2012 PSLE Discussions and Strategy
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Hi Folks
Back from the appointment and didn't want to keep this half done so here are the other parts...
Part 2 P6 Annotations
Luke had a different dream. He wanted to be an artist.
Straightaway the child needs to be able to pick up that “contrast/compare” questions are very likely. The child needs to see that the author introduced all the earlier ideas to make this one point – Luke was different.
The question is “how”. The child should be able to link the word ‘dream” here to ambition and then connect to the earlier ambition idea which was when the author described Antonio’s ambition. Luke’s ambition was to be an artist and Antonio’s ambition [like most others in the society that the story is set] was to be a bull fighter.
Once, his father had seen him drawing and had become angry. “It will not help you to feed the family,” he had said. So Luke kept his dream to himself.
The child needs to understand that this provides the answer as to why there is “disapproval” [link back to the earlier idea of “approval” of Antonio’s ambition] of Luke’s ambition and by implication, why there is approval of Antonio’s ambition. By this time, there is more material to add to that “character” table as follows:
Luke :
•\tBelongs to a family of corn farmers
•\tHas a brother named Antonio [younger?/older?]
•\tUnlike other boys, does not want to be a bull fighter
•\tLuke wants to be an artist
•\tLuke’s father disapproves of Luke’s ambition because he thinks that artists cannot earn enough money to help the family put food on the table
Antonio:
•\tBelongs to a family of corn farmers
•\tHas a brother named Luke
•\tLike other boys, wants to be a bull fighter
•\tHis father approves of his ambition because if A becomes a bull fighter, A can earn money to help put food on the table
He spoke very little for fear that others might laugh at him.
Luke is sensitive and smart; he has sensed his father’s/society’s disapproval through his father’s comments and so keeps his ambition to himself. The child can add on to the traits for Luke.
He put all his feelings into the pictures that he drew in secret.
I would encourage the child to paraphrase this so that you can see child’s understanding eg paraphrase could be something like – Luke couldn’t let anyone know about his dream, so he poured his soul into his drawings instead and he did not show any one these drawings, perhaps because he knew they would disapprove – just like his Dad disapproved.
“Go and sell some peppers,” his mother told him one morning. Luke took the basket of peppers and set off for the market with her.
The child should know what “peppers” are ie they are vegetables; so from here and the link back to the earlier idea, the child can tell that the drought situation has not become better and there is still no corn to sell.
That morning, the sun was already very hot. Still, Luke enjoyed walking up and down the busy street while his mother sold the peppers.
I would encourage the child to make a mental drawing of this – parent working, child tags along. A matured child might conclude that the situation was still one of the norm ie where the parent worries about putting food on the table [providing for the family] and the child is just along for the ride and can still find this time “enjoyable”.
The variety of things sold at the market made a picture in his mind.
I would ask – what can you tell me about Luke from this?
Answer :Luke still carefree; he is also observant and I would add this to the character list.
On the way home, Luke could not wait to draw what he saw.
Luke is still very much the child; he doesn’t worry about how much money they got from the sale of the peppers, he just wants to get home quickly to do what he likes to do.
That week, however, he had little time to draw. He needed to help out at the farm.
Luke has to help out at the farm even though he is very young. This would tell the child that Luke is from an era and country totally unlike Singapore.
The well had gone dry. Every morning in the week, Luke had to walk for miles to get water from a deeper well. In the afternoon, he chopped weeds in the cornfields. He did not mind the hard work.
These descriptions contrast even more the difference between Luke’s life and a typical Singaporean child’s life.
While he worked, he thought about what he would draw.
What can you tell about Luke here – he likes day dreaming? Add this to character listing.
OK, Part 3 to follow... -
Part 3 – P6 Annotations
Another week passed. Still there was no rain. “It’s no use going to the market tomorrow,” Luke’s mother said. “We have so few things to sell.”
Ask the child what more information these 2 sentences tell the child. Answer: The situation has gone from bad to worse.
It was decided that Luke went to the market himself to sell some peppers while the rest of them stayed and worked in the fields.
I try to instil curiosity in the child too so I would ask the child – why did Luke get sent instead of Antonio? What conclusions can be drawn? Luke was more responsible than Antonio? Antonio was older and could be of more use in the fields rather than Luke who seemed only old enough to carry water and cut weeds? There was so little to sell anyway so perhaps sending a little child, there would be more pity for that child and people would buy [ie Sympathy marketing strategy?]
Between these 3 scenarios, ask the child to explain which the child thinks is more likely and ask for the basis of the reasoning. The passage doesn’t actually explain but you’d be surprised at the kids’ thought processes once you open up their minds.
It was Luke’s first trip to the marketplace himself. That night, he could hardly contain his excitement.
These sentences evidence Luke’s youth – he is excited about this new adventure; this new responsibility that he has been entrusted with. It doesn’t cross his mind about the “what if”s. What if I can’t sell anything?
The next morning, he thought of a brilliant idea.
The child should be able to predict the question already. What was Luke’s brilliant idea? Look at the question again – which parts must I demonstrate an understanding of – BRILLIANT IDEA.
The child needs to understand that the concept of a brilliant idea must be conveyed in the answer so the answer should not simply be “He would sell his paintings”. Why is this answer not given full marks – no demonstration of understanding of the word ‘Brilliant”. If you asked DD to explain “brilliant” in this context, she would probably not succeed. But she would be able to do it in this other way ; I would ask her : when would you say to someone “ That’s a Brilliant Idea!”, what do you mean? Likely, she can tell me, when someone suggests something to do which she totally agrees with, one which she whole heartedly supports, one which totally solves her problems, she would make that remark.
From here, she can go back to her original “he would sell his paintings” answer sentence and try to capture the “brilliant idea” essence from her own example.
Perhaps something like: Luke’s brilliant idea was to bring along his paintings to the market to sell along with his peppers. Luke believed that if he could sell his paintings, he would earn some money and thus be able to help put more food on the family table.
You could almost say, the idea was to bring along to paintings to sell and the brilliant part of the idea was that it was something he, young Luke, could do to earn more money for the family.
Note: The “what” question is often problematic. It is a question stem which is not the same as “state”. The confusion comes with the fact that sometimes, the question means ‘state’ eg what would you like to eat? I explained to DD that it cannot mean ‘state” because each compre question is worth 2 marks.
Before setting off, Luke ran inside and took some sheets of paper from under his bed.
The child must know that these sheets of papers were Luke’s drawings. Anyway even if they missed it, there is a link below [highlighted in BOLD/Underline]
He secretly hid them among the peppers.
What can you tell from this? Luke did not want anyone to know.
Why? They would probably laugh at him since his father already was of the view that art could not earn any money unlike bull fighting.
Soon, he found a spot in the noisy marketplace and spread his mate on the ground. He put the peppers on the mat and took out the sheets of paper. They were all the pictures he had drawn.
This is Luke’s idea in action. See my phrasing above “paintings to sell along with his peppers”. This phrase is therefore accurate and if a child said something like “Luke’s idea was to sell his paintings at the market“ above, some marks may be lost for inaccuracy because of the lack of mention of the peppers.
A short time later, a man asked him about his drawings.
Again as a matter of curiosity, I would ask the child to speculate what type of questions he/she thought the man would have asked. Maybe he asked who the artist was? Why would he ask that? Maybe because the drawings were so good the man was not sure if a child could have drawn them? Was the man afraid that the child had stolen the drawings so he asked to make sure he wasn’t buying stolen goods? These questions WON’T be asked in the compre because they are speculative but the purpose of the exercise is to (a) stretch the child’s understanding to that which is not explicitly stated and (b) require the child to justify his/her statements.
He gave Luke many copper coins.
The child should understand that Luke earned a lot of money from selling his drawings. The extent of “a lot of” should be reflected in the answers because it is provided in the passage.
Before the end of the day, three more people bought Luke’s drawings.
Luke earned even more money from selling his drawings.
Each person told Luke how wonderful his drawings were.
What can you say from reading this sentence? Luke was a talented [teach this vocab rather than saying “good”], self-taught artist. The latter quality is implied and that is where you want to push the child to be – see the things that are not literal but reasonably implied from the passage.
It was the most exciting day Luke had ever had.
Ask the child why would it be considered exciting. (a) First time at the market alone – adventure (b) his idea was proven to be in fact brilliant – success (c) he had proven the detractors like his father wrong because you could earn money from art –vindication; from this, possibilities existed for Luke to then persuade his father to approve of his ambition instead of being dead-set against it. You can probably tell from here that the typical child’s answer: “He managed to earn a lot of money from selling his drawings.” would be inadequate – no demonstration of the understanding of “most exciting”.
Before he left, he counted all the money. There was enough for him to buy food. There was even some money to take home.
This details the extent of his success.
Part 4 coming up... -
Part 4 – P6 Annotations
When Luke arrived home, he gave the money that was left to his father. “What is this?” asked his father in surprise. “You would not get so much money by selling those few peppers.”
What can you tell about Luke from here?
He is not boastful – he didn’t run home bragging about his success instead it is his father who has to ask him questions to find out what happened. Add to the Luke Character listing.
I would also add some stretch here by pointing out to the child that from any one given scenario, there could be more than one scenario to follow. From understanding these possible scenarios and comparing them, many conclusions could be drawn about the characters. Eg. The author could have developed the story a different way.
“What is this?”asked his father in surprise. “ You would not get so much money by selling those few peppers! How did you come by so much money! Did you steal it?” is a possible scenario – if so, what would you say about the characters eg Father has a suspicious nature – note : be careful how child says this – they might say “ Father is a suspicious character” which has a totally different meaning.
Shyly, Luke told him what he had done. His mother hugged him when she heard the story. His father walked over to him. He smiled at Luke as he often did when Antonio talked about becoming a bullfighter.
The child needs to link back to the idea that Antonio had his father’s approval while Luke initially did not but now the father has come around. What does this tell you about the father? My answer - His father cannot see anything as worthy until there is proof by way of money. Again, I would have used this as an opportunity to discuss characters. Is this father a good one? No, he does not believe in his child’s talent and believed only because Luke earned money. What if Luke’s drawings were good but it just happened that that day, there were no customers or customers with no money? Would Luke’s father have approved of Luke’s attempts to help his family situation?
“My son Luke – always doing something for the family.
I would point out to the child that there is no evidence of “always” that is clear from this passage and to avoid writing something like this in their compos.
This time we will do something for you. Here, my son. Here is the extra money.”
Child must be able to tell you what happened here – Luke sold drawings and earned a lot of money; with some he bought food for his family and he gave the balance to his dad but his dad gave it back to Luke.
His father put his arm around him.
What does putting his arm around Luke mean? He has his father’s approval; his father is pleased with him.
“Our artist must use it to buy himself more paper and pencils.”
I would ask the child – why? What is father’s intention? Reward? Hope that Luke can draw more and then earn more? Again this is in the realm of speculation but I think some children might say that it is more likely the latter because at the end that is what the dad is really interested in eg bull fighter is a great man – not because he is brave but because his job can put food on the table. So this latter speculation is in line with what we know of Luke’s father. Does that make Luke’s father a bad father? Not necessarily – in an earlier era, no food means a certain slow and painful death through starvation. Luke’s dad is being practical because you have to be like this in order to survive. This sort of exercise stretches the child’s mind so that they get used to answers which seem wrong but can be explained and answers which seemed right but have problems with them so that one can say that they are wrong.
Footnote : In this P6 annotation, you will see less of the \"circle this word and write its meaning\" directive which was more evident in the P4 piece; this is because a lot more inference is required of the child at P6 as opposed to the child being required only to know the literal meaning of slightly more difficult words. Hence in each line, you can see me trying in one way or other to ask \" what do you understand by this sentence\"/ \"why does the author say this\"/ why did the character do that\"/\"what did the character mean by doing/saying that\"?
At the end of the exercise, you are trying to encourage the child to mine for meaning - dig deep into the sentences, ask questions and frame answers.
That's it folks! Will get peterch's help on Monday with showing you how the messy handwritten annotations look like. DD handed this in for every exam including the PSLE. The teachers did wonder what she was doing but they were good - they never gave her grief over it.
The main purpose of the annotations is to slow down and mine for meaning; after this intensive exercise and an equally rigourous analysis of the questions, the answers come more naturally.
DD ended this section with a checking scheme ie she had a special order in which she checked for (s) spelling (t) tense (a) answer to the question etc Again, the particular items are not important - the process is - so help your child devise one which works for them best.
Have a blessed Sunday ahead everyone! -
:thankyou: psle2011mum for your treasure trove of informaiton. Really appreciate your taking the time to pen down the exam answering techniques for us :love:
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Thank you so much again psle2011mum! I am going to try out this compre with my DS later today. Your postings give me tonnes of confidence to guide him along
I am not sure if is too much to ask but can you also share your strategy to tackle compre cloze too? My DS always loose marks from there and he does not really like to read ;( -
Yes, I swear by annotations. My DD hated it at first and didn’t see the necessity to it, full of grumblings when asked to do but it really did slow them down and let them see the inferences and hidden meanings (which P6’s compre is all about).
It’s tedious at first but once you get the hang of it, it becomes 2nd nature to them and they no longer speed read and this paid off handsomely - cos she got an A* for her Eng, though this isn’t the main reason as there are other components but she wasn’t doing very well for her compre at the beginning of P6 last year. So do stress to them the importance of annotations. -
Just thought I'd share a little thought here. I'm impressed with this annotation method because I've never seen this before. Even in homeschooling, I have never used this.
My daughter managed to score A* for English as well without any of such help (from me or teacher and no tuition - she has never asked for help in English, used to top her school in the subject every year), and she scored close to full marks for her SAT exams reading and writing as well, a very difficult achievement for a then 14 year old. She has only one secret. She reads a lot, a lot. Practically eats books.
So there are many methods, and some times, just having a good grounding in the language can do wonders. Otherwise, using methods like these I'm sure can give heaps of advantage to the kids as well. Many roads to Rome, thanks for sharing all the different ones.
Also, one caution. The method might work wonders on some kids, and may not for others. Of my kids, I know at least 3 will get really angry if I use these on them, but 1 of my kids will definitely benefit.
If the kid is able to scan a piece of writing, can be newspaper article, books, novel etc, and understand it fully (not partly) without the need for such breaking down, then perhaps he will be frustrated. If we insist that he does this, he will hate to do compre or even read, if we keep bugging him to comply.
I know PSLE is important to parents and children. But take care of the passion for reading. If you kill that for them in the midst of getting an A* for English, I think it will be quite sad. In fact, some could get that good grade without our help.
Don't under estimate our little ones. Some kids are intuitive and know their way without us having to point them every single step. Don't stone me har... I still think it is an amazing effort, and I won't be able to even do/attempt a fraction of this. What an effort! :shock:
Go ahead and get that good grade, but most importantly, take care of that passion. :boogie: -
I think it’s only for those who don’t read much English literature. I am doing this VERBALLY with my two young kids when I read something to them that may be beyond their life experiences, not just with books, but movies. I can’t imagine having to do this for them at p6 for English. But for CHINESE, yes! Because there will be many phrases, references, and vocab they are unfamiliar with. Because they don’t understand the references, they won’t see the ‘hidden’ meaning. But for someone who is proficient in the tongue, it is clear as daylight.
I feel reading good books can be different from reading non fiction, or books that are more simplistic. So being very good at reading assessment books - or
Geronimo, Percy Jackson books - is not the same as reading a more textured and layered work that draws its material from a deeper philosophical question, or from a more complicated socio- economic background. The Giver for one, can be easily read by a P6, but not every 12 year old will be able to extract the themes from it. It remains one of the most controversial books on reading lists in the US. -
deminc:
Actually, I'm also in a similar situation. I've always had problems with Chinese when it comes to teaching the kids because they don't read enough Chinese books, and we don't speak it at home. But I devised a very simplistic compre method and they would score full marks for that PSLE paper (compre only) without understanding the passage at all! It even amazes the teachers.I think it's only for those who don't read much English literature. I am doing this VERBALLY with my two young kids when I read something to them that may be beyond their life experiences, not just with books, but movies. I can't imagine having to do this for them at p6 for English. But for CHINESE, yes! Because there will be many phrases, references, and vocab they are unfamiliar with. Because they don't understand the references, they won't see the 'hidden' meaning. But for someone who is proficient in the tongue, it is clear as daylight.
I feel reading good books can be different from reading non fiction, or books that are more simplistic. So being very good at reading assessment books - or
Geronimo, Percy Jackson books - is not the same as reading a more textured and layered work that draws its material from a deeper philosophical question, or from a more complicated socio- economic background. The Giver for one, can be easily read by a P6, but not every 12 year old will be able to extract the themes from it. It remains one of the most controversial books on reading lists in the US.
But since my kids has normally progressed from PSLE to a degree program, I don't really care about their Chinese beyond that PSLE (A is good enough for me, don't need A*) because they pick it up from scratch at uni. P6 level is enough to give them a headstart among real beginners. :rotflmao:
For English, I think the reading habit is very important, can't agree more. I don't really track what the kids read (which include management books and thick novels, comics, HBR and uni texts displayed on our shelves). In addition, I subscribe to a US reading list, and at the end of every book, they test comprehension of the book. DS2 reads at least a book or two from the reading list a day. I know that he comprehends the whole book (e.g. DS2 read Call of the Wild and Midsummer Night's Dream at 11) and answered all the comprehension questions correctly in an hour inclusive of reading. I am pretty sure he has read The Giver, but I am not sure if he got the themes. I believe my daughter only started looking into themes systematically at about 15 when required by the syllabus. Slowing down a kid might or might not work. If I were to slow DS2 down deliberately, he will be very angry with me. I am more worried about him thinking I do not trust him then him getting the grades. Therefore, if he loses one or two marks here or there, I don't really lose sleep because I want him to continue to love reading instead.
For reluctant readers, like DD3, I think annotation method would work, since I am not sure if he really comprehends (inferences etc) everything he reads and he is still young (P3) to think I know nothing. :skeptical: Yet, I am cautious, I might want him to find a method for himself, just like him to for Math. Having said that, I still think those who use this annotation method are excellent educators! What a wonderful way to break a huge piece into bite size pieces!
Same caution. If we tell the kid everything they need to know, they might stop exploring. I shudder to think the next generation might ask us the right method to learn to walk properly. Something that should come from instinct. :xedfingers: So I'd say let the kid try first, if he can, then leave him alone. Otherwise, whip this up and help him. I'm going to copy all of these annotation thingy and keep it in case I'll ever need it one day.
Thank you psle2011mum. What selfless sharing! :thankyou: -
2ppaamm:
Hi 2ppaamm,
Actually, I'm also in a similar situation. I've always had problems with Chinese when it comes to teaching the kids because they don't read enough Chinese books, and we don't speak it at home. But I devised a very simplistic compre method and they would score full marks for that PSLE paper (compre only) without understanding the passage at all! It even amazes the teachers.deminc:
I think it's only for those who don't read much English literature. I am doing this VERBALLY with my two young kids when I read something to them that may be beyond their life experiences, not just with books, but movies. I can't imagine having to do this for them at p6 for English. But for CHINESE, yes! Because there will be many phrases, references, and vocab they are unfamiliar with. Because they don't understand the references, they won't see the 'hidden' meaning. But for someone who is proficient in the tongue, it is clear as daylight.
I feel reading good books can be different from reading non fiction, or books that are more simplistic. So being very good at reading assessment books - or
Geronimo, Percy Jackson books - is not the same as reading a more textured and layered work that draws its material from a deeper philosophical question, or from a more complicated socio- economic background. The Giver for one, can be easily read by a P6, but not every 12 year old will be able to extract the themes from it. It remains one of the most controversial books on reading lists in the US. But since my kids has normally progressed from PSLE to a degree program, I don't really care about their Chinese beyond that PSLE (A is good enough for me, don't need A*) because they pick it up from scratch at uni. P6 level is enough to give them a headstart among real beginners. :rotflmao:
For English, I think the reading habit is very important, can't agree more. I don't really track what the kids read (which include management books and thick novels, comics, HBR and uni texts displayed on our shelves). In addition, I subscribe to a US reading list, and at the end of every book, they test comprehension of the book. DS2 reads at least a book or two from the reading list a day. I know that he comprehends the whole book (e.g. DS2 read Call of the Wild and Midsummer Night's Dream at 11) and answered all the comprehension questions correctly in an hour inclusive of reading. I am pretty sure he has read The Giver, but I am not sure if he got the themes. I believe my daughter only started looking into themes systematically at about 15 when required by the syllabus. Slowing down a kid might or might not work. If I were to slow DS2 down deliberately, he will be very angry with me. I am more worried about him thinking I do not trust him then him getting the grades. Therefore, if he loses one or two marks here or there, I don't really lose sleep because I want him to continue to love reading instead.
For reluctant readers, like DD3, I think annotation method would work, since I am not sure if he really comprehends (inferences etc) everything he reads and he is still young (P3) to think I know nothing. :skeptical: Yet, I am cautious, I might want him to find a method for himself, just like him to for Math. Having said that, I still think those who use this annotation method are excellent educators! What a wonderful way to break a huge piece into bite size pieces!
Same caution. If we tell the kid everything they need to know, they might stop exploring. I shudder to think the next generation might ask us the right method to learn to walk properly. Something that should come from instinct. :xedfingers: So I'd say let the kid try first, if he can, then leave him alone. Otherwise, whip this up and help him. I'm going to copy all of these annotation thingy and keep it in case I'll ever need it one day.
Thank you psle2011mum. What selfless sharing! :thankyou:
Would u able to share with us the simplistic method that u devised?
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