Preparation for Term 4 Week 4

S4-08

No preparation required. Just bring your LDs to class for the remaining two lessons.

S4-06

1. Complete the SCGS Prelim paper found here and mark your work using the answer scheme found in the same folder. After you have done so, complete the feedback survey found here by 5 Oct (Mon) 2359h.

2. Bring your LDs for all remaining EL lessons.

Consultation

I am only free this week at the following slots. 

Mon - Night Study time

Tue - Afternoon

Thu - Up to 2:20pm

Fri - After farewell assembly onwards

During your study break, you may also book slots in the morning or afternoon to meet me for consultation. 

Preparation for Term 4 Week 2

Both S4-06 and S4-08

1. Bring your prelim essays to class. We will continue to do some work on them. 

2. Complete the BPGHS Prelim 2015 paper, mark your work using the answer scheme found here (scroll all the way to the end) and complete the feedback survey found here by 25 Sep (Fri) 2000h. 

We will not be going through the BPGHS compre in Term 4 Week 2 but you are likely to receive another compre for next weekend. So you are advised to complete this as early as you can. 

S4-08 only (Tue's lesson)

For each of the following questions from the GCE O-level 2014 paper, prepare a complete essay plan.

1. Which features of Singapore and its citizens make it a major tourist attraction for people from all over the world?

2. Which person has the greatest influence on your life at the present time, and why?

3. 'The best things in life are free.' Write about some of the occasions when you have found this to be true.

Summary of Brainstorming skills

Dear students,

For your convenience, please click here for a one-page summary of the brainstorming skills.

Preparation for Term 4 Week 1

All classes

Please do complete essay plans for the 4 prelim essay questions. We will be doing feedback for prelim Section C in Term 4 Week 1. The questions are as follows in case you have misplaced your paper.

1) Describe some significant experiences during your growing-up years. How have these experiences shaped your values?

2) Modern teenagers are slaves to trends. Do you agree?

3) Promises should always be kept. Discuss.

4) What do you consider to be your country's greatest achievement? Why does it mean so much to you?

S4-08 only

Lesson 1

We will be doing feedback for Prelim Paper 1 Section B. Please read, analyse and grade the following sample before coming for lesson. Bring your Prelim scripts. 

(a) Sample Script

(b) Marking Rubric

(c) Question Paper 

Revision during Sep holidays

1) Revise all the skills taught to you over the whole year. If you don't remember where you have placed your notes, the two places to find everything are:

(a) The Lesson Materials folder

(b) The Cohort Drive 

2) Read up on a few common areas / areas of interest to you so that you have some content for the essay paper. Sources of information are:

(a) Class mindmaps

(b) Reading Programme articles

(c) Cohort Facebook group

3) Do compre practice. You can obtain the past year papers with the answer scheme at the following places:

(a) NEW!! Other schools MYCT 2015

(b) Practice Papers on cohort drive

(c) Pre-Prelim package (if you haven't complete it)

(d) June holiday Practice (if you haven't completed it)

You are reminded that the papers are strictly for your own personal use as a Sec 4 student of SST. If you use it for any other purposes, including but not restricted to tuition, dissemination to your juniors or friends from other schools, you may run afoul of the relevant copyrights regulations.

Prelim Feedback and Situational Writing Practice

Prelim Feedback

Please refer to the following links for the answers to the editing section and the Listening Comprehension Section. You are the only classes which have not been returned these sections in class and you will get them on Mon when we are checking the other sections. Please use this to check your answers to ensure that they were marked correctly. 

1. Editing

2. Listening Compre

Situational Writing Practice

This will be the last piece of marked situational writing piece you are writing in Secondary School. Please do the 2014 GCE O-level situational writing piece found here. 

1) Your response must be typed written on Google Doc in Arial Font, Font size 12. You should have a margin of 2.5cm all around. Leave a blank line when you start a new paragraph. Submissions in the wrong file format will not be marked.

2) You should write no more than 500 words. This is in line with the 2014 Cambridge examiner report that students who "...wrote in excess of the suggested word limit...did not necessarily increase the effectiveness of the content and frequently resulted in a rushed or incomplete Section C."

3) Upload your response here . 

Update on Project Ace and Project Beta 2nd submission

Those of you who submitted for the second submission for Project Ace and Project Beta, I intend to mark it and return it to you. You will get it back in time before I set the very final piece of written work for the class. My apologies for the delay. 

Preparation for Term 3 Week 9

S4-08

For Lesson 1 and Lesson 2, we will be doing preparation for the GCE O-level oral examination. No preparation is required. Please note that Lesson 2 will take place on 26 Aug (Wed) first period. 27 Aug (Thu) first period will be Bio instead.

For Lesson 3, we will be doing feedback for Prelim Paper 1 Section B. Please read, analyse and grade the following sample before coming for lesson. 

(a) Sample Script

(b) Marking Rubric

(c) Question Paper 

S4-06

Lesson 1

We will be doing feedback for Prelim Paper 1 Section B. Please read, analyse and grade the following sample before coming for lesson. 

(a) Sample Script

(b) Marking Rubric

(c) Question Paper 

Lesson 2

For each of the following questions from the GCE O-level 2014 paper, prepare a complete essay plan.

1. Which features of Singapore and its citizens make it a major tourist attraction for people from all over the world?

2. Which person has the greatest influence on your life at the present time, and why?

3. 'The best things in life are free.' Write about some of the occasions when you have found this to be true. 

Pre-prelim comprehension package

Dear students,

The answers to the comprehension practice package distributed in class can be found here. You can find the question papers in the same folder if you need them.

Two papers do not contain Section A. They came to us that way, with missing pages. So it is not a printing error.

This set of 5 practice papers should last you till Term 3 Week 9. You should aim to complete 3 papers before prelims as revision, and do the other 2 after prelim. 

Preparation for Term 3 Week 5 & 6

S4-06

T3W5 Lesson 1 (50 min)

Feedback for Writing Test on Family and Young People. Please bring your LD. 

T3W5 Lesson 2 (40min)

Do the Yishun Town Sec Sch paper distributed in class, mark your work using the answer scheme found here, and complete the feedback survey found here by 28/7 (Tue) 9pm. 

T3W6

No preparation required. Lessons in T3W6 will be used to do feedback for the comprehension paper you submitted for marking this week. We will also need to spend time preparing you for the GCE O-Level Oral Examination. The oral examination for your class will start on the last day of Prelim. So we cannot wait until after prelims to prepare for oral. You will need your LDs for lesson in T3W6. 

S4-08

T3W5 Lesson 1 (50min)

As previously mentioned, bring your LD to class with your holiday homework mindmaps on Family and Young People. Ensure that you have at least 2 free mindmaps on Mindmeister. Bring writing paper as well.

T3W5 Lesson 2 (40min)

Do the Yishun Town Sec Sch paper distributed in class, mark your work using the answer scheme found here, and complete the feedback survey found here by 28/7 (Tue) 9pm. 

T3W5 Lesson 3 (40 min)

Feedback for Writing Test on Family and Young People done during Lesson 1. Please bring your LD. 

T3W6

No preparation required. Lessons in T3W6 will be used to do feedback for the comprehension paper you submitted for marking this week. We will also spend some time doing early preparation for the GCE O-Level Oral Examination. Please bring your LDs. Your class will have your Oral Examination after the Prelims and we will have time to do more preparation then. 

Preparation for Term 3 Week 4

Assignment Deadline

You are to complete the comprehension paper given out early this week and submit it to my pigeon hole via your EL rep by recess on 20 Jul (Mon).

Preparation for S4-06

Lesson 1

For questions which you did not attempt for Term 3 Week 3's planning test, analyse all the questions and do essay plans for them. This lesson will be used for feedback for the planning test done in Term 3 Week 3.

Lesson 2

Bring your LD to class with your holiday homework mindmaps on Family and Young People. Ensure that you have at least 2 free mindmaps on Mindmeister. Bring writing paper as well.

100min lesson

As mentioned last week, the required preparation for the 100 min lesson in Term 3 Week 4 can be found here. Draw up essay plans for all the Situational Writing papers  found in the folder. There are a total of 7 papers, and it should take you under 2 hours to complete the planning.

Preparation for S4-08

Lesson 1

As mentioned last week, bring your LD to class with your holiday homework mindmap on Environment. Ensure that you have at least 1 free mindmap on Mindmeister. Bring writing paper as well.

Lesson 2

For questions which you did not attempt for Lesson 1's planning test, analyse all the questions and do essay plans for them. This lesson will be used for feedback for the planning test.

100min lesson

As mentioned last week, the required preparation for the 100 min lesson in Term 3 Week 4 can be found here. Draw up essay plans for all the Situational Writing papers  found in the folder. There are a total of 7 papers, and it should take you under 2 hours to complete the planning.

Early Prep for Term 3 Week 5

Bring your LD to class with your holiday homework mindmaps on Family and Young People. Ensure that you have at least 2 free mindmaps on Mindmeister. Bring writing paper as well.

Preparation for Term 3 Week 3

Lesson 1

For questions which you did not attempt for Term 3 Week 2's planning test, analyse all the questions and do essay plans for them. This lesson will be used for feedback for the planning test done in Term 3 Week 2.

Lesson 2

This lesson will be used for feedback for the ACS (Barker) 2015 MYCT paper. You are to mark your answers using the answer scheme found here. The question paper is also found at the same link for those of you who did not receive the paper. You are to complete the survey for the paper found here by 2100h on 13 Jul (Mon)

Lesson 3

S4-08, Lesson 3 will be on 21 Jul (Tue) for your class

Bring your LD to class with your holiday homework mindmap on Environment. Ensure that you have at least 1 free mindmap on Mindmeister. Bring writing paper as well.

Early Prep for 100 min Lesson in Term 3 Week 4

For those of you who want to prepare ahead, the required preparation for the 100 min lesson in Term 3 Week 4 can be found here. Draw up essay plans for all the Situational Writing papers  found in the folder. There are a total of 7 papers, and it should take you under 2 hours to complete the planning. 
 

Preparation for Term 3 Week 2

100min lesson

You need your LDs for this lesson. S4-08, please note that you will have visitors from New Zealand observing your class. 

All files needed for this lesson can be found here. You will need this link during the lesson as well. In addition, ensure that you have your mind map on Sport done for your holiday homework for this lesson. 

1. We will be working on the question below for this lesson. You are to individually analyse the question and come up with a plan of the essay with at least 3 points. Upload your individual essay plans in the relevant folder found here. Name your file as follows: Index No._Name_title of essay. Deadline: 2200h the day before this lesson. 

 

Is it realistic to expect fair play in sport today?    

2. As a group, select your focus for the lesson by choosing one set of articles found here. No more than 2 groups may choose the same set. Comment on this post with your group number and choice of set. First-come-first-served.

3. For the focus chosen by your group, each individual is to do your own research to find more examples. Place the link to your research in the file below beside your name. Note that antisocial students who attempt to freeload will be barred from the file. Deadline: 2200h the day before this lesson.

S4-06 sharing

S4-08 sharing

1st 50 min lesson of the week

No preparation required. 

2nd 50 min lesson of the week

Ensure that you have completed the Bukit Panjang Govt High Prelim 2014 paper given out this week and mark your work using the answer scheme found here. Complete the survey here by 6 Jul (Mon) 2359h.

Use of Mindmeister for sharing of mindmaps

In preparation for the GCE O-level Oral Exam and essay paper, we will be building up your content knowledge as a class. I have created a new folder where materials will be added gradually. The folder can be found here. 

We will be using Mindmeister rather frequently but you are not required to purchase the license for the app. I will convert all mindmaps produced by the class into images and upload them on the folder above. 

However, please note that you are only given 3 mindmaps for the free account. Therefore, you are required to ensure that by Friday each week, you have at least 1 free mindmap available for your SST email account. I will be using this account to invite you to collaborate on the class mindmap. 

Preparation for Term 3 Week 1

Survey on holiday homework

Please complete a very short holiday homework survey found here by 29 Jun (Mon) 2359h.

Lesson 1

Bring your LD to class with your holiday homework mindmap on Science and Technology. Bring writing paper as well. 

Lesson 2

Ensure that you have completed the ACS (Barker) Prelim 2014 paper given as holiday homework and mark your work. Complete the survey here by 29 Jun (Mon) 2359h. 

Lesson 3

No further preparation needed

June Holiday Homework and Project Ace reminder

Project Ace reminder

You are reminded that Project Ace is due this weekend as mentioned in the blog post here. Those taking the MTL exams, you may submit on Wed after your exams.

As instructed in class, you are to make use of the skills learnt in Creative Persuasion this week (see slides here) to improve your essay. You should at least aim to make your introduction and conclusion interesting, and have a 12 word persuasion to end your essay. If you need to revise the basics of writing introduction and conclusion, click here. If you need to revise the creative methods taught just before you mid year exams, click here. 

June Holiday Homework

1. Comprehension Practices

I have distributed 10 sets of comprehension practices in class. You are to complete all 10 sets during the holidays and mark your own work (do 1 comprehension paper every 3 days). The answers can be found here. 

2. Mindmap

The objective of this project is to prepare you for some of the common essay and oral topics that are tested in the GCE O-level examination. Your detailed mindmaps will help you to deal with any questions in the prepared topics if they are tested.They will help you cut down on thinking time needed and help you to generate ideas. Please refer to the instructions found here. 

3. Project Beta (Second Submission) 

The second submission for Project Beta is due in Term 3 Week 1. Please pay attention to the instructions found here, particularly point 3, 4 and 5 (which were often ignored), and point 7 (which I just added). Upload your completed essay to the relevant folders found here. Note that
(a) you are not allowed to change the question you wrote for your first submission.
(b) you are to work on the feedback given for your first submission and make improvements. Failure to do so may result in your essay not being marked.
(c) students who did not submit the first time round should choose a question and submit for this submission.

Preparation for Term 2 Week 10

Lesson Preparation 

No preparation is required this week. Lessons in Term 2 Week 10 will focus on tools which will help you add style to your writing, assuming that your essays have substance. Please have ready access to your MYCT Paper 1 scripts (which will be returned to you) and your Project Ace scripts. 

Self-direct learning for focusing adverbs

I introduced the concept of focusing adverbs this week (recall the word 'indeed'). I have put together a handout for you to read up more on your own. The handout can be found here. Please seek clarification if you are unable to understand the handout.

Project Ace (Second Submission)

The second submission for Project Ace is due on 31 May (Sun) 2359h. Please pay attention to the instructions found here, particularly point 3, 4 and 5 (which were often ignored), and point 7 (which I just added). Upload your completed essay to the relevant folders found here. Note that 

(a) you are not allowed to change the question you wrote for your first submission.

(b) you are to work on the feedback given for your first submission and make improvements. Failure to do so may result in your essay not being marked. 

(c) students who did not submit the first time round should choose a question and submit for this submission. 

Preparation for Term 2 Week 9

For S4-08, both Lesson 1 and 2 will run on Tue from 2pm to 4pm. 

Lesson 1
Anaylse the questions and do detailed essay plans for Q3 and Q4 of your MYCT Paper 1 following the format taught in class. The planning table can be found here. Upload your preparation on the relevant folder found here. 

Lesson 2
I am trying out something new in order to help us learn better and get more practice for Paper 2. It is therefore essential that everyone does the preparation and follow the instructions here carefully.

1) Complete the NCHS MYCT 2014 Paper 2 found here. You may choose to work on the softcopy or print a hardcopy on your own. There is no need to upload your work any where. 

2) Mark your own work using the answer scheme found in the same folder above. It is essential that you do your work first and then mark it, and not just simply look at the answer scheme. Otherwise, you will not learn anything 

3) Complete the survey found here by 9pm on Mon as prove of completion of your work. I need your inputs to plan the lesson for the following day. 

Preparation for Term 2 Week 8

Lesson 1 (MYCT Paper 1 Situational Writing Feedback)

1) Read the question for situational writing for your MYCT paper found here and fill in the table found here. 

2) Grade the sample scripts found here using the rubrics found here. You are to label R1 to R4 for the requirements of the question on the samples, give marks for TF and L, and write down some comments to justify the mark you gave. 

3) In your respective class preparation folder found here, create a folder and label it with your name. In this folder, place all your preparation work from items 1 and 2 above. 

Lesson 2 (S4-06 only)

Do detailed essay plans for Q3 and Q4 of the essay questions of your MYCT paper found here. Place your preparation in your respective class preparation folder found here. 

Organising your personal electronic files

Dear students,

I have been looking at some of your personal electronic files and I would like to address those of you who have been rather conscientious in your filing so far. 

Even among the most conscientious students, I have noticed that there is insufficient organisation of your files. You have simply parked all or most of your files in the existing master folders I have created for you. This will eventually result in an untenable mess as the number of files you have continue to increase. As a good housekeeping practice, you need to periodically reorganise your files into sub-folders. And you are free to create your own under the existing master folder structure I have set up for you! 

If you are clueless about how this can be done, refer to the class materials folder. Take a look for example at the writing folder found here. You can simply follow the structure I have set up to organise my materials for the class.

For those of you who are not keeping up with your filing, please start to do so after your common tests. I will be doing another round of checks from Week 9 onwards and I will contact your parents directly this time if I find that your file is not up to scratch. It is important that you maintain your files because you need your materials for revision. 

Fwd: Preparation for Term 2 Week 5

Reading Tasks

In view of the upcoming MYCT, Reading Tasks will be temporarily suspended.

Editing Practice

Please complete the following Editing Practices by 2300h on 20 Apr (Mon).

Editing Practice 2

Editing Practice 3

Editing Practice 4

Editing Practice 5

Lessons

We will do feedback for Project Ace and the CHIJ St Joseph's MYCT 2014 Paper 2 which you just submitted this week.

Those who did not submit Project Ace are to submit your work here. I will only mark these late work after the deadline for the second submission is over.

Those who have not completed the comprehension, ensure that you have done so by the second lesson of the week. 

Disciplinary actions will be taken against the recalcitrant. 

Preparation for Term 2 Week 4

Comprehension Practice

The full comprehension practice distributed in class is due on 14 Apr (Tue). The EL rep is to collect the comprehension as a class and submit it to my pigeon hole by the end of recess. 

First 50 min lesson

No preparation needed. I will share another useful skill for the spoken interaction component of the oral exam. You need to bring your LDs. You also need to make sure you have at least 2 free mindmaps on mindmeister under you SST account. You can check by clicking here. 

Second 50 min lesson

Lesson on  Attitude & Tone which you already prepared for Term 2 Week 3. 

100 min lesson

1. Balancing the essay - Read the handout found here and prepare your answers for all the practices. Upload your preparation in the relevant folder found here.

2. Tools for Writing Intro & Conc - Read the handout found here and analyse all the samples given. Upload your preparation in the relevant folder found here.

3. Do complete essay plans for the following questions and upload your plans here:

(a) Parents often believe it is better to be safe than sorry. Do you consider young people to be too protected? (Cam 2013)
(b) 'The way we dress reveals who we are.' What are your views? (Cam 2013)

NOTE: For all the work you upload as preparation for lessons, please ensure you use "Shift Z" to park the same set of notes in your Personal Electronic File. 

Preparation for Term 2 Week 3

Reading Task

For this week's reading task, read the second article given out during morning assembly. The title of the article is "Survey of Talent" and the article is about meritocracy. Answer the application question at the end of article and upload your response in the relevant folder here. 

Lesson 1

No preparation needed. Continue with oral practice. You need to bring your LDs. 

Lesson 2 & 3

Complete the worksheets below in the given order.

1. Figurative Language

2. Irony & Paradox

3. Attitude & Tone

Upload your preparation in the relevant sub-folders found below. 

S4-06 Preparation

S4-08 Preparation

Project Beta (Due on 6 Apr, Mon)

This is Part 1 of your homework this weekend. Part 2 will be out by tomorrow. 

I have consolidated the work done in class this week for reflective writing to create two sample plans (incomplete ones) and two sample paragraphs. They can be found here.  

The instructions for Project Beta can be found here. 

Preparation for Term 2 Week 2

Reading Task

The reading task instructions were given earlier in the week. They can be found here. 

Preparation for Lesson 1 (50min)

For each question below (discussed this week during lesson), write one content paragraph (or maximum two paragraphs) which addresses all the requirements in the question, and which displays your understanding of the concepts taught this week (such as the DeFEACCA model). Upload your individual preparation in the "Individual Prep for Paragraph Development" folder found in you respective class folders here. 

(1) Describe some of your experiences in food courts and hawker centres. How important are these places in your life as a teenager in Singapore? (Cam 2013)

(2) What do you consider to be your greatest achievement? Why does it mean so much to you? (Cam 2013)

100 min lesson

100 min lesson this week will be done in class. We will be preparing for your Prelim Oral. No preparation is required but you will need your LDs.

Preparation for Lesson 2 (50min) - Applicable only for S4-06

Complete only Section B of the ACS (Barker) MYCT 2014 paper 2 found here. Upload your preparation for lesson here. 

Term 2 Week 1 Reading Task

As a tribute to our founding father Mr Lee Kuan Yew, answer the following application question for your reading task this week. 

Which aspect of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's life do you find the most inspiring, and why? (adapted from Cam 2014)

You may draw from any of the reading articles handed out in class this week or any other source of information you have come across. If you feel strongly about what you have written, you are also encouraged to post your tribute to Mr Lee Kuan Yew on http://www.rememberingleekuanyew.sg/share-your-thoughts/

Preparation for Term 2 Week 1

Lesson 1

Read the handout found here and analysis all the samples found here on your own. Upload your personal preparation in the relevant folder found here. 

Lesson 2

Do a detailed essay plan using the skills you have been taught in Term 1 for the following questions and upload your plans in the relevant folder found here. An acceptable plan for one question should run into about one full page. 

(1) Describe some of your experiences in food courts and hawker centres. How important are these places in your life as a teenager in Singapore? (Cam 2013)

(2) What do you consider to be your greatest achievement? Why does it mean so much to you? (Cam 2013)

Lesson 3

No preparation required. 

Preparation for Term 1 Week 9

1. Lesson Swap for Term 1 Week 9
Lesson Swap for S4-06

Tue (Period 7) - EL instead of Chem

Thu (Period 6) - Chem instead of EL

Lesson Swap for S4-08

Mon (Period 3) - EL instead of Math

Thu (Period 5) - Math instead of EL

2. Preparation for Lesson and Reading Tasks

If you haven't already done so, complete the preparation for the last single period lesson intended for Term 1 Week 8. The instructions are as follows:
"Read the feedback for the diagnostic test summary found here. The language grade descriptors for summary can be found here. Complete the summaries for the papers found here. Upload your preparation in the relevant sub-folders under the same folder above by 11pm on the night before the lesson."

In view of the Level Tests, there are no reading tasks this week. 

3. Relief Arrangement for Term 1 Week 9 and 10

I will be away for NS from 4 Mar to 24 Mar 2015. During this period, I will still be setting you work and marking your work. However, for lessons from Wed 4 Mar onwards, you will be taught by the following teachers:

S4-06: Ms Chua Wee Nee

S4-08: Mrs Juliana Goh

Please follow their instructions on whatever preparation you need to do for lessons. 

Preparation for Term 1 Week 8

Preparation for Lessons

Lesson on Tue

The focus of this lesson will be on Situational Writing to prepare you for the Level Test. We will continue with where we left off this week. Students who have yet to complete your preparation (which was set the week before), you are to complete Task 3 and upload your preparation (for Task 3 only) in the folder "Individual Preparation (Task 3 only)" found here. 

100min lesson

Term 1 Week 8's 100min lesson will not be banded. It will be a normal lesson held with the whole class together. You are to prepare the following questions for the lesson by coming up with an essay plan for each question. Upload your preparation in the relevant folders here by 11pm on the night before the lesson.  

Q1: 'Women will never enjoy the same rights as men.' Do you agree? (Cam 2006)
Q2: Given the limited land available in Singapore, is it wise to set aside some areas as nature reserves? (Cam 2006)
Q3: 'Modern technology gives us hope for the future.' What are your views? (Gan Eng Seng School Prelim 2013)

Last single period lesson

Read the feedback for the diagnostic test summary found here. The language grade descriptors for summary can be found here. Complete the summaries for the papers found here. Upload your preparation in the relevant sub-folders under the same folder above by 11pm on the night before the lesson.

Reading Task

For the Reading Task this week, please read the article found here and do the task found at the end of the article. 

Admin Matters 

1. File Check

There will be another random personal electronic file check conducted this week during the Chinese New Year weekend. Please get your personal electronic files in order. If you are not sure what you are supposed to have, one quick way is to check the relevant folders on the class drive. The quick links to the class drive can be found at the top of the class subject blog here. 

2. Adding the same file to multiple folders on Google Drive (Repeat announcement)

This will only work if you are on the new drive format
To keep track of your group work in class as well as the assignments you have submitted electronically to me, you should add the same files to your personal electronic file. Google Drive allows a file to exist simultaneously in multiple folders (yes, it's exactly the same file). For example, your weekly reading tasks file can exist simultaneously on the Homework Submission folder as well as your personal electronic folder. For instructions on how to do this, please click here.  

Preparation for Term 1 Week 7 and Reading Tasks

Preparation for lesson

You are to individually write the complete piece for the following situational writing questions discussed during the 100 min lesson in Term 1 Week 6.

Q2: Feature article

Q3: Letter to the editor. 

Upload your preparation onto the "Individual Preparation" folder on your class folder found here by 11pm on Monday 16 Feb. 

Reading Tasks

For the article "How Cultures around the world make decisions", do Reading Task 2. Apply the article to the essay question "Is it always important to have a choice?".  For the article "A dream for Singapore", do Reading Task 1.

You do not have to answer the questions that are printed with the articles. 

Project Ace

You are reminded about Project Ace which was announced in last week's post found here. Do note that the deadline is looming.

Self-directed Learning on Types of Support

To learn about the different types of evidence you can use to support your points, you are to read through the slides found here and complete the quiz found on the last slide. The deadline completing the quiz is 18 Feb (Wed) 0800h. 

Preparation for Term 1 Week 6

Preparation for lessons

1. Complete the preparation for the 100min lesson next week which was sent in another email.

2. Complete the preparation for Lesson 3 originally intended for Term 1 Week 5 found here, if you have not already done so. There is a short quiz you need to attempt embedded in the preparation.

Reading Task

The reading task this week will not be based on the articles given out for silent reading. In other words, do not do the tasks set for those articles. Instead, read the article found here and respond to the given question. 

Project Ace

This is an essay assignment due on 16 Feb (Mon). Please click here for the detailed instructions. To see an example of an essay which met the required standard, please click here. This sample essay is also a good reference essay for follow-up reading for our paragraph development lessons this week.

Admin Matters - Adding the same file to multiple folders on Google Drive

To keep track of your group work in class as well as the assignments you have submitted electronically to me, you should add the same files to your personal electronic file. Google Drive allows a file to exist simultaneously in multiple folders (yes, it's exactly the same file). For example, your weekly reading tasks file can exist simultaneously on the Homework Submission folder as well as your personal electronic folder. For instructions on how to do this, please click here.  

Compulsory to use Grammarly

Dear students,

From this week onwards, all homework submissions must be run through Grammarly before they are submitted to me. Over the past few weeks, I have found that some of your submissions contain several language errors. When I mark your work, time is better spent if I attend to the logic and flow of your arguments, as well as the higher order lexico-grammatical choices rather than dealing with basic grammar and vocabulary errors. These errors can be picked up by Grammarly, and they even offer explanation. Of course, if you do not agree with Grammarly's recommendations, you are free to use your own words or check with me.

You can access Grammarly at http://www.grammarly.com/edu/. The link is also found on the sidebar of the class subject blog. 

To sign up for Grammarly if you don't already have an account, go to http://www.grammarly.com/edu/ and do the following:

1) Click on "Sign-up" button at the upper right corner of the page.
2) Enter your name and institutional email (SST email) address; choose a password.
3) Click "Continue", you will receive an email confirming your registration
4) Click on the link in the confirmation email and you will have access to Grammarly@EDU

Preparation for Term 1 Week 5

Required Preparation

Please see the following links for the required preparation for next week's lesson. Some of the items require you to show evidence that you have done the preparation by the day before the lesson. So do read the instructions early.

Lesson 1

Click on the hyperlink above for the required preparation. There is something which requires a group choice. First-come-first-served.

Lesson 2

Read the material in the hyperlink above. Lesson will proceed under the assumption that you have read the material.

Lesson 3

Complete the materials from from Language Skills Lesson 1 (we did half of this in class) and Language Skills Lesson 2 on your own and prepare the exercises / practices.

Additional Homework

Please complete the post-inference lesson quiz found here. The quiz based on the additional reading article for this week's reading tasks found here. The deadline for this quiz is 2 Feb (Mon) 10pm. 

Reading Tasks

Please refer to the email sent earlier in the week which has been reproduced on the class subject blog found here. 

Admin matters

1) Requirement to upload your preparation

From next week onwards, your preparation for lessons should be ready latest by 10pm the night before the lesson, and the preparation file should be uploaded onto the respective folders. I will conduct random checks and I will record you as unprepared for lessons if I do not see your preparation there.

2) Access rights management 

To help your friends learn better, may I request that you exercise some access rights management for all your files and folders? For the files you upload on your personal electronic file and the files you upload for Homework Submission, you can restrict the editing rights to just me, the teachers in the folder and maybe just give the viewing rights to a few of your closest and most trusted friends. The rest of the class should be removed to avoid the temptation of plagiarism. 

3) Replying to my comments

I usually disable all notifications for comments on files I have commented on. If you want to respond to my comments and would like me to take a look and reply you, you need to alert me. However, please only do this after you have read through my consolidated feedback (in the case of reading tasks). 

T1W04 Reading Tasks

For reading tasks this week, please do Task 3 for the following articles

(1) The Perfect Essay

(2) The addition reading found here.

You do not have to do any tasks with the poem "The History Teacher". Neither do you have to attempt the questions that come with the reading articles. You just need to do Task 3. 

S4-08, you will receive the cohort-wide readings for this week from me in class. 

The usual deadlines and submission requirements apply.

Preparation for Term 1 Week 4

Preparation for lesson

First lesson with class

We will continue with the paraphrasing worksheet. In addition, please complete the worksheet on inference found here. Make a copy and place it in the Comprehension folder of your personal electronic file. You also have to complete a short 5 min pre-lesson quiz on inference found here before the lesson. The quiz will be graded. 

Second lesson with class

Complete the worksheet on Unpacking the text found here. Make a copy and place it in the Comprehension folder of your personal electronic file. 

Additional Homework on Editing

I have put up an Editing Exercise for your practice. Please find the exercise here. You are to complete the practice by Monday 26 Jan 2359h. The exercise will be graded. 

Reminder on Preparation for 100 min Lesson

You are reminded that you have to prepare for the 100 min lesson. The details of the required preparation were sent in an email earlier in the week. In case you missed it, you can click here. Bring your LDs for the 100 min lesson. 

Reminder on Reading Tasks this week

Details of the Reading Task this week were emailed and posted on the class subject blog here. 

Admin Reminders

1) If you are lost and cannot remember what homework was set, you can visit the class subject EL blog found here. All emails I send to you are also posted on the blog.

2) The EL blog is also a good navigational jump-page to help you get to the important folders on Google Drive you need. 

3) I also send Whatsapp broadcast reminders to everyone who has added my mobile number to your phone contacts. If you did not give me your mobile number earlier and you would like to be added to the broadcast reminder, please drop me a message. 

Reading Tasks for Term 1 Week 3

For this week's reading tasks, please do the following:

1) Do Task 2 for the article "Mind over Muscle". Apply the article to the following question:

Should girls and boys be given exactly the same type of education?

2) Draw a Mindmap (first part of Task 1 only, no need for point of view this time) for the article T1W3R3 found here. 

3) Do Task 2 for the article "Charlie Hebdo horror is not an attack on free speech". Apply the article to the following question:

Should the media be completely free?

(Hint: You may use the article in item 2 above to support you in this task as well)

Preparation for Term 1 Week 3

Lessons with the class

We will be doing revision for paraphrasing skills. Please make a copy of the file found here and place it in your personal electronic file under the folder "Comprehension". Attempt all the questions on your own. For the purpose of the lesson, you are required to use your own words as far as possible for every question even if the question did not say so. The materials will probably last us two lessons, which means it will run into Week 4. 

Reading Task submission

The instructions for the reading task this week has already been given in an earlier email found here. You are to submit your completed Reading Tasks for Week 2 in the respective folder found here. Please adhere to the guidelines and deadlines stated earlier. I will send a separate email regarding the feedback for Term 1 Week 1's reading task. 

Random Electronic File Check 

I will be conducting a random electronic file check from this weekend to the end of next week. 

For this week, you should have the following materials in your electronic file:

1) Your copy of the Holiday Homework Fun Pack Activity 2

2) Your preparation for the 100 min lesson this week

3) Photos / notes of work done during the 100 min lesson this week

4) The article for Term 1 Week 1's Reading Task on green spaces

5) A copy of the Link between Fallacies and Modes of Reasoning (for S4-08 only)

6) Your preparation for the feedback lesson for the diagnostic test as well as photos / notes of the work we did in class. 

7) Your copy of the handout for the Language Skills lesson we had. 

If you can't recall what you should have in your file last week, please refer to the email here. 

Please keep track of your work on your own. After this week, I will not be spoon-feeding you with reminders on what should be in your electronic files. 

Marking rubrics, notations and corrections

Dear students,

Please find the marking rubrics, the key to the marking notations I used as well as the format for corrections in the folder here. This folder is found under "01 Admin". 

Most of you will be expected to do your corrections on your own. You may make use of Grammarly to help you with your corrections. I will conduct random checks when I check your files (both electronic and the blue ring file). If you need help, please make arrangements to see me. 

For every assignment, a select group of students will be required to submit your corrections. If you are selected, you will receive a separate email from me.

Please note that corrections are important for your learning and you should do them diligently regardless of whether you have been selected to submit your corrections. Remember, practice does not make perfect; it makes permanent. And if you practice the wrong things, your mistakes will become permanent. 

Follow-up for T1W01 Reading Tasks and T1W02 Reading Tasks

Dear students,

T1W01 Reading Task issues

Thank you to those who followed the instructions and uploaded your work on time. And thank you Jeremiah from S4-08 for taking the initiative to organise things. Unfortunately, many of you did not follow the instructions closely enough. This is an important life skill because when you fail to follow instructions, 

(a) It can cost you your grades, your job or even your life. Even a small and seemingly unimportant detail might come back to haunt you.

(b) It affects the work of those around you. I thought through the instructions carefully to ensure that your submissions will not become to unmanageable for me. When you do not follow the instructions, you are actually giving me more work. 

Students with relatively minor infringements, I have accepted your work this time. Please make sure it doesn't happen again. Those with slightly more serious issues, I have parked you work under the "Rejected Work" folder here. Please rectify the problems and submit your work by Tue. 

T1W02 Reading Tasks

For this week, please do Reading Task 3 for both the articles distributed for your silent reading on Tue. This article here might help you sort out the difference between a claim (opinion) and reason / support (fact) 

Preparation for Term 1 Week 2

Dear students,

If you receive more than one email from me for the week, the email to look out for would be the one with the word "Preparation" in the subject line, like this one.

Reading Tasks
Please find the article for this week's reading task here. 

You are to submit the reading tasks by the deadline stipulated in the Admin Guide. Please follow closely the guidelines stated. Upload your reading tasks under the folder T1W01. (Some of you submitted the class work "The Case Against Competition" in that folder. I have removed these submissions as this article is not considered homework). 

The Reading Tasks for subsequent weeks will be given earlier in the week. 

Preparation for Lesson
Here's the schedule for T1W02:

1st lesson with the class:
No preparation needed. Bring your LDs

2nd lesson with the class: 
Do a detailed essay plan for the question you did not attempt for the diagnostic test. You are expected to be familiar with the materials in your Dec Holiday Fun Pack Activity 2 for this lesson.

You need to show evidence of your preparation.

100 min lesson:
Refer to the email I sent to the whole cohort or the post on the cohort Facebook group

Marked work
I have given feedback for the sample texts we did not manage to complete in class for the fallacies handout. You can find the file in the "Thinking Skills" folder, under the folder for fallacies.

Things that should be in your personal Electronic file
For this week, you should have the following files in your personal Electronic file:
1) The materials for holiday homework Fun Pack 1.
2) Your copy of the fallacies student handout.
3) The article "The Case Against Competition"
4) The photos of Task 1 to 3 we did in class.

Outstanding work
Some groups have yet to complete the follow-up work for the fallacies lesson which I mentioned in a previous post. Please complete the work by Monday.

For S4-08 only: Follow-up on Fallacies lessons

The purpose for this section of the lesson is to help you see the link between modes of reasoning and fallacies. People employ different modes of reasoning in an attempt to come up with good arguments. But sometimes, the reasoning becomes flawed (either by design or due to a mistake) and we end up with fallacies. 

For this task, each group is to choose 1 mode of reasoning found in the file here. No two groups may work on the same mode of reasoning. Complete the task in the file by filling in the appropriate column.

To make your choice, comment on this blog post (this email is duplicated on our subject blog) and state your group name along with the choice you have made. First-come-first-served. 

For S4-06 Only: Follow-up lesson on Fallacies

The purpose for this section of the lesson is to help you see the link between modes of reasoning and fallacies. People employ different modes of reasoning in an attempt to come up with good arguments. But sometimes, the reasoning becomes flawed (either by design or due to a mistake) and we end up with fallacies. 

For this task, each group is to choose 1 mode of reasoning found in the file here. No two groups may work on the same mode of reasoning. Complete the task in the file by filling in the appropriate column.

To make your choice, comment on this blog post (this email is duplicated on our subject blog) and state your group name along with the choice you have made. First-come-first-served. 

Preparation for EL Lesson 3 in Term 1 Week 01

Dear students,

This email will generally be sent by Friday or Saturday morning in preparation for the following week. However, this being the first week, I have to speak to you in class first before I can send this. In any case, the holiday homework should have been completed by now. 

For the 2nd EL lesson this week (Wed), you are required to complete the Fun Pack on fallacies found here. You are to come to class with the analysis of the sample texts found here. The analysed sample texts (with evidence of annotation) should be filed in your person Electronic File under the folder "Thinking Skills" by 0740h on the morning of your lesson. 

For the 3rd EL lesson this week (Thu), you are required to read the article found here and do the Reading Task (see instructions here) selected by your group. 

No more than 2 groups from each class may work on the same reading task. To select the task for your group, comment on this post (this email is duplicated as a post) on our EL Blog. State your class, group and choice of task. First-come-first-served based on the time stamp of your comment. Please do not reply this email.

Each student in the group is to come to class prepared with a copy of the task selected by group. You are to do the task on your own. 

Admin Guide and Grouping for EL lessons

Please read the Admin Guide found here. Note in particular your grouping for EL lessons. You will need it this week.

Reminder to complete holiday homework

Dear students,

You are reminded to complete the holiday homework for EL found here. We will be following up in class.