interviews 4 psle examiners techniques that i use while ... · 1 deepa c: author and tutor...

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Deepa C: Author and Tutor

INTERVIEWS → 4 PSLE EXAMINERS

TECHNIQUES that I use while teaching my students and have seen actually PRODUCE results

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Compre Open-ended – T/F Question

▪ Rule – Replace the word ‘reason’ with ‘evidence’

True /

False

Reason (Students’ answer) Evidence

Mrs Kim had left the

only phone the

family had in their

car.

False Mrs Kim had left only her

OWN handphone in the

family car.

Mrs Kim had left

only her OWN

handphone in the

family car,

everyone else in the

household relied on

their own personal

handphone.

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Compre Open-ended – T/F Question

▪ Rule – Replace the word ‘reason’ with ‘evidence’

True / False Reason (Students’ answer) Evidence

Mrs Kim found out

that the duck was

nearby when she

saw its beak.

False Mrs Kim heard the duck

before she saw it.

Mrs Kim heard a

familiar ”quack,

quack” coming

from outside the

house before a

beak could be

seen sticking out

from behind the

door.

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Rephrase or Lift (Copy)

▪ Rule – Rephrase as little as possible. If you cannot find the answer or are doubtful

about the answer, copy it.

Question Lifted answer Rephrased answer

How can you tell from the first

paragraph that the duck was

very persistent?

Mr Kim tried chasing it away several

times. However, the duck was very

persistent. It would always return,

quacking softly outside if the door was

closed……….

Mr Kim tried chasing

THE DUCK away

MANY times BUT IT

would always

return………

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Rephrase or Lift (Copy)

▪ Rule – Rephrase as little as possible. If you cannot find the answer or are doubtful

about the answer, copy it.

Question Lifted answer Rephrased answer

Before the duck left the

house, in what two ways was

its presence helpful to Mrs

Kim?

Fearing that she

had……outside the

house. The repetitive

sound……..calmed her

down.

Mrs Kim was beginning to panic

when she heard the repetitive

sound of the duck quacking. That

struck her as comical and calmed

her down.

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Language – 20 marks

Bare minimum – 10 Marks▪ Spelling

▪ Grammar

▪ Punctuation

Extra marks – 2▪ Use of dialogues

▪ Beginning with anything

other than, ‘One day’

High band – 3, 4, 5, 6

• Usually marked strictly by teachers

• Watch out for single ticks / double

ticks on the top of words /sentences

Descriptive phrases – characters & setting

Descriptive phrases – feelings

Bombastic vocabulary

Use of ‘sound’ words

Varied sentence structure

Interesting beginning and ending

Phrasal verbs

Idioms

Proverbs

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Content – 20 marks

Bare minimum – 12 Marks

✓ Simple

✓ Singaporean

✓REALISTIC

Extra marks – 2

✓No story holes

High band – 3, 4, 5, 6

✓ Topic of the compo addressed

for at least two paragraphs – 12

sentences

OR

✓ Unique story

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IMHO – STORY is more important than language

Bare minimum – 10 Marks▪ Spelling

▪ Grammar

▪ Punctuation

Extra marks – 2▪ Use of dialogues

▪ Beginning with anything other than,

‘One day’

High band – 3, 4, 5, 6• Usually marked strictly by teachers• Watch out for single ticks / double

ticks on the top of words /sentences

Descriptive phrases – characters & settingDescriptive phrases – feelingsBombastic vocabularyUse of ‘sound’ wordsVaried sentence structureInteresting beginning and endingPhrasal verbs

IdiomsProverbs

Bare minimum – 12 Marks✓ Simple

✓ Singaporean

✓ REALISTIC

Extra marks – 2✓ No story holes

High band – 3, 4, 5, 6

✓ Topic of the compo addressed

for at least two paragraphs – 12

sentences

OR

✓ Unique story

Language – 20 marks Content – 20 marks

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Why writing a simple, Singaporean, realistic story

is BETTER for an ordinary PSLE student

▪ It is TOO STRESSFUL to come up with a unique story and write it well under exam conditions – Maximum

45 minutes

▪ Child is 11 / 12 years old with few unique life experiences

▪ Child is likely to be a non-reader

▪ Only a tiny percentage of children is likely to be gifted in writing

▪ PSLE topic is already going to be tricky, not tough but tricky

▪ Child is likely to have a personal experience which can be moulded into a story

▪ Child will be able to write several details and elaborate well

▪ Chances of story holes / gaps are greatly reduced

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2015 PSLE Compo topic – Being considerate

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Correct stories

• Helped clear my table in a food court after

eating; cleaner aunty was old and weak

• Helped clear some canteen tables after

recess; some members of the cleaning staff

were absent

• Father did not watch the Soccer World Cup

Finals before my exams

• Elder brother did not play on the PlayStation

for a week before my exams

• Gave up my reserved seating for an elderly

person / injured person / pregnant lady

2015 PSLE Compo topic – Being considerate

Students’ likely stories

• At a food court, the previous diners

left their table dirty

• Elder brother blared the TV while I

was revising / studying

• An officer-goer occupying a

reserved seat did not offer his

place to an old woman

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2016 PSLE Compo topic – A Secret

• Opened father’s bank statement, no money

• Opened a letter addressed to father, fired from job

• Opened a letter from a hospital, family member has cancer

• Told everyone friend’s top-secret T-score

• Overheard mother talking to a friend, found out I was adopted

• Broke into q locked gate near home, discovered smugglers

• Saw the school gate unlocked, discovered some boys vandalising

Students’ likely stories

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2017 PSLE Compo topic – A Special Gift

Correct stories

• Gifted my best friend a mug because he helped

me train for the NAPFA run / Maths PSLE

• Gifted a bracelet to my form teacher because she

helped me improve in Science problem sums

• Gifted a family member a T-shirt of his/her favourite

brand because he/she took care of me during an

illness

• Saved up my pocket money for a year; bought

Christmas gifts (T-shirts) for all the children in a

nearby orphanage

Students’ likely stories

• Mostly will be a surprise gift instead

of a special gift

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What is a story hole / gap?

Examples

▪ An incident occurs in the school canteen. However, the students’ parents scold him. No explanation on

how the parents managed to get to the school in such a short span of time.

▪ A student misbehaves in the classroom. The Discipline Master punishes her. No explanation about how

the matter was communicated to the DM.

▪ A child helps an old lady with her shopping bags. The child’s father praises him. No explanation on how

the father came to know about his good deed.

Reasons

➢ Trying very hard to write a ‘Unique story’ and impress the teacher

➢NOT PLANNING THE STORY BEFORE BEGINNING TO WRITE

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PLAN, PLAN, PLAN – Parent, put your foot down

▪ Any planning method is ok

▪ Compulsory think through of a simple, Singaporean,

realistic story till the end

▪ Initially, TOUGH but well worth it

▪ With enough practice, can be achieved in 10 minutes

▪ Even on THE DAY of the PSLE exam – 10 minutes for

planning

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COMPO PRACTICE – Oral story-telling with one picture only

NARRATE THE STORY

Values

•Honesty

•Kindness

•Charity

•Courage

•Teamwork

•Responsibility

•Loyalty

Nouns

•Carelessness

•Danger

•Wish

•Opportunity

•Dilemma

•Teamwork

•Surprise

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Focus on the words in BOLD

Topic word

• Surprising announcement

• Shocking discovery

• False alarm

• Special gift

What was the announcement

/ discovery / alarm / gift?

Why / How was it surprising /

shocking / false / special?

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Shortcut for scoring in the language component

Feelings phrases – Acronyms

Anger

Boredom

Curiosity

Disappointment

Disgust

Expectation

Excitement

Embarrassment

Fear

Illness

Irritation

Relief

Sadness

Surprise / Shock

Tiredness

Gratitude

Pride

Happiness

Worry

Gratitude

Pride

ABCDE FIRST HW GP

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Look at this....

“I can’t put up with the guy I’m putting up at my

house, his put-downs really put me out and I’m

feeling put-upon”

“I’m doing up my house and it’s doing me in.”

Source: http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160908-the-language-rules-we-know-but-dont-know-we-know

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Deepa Chttp://pslenewformat.wordpress.com

deepa@drjservices.biz

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Thank you