2019 PSLE Discussions and Strategies (Children born in 2007)

[tryourbest]

bluepencil\" post_id=\"1911571\" time=\"1558581558\" user_id=\"165241:

tryourbest\" post_id=\"1911550\" time=\"1558578565\" user_id=\"176900:

[quote=bluepencil post_id=1911545 time=1558577806 user_id=165241]Hope all parents are accepting or satisfied with the SA1 results so far. My child and myself have been engine down since last week.
We realised we need to improve our chinese composition greatly . Apparently my child can speak and blah blah blah away in oral like a magician, but in compo the sentences are all affected because 口语 and 写作 is really quite different.

Anybody can recommend a really good chinese compo book? I would have to sit down and study with her ... sigh
I bought one recently and my child asked me how come the pictures are so wierd like it is not about an event that happened but is more general for eg buying fruits !????

thanks tryyourbest!
I think broken chinese is everywhere. it just does not help us or the kids.. something for the education people to reflect on...
i hope your child did well for SA. my child is stock market one, this good that bad, that good this bad. until i don't really know what to expect for psle except to expect the unexpected !! [/quote]My dc's stock market crashed last year when she entered P5. This year , the shares seems to be picking up. But still a lot of room for improvement.

Yes, anything can happen during psle. Pray for the best.

[MrsKiasu]

chenlaoshi\" post_id=\"1911588\" time=\"1558584439\" user_id=\"162894:

MrsKiasu\" post_id=\"1911580\" time=\"1558583169\" user_id=\"43981:

chenlaoshi, for HMT, picture or continuos compo will be abit more safer?

on flash back and worry unable to come back on time, it is better not go flashback?

MrsKiasu, you mean 情境作文 vs 完成文章? The kids need to know how to 审题 for both and most importantly, 'catch the main theme'.

情境作文, with the 'question' being shorter and more direct, can usually be a safer option as compared to 完成文章. That said, students may find 完成文章 to be more interesting as it (can) allow more room for creativity.

For example (from https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/5b9e53_9903b8a3f9314ea6ada2db2bdf9d615c.pdf

2017's 情境作文
要成功就必须 付出努力
need to contrast between (1)not putting in enough effort vs. (1) eventual success thanks to hard work (+ determination)

2018's 情境作文
我获得了意想不到的 表扬
need to make sure (1) you received compliment (2) you didn't expect to be praised

2017's 完成文章
今天，级任老师把今年打扫课室的工作安排表发给了大家。看了工作安排表后我大吃一惊。老师明明知道 我和小丽一向合不来，却还把我们放在同一组。

need to explain why both of you 合不来 (and express in such a way that it's so obvious until everyone, incl. teacher knows about it). also need to consider (and eventually explain) why 老师明明知道 still 把我们放在同一组 - who can be quite often neglected.

2018's 完成文章
比赛结束了，我得了第一名，心里非常高兴。我想和 好友分享这个好消息，就立即给他打电话。电话接通 了，可是从手机的另一头却传来了一个陌生人的声 音… …

need to consider (1) who is the 陌生人？(2) is your friend around? if not where is he/she?

some pupils wrote sick and hospitalized, some wrote lost hand phone someone else picked it up, some even wrote kidnapped...


Regarding flashback, actually don't need to 'avoid using'. Just need to remember to reiterate at the end that 'although the incident has long past, it's still fresh in your mind or has a lasting influence' etc --> it's similar to if student wrote '呆若木鸡‘ then never mention '回过神来' before mentioning the character's next action/response - doesn't make sense because by right the character is still in a state of daze/awestruck/astonishment.

very nice of you chenlaoshi, thank you so much..

[chenlaoshi]

dylanmummy2003\" post_id=\"1911597\" time=\"1558588165\" user_id=\"116705:

Hi dylanmummy2003,

Yes, it is possible that schools/teacher prefer focus more on a particular type of compo if that's the general directive the CL department is taking. It's similar to CL, where you will notice majority of the practices are on 看图作文 (still have to do a couple of 命题作文 for the sake of showing all exam-able components/questions are covered )

As mentioned earlier, the tendency of going out of point in 完成文章 is generally higher (when pit against 情境作文). I got asked the question about which type of questions to choose many times and my answer is 'need to 审题 and decide based on your level of understanding of the requirement and confidence of writing'.

For e.g. sometimes, the student might have read a model compo or came across compre passage that has similar setting to the 完成文章 question. In such cases, can't possibly ask him/her to 'die-die' choose 命题作文 over a question he/she has more confidence in.

Thus, if there's not enough time to practice writing full compo for HCL, then it is advisable to look through as many topics for both types of questions as possible and plot out the general story flow or brain storm on possible ideas.

MrsKiasu\" post_id=\"1911632\" time=\"1558596733\" user_id=\"43981:[quote=MrsKiasu post_id=1911632 time=1558596733 user_id=43981]very nice of you chenlaoshi, thank you so much..

My pleasure, MrsKiasu.

[phtthp]

chenlaoshi:

Regarding flashback, actually don't need to 'avoid using'. Just need to remember to reiterate at the end that 'although the incident has long past, it's still fresh in your mind or has a lasting influence' etc --> it's similar to if student wrote '呆若木鸡‘ then never mention '回过神来' before mentioning the character's next action/response - doesn't make sense because by right the character is still in a state of daze/awestruck/astonishment.

Hi chenlaoshi,

will student be penalized, if start opening paragraph zuowen with a flashback, but conclusion did not come back nor relate back to the flashback incident, perhaps either forgot or no time to finish writing zuowen on time ?

[phtthp]

Estéema\" post_id=\"1911573\" time=\"1558582163\" user_id=\"66413:

chenlaoshi\" post_id=\"1911564\" time=\"1558581116\" user_id=\"162894:

If you are looking for pictures only (to cover as many potential themes and scenarios as possible), then can consider taking a look at the 巨无霸作文 series. Their 范文s are 'meh' >_< but the range of collection for pic compo is pretty extensive.

https://openschoolbag.shopcadacdn.com/sites/files/openschoolbag/imagecache/bs2016_list/productimg/201806/p6_chinese_mega_composition_cr.jpg\">

chenlaoshi,
Are you conducting compo writing class this June?

Hi Esteema,

Chen lao shi is conducting a zuowen workshop on (10 To 12 June), Mon to Wed, 12 noon to 1.45 pm.

Your friend's children coming ?

[Estéema]

Will let them know. Thanks

[bluepencil]

.zeit\" post_id=\"1911596\" time=\"1558586691\" user_id=\"171271:

phtthp\" post_id=\"1910587\" time=\"1557978771\" user_id=\"35251:

some primary schools like Henry Park : are still having SA1 into next week (Tuesday and Wednesday), after Vesak public holiday. The students are having Mother Tongue next Tuesday (21.05.19) and taking Science paper next Wednesday (22.05.19), because they just started English Main written paper 2 late today, Thursday (16.05.19) and Maths tomorrow Friday (17.05.19)

It's interesting that you pointed this out. I know SJI has 1 more Science paper tomorrow. I had a quick glance at more than 10 popular schools' MYE schedules. I noticed some are more punishing than others.

For instance, some schools had separate days for EL and MTL Paper 1, much to the relief of pupils and their parents.

Some had more rest days (weekend + Mon) in between subjects.

One had theirs on alternate days for candidates to catch their breath and to erase the previous paper's contents.

A few schools strategically brought forward the content-heavy Science paper, before Math and MTL. Some scheduled Science immediately after the weekend. Some schools had Science after EL, Ma, MTL. By Thurs, a lot of pupils were already half-dead. And to top up with icing, many went on to do 2 papers of HMTL on Fri.

Some staggered their EL and CL Oral over 2 weeks, others cramped both back to back over 2 afternoons. Some had LC on its own in one day, while some combined LC with Paper 2 in one morning. Perhaps the worst schedule I'd come across was MarisStella's, but it's the closest simulation / full-dress rehearsal by far, i.e. Paper 1-recess-Paper 2.

I suppose cognitive fatigue and stamina are other factors we need to look at. For schools that staggered or spaced out their subject papers, I'm sure their pupils would be in a better state to give their optimum performance. But this may not necessarily translate to equal performance during actual PSLE which has a diff timetable, notwithstanding the fact that the std of papers are diff from school to school.

Our school was one paper after another, except paper 1 was week before.
Our math exam paper - my child is usually A star only for this subject, but this time the paper was super hard, and the A star became average A. Many children could not finish and many cried.
I wonder , these results are for DSA, who in the world would know our math paper was so hard. We happen to have a genius and overzealous math teacher . cry...

[bluepencil]

May I know if anybody’s oral test (or maybe exam) had the topic of inclusivity of special children in class? This is a topic that has been in the news a bit lately. tks! I would need to discuss with my child in case silly things come out of the mouth! they are still children…

[ay33]

Hi Chen laoshi,


How to strengthen 審题？besides circle key words, so to avoid going out of point? Can u recommend compo books that teach such technique? Many Thanks!

[chenlaoshi]

Estéema\" post_id=\"1911573\" time=\"1558582163\" user_id=\"66413:

Yes Estéema, but it's fully registered (thankful for the trust and support).

phtthp\" post_id=\"1911698\" time=\"1558625753\" user_id=\"35251:

Regarding flashback, actually don't need to 'avoid using'. Just need to remember to reiterate at the end that 'although the incident has long past, it's still fresh in your mind or has a lasting influence' etc --> it's similar to if student wrote '呆若木鸡‘ then never mention '回过神来' before mentioning the character's next action/response - doesn't make sense because by right the character is still in a state of daze/awestruck/astonishment.

Hi chenlaoshi,

will student be penalized, if start opening paragraph zuowen with a flashback, but conclusion did not come back nor relate back to the flashback incident, perhaps either forgot or no time to finish writing zuowen on time ?

phtthp, yup, it will affect the grading for 表达 as the structure of the composition is considered incomplete.
Parents may want to refer to https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=51186&start=120#p1877322 for the marking rubric I shared previously.

ay33\" post_id=\"1911725\" time=\"1558658467\" user_id=\"33048:

Hi Chen laoshi,

How to strengthen 審题？besides circle key words, so to avoid going out of point? Can u recommend compo books that teach such technique? Many Thanks!

Hi ay33, there are some guidebooks that explains how to 審题 but it's usually just mentioned over a couple of pages/lines. Indeed, practicing how to identify key words help - this is true for many Paper 2 sections too. Another tip is to keep probing by asking yourself questions using the 6何法 - aka 5W1H.

You can consider taking pictures of content pages of the various compo books and use those questions as 審题practices for your child.

E.g. 2015 PSLE HCL 完成文章 question
放学后，同学们都带着愉快的心情回家了，教室里只剩下我一个人。我满怀心事，因为那件事完全是由我引起的。我带着沉重的心情走向教师办公室… …

keywords: 放学后, 只剩下我一个人, 我满怀心事, 由我引起, 带着沉重的心情, 走向教师办公室
questions: why you remained in class, how were you feeling, what incident could have possibly been caused by you, when did the incident happen, who did it affect, why were you heading to the office with a heavy heart, why do you need to go and find the teacher etc.