Science Guide Books

[teh_oh]

Hi janet_lee88,


I saw a Science Concept Map Revision for Primary 5 and 6 by Marshall Cavendish. The book has an orange cover. Want to check with you if it is useful.
Thanks.

[Champion]

teh_oh:

Hi janet_lee88,


I saw a Science Concept Map Revision for Primary 5 and 6 by Marshall Cavendish. The book has an orange cover. Want to check with you if it is useful.
Thanks.

Hi! Teh_Oh,
You referring to this one? http://i52.tinypic.com/2lka92b.jpg\">
http://resource.marshallcavendish.com/mcdoc/console/DocumentDetail.aspx?viewType=&id=48904

[cimman]

I find that to improve Science grades, it’s best to spend more time in doing questions, both MCQ and OE questions, than it is to read extensively on guide books. Most of the questions asked are basic concepts, which one can cover in half an hour for each topic. I briefly skim through a topic, pick up the succinct points, summarize it and go through it with my child for half an hour. That’s all it takes.

For MCQ, the difficulty lies in logical reasoning. Children are not very strong in this area. Even for concepts that they have covered and are familiar with, if the question is asked in a manner that is different from the way it is presented in the text books, they will be stumped. So the key in this area is to teach them reasoning skills. With sound reasoning skills, they can deduce the right answer even if they haven’t come across the necessary concepts, simply because the other options are dead wrong. Of course, the other area where marks are lost is due to carelessness. This is especially so for the questions of the type (all of the above or (a,b) or (a,c,d), etc…). Even a simple matter of transferring the correct option to the answer box will result in errors in MCQ.

For Open Ended questions, the answer is also logical reasoning. The answer given somehow is not linked back to the question. For example, why does a bimetallic strip bends when heated ? the kid will answer because of uneven expansion. While it is true there is uneven expansion, there is a disconnect between the answer and the question. Logical reasoning will help to breakdown the answer into a few parts.
(1) metals expand when heated - basic concept is stated.
(2) some metals expand more and gets longer - more in depth concept (that is directly relevant to the question) is stated and the observable change is noted (metal gets longer)
(3) when 2 different metals with different expansion rates are joined together, the bimetallic strip will bend to accomodate the different lengths of the 2 metals after expansion. - linking back to the answer

The answer should always have some key words lifted from the question to provide a link back to the context of the question.
I’m in the process of creating a flow chart for answering OE questions. It’s based on my child’s answers and the flaws in his answers. I’m hoping the chart will help him to answer 80% of the OE questions.

I find that while there are some MCQ questions that he would have answered correctly if he had read extensively on guide books, these are in the minority. Most marks are lost through carelessness and inability to link question back to concepts that he is already familiar with.

[janet88]

teh_oh:

Hi janet,


I saw a Science Concept Map Revision for Primary 5 and 6 by Marshall Cavendish. The book has an orange cover. Want to check with you if it is useful.
Thanks.

Think I know which one you're referring to...I didn't get it bcos my son hates to read concept maps...besides, I'm grateful if he reads the FAQ books instead. Those answers are crucial to pass the commonly asked questions.

[janet88]

cimman:

I find that to improve Science grades, it's best to spend more time in doing questions, both MCQ and OE questions, than it is to read extensively on guide books. Most of the questions asked are basic concepts, which one can cover in half an hour for each topic. I briefly skim through a topic, pick up the succinct points, summarize it and go through it with my child for half an hour. That's all it takes.

For MCQ, the difficulty lies in logical reasoning. Children are not very strong in this area. Even for concepts that they have covered and are familiar with, if the question is asked in a manner that is different from the way it is presented in the text books, they will be stumped. So the key in this area is to teach them reasoning skills. With sound reasoning skills, they can deduce the right answer even if they haven't come across the necessary concepts, simply because the other options are dead wrong. Of course, the other area where marks are lost is due to carelessness. This is especially so for the questions of the type (all of the above or (a,b) or (a,c,d), etc..). Even a simple matter of transferring the correct option to the answer box will result in errors in MCQ.

For Open Ended questions, the answer is also logical reasoning. The answer given somehow is not linked back to the question. For example, why does a bimetallic strip bends when heated ? the kid will answer because of uneven expansion. While it is true there is uneven expansion, there is a disconnect between the answer and the question. Logical reasoning will help to breakdown the answer into a few parts.
(1) metals expand when heated - basic concept is stated.
(2) some metals expand more and gets longer - more in depth concept (that is directly relevant to the question) is stated and the observable change is noted (metal gets longer)
(3) when 2 different metals with different expansion rates are joined together, the bimetallic strip will bend to accomodate the different lengths of the 2 metals after expansion. - linking back to the answer

The answer should always have some key words lifted from the question to provide a link back to the context of the question.
I'm in the process of creating a flow chart for answering OE questions. It's based on my child's answers and the flaws in his answers. I'm hoping the chart will help him to answer 80% of the OE questions.

I find that while there are some MCQ questions that he would have answered correctly if he had read extensively on guide books, these are in the minority. Most marks are lost through carelessness and inability to link question back to concepts that he is already familiar with.

:goodpost: I couldn't agree more with you.

[teh_oh]

Champion:

teh_oh:

Hi janet_lee88,


I saw a Science Concept Map Revision for Primary 5 and 6 by Marshall Cavendish. The book has an orange cover. Want to check with you if it is useful.
Thanks.

Hi! Teh_Oh,
You referring to this one? http://i52.tinypic.com/2lka92b.jpg\">
http://resource.marshallcavendish.com/mcdoc/console/DocumentDetail.aspx?viewType=&id=48904

Hi Champion,
It is not this one. The book is slightly bigger than A4 size.

[teh_oh]

janet_lee88:

teh_oh:

Hi janet,


I saw a Science Concept Map Revision for Primary 5 and 6 by Marshall Cavendish. The book has an orange cover. Want to check with you if it is useful.
Thanks.

Think I know which one you're referring to...I didn't get it bcos my son hates to read concept maps...besides, I'm grateful if he reads the FAQ books instead. Those answers are crucial to pass the commonly asked questions.

Hi janet_lee88,
Thank you for your feedback. I could not compare as I am not familiar with Upper block.

[teh_oh]

cimman:

I find that to improve Science grades, it's best to spend more time in doing questions, both MCQ and OE questions, than it is to read extensively on guide books. Most of the questions asked are basic concepts, which one can cover in half an hour for each topic. I briefly skim through a topic, pick up the succinct points, summarize it and go through it with my child for half an hour. That's all it takes.

For MCQ, the difficulty lies in logical reasoning. Children are not very strong in this area. Even for concepts that they have covered and are familiar with, if the question is asked in a manner that is different from the way it is presented in the text books, they will be stumped. So the key in this area is to teach them reasoning skills. With sound reasoning skills, they can deduce the right answer even if they haven't come across the necessary concepts, simply because the other options are dead wrong. Of course, the other area where marks are lost is due to carelessness. This is especially so for the questions of the type (all of the above or (a,b) or (a,c,d), etc..). Even a simple matter of transferring the correct option to the answer box will result in errors in MCQ.

For Open Ended questions, the answer is also logical reasoning. The answer given somehow is not linked back to the question. For example, why does a bimetallic strip bends when heated ? the kid will answer because of uneven expansion. While it is true there is uneven expansion, there is a disconnect between the answer and the question. Logical reasoning will help to breakdown the answer into a few parts.
(1) metals expand when heated - basic concept is stated.
(2) some metals expand more and gets longer - more in depth concept (that is directly relevant to the question) is stated and the observable change is noted (metal gets longer)
(3) when 2 different metals with different expansion rates are joined together, the bimetallic strip will bend to accomodate the different lengths of the 2 metals after expansion. - linking back to the answer

The answer should always have some key words lifted from the question to provide a link back to the context of the question.
I'm in the process of creating a flow chart for answering OE questions. It's based on my child's answers and the flaws in his answers. I'm hoping the chart will help him to answer 80% of the OE questions.

I find that while there are some MCQ questions that he would have answered correctly if he had read extensively on guide books, these are in the minority. Most marks are lost through carelessness and inability to link question back to concepts that he is already familiar with.

Hi cimman,
For OE, my child can only score on questions that he is familiar with. He is quite weak in application of concepts. There is only so much time to go through so many OE model answers. Writing clearly and to the point with keywords is one of the challenge.

[smartmummy]

http://i55.tinypic.com/315ihr5.jpg\">

Is it this one?

[smartmummy]

Does anyone ask ur kids to explore through website to find info for the OE qn?I prefer that method but take more time and my son addict to computer.He can’t search long time he will switch to game.How to manage this?

So I prefer to give books then he can read.But information in each book is less (I think,I didn’t go through much).
What is ur opinion?
I feel we cannot hold hand,make them independent learner,but don’t know how to make it possible.