Preparing kids for P5 in 2011

[janet88]

Vanilla Cake:

janet_lee88:

Hi livewith_vanilla,

Your experience will be of great help to parents who have kids in P5/6 next year...your recommendations will spare parents like myself the torture of standing long hours at Popular combing for useful guidebooks.
Thank you for your contributions.

Hi janet_lee88,

Yes, she had done very well -> 4A*+Merit for PSLE 2010 exams!
Her contributions in sharing her stellar PSLE success will be very useful for future PSLE students.

Wow ! I'm very impressed with this girl and I'm sure her parents are very proud.

Hi livewith_vanilla, PLEASE share the titles which have helped you and your secrets.
We will really appreciate.

[pixiedust]

livewith_vanilla,


Congrats on your excellent results ! Well done ! Your efforts paid off.
You will be in secondary 1 in 2011 ? All the best and let us know how you are coping too.

I started implementing some of your suggestions and my ds is receptive. I am grateful for your time and sharing !

PSLE Chinese : Can you share your journey of learning the language ? and suggestions/tips for last minute catch up ?

[LE ANN]

livewith_vanilla:

LE ANN:

[quote=\"peterch\"]Good post and share livewith_vanilla


Bless u dear.......

Hi, you are indeed very informative and willing to share with everyone your knowledge and experiences. You just graduated frm Primary school. Can share what is your T score for PSLE? thanks

259+2. (:[/quote]Wow ! Congratulations....fantastic result! Which school have your chosen?

[3lilangels]

My youngest dd would be in P5 next year too. Hope to exchange some good pointers to help the 2011 P5s! Very soon, it will be their turn to take PSLE :!:

[tinkfirst]

Congratulations to you, livewith_vanilla!

Wishing you a wonderful journey ahead! Continue to keep us posting

[livewith_vanilla]

Thank you !



@pixiedust: I can't contribute much for titles on chinese, since I don't actually do any chinese assessment. I generally study the useful phrases and sentences that was given to me in a booklet by my school.

Here are some titles I found :

https://www.popular.com.sg/jsp/product/product_detail.jsp?vca001=232&vpd001=91059

-My friend used this book for PSLE (of course, she used the primary six one). I looked it through, looked good. Should you intend to get this, do browse through it first.

https://www.popular.com.sg/jsp/product/product_detail.jsp?vca001=233&vpd001=91904
https://www.popular.com.sg/jsp/product/product_detail.jsp?vca001=233&vpd001=91905

-I had used the above two (part A and B) for PSLE. I found it good for me to revise. As my chinese isn't very strong, I welcomed the english translations in the book. The above two are the P5 versions.

For PSLE Chinese, I also used this book:

https://www.popular.com.sg/jsp/product/product_detail.jsp?vca001=254&vpd001=93241

-I found it a little tough, but a great quick revision book.

Also, a composition guide:

Chinese Essay Writing Guidebook ADVANCED Level.
Its blue in color, with icons such as Night Safari and Changi Airport as its cover pictures.

For last minute revision, I don't have any tips. I didn't really did any last-minute preparations for Chinese, I just went in and got done with it.


For P5 English,

I looked through the popular online site. Couldn't find any familar.

For PSLE english,

I just used the PSLE English Guidebook, the My Pals are here one. The very same kind as the PSLE Science Orange Guidebook.

Also I used this book:

Advanced Vocabulary for Primary Six. Not sure if they have for Primary Five.

Its published by REDSPOT publishing and writting by Andy W. Taylor (M.A English)

A good book of vocabulary, I would say.

@ Vanilla Cake.

Thank you.

How to improve PSLE Maths ?

Well, what I did in preparations for my PSLE Maths paper was to do and practise alot.

How to do well:

The foundations of the topics must be understood clearly and memorised.

For example, the foundation of finding the area of circle is:

22/7 x R x R
3.14 x R x R
3.142 x R x R

Pi can be 22/7, 3.14 or 3.142.

One has to be clear of this to solve problems based on the area of circle.

I'm generally weak in speed topics, so what I did was to do alot of challenging speed questions. If I encountered any problems, I would seek the help of my tutors or subject teachers and learn the various methods and ways.

For Maths, there are also some non-routine questions.
Usually its a pattern question. For me, the pattern questions can either be straightforward (within five minutes can finish) or really tricky .
I remember a maths pattern question that was so tricky, it involved alot of steps and it took me about thirty minutes to work it out because I had to visualise.
So don't neglect these non-routine questions. It might be the question that kills.

Maths assessment:

I didn't actually do much maths assessment. The Maths Homework Book by My Pals are Here that my school uses was enough tricky. I also used Andrew Er's Maths books.

Science:

I used the orange guide book for PSLE Science by My Pals are Here and Ultimate Science by EPH.
Both were very helpful. It is only necessary to get one. I used both though.
I would say, look through both and decide which one to get. ^^

For Science, my science is the weakest out of all of my subjects.
I did alot of notes, listened to lessons, made notes during lessons, highlighted important points.

I would say that the key to excelling in Science is to understand each topic well and have the facts at the back of your hand. Of course, one must have passion for science to make things easier.

Here are some books I used or my Science teacher used:

https://www.popular.com.sg/jsp/product/product_detail.jsp?vca001=258&vpd001=93551
-My Science teacher took a few examples out of this. So do browse through before buying.

https://www.popular.com.sg/jsp/product/product_detail.jsp?vca001=258&vpd001=89707
-My tuition used this. I liked the book. It covers the four major topics for PSLE .

https://www.popular.com.sg/jsp/product/product_detail.jsp?vca001=258&vpd001=85268
-My tuition also uses this. There are notes inside and practices.

I also used another science book.

It is a really really really thick book. I have given it away and have forgotten the title. But there are close to 400 pages inside and it is white in colour.

I shall post more tomorrow. Have to sleep now. ^^

[Vanilla Cake]

livewith_vanilla:

Maths assessment:

I didn't actually do much maths assessment. The Maths Homework Book by My Pals are Here that my school uses was enough tricky. I also used Andrew Er's Maths books.

For the Maths Homework Book by My Pals are Here!, are you referring to \"My Pals are Here! Maths Tests 6\" 2nd edition written by Zalina A. Jalil B.Sc., PGDE and published by Marshall Cavendish Education?
Could you pls recommend some of the Maths books written by Andrew Er?

livewith_vanilla:

Science:
I used the orange guide book for PSLE Science by My Pals are Here and Ultimate Science by EPH.

Yes, we have both mentioned guide books:
Science PSLE Revision Guide from the creators of My Pals are here- 2nd edition published by Marshall Cavendish Education.
PSLE Ultimate Science Guide by Low Wai Cheng and Leong May Kuen published by Educational Publishing House Pte Ltd.

livewith_vanilla:

Here are some books I used or my Science teacher used:
https://www.popular.com.sg/jsp/product/product_detail.jsp?vca001=258&vpd001=93551
-My Science teacher took a few examples out of this. So do browse through before buying.

OK, most likely will buy it on this coming Sunday.

livewith_vanilla:

https://www.popular.com.sg/jsp/product/product_detail.jsp?vca001=258&vpd001=89707
-My tuition used this. I liked the book. It covers the four major topics for PSLE .

Is there another book of the same series for Primary 3 & 4? If yes, do you recommend to buy it?

livewith_vanilla:

https://www.popular.com.sg/jsp/product/product_detail.jsp?vca001=258&vpd001=85268
-My tuition also uses this. There are notes inside and practices.

Think that there should be another one for lower block and is it necessary to buy it too?

livewith_vanilla:

I also used another science book.
It is a really really really thick book. I have given it away and have forgotten the title. But there are close to 400 pages inside and it is white in colour.

When you happen to remember the title, pls post it in KSP forum.

livewith_vanilla:

I shall post more tomorrow. Have to sleep now. ^^

Thanks for your helpful tips. BTW, we had bought the English book recommenced by you in another thread - Creative Writing for Primary 3-6 by Liza Tan and published by Mexxi Three.
Have sweet dreams and we look forward for your future postings.
:ugogirl:

[janet88]

Hi livewith_vanilla,

Thank you for recommending all the PSLE guide books. Your recommendations will of great help when we pop over to Popular.
:celebrate:

[kwokwc]

Hi livewith_vanilla,


congrats on your PSLE result and all the valuable tips that you have given.

My son will be in P5 next yr too. I am quite happy that he is being offered HMT and most happy that for his SA2 result this yr, he did very well. He has been doing just average in his MT. But this year, after I change school for him, he improved a lot. I think the school teachers and friends play a big part in it. He is coming home, speaking more mandarin to us, which I believe will help him in his interest and subject.

However, my worry is still his languages. He is very strong in his Maths and Science, so not worry at all. If he is not careless, he should have no problem getting 95 and above for this 2 subjects.

I am also now getting him to read more to build up his language. Hmm, but I miss out on reading newspaper. He is still reading a lot of those fantasy books, which I think will not help him much. Now must force him to read more newspaper article and non-friction books.

For all the subjects, I had got for him 2 assessment books each. I told him for science and maths, once he finish one topic, he will do the assess ment for me. For English, I got him a vocabulary & grammar book that he is already doing 2 exercise each daily for me. For Chinese, quite hard to start on him bcos he will give me a lot of excuse such as have not learnt the word etc etc. But I think maybe can get him to do those OE compre which requires more understanding than knowing the words.

For parents who are worried about MT paper, not sure if what I advise will be good. My husband teaches both my kids to be exam-smart more than teaching them the correct way. In MT paper, there is a section on re-arranging the sentences to form the passage right? He will tell them, if you see questions, then the next one must be an answer. To guess some sequences first then try to put them together. To me, I don’t think it is very good, but at least, it had helped them a lot in their exam, especially when there are phrases or words that they don’t understand.

My husband reasoning is, in Singapore, the marks matters more than anything else. So the most impt thing is to get the correct answer. Afterall, he find that the way Singapore education has changed (in teaching chinese) so much that more kids will dislikes chinese more. But bcos need to continue studying, then must teach them to be exam smart.

[janet88]

kwokwc:

My husband reasoning is, in Singapore, the marks matters more than anything else. So the most impt thing is to get the correct answer. Afterall, he find that the way Singapore education has changed (in teaching chinese) so much that more kids will dislikes chinese more. But bcos need to continue studying, then must teach them to be exam smart.

Hey, my hubby also thinks the same way. Exam-smart is like working-smart. Ultimately at the end of the day, what we are aiming for is the MARKS.

For Singaporean parents, we have to be equally 'on' (if possible) even if the kids have tutors and not leave everything to them. Son's MT has given me a lesson and experience to learn from...so starting from next year, I will want to be more involved in son's MT to boost his grades. His other 3 subjects went up to Band 2 but pulled down by poor CA1 and SA1 results.