2023 PSLE Discussions and Strategies (Children born in 2011)

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synthesis77\" post_id=\"1914212\" time=\"1560331110\" user_id=\"32304:

Some interesting read on the changes:

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/end-of-streaming-moe-explains-which-levels-of-subjects-students-qualify-for-with

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/psle-changes-unlikely-to-eliminate-pressure-unless-parents-chang-7931420

I think most parents would have settled in with the changes by now. IMHO, these changes are more cosmetic than address some of the root problems. There's still a major exam (PSLE) at the end of P6. It still determines your secondary school, albeit with less precision as before (which means added anxiety for parents who can't let go of the die-die-this-school mentality). Instead of looking at schools individually, we are now likely to see them as groups or clusters. Pretty much same same with small difference. The blurring of some G1 / G2 / G3 lines is a blessing if your child falls within the G1 / G2 band but won't really affect the G3. Certainly for the top tier or some of top-middle tier schools who don't have anything less than express stream in their schools.

[zac's mum]

MOE will be releasing more details on the AL banding system in the next few months. Saw that throwaway line in some news article recently.

[sky minecrafter]

Some observations…

(1) EL comprehension, composition, grammar, & vocabulary remain at the same pace as previous batches. Composition assignments (minimal guidance) are totally completed in school, yet children do not seem to have a problem meeting the minimum word count, to writing as much as 270words (P2, topics like A Fire, Lost & Found).
(2) MA worksheets have been greatly cut & my P2 dd is only doing ~30% of previous batches. Teacher explains that this reduction has nothing to do with the AL system, rather, moving to a more hands-on (use of manipulatives) approach. Of course, this means that the teacher has to utilise her experience & alert me whenever my child is not applying the chapter’s concepts properly.
(3) HCL is even more curious. At the end of semester 1, we are still writing guided sentences to mimic a 作文 paragraph… Also, vocabulary worksheets are absent; so if there is no awareness/other exposure, children may encounter difficulties telling apart a natural Chinese sentence from one with 语病。

[JaneMary]

Do not be anxious. There are quite a lot of home base support you can provide for your little daughter in fun ways that she can enjoy.

1. There are many You Tube record of the Bible in Mandarin and English. Get you child to listem to them on daily basis
in both language. Both listening skills and vocabulary can be build up easily.

2. Get your child to sing the time table like nursery rhyme.
1 x 2 = 2
2 x 2 = 4

should be verbalize as one two two
two two four

Do not read 2, 4, 6, 8 10
Do not say one times two equal to two.
The above is the most effective for functional usage in the long term.

3. Get your girl to draw and tell story from what she draws.
Do it as a game with her.

4. Get your child to relate the events of the school that happen in the day.
Get her to write them down.

5. Pick up good stories books from the library and read to the girl.

So you are much in control. Your girl will never fall behind!

[zac's mum]

I disagree on memorizing the multiplication times tables.


Several Math teachers and experts have told us parents, do NOT make your child memorize like that.

If you look at the primary 1-3 Math textbooks, the kids need to learn and internalize the concept that Multiplication is repeated groups of addition. Similarly Division is repeated groups of subtraction. If your child does not grasp this concept, then he/she cannot tackle or manage the problem sums in the workbooks in future.

Don’t hinder your child from starting Math by counting on their fingers. Younger kids need concrete objects like own fingers or manipulative tools to “see” Math in action/application in front of them. Believe me, after they have counted fingers in multiples of 3s dozens and hundreds of times, they will naturally “memorize” the 3 times table at the back of their mind already. And in an exam, they will never panic because the fingers are always there for checking.

[coast]

sky minecrafter\" post_id=\"1914460\" time=\"1560493700\" user_id=\"130531:[quote=\"sky minecrafter\" post_id=1914460 time=1560493700 user_id=130531]
Some observations...
(1) EL comprehension, composition, grammar, & vocabulary remain at the same pace as previous batches. Composition assignments (minimal guidance) are totally completed in school, yet children do not seem to have a problem meeting the minimum word count, to writing as much as 270words (P2, topics like A Fire, Lost & Found).
(2) MA worksheets have been greatly cut & my P2 dd is only doing ~30% of previous batches. Teacher explains that this reduction has nothing to do with the AL system, rather, moving to a more hands-on (use of manipulatives) approach. Of course, this means that the teacher has to utilise her experience & alert me whenever my child is not applying the chapter's concepts properly.
(3) HCL is even more curious. At the end of semester 1, we are still writing guided sentences to mimic a 作文 paragraph... Also, vocabulary worksheets are absent; so if there is no awareness/other exposure, children may encounter difficulties telling apart a natural Chinese sentence from one with 语病。[/quote]

Thanks for sharing. Quite a number of parents have shared with me that their schools have also reduced Maths and Science work as compared to their elder siblings in the same schools. But 30% seems .... :scared:

[sky minecrafter]

Yes, when earlier batches used to get MA worksheets with 3levels of difficulty for a chapter, now we get only 1level, or none at all (2 out of 6 chapters in 2A). Zilch review practices too.

[coast]

sky minecrafter\" post_id=\"1914483\" time=\"1560499665\" user_id=\"130531:[quote=\"sky minecrafter\" post_id=1914483 time=1560499665 user_id=130531]
Yes, when earlier batches used to get MA worksheets with 3levels of difficulty for a chapter, now we get only 1level, or none at all (2 out of 6 chapters in 2A). Zilch review practices too.[/quote]

Some schools have reduced internal worksheets (ie. developed by school itself) or those by external vendors.

[floppy]

coast\" post_id=\"1914475\" time=\"1560497805\" user_id=\"38933:

sky minecrafter\" post_id=\"1914460\" time=\"1560493700\" user_id=\"130531:[quote=\"sky minecrafter\" post_id=1914460 time=1560493700 user_id=130531]Some observations...
(1) EL comprehension, composition, grammar, & vocabulary remain at the same pace as previous batches. Composition assignments (minimal guidance) are totally completed in school, yet children do not seem to have a problem meeting the minimum word count, to writing as much as 270words (P2, topics like A Fire, Lost & Found).
(2) MA worksheets have been greatly cut & my P2 dd is only doing ~30% of previous batches. Teacher explains that this reduction has nothing to do with the AL system, rather, moving to a more hands-on (use of manipulatives) approach. Of course, this means that the teacher has to utilise her experience & alert me whenever my child is not applying the chapter's concepts properly.
(3) HCL is even more curious. At the end of semester 1, we are still writing guided sentences to mimic a 作文 paragraph... Also, vocabulary worksheets are absent; so if there is no awareness/other exposure, children may encounter difficulties telling apart a natural Chinese sentence from one with 语病。

Thanks for sharing. Quite a number of parents have shared with me that their schools have also reduced Maths and Science work as compared to their elder siblings in the same schools. But 30% seems .... :scared:[/quote]

I guess it varies from school to school.

My P2 workload hasn’t been reduced nor has it been increased (at least, according to those parents in the know). Personally, I think it’s comfortably manageable. There isn’t a lot of homework as well and I was told it has been like that since 2010s. From my understanding, one of the underlying principle adopted was if you already understand / know the work, there isn't a need to repeatedly test the same thing. Hence, many worksheets don't mean that it is quality work done. For this holiday, their homework is \"to have fun\" and they were only given were 2 SLS exercises to complete (which can be done in a night :shock: ) I was also told that the load will only gradually pick up from P3 / P4. For now, the school seems to place more emphasis and time learning about the school’s core values and 美德.

While there isn’t any science for P2, I can see that they have ‘sneaked’ in some science lessons / concepts via the EL worksheets / lessons. Not sure whether that was deliberate or just happen to be a coincidence. As for the use of manipluatives, it had been around and on-going in my kid's school. It was meant to enhance their learning of mathematical ideas. I don’t think it has any significance in reducing load but it definitely made learning more hands-on and fun.

My guess for schools that never had a heavy load or had already started reducing since some time ago, there isn’t much meat left to cut The only things that are definitely missing are the mid year exams (P1 to P3) and end of year exams (P1 to P2).

[coast]

floppy\" post_id=\"1914496\" time=\"1560504141\" user_id=\"97579:

I guess it varies from school to school.

My P2 workload hasn’t been reduced nor has it been increased (at least, according to those parents in the know). Personally, I think it’s comfortably manageable. There isn’t a lot of homework as well and I was told it has been like that since 2010s. From my understanding, one of the underlying principle adopted was if you already understand / know the work, there isn't a need to repeatedly test the same thing. Hence, many worksheets don't mean that it is quality work done. For this holiday, their homework is \"to have fun\" and they were only given were 2 SLS exercises to complete (which can be done in a night :shock: ) I was also told that the load will only gradually pick up from P3 / P4. For now, the school seems to place more emphasis and time learning about the school’s core values and 美德.

While there isn’t any science for P2, I can see that they have ‘sneaked’ in some science lessons / concepts via the EL worksheets / lessons. Not sure whether that was deliberate or just happen to be a coincidence. As for the use of manipluatives, it had been around and on-going in my kid's school. It was meant to enhance their learning of mathematical ideas. I don’t think it has any significance in reducing load but it definitely made learning more hands-on and fun.

My guess for schools that never had a heavy load or had already started reducing since some time ago, there isn’t much meat left to cut The only things that are definitely missing are the mid year exams (P1 to P3) and end of year exams (P1 to P2).

It is ironic as DS and many of his peers did very well in Maths without tuition in his school (% of A* for each subject was disclosed). Parents with younger siblings told me that many parents have since “outsourced” to tuition teachers after the school reduced its Maths and Science work.

Yes, many schools started teaching Science in P2, usually in a fun and engaging manner. I still remember when teachers asked the P2s for their favourite subject, almost everyone said it’s Science. I was really surprised when majority in class handed in an optional Science write-up in the midst of SA2 week.