grilling PSLE tuitions?

I am taking time off for PSLE so DD has adequate sleep, balanced healthy meals and someone to accompany her in this journey. I am more worried about my DD’s mental health, dealing with puberty, dealing with "STRESS" but we are equally stress so may backfire as my nagging and screaming is starting to get louder and louder…

Am I alone?!!!

[phtthp]

chenlaoshi:

CMStan:

Dear parents

Given limited time for revision, do you think it is more effective for our children to read the Chinese & Science textbooks to be familiar with the contents, or dive straight to do assessment/ test papers?

How do your children do revision? Thanks for the advice!

For Chinese, it will be good to try out as many practices for sections that aren't directly related to the textbook syllabus as possible -

>>complete the conversation, compre (graphic stimulus with message writing):
expose them to the commonly used/frequently appeared words and phrases in these sections such as 免费，详情，有限 etc.

>>compre (mcq), compre (open ended) -
focus on interpreting underlying meaning and lessons & values that can be learnt from the story; get them to discuss/comment on the character (i.e. what kind of person they are, which aspect is/are worth learning, what would they do if in their shoes).

Studying textbook syllabus words and phrases mainly (directly) aid in first 15 mcq question and 5 cloze passage questions (of cos indirectly helps too if / when those words appear in compre passages)

hi 陈老师 ，

with limited time left, appreciate if you can provide guidance.

a)

with reference to last year 2017 P6 Prelim (SA2) “Nanyang” (SAP) Normal Chinese paper, let’s turn together to “Booklet B”, page 6, questions (#34 and #35)

http://www.testpapersfree.com/pdfs/P6-Chinese-SA2-2017-Nanyang.pdf


questions (#34 and #35) tested : are they normally found inside textbooks (P4 to P6), or are they set “课外” ?

If “课外”, is there a list, on “frequently encountered” Chinese vocab, for this section ?


b)

with reference to 2017 P6 Prelim (SA2) “Nan Hua” (SAP) Higher Chinese paper, let’s turn to page 9, questions (#19 to #23)

http://www.testpapersfree.com/pdfs/P6-Higher-Chinese-SA2-2017-Nan-Hua.pdf


is there any difference, in the way students are expected to answer :-
Open-ended “lie jie wen da” section 2 questions inside Higher Chinese paper vs. answering Open-ended “li jie wen da questions inside Normal Chinese paper ?


Thank you.

[phtthp]

Hi quixation,


now that we are nearing P5 SA2 in one month’s time, a lot of my child’s classmates have dropped off (cut-down) un-necessary tuition, because travelling up and down takes up a lot of time, might as well stay at home and revise what we deem is important.

example

tuition at P5 level : usually is 2 hours

travelling to go there (tuiton) : approximately 1 hour

travelling to come back home, after tuition : require another 1 hour (roughly)

so, Total : 4 hours gone, if attend tuition lesson

Moreover, after come home from tuition, they are tired, need to rest at least one hour, dilly-dally here & there, can’t do much stuff at night, because still got school homework to submit next day. So, some of her P5 classmates rather stay at home, follow a daily timetable routine, revised themselves. Sometimes, it is even more effective this way, because tuition may (doesn’t) not always help all the time. Too much tuition not only add stress, but the child sometimes can lose focus, because mind get too cluttered. So, re-evaluate (re-assess) situation carefully, cut-down / remove those "wasting time" tuition, that’re not really helping, not benefiting your child. Don’t just "chiong" blindy for tuition, just because everyone is rushing for it.

[chenlaoshi]

phtthp:

chenlaoshi:

[quote=\"CMStan\"]
Dear parents

Given limited time for revision, do you think it is more effective for our children to read the Chinese & Science textbooks to be familiar with the contents, or dive straight to do assessment/ test papers?

How do your children do revision? Thanks for the advice!

For Chinese, it will be good to try out as many practices for sections that aren't directly related to the textbook syllabus as possible -

>>complete the conversation, compre (graphic stimulus with message writing):
expose them to the commonly used/frequently appeared words and phrases in these sections such as 免费，详情，有限 etc.

>>compre (mcq), compre (open ended) -
focus on interpreting underlying meaning and lessons & values that can be learnt from the story; get them to discuss/comment on the character (i.e. what kind of person they are, which aspect is/are worth learning, what would they do if in their shoes).

Studying textbook syllabus words and phrases mainly (directly) aid in first 15 mcq question and 5 cloze passage questions (of cos indirectly helps too if / when those words appear in compre passages)

hi 陈老师 ，

with limited time left, appreciate if you can provide guidance.

a)
with reference to last year 2017 P6 Prelim (SA2) “Nanyang” (SAP) Normal Chinese paper, let’s turn together to “Booklet B”, page 6, questions (#34 and #35)

http://www.testpapersfree.com/pdfs/P6-Chinese-SA2-2017-Nanyang.pdf

questions (#34 and #35) tested : are they normally found inside textbooks (P4 to P6), or are they set “课外” ?

If “课外”, is there a list, on “frequently encountered” Chinese vocab, for this section ?

b)
with reference to 2017 P6 Prelim (SA2) “Nan Hua” (SAP) Higher Chinese paper, let’s turn to page 9, questions (#19 to #23)

http://www.testpapersfree.com/pdfs/P6-Higher-Chinese-SA2-2017-Nan-Hua.pdf

is there any difference, in the way students are expected to answer :-
Open-ended “lie jie wen da” section 2 questions inside Higher Chinese paper vs. answering Open-ended “li jie wen da questions inside Normal Chinese paper ?

Thank you.[/quote]Hi phtthp,

a) For questions 34 and 35, they can be both \"课外\" but usually, at least one appeared in textbook passages before.
Example: PSLE 2017 -->
q34 \"目瞪口呆\" - P6A Chp 6 瞪眼; P3A Chp7 呆了很久; P6B Chp8 呆呆
q35 \"杰出\" - exact 词语 appeared in P5A Chp3

For popular/commonly tested phrases/quick revision, can refer to these pocket-size handbooks:
http://sapgrp.com.sg/sites/default/files/styles/product_thumb/public/4582629_Cover.jpg?itok=oHMoE2NC\">
http://sapgrp.com.sg/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/print_cover/3212459_Cover.jpg?itok=99gdyRQ6\"> http://sapgrp.com.sg/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/print_cover/3212503_CoverHi.jpg?itok=VC91jg8A\">

b) With regards to q16-23, I wouldn't say so - basically have to address the issue and answer according to the respective questions. However -->
questions 16 (choosing the suitable title and backing up your choice), 17 & 18 (explain meaning of stated phrase/sentence according to content of the compre) and 21 (paragraph summarization) are the ones that differ from CL compre questions and require specific/more practice.

[sembgal]

Hi quixation, glad to see you here again. It would be wise to do collaborative decision making and problem solving with your child involved. Write down your reasons why you want her to get tuition. Your child will write down on a separate piece of paper why she wants to have tuition. Come together to discuss your findings and make a decision from there.


For a child who is advanced in maths, I would say get a private tutor as the child has the liberty to decide which advanced topics they want to learn.

For a child struggling with Chinese, I would say get a private tutor to guide her on the weak areas eg: oral, composition, comprehension.

English and Science, it would be good to attend group tuition if the child is advanced learner as the discussion in class benefits the child to think and discuss their viewpoints.

The best home Teachers are parents who can sit down at least 30 mins to an hour everyday to coach the child if time permits. I coach on areas that I know is my child’s weakness. Eg: Past participles is her weakness so I coach her on that and get her to memorise it. Eg: past participle of run is ??? Go test your child. Most will say ran. The correct answer is run. Eg: Having run, not “having ran” if this were to be used in synthesis and transformation. Effective learning will take place.

As a busy working parent, I get Private Tutor to come in when I am unable to coach my child during a certain period during the year.

So far this has been a good arrangement and I do not believe in last min rush to get tuition to help a child improve. Regular revision is necessary to cement the foundation and helps the child to grasp the concepts with total understanding.

For Homework, priority goes towards completion of school homework and tuition homework is just “side-dish” to supplement additional knowledge for enrichment purpose.

I do not believe in completing the full set of past year exam papers too. Will doing the full set helps the child score 100%? What is needed is to focus on the child’s weakness and work on from there. Do questions selectively.

Tuition serves as a “student care” type of service for my child when I am unavailable to be around. I keep private tuition to only an hour especially on a busy weekday. Tuition will not be on days when the child stays back for supplementary classes as the poor child will be so exhausted.

Lastly, I strongly believe in sufficient sleep for the child to consolidate learning. This is so important !!!! No amount of tuition can replace the quality of sleep. Read up on research articles on why sleep is so important. Nutrition is also another aspect taken into careful consideration for optimal brain development. Vitamins, fish oil supplements do help. Outdoor time is equally as important as family bonding time. Lastly, spend quality time to chat with the child as emotional development aspects especially during puberty should not be neglected.

Learning should be a pleasant journey.

quixation:

wow.. i didnt know 2019 thread already up.. Good to have some support for parents ! thank you. Plus I see some familiar nicknames since our kids were like toddlers! Now i dont feel alone!

To be honest, I am struggling to decide if I should send my DD for tuition to \"cheong\" for PSLE like what most people do.. I wonder if its gonna add on to their workload from school in P6, plus taking time out to relax the mind.. I hear kids complaining that they are too tired doing tuition homework, spelling plus school. I also had a few friend's kids who started to hate the subject after PSLE and dont ever want tuitions for say Chinese in Secondary school. One girl even told me she started to hate Chinese because of the \"last min\" tuition for PSLE..

How many of you are also in my shoes? That we are undecided about sending our kids for grilling PSLE tuitions?

I am taking time off for PSLE so DD has adequate sleep, balanced healthy meals and someone to accompany her in this journey. I am more worried about my DD's mental health, dealing with puberty, dealing with \"STRESS\" but we are equally stress so may backfire as my nagging and screaming is starting to get louder and louder..

Am I alone?!!!

[quixation]

Thanks Sembgal and phtthp. Nice to see u all again.


I am actually standing firm NOT to have any tuitions because we survived relatively well without it for past 4 and half years. My DD did complain before but doesnt ask for it too since she is used to studying on her own. I just hope it doesnt slide this SA2.

But inside me is the constant struggle and questioning of "maybe… " "what if…" not easy… but shall see sa2 results and if DD ask for it herself then we may try a smaller grp for a few mths in term 1.

Thanks once again !

[Mummy_Tang]

Morning!


May I ask for recommendations for Normal Chinese tuition ctr near Nex Serangoon specializing in Comprehension and Composition?

Many Thanks!

[phtthp]

oops Sorry, double post (deleted)