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0 sats \ 10 replies \ @cryotosensei 27 Jul \ parent \ on: Can you spin the threads? AskSN
My friend asked me if I could spot this year’s PSLE Composition topic, which set my heart and mind racing. Thus, this late-night musing.
Things have certainly changed since the last time I taught primary school from 2019-2021. Then, I not only methodically compiled a list of prelim compo topics, but also, categorised them into positives (https://diaperfinancingfund.blogspot.com/2025/05/composition-outlines.html?m=1) and negatives. I remember forcing my P4s to find out the meaning of these topics and putting my best foot forward to help them understand “dilemma”.
However, if I were to do this now, I would reveal that I’m out of touch with exam trends. Somewhere along the line, the compo topics that came out were non-commital in their neutrality. From 2020 to 2022: Something that was Lost, A Promise, and A Long Wait. You can put either a positive or negative spin on the title, depending on how you want the story to flow.
In 2023, the stakes got higher during the exam because our young minds had to unpack the inherent premise that comes with the question. With a “A Change for the Better”, students had to first account for the initial dismal state of events, then describe the change, and finally explain how it led to an improvement. Not easy for 12-year-olds to decode under exam pressure.
This trend continued with last year’s topic: Trying Something New. Honestly, if I were writing a compo on this topic, I might not have made it explicitly clear that I was undertaking this something for the FIRST TIME. So tricky!
Now that I need to gear my P5s up for next year, I immediately thought of coming up with something to the effect of “A Blessing in Disguise”. It would entail them describing something bad that has occurred and then “twisting” it around to explain why some good has come out of it. Should be an intriguing topic for them to tackle, even if it’s unlikely to be tested for PSLE. Disguise is a vocabulary word, so I doubt the exam board will be so merciless to test something that requires more than rudimentary English skills.
Which is a long and convoluted way of saying that I am still thinking of easy peasy exam topics that come with deadly, easy-to-neglect inherent premises.
Happiness Journal 28/7/25
It has been 3.5 years since I last taught Science. Nevertheless, I think my previous experience has compounded dividends. For my remedial class today, I went the extra mile to seal a piping hot cup of cup noodles inside a ziplock bag. Thus lay an authentic opportunity for them to think about how water vapour turned into water droplets - an explanation process that can come across as so convoluted that this teacher came up with the mnemonic WCLCW. 😅
I also brought in two cups of ice cubes - one crushed and the other uncrushed. But I left them for too long, so they couldn’t really see how the crushed cubes were melting faster than their uncrushed counterparts.
Anyway, I don’t know about my students, but I applaud myself for bringing in real-life phenomena into my classroom.
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Dear Mr Goh
I am writing to request that Yishun Primary School invite Michael Nash to our school.
Michael Nash’s professional basketball achievements have truly astounded the world. Since he and his team members will visit Singapore from 1 to 10 October, I believe that inviting him to our school will inspire our basketball team to play better. He is a magnificent role model for us to emulate.
I suggest that you invite Michael Nash to our school on Monday, 10 October. Yishun Primary School has been the top primary school team for three consecutive years, so he is likely to be keen to impart his experience to young enthusiastic players like us. On that day, basketball teams from five schools will participate in the annual combined schools training, so I think he will be delighted to speak to a wide audience. This way, his presence will be more impactful.
Ahmad, Bala and I promise to keep our school hall clean and tidy on 10 October. We will do our best to keep our school flag flying high.
I hope you can consider my request.
Yours sincerely
Gary
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hastened his speed, scurried away, strutted purposefully, hesitant footsteps, scampered, tiptoed quietly, gallop, ran as fast as a cheetah, sprinting, saunter, optimistic, pessimistic
Kathy went to take her place at the running track. When the teacher blew the whistle, she shot off as fast as she could down the track. Suddenly, Kathy tripped and fell to the ground. Her shoe, which was a little oversized, flew off her foot.
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Heartbeats in the Dark
drumming, wrinkly old man, attic, eyes glint in an evil kind of way, glare, shadow puppets, loomed over, suffocating, yanked the curtains open, reckoned, weather, independent
I sit up. I cannot breathe because the dark is so black it feels like it is suffocating me. I stare at where I know the curtains are. I tell myself that the sun is blazing on the other side of the curtain.
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Process: Suggested changes to be made to Foundation Science worksheets to the rep.
Impact: Revised worksheets were better aligned with actual wording and question types found in PSLE papers, thus enhancing students’ readiness in acquiring required knowledge and skills.
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My washing machine suffered from a water supply problem, so I engaged a plumber to fix it. He leveraged his burly side to take out my large washing machine. I complimented him on his strength, to which he blushed and said, “No, not strong. That’s why I used water.” He had earlier sprayed water at the bottom of the washing machine, and that was when I felt a Eureka! moment. This is how people use water to reduce friction between two surfaces in their everyday life!
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Streamline processes
Continued success
Lifelong learning
Welcoming atmosphere
Service excellence
Lasting relationship
Artificial intelligence
Job performance
Financial stability / burden
Steady income
Additional information
Necessary documentation
Skilled workers
Employee retention
Supportive environment
Learning experience
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In Singapore, primary schools do well to impart the finer points of fiction writing. Particularly, they collate lists of “Show Not Tell” phrases for their students and integrate them into weekly spelling drills, hoping that the latter would be able to execute something beyond the run-of-the-mill writing that despairs many a language teacher.
But here’s the thing: when kids regurgitate phrases like “grinned like a Cheshire cat”, we don’t exactly award them the top band marks, dismissing them as cliches. Then, why do we adults invest so much energy into ensuring that our young ingest these perfunctory phrases?
Can I create time and space in my lessons to allow students to think of their own original phrases, never mind that such incubation of heartfelt sentiments will be more tedious than using the phrases from their spelling list? Do I have the headspace to take a step from my hectic life and think of the phrases that truly reflect my quirks and idiosyncrasies; showcase where I’ve been and where I want to go; and put a smile on the examiner’s face, exhausted from reading tons of scripts?
I am not sure either, but this is my attempt today: His smile radiated warmth, like sunflowers leaning toward the sun.