Secondary School History

[ladeline28]

Hi,


Does anyone knows any good tips for answering History questions? I have no clue how to answer them although I have read his History textbook. I believe it’s the same for my ds as he didn’t do well for this subject.

[edifyme]

Hi all,


If you have any questions related to History, please feel free to post here or pm me and I'll try to answer (I'm not promoting tuition classes here--just offering some free advice to parents who feel lost and worried).

I used to teach History and Social Studies in Band 1 sec schools for those of you who want to know who you're talking with, and I'm familiar with the new syllabi. My last graduating classes scored majority distinctions (one of them was the weakest in the entire cohort) so I might be able to help answer your questions about revision strategy, syllabus, exam marking standards, etc.

I also just started a new email mailing list where from time to time I send free History-related notes and how-tos. If you think it might help your ds/dd, feel free to sign up here http://eepurl.com/TSmEL.

Cheers,
Karen.

[edifyme]

I have received questions on how to improve in History and SS without resorting to expensive tuition (MOE-trained teachers charge $65-$80/hr).


Here is a method which has worked very well for my ex-students. Doing this helped most of them score distinctions for Combined Humanities (History & SS) at the O levels.

The key is not in ‘buying’ the best notes but in (a) putting in a little time each week to practice TYS questions + (b) getting accurate and specific feedback on work done.

You may wish to have your dd/ds try this (it’s best to start at Sec 3, but it’s still not too late to start NOW if he/she is in Sec 4):

1. Buy the current year’s SS and/or History Elective Ten Year Series. I have always used SAP Education’s as they arrange them by topics. Easy to keep track of topics revised.
(The syllabus has just been changed but the changes only apply to the paper format and mark distribution. Content and skills tested remain the same. So it’s not a waste of time to use the TYS.)

If your dd/ds is in Lower Sec, you should know that most school libraries keep a copy of past years’ school exam papers. Go borrow and photocopy those for practice.

2. Have your dd or ds try 1-2 SBQ/SEQ parts a week e.g. Section A, Qn1(a) and 1(b). This should not take more than 45 min per week, including pulling out school notes for reference if needed). If dd/ds is in Sec 4, you may want to increase the number of questions.

3. Start with the Structured Essay Questions as your dd or ds would likely have chapter notes from their schools teachers they can readily refer to.

4. Have dd/ds ask school history/SS teacher to give feedback on the work.
(If your dd/ds is really shy, ask him/her not to worry! I don’t know any MOE teacher who is not willing to help a student who is polite and motivated! Let dd/ds know that they should give the teacher about a week to get back to them, as this is on top of their usual marking workload.)

5. Once dd/ds receives the work back, remember to thank the teacher and ask if there are any areas for improvement. Verbal feedback, no matter how brief, helps.

If your dd/ds can do this consistently, there is no need for expensive tuition. And your dd/ds will develop invaluable self-mastery skills that will stand him/her in good stead in JC/Poly/Uni.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to pm me or post here.

[edifyme]

Hi ladelaine, what level is your dd/ds in? would be able to give you better suggestions if you could send over your child’s mid year exam paper–I’ll take a look at it and offer some tips on the answer techniques. No obligation. Pmed you my email.

[edifyme]

Hi parents,


Have received quite a few SOS emails.

I've heard a lot about students who have studied hard but didn't score the desired marks for SS and History. Some parents have told me they are worried about more than just the grades (although those are also important).

Failing paper after paper damages the self esteem of the child--frequently we point to the 'overly stressful' education system. It is true that our education places a lot of demand on our 13-16 year olds who are at the same time going through great physical, emotional and cognitive changes. I feel for our teens who have even more packed schedules than some working adults...Most of the time, students I speak with are resigned to doing badly in History and SS.

It all boils down to baby steps and small successes.
If today your dd/ds can take 15min to do an essay plan for a straightforward Structure Essay Qn (SEQ) , that would be a great achievement. If we affirm their effort before we look at their results, they would be so much more likely to want to take more baby steps.

With each small success, they get motivated to try more. And then we build up from there. These are the students who go from D7 to A1.

It's lots of hard and heart work, but if we adults are there with them, teens will amaze you with what they can do.

Don't give up parents. One TYS qn a week--coupled with an experienced teacher's feedback--it really does wonders.

If you need urgent help but have absolutely no idea what your dd/ds needs to work on, or how to even start, feel free to send his/her mid yr exam paper to me at [email protected] and I'll take a look. I'll offer you some suggestions. It's free and there is no obligation to sign up for anything at all.

[Dream Big]

Hello! Have you heard of slideshare.net? Is it a reliable source? I went to the website before and they provide a variety of slides to choose from about the topic yo are learning about, they are pretty good, but not sure whether it is reliable? Do any of you parents and students heard of this website? :thankyou:

[Dream Big]

reuliuil wrote:

> If you are having problems studying and want to save time and effort, you can check
> out the notes here - http://designedcognition.wordpress.com/ - everything is laid
> out neatly and nicely with helpful colour images.

Does that website sell Sec 1 IP mind maps? Thank you

[Dream Big]

reuliuil:

Dream Big:

reuliuil wrote:

> If you are having problems studying and want to save time and effort, you can check
> out the notes here - http://designedcognition.wordpress.com/ - everything is laid
> out neatly and nicely with helpful colour images.

Does that website sell Sec 1 IP mind maps? Thank you

At the moment we do not have cognitive maps specifically catering to Sec 1 IP.

However the topics covered by our current series are as follows:

Geography Series 1:
Weather and Climate
Tectonic Hazards

Geography Series 2:
Tourism
Food Resources

History Series 1:
• Impact of World War I
• Rise of authoritarian regimes and its impact in the interwar years
− *Case study of Communist Russia
− *Case study of Nazi Germany
• World War II in Europe and the Asia–Pacific
− Reasons for outbreak of WWII in Europe
− Reasons for outbreak of WWII in the Asia–Pacific
− Reasons for the defeat of Germany
− Reasons for the defeat of Japan

History Series 2:
• Cold War and the bi-polar world order
− Reasons for the Cold War in Europe
• Manifestation of Cold War outside Europe
− *Case study of Korean War, 1950– 53
− *Case study of Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
• Reasons for the end of the Cold War

If these topics are similar to what you are covering in school you might want to consider getting them.

Hi reuliuil,
The topics above are not similar to what I am learning in school. Thanks anyways

[milkbun]

reuliuil:

This video on how WW1 started is very useful - the guy talking is John Green (the writer of The Fault in Our Stars!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... d2ch4XV84s

Thanks for sharing :goodpost:

[Porky Pig]

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