Complete guide for score in Science for P3 and P4

[pangteach]

[video=youtube;-ob6Jdcgbt4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ob6Jdcgbt4[/video]

This thread is dedicate to all parents who are home tutoring their kids who are in Primary 3 or 4. I believed that lower primary Science is not as daunting as what many perceived, in fact, 4 hours a week is absolutely enough for students to score above 90 for the Science. In this thread, I want to discuss about how you can guide your child to score for his/her Science by first choosing the right material. The best part ? it`s free! Anyway, I`ll try to add in other relevant information I had collected over the years in the later posts.. if i have the time.

No prize for guessing it right. I am the product of the kiasu parents system (of course! haha) but I was the laziest student out there. I failed 6 out of 7 subjects for my O`level prelims. With less than 2 months to the O`level, I managed to convert all the "F" into 6Bs and 1A for my final O`level. If there is someone who wants to talk about exam short cuts, I think I might be the most qualified one out there, haha! I dug out these photos out for reference (if only I had abit more time to prepare for my O`levels, if only...)




Ok let`s talk about the hot topic on science assessment book!

Part 1 : The best Science "assessment book" and why ?​

Quick Summary : The number of assessment books available in the market is ridiculously high. Just looking at the shelves at Popular bookstore is dazzling enough. With so many choices available, what is the hands down assessment book for students to do well in Science ? The one and only ultimate material where questions are ultra related (same type of questions and difficulty) is the stack of exam papers. If utilized properly, I have witnessed students improve their grades from 70-ish in SA1 to 94 in SA2 just be doing them.


This part will be covering some of the common fallacy when shopping for a book and 4 reasons why the stack of exam paper is the best material.

Common fallacy when shopping for a Science assessment book


Back in 2009, When i first started out tutoring, I had been to Popular on several occasions to look for the ultimate assessment. No surprise that a lot of parents were there as well over the weekend. I experimented with different books (really sorry kids!) – Casco, EPH and Science boosters on my students but the questions in set in SA2 were very different from these assessment books I bought. The next logical thing to do is to visit dear Popular again to buy more assessment books because seems like the one I bought were not relevant after all. In the end, the student`s table is as dazzling as the shelves in Popular. I have complied my 3 fallacies when I was shopping for a book back then.

1. Going for the toughest book – Should I go for Casco because the questions are harder ? Casco`s books are one of the thickest among all. Maybe the added thickness represent additional information students need to do well in exam.
   
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2. Buying a science booster – Now i have chosen 2 assessment books (for a start), perhaps I should get a Science guide book because all the others seem to get it as well. The school textbook is ridiculously thin, fatten up the concept. Learn more, score more!
   
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3. More books equates to more marks – Oh look, Science booster, “All in One guide” is staring me down from the shelf. Am i missing out of something if i dont`t buy it ? Better be safe than sorry, it`s $29.90 anyway. One time $30 in exchange for him to score an A. Totally worth it.
   
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4 reasons why the stack of exam paper is the best material
you can find them at Free 2016,2015 Top School Exam Papers, Testpapers & Worksheets, Download Now (Free!)

• Learn one standardize answering technique –
  Being new to the subject, P3 and P4 students are still trying to learn how to answer open ended questions correctly.Meaning to say, write answers that score the full marks for the question.Unless he/she is a genius, exposing him/her to too many fancy and yet out-the-syllabus questions can do more harm than good.
  
  With different questions, comes with different answer as different assessment books have different way of constructing open ended answers. Given the permutation and combination, students will have a hard find absorbing all the different styles of answering techniques. Some answer keys say this is acceptable while the other says this is not acceptable. Which one is the RIGHT one ?
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• They have the right syllabus
  Top School Exam papers are set by school teachers. The questions they set are within the parameters of the MOE syllabus. It is not likely they set questions which are not taught because there is a guideline to follow.The problem with other assessment books is some of the content are not in the syllabus.
  
  “Science booster” as the name suggests, is to booster to what you have learnt.It`s an add-on.If you learnt about 5 types of animals under Diversity (that`s the school textbook), these “Science Booster” might throw in 1 more type animals to juice up the content.These added information is fun to know and I highly encourage students to be more inquisitive in the subject but if your primary goal is to score in SA1 and SA2 then top school exam papers is the one to go.
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• Familiarized with the format
  For a 1hr 30min paper, how much time can I spend on Section A ? Section B ? Students feedback to me that the paper is long and tedious compared to the assignment I gave them in the lesson.Then, I realized that by giving them segments of questions from the assessment books, I did not prepare them psychologically for the length of the actual paper.A standard format for primary school SA2 is 30 MCQ for Section A (60marks) and 14-15 open ended questions for Section B (40marks).
  
  Students need to be familiarised with the format of SA2 to manage their time effectively and efficiently. Some questions are indirect and needed more time. Students with enough practice will expect this and manage their time accordingly.
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• Commonly tested open ended questions
  To score 90 and above for Science, students must know what type of open ended questions are tested regularly. There are those few questions that students must know because it will appear in either SA1 or SA2 based on the guideline. These questions are recycled and repeated year after year. The reason for that is not because teachers are lazy, rather, they have a guideline to follow. Students at this level need to learn how to answer these type of questions before they proceed to higher level. It`s just like asking why are the same questions on multiplication always tested in Primary 2 ? Because in Primary 3, you need to apply that in the topic of Fraction!
  
  If you go to the MOE website for Science Syllabus Primary and look under section 3 – SYLLABUS FRAMEWORK, you will know what I am talking about. It can be found here

To be continued with topics to be explored include...

1. Difference between Primary 3 and 4 Science
2. 3 Methods to make lesson interesting for your kids
3. Common mistakes when teaching Primary School Science
4. How to score in Section B using keywords
5. The different type commonly tested Section B questions (total of 5)

 

[pangteach]

[video=youtube;DF_KAZ7lJec]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF_KAZ7lJec[/video]

In this section, we are going to explore some common mistakes when teaching Primary School Science. It all boils down to generating interest for them for the subject. I mean... come on, who like to study, right ? This is true especially when I could not score in the exam. Interest only occurs when I do well in something, that sparks more interest because I am good at that!

The date for today is 1st December. A lot of parents (even my parents) love to start preparing at this period. Why ? Because they say holiday is the best time to study. I agree and disagree with that. I think holiday is the best time to build the hype for students who are taking the subject and not do assessment books or question paper. Hype = rich content related to the subject aka Youtube

Other than exciting the audience, rich content also allows students to have better reference when you teach a topic or question later on. In the next post, I will discuss more on how you can use rich content to lengthen their attention spam during your lesson with them. They work like magic

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Part 2 : 4 common mistakes when teaching Primary School Science​

1. Not going ahead of the syllabus

Ok, going ahead of the syllabus has nothing to do with being “kiasu”. Whether you are home tutoring your child or engaging a tutor to teach, getting ahead of the syllabus allows student to have more time for revision and practice. The earlier the student finishes the syllabus for the term, the earlier he/she can start doing the exam papers, the earlier you can rectify the mistakes.
So, how ahead is ahead ?

I love to make full use to the March Holidays to prepare for SA1 while June Holidays to prepare SA2. Without the need to attend school, students are less tired and more focused compared to the normal school days.

Ideally, students should finish the exam papers for the term 2-3 weeks before the actual exam. Therefore, all SA1 paper should be completed and explained before 1st of May. For SA2, that would be 1st of October. The remaining time should be spent on recapping questions after questions until the student can answer at his/her fingertips.

I dont like to be stressed during exam period. I think with the tension in the air, students should relax a abit. What need to be covered is and should be covered many weeks and months before, no need to get into panic mode on the eve of the exam. Chill, we are good to go.

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2. Not enriching content


Nobody likes to study from the textbook. It`s boring and monotonous. Enrichment of content does not necessarily have to be restricted to Science booster. They are enrichment books after all and students get bored with that. Introduce something more captivating to the students, Youtube, Google images and animations not only spark interest but can be used to add zest to the dull textbooks.

Although these content will not be tested in the exam, learning is not just about coping with exam isn’t it ? Who want their kids to become the nerd in the class ?


Recommended Youtube channels to Science
Smithsonian Channel : explores the history of our planet, life and culture, with 100% original, family-friendly programming
National Geographic : National Geographic is the world’s premium destination for science, exploration, and adventure
SciShow : explores the unexpected. Scientific subjects that defy our expectations and least heard of.
Brave Wilderness : Sometimes I watched this too!
There more a lot more to be discovered!

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3. Doing exam papers a few weeks before exam


This is important!! Do not wait till the 2 weeks of exam to practice a few exam papers, it is too late. Exam papers should be done as early as February. Omit out those questions that are not learnt yet and get back to them when the topic is covered. Tackle those open ended questions from early topics before they piled up later on.

Of course, if you want to score 90 & above for Science, it is not just about doing it for the sake of completion. Going through motion just to get them marked complete is as good as not doing them at all. Upon doing, students still have to review and correct their mistake. Also, students looooove to memorise questions and answers. When I was a kid, I would pretend to know whatever my tutor said and repeat after her when she asked me to explain. Then, she will think I get it and move on to other topics. You know..later the more I ask...the more homework she will give me to do. Better keep quiet.

Seems like kids will always be kids. After all these years, I still see kids doing the same tricks I did years ago. Therefore, you should not test them immdiately after you teach them, instead, test them over a period of time

A lot of parents feel that by doing the top school exam paper few weeks before the actual exam give the student an idea of a mock paper. Again, what if the exam paper is a wake up call ? Doing exam papers is about finding out where did the student lose his/her 25 marks ( assuming he gets 75/100), then find all these TYPE of questions to practice. Then contiune to test these questions at random over a period to ensure absolute certainty in him.
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4. Not showing the answering techniques for SectionB right from the start

Have you seen some answers written by students in Section B ? The answers make a lot of sense but they are not acceptable in the world of Science.

Prevention is better than cure. Rather than correcting the mistakes upon receiving the horrendous exam scripts, teach them how to answer open ended questions from topic 1 – Living and non-living things. Get the technique right from the start to avoid future confusion on why is this acceptable while that is not. You will be surprised that some P6 students sitting for PSLE still commit the same elementary mistakes when they were in P3.

If the student only learn one and only answering techniques from the start, it`s difficult for them to come out with other fancy ways of writing. For example, questions like to ask about similarity and difference between 2 animals. Right from the beginning, teach them to use only characteristics they have learnt instead of using their own assumption. Tell them why! Because in Science, when you do comparison between a bird and a mammal, you want to write a correct statement for ALL birds and ALL mammals.


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To be continued...

 

[pangteach]

Let`s be honest, nobody likes tuition and homework. When i was still a student, whenever I like a subject, it is mostly because of the teacher.We all have our favorite teacher and that teacher is one who is able to juggle between curriculum and jokes.

A lot of parents want their tutors to “drill concepts” during the 1.5/2hour so that every dollar is well spent. As a buyer's point of view, that makes perfect sense, it's bang for the buck. In a perfect world, students are rapidly absorbing all the information taught by the tutor(or parents).

However, we are in an imperfect world. Always keep this in mind when you are tutoring your kids, recall how you used to be attentive whenever your favourite teacher walks in. Is he/she the strict and monotonous teacher ? I doubt it​

Let`s take a look at 3 interesting way you can do to make lessons interesting for the kids. Some of them are mirrored by my favourite teacher.

Part 3 : 3 ways to lengthen students` attention span

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1. Small talk

Never underestimate the power of small talk. Sometimes, it`s the small things that make the difference.

How do you like if a teacher jump straight into the subject and start pointing out your mistakes right from the beginning ? Before you begin your session with your child, introduce some small talk. Ask him about his day in school, his friends or even games. Spend a couple of minutes to open things up a little, make it casual, get the momentum, get the flow, get the attention.


Small talks can also be used when the student is getting restless. They provide a mini "break" between the lessons. While talking or teaching is tiring, the audience at the receiving end is feeling the heat too. No point getting loud and authoritative when students are losing focus. Forcing does not work on us when we were restless students, it probably won`t work on them either.


2. Throw in a fun questions before diving into the concept aka RICH CONTENT

This is my all time favourite.

Solid, liquid and gas. The properties of solid are it has definite shape, definite volume. The properties of liquid are it has definite volume but no definite shape. Seriously! How boring can this get ?

Instead show them rich content like videos, images and juice it up with history and stories related to the question. Imagine you are teaching on this topic on Heat and thermometer and the diagram is showing temperature taking. Before talking about the question, spend a minute to wrap a story about it. Stories can come in form of personal account, a fun fact or some crazy experience.

Now we are using digital thermometer. Do you know what type of thermometer we used to use ? You can find one when you go to the Science Lab in school, it`s a mercury thermometer. Why is there a liquid inside ? Do you know that I used to own this type of thermometer ?

Then you can proceed to talk about why mercury is used instead of other liquids which you can link that into the topic on materials and heat because metal is a good conductor of heat.

Finally, throw in the properties of liquid. It has no definite shape. Rather than reading from the text which they might as well do it themselves, use a fun question or an example of daily life to illustrate the concept. It is fun and easier to remember.

DO - See a question - tell a story - back to the topic - show link to other topics - present the concept.
Dont`T - See a question - present the concept

3. Role switch - You do, they mark

I remembered when I was in primary school, whenever I had tuition, I always pretend that I understand even if I dont`t. Maybe I was too scared to ask, maybe I look stupid if i were to ask again or I just want to get it over and done with the lesson. You know... who knows he might go complain to my mummy after class that I dont't know a lot of things. Happened before.

"Then my gameboy kena confiscated after that. Tution teacher sabo sia. I`ll just say I understand and repeat after him. Safest approach. End of story"

All these years, the mind of a child has not changed abit. Kids today still think like how I used to think.

I came out with this method of role switch. This refreshing method is far effective than conventional approach by a huge margin. Not only the student gets more attentive, I am able to know exactly which area he/she is weak at. All my students love this method because it appeared to be a better deal for them. Well, not really.


This method is far more tedious than the students doing it themselves because students only have to explain the incorrect answer you intentionally make but also to justify the correct answer he/she has given. Failing to do either, you will know which area he/she is weak in.
Sometimes you can put out correct answers just to mix things up. Also,do the questions at a lightning pace.

Your child who is “marking” should keep up with your pace, read the question, spot the mistakes and justify correct answer with a snap of a finger. Hence, there is no room for guesswork, every answer, every question is under scrutiny. Speed and precision is something every A* student must possess.

Kids love this method. Perhaps something about letting them be the authority figure excites them a little bit.