Preparing kids for P5 in 2011

[janet88]

Brenda10:

janet_lee88:

Hi Brenda,

:!: I definitely believe you 101%.
Son had to find ci2 yu3 from passage in his CL activity book...I read that passage 3x and still couldn't find the answer. :frustrated: So diff from P4 whereby at least there will be a character which can be used as 'keyword'.
This is so silly :stupid: bcos there is no indication where the answer can be found...for eg which paragraph.

Hi Janet
Because of these 3 sets of 理解问题 I have to postpone some activity on Sunday. BTW, I have a Pm for you.

I really appreciate all the valuable tips you have posted. Didn't expect P5 to be this tough. Dare not imagine what P6 will be...but for now, learn to breathe normally for P5 first...don't think so far.

[janet88]

Hi Brenda,

My son flunked his CA1 Maths...now waiting for paper 2 as well as Science and Chinese. At a loss how to improve his grades. Anyway, have to see the papers to see what went wrong

[Brenda10]

janet_lee88:

Hi Brenda,

My son flunked his CA1 Maths...now waiting for paper 2 as well as Science and Chinese. At a loss how to improve his grades. Anyway, have to see the papers to see what went wrong

Hi Janet

Don't worry, Math Paper 1 (Section A and B) can be trained. Suggest you let him practice more regularly in the pass year exam papers as this need time to build up speed and accuracy. If he can work toward 30 -35 minutes he will score well in his SA1.

[janet88]

Brenda10:

janet_lee88:

Hi Brenda,

My son flunked his CA1 Maths...now waiting for paper 2 as well as Science and Chinese. At a loss how to improve his grades. Anyway, have to see the papers to see what went wrong

Hi Janet,
Don't worry, Math Paper 1 (Section A and B) can be trained. Suggest you let him practice more regularly in the pass year exam papers as this need time to build up speed and accuracy. If he can work toward 30 -35 minutes he will score well in his SA1.

Hi Brenda,
I will take note of this and print out a few more past year papers for him to practice. My son must definitely work on his speed and reduce carelessness.

[pixiedust]

Janet, 加油 ! I think Brenda's suggestion is very good. I hope to do that too and we will improve in time management. We don't know Maths result yet but FT says >10 failed


We only got the CA1 Chinese paper back so far. 19 out of 39 in his class passed. Ds is only borderline pass. I am :stupid: This is just paper 2 and already I haven't seen the paper yet but he says OE compre and cloze lost a lot of marks. I can't imagine SA1/2 with compo and oral !

Argggggghhhhhhhhh ! What else are you all doing about Chinese ?

[tisha]

P5 parents please don’t worry too much. Of all the primary years, P5 is the most difficult. Yes, even more so that P6. The leap is too big, the contents more complicated and the expectations by school extremely high. :x I don’t understand why, but the exam Q are so difficult and marking so strict that all students do quite poorly for CA1/SA1. Things slightly improve by CA2, and by SA2 you are all geared up for the dreaded PSLE.

So please be supportive of your DS/DDs and don’t push them too hard. They are already having a tough time. Try to identify weak areas and work specifially on those instead of more and more practise. You’ll get thru it successfully. Good luck.

[janet88]

pixiedust:

Janet, 加油 ! I think Brenda's suggestion is very good. I hope to do that too and we will improve in time management. We don't know Maths result yet but FT says >10 failed


We only got the CA1 Chinese paper back so far. 19 out of 39 in his class passed. Ds is only borderline pass. I am :stupid: This is just paper 2 and already I haven't seen the paper yet but he says OE compre and cloze lost a lot of marks. I can't imagine SA1/2 with compo and oral !

What else are you all doing about Chinese ?

Son's tutor couldn't make it for tuition last week as her daughter had fever. So I had to double up as tutor to coach him for CL CA :frustrated: bcos I don't know if I was coaching him the right thing...whew ! lucky no 作文 and 口试. Revised with him for Section A esp hanyu pinyin, 辨字测验 as well as some comprehension passages from past year papers.

Why must P5 be so difficult ? The jump from P4 to P5 feels so great. Exam papers are tough and marking is so strict.

[janet88]

tisha:

I don't understand why, but the exam Q are so difficult and marking so strict that all students do quite poorly for CA1/SA1. Things slightly improve by CA2, and by SA2 you are all geared up for the dreaded PSLE.

Try to identify weak areas and work specifially on those instead of more and more practise. You'll get thru it successfully. Good luck.

Results are making me worried...Son has CL tuition and once-a-week English enrichment...other than that I coach him for his English, Maths (hubby) and Science with the help of assessment books, focusing on his weak areas for grammar or synthesis. So I don't know what I'm doing is correct.

[ksme]

janet_lee88:

Results are making me worried...

Janet,
So sorry to hear about your son's results. Hope you stay strong and calm so you can encourage and support your son. I am sure he is feeling worried and lousy as well. Kids do want to do well in tests and exams. When they don't, they will feel bad and some may give up. Hopefully, your son doesn't give up, but instead, use this to spur himself forward.

I can't really help you much but hopefully you will find this helpful in some ways. Personally, if it was my kid, I would review if his enrichment classes are effective for him. Some kids do better with 1 to 1 coaching while others learn better with friendly competition in a class environment. Review if the centre he goes to is suitable for him, is the curriculum they teach comparable with his school standards. If he is weak in Maths, you may want to consider letting him go for Maths classes supplemented by guidance from your dh?

Anyway, it is just my personal thoughts. Hope it is useful to you. Don't be too discouraged by this first test. It could also be that your kid's \"motor\" has not geared up fully for tests yet. Or maybe, his foundations are not strong enough in which case, you still have time to strengthen his foundation before the major exams that truly matter, ie PSLE. Take care of yourselves (both mummy and ds) and wish you all the best as you move forward. :hugs:

[janet88]

ksme:

janet_lee88:

Results are making me worried...

Janet,
So sorry to hear about your son's results. Hope you stay strong and calm so you can encourage and support your son. I am sure he is feeling worried and lousy as well. Kids do want to do well in tests and exams. When they don't, they will feel bad and some may give up. Hopefully, your son doesn't give up, but instead, use this to spur himself forward.

Anyway, it is just my personal thoughts. Hope it is useful to you. Don't be too discouraged by this first test. It could also be that your kid's \"motor\" has not geared up fully for tests yet. Or maybe, his foundations are not strong enough :hugs:

I won't scream at him since it's his first CA and Maths is known to be super tough. Will work on his speed and accuracy like what Brenda mentioned. I've told hubby not to scream at him either...will discuss with his teachers during parent-teacher meeting on how improvements can be made.
Thanks for your encouragement.