Why is the blood of the octopus blue?

The blood of a human is red as it contains haemoglobin. The haemoglobin, which carries oxygen around our body, contains iron. However, the blood of an octopus is blue as it contains the protein, haemocyanin. Haemocyanin, which carries oxygen around the octopus's body, contains copper.  

The copper-based protein is more efficient at transporting oxygen molecules in cold and low-oxygen conditions so is ideal for life in the ocean.

If the blood (called haemolymph in invertebrates) becomes deoxygenated - when the animal dies, for example - it loses its blue colour and turns clear instead.

The famous "Helen & Ivan" 2021 Math PSLE Question - We've nailed it!

At Serena's Greenhouse, the team believes that besides preparing our pupils well for the examinations, we should also impart study skills, study habits and values that will have an even more lasting impact on them.  

We always emphasise to our pupils the importance of being resilient and persevering when they face challenging questions during the classes. When the pupils first joined us, many of them would whine and give up when we assigned a challenging question. However, during their learning journey with us, they have blossomed to become confident problem solvers. We're glad that when our P6 pupils were put to the test this morning, they managed to stay calm, display resilience and perseverance during the Math PSLE paper today. 

A number of them were also very excited when they could see the similarity in concepts tested for the challenging "Helen & Ivan" question and what they had learnt in class.  They were so happy that they sent us messages after the examination. 

Teaching the Kids to "Fish" through our Writer's Craft Programme

Recently, a parent enquired about our Writer's Craft programme as a few of her friends had recommended our programme to her. She asked me, "What does the programme cover? Could you share more details with me?"

During the classes, pupils will be taught to brainstorm for ideas using a framework. Besides that, they are exposed to a wide variety of vocabulary and phrases related to the theme. Most importantly, they are taught writing skills explicitly through our in-house writing resources and writing frameworks crafted by Teacher Hayati and Teacher Serena. The pupils are taught literary devices like Magic of 3, anaphora, metaphors, alliteration, symbolism, fragmented sentences and others. We also teach writing techniques such as character description, expanding a moment and creating tension. To make learning easier for the students, we have crafted our own writing frameworks for these writing techniques. 

We also guide pupils in appreciating writing techniques and writing style adopted by accomplished writers. We do this by analysing writer's craft through the use of mentor texts during lessons. Mentor texts used are in the form of extracts from stories written by accomplished writers. Mentor texts are also in the form of model compositions crafted by Teacher Hayati and Teacher Serena. 

We're thankful that our efforts have achieved what we have set out to do - to help them blossom into more confident writers.

 

Words of appreciation from a tutee who improved from 25 marks  to 36 marks

Congratulations to K who was given a Gold Finalist Award in the 

Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition 2021

Words of affirmation from a tutee's parent

Writer's Craft: Vivid Descriptions Used in "Matilda"

Roald Dahl used imagery to describe characters in the book, "Matilda". These vivid descriptions help to bring the characters alive and readers can imagine how the characters look like or how they behave. 

1) Description of Miss Trunchball 

"She had once been a famous athlete, and even now the muscles were still clearly in evidence. You could see them in the bull-neck, in the big shoulders, in the thick arms, in the sinewy wrists and in the powerful legs." (Pg 66)

2) Description of a newt that Lavender finds in her backyard pond

"[The newt] is about six inches long and very slimy, with a greenish-grey skin on top and an orange-coloured belly underneath." (Pg 11)

3) Description of Matilda from Miss Honey's perspective

"She saw the child white in the face, as white as paper, trembling all over, the eyes glazed, staring straight ahead and seeing nothing. The whole face was transfigured, the eyes round and bright and she was sitting there speechless, quite beautiful in a blaze of silence." (Pg 144)

Writer's Craft: Creative Similes in "Matilda"

 There are many creative similes used in the book "Matilda" written by Roald Dahl. Here are some examples:

1) "The parents looked upon Matilda in particular as nothing more than a scab. A scab is something you have to put up with until the time comes when you can pick it off and flick it away." (Pg 6)

2) "Her body was so slim and fragile one got the feeling that if she fell over she would smash into a thousand pieces, like a porcelain figure." (Pg 50) 

3)"Miss Trunchbull never walked, she always marched like a storm-trooper with long strides and arms swinging." (Pg 51) 

4) "... if a group of children happened to be in her path, she ploughed through them like a tank" (Pg 51)

5) "If you get on the wrong side of Miss Trunchbull, she can liquidize you like a carrot in a kitchen blender." (Pg 69) 

6) "When at last the germ of a brilliant idea hit her, she began to expand on it and lay her plans with the same kind of care the Duke of Wellington had done before the Battle of Waterloo." (Pg 110) 

7) "The boy was now so full of cake he was like a sackful of wet cement and you couldn't have hurt him with a sledge-hammer." (Pg 133)

 

Vocabulary Building: Binomials

(1) What are binomials?

 Binomials are fixed expressions where two words are joined by a conjunction, e.g. up and down. 

(2) Examples of binomials

- give and take

- rave and rant

- in black and white

- leaps and bounds

- save and scrimp

- part and parcel

Introduce Your Child to Current Affairs

My child only reads fiction books. He is not interested in current affairs at all! Do you face this situation at home?

What can you do as a parent? 

Step 1: Cut out interesting news articles and read them together with your child

For a start, you could ignite your child's interest in the current affairs by cutting out interesting newspaper articles and reading them together with your child. For example, you could cut out news articles on how sleep deprivation could affect one's concentration or how the design of certain dinner plates with ridges can trick the mind into seeing a small portion as big and hence help cut obesity. 

In fact, many issues mentioned in the news are potential topics for Oral examinations and General Paper (A level subject). 

Step 2: Use news articles as authentic resources to share opinions on current affairs 

Elicit your child's responses and opinions on the topic or issue mentioned in the news article. Share your insight or opinion with your child too.  You can even start a mini family debate if there are both pros and cons on the topic.

Step 3: Use news articles as authentic resources to develop cloze passage skills

You could use correction tape to blank out certain words in the newspaper article for your child to fill up. 

Step 4: Use news articles as authentic resources to develop vocabulary

You could get your child to highlight new words that he does not know and look up the dictionary for the meaning of the new words.

There are many free resources on the Internet. 

https://www.nytimes.com/

https://www.theguardian.com/international

https://www.straitstimes.com

Video Game Addiction

If your child likes to play video games, do control the amount of time he or she spends on the activity. Now the World Health Organisation recognises that players of video games can actually become addicted and will include "gaming disorder" in its new draft of the International Classification of Diseases.

You may want to read this article with your child and discuss about the pros and cons of playing video games.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/17/business/video-game-addiction.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

Video - Impact of Global Warming

Watch this heart-wrenching short video clip on a starving polar bear in the Arctic with your child. You could talk about global warming and its impact after watching the video.

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/12/polar-bear-starving-arctic-sea-ice-melt-climate-change-spd/?_ga=2.51405867.380859813.1529311868-629953742.1512905858

Read the article by National Geographic to find out more about the starving polar bear.

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/12/starving-polar-bear-video-climate-change-spd/

How do Maglev Trains Work?

During one of the P6 Science lessons, my pupils and I were discussing how magnetic force of repulsion helped to levitate a Maglev train so that the train is "floating" on a cushion of air and is not in contact with the train. This helps to eliminate friction between the base of the train and the track hence allowing the train to travel faster.

Some pupils in the class were curious about how magnetic force is used to propel the Maglev train forward. To find out more, do click here. 

Authentic Oral Resources - Using Newspaper Articles as Thinking Prompts

Thinking is where intelligent actions begin. We pause long enough to look more carefully at a situation, to see more of its character, to think about why it’s happening, to notice how it’s affecting us and others. 

                                                                                                                       —Margaret Wheatley 

To prepare the child for the stimulus-based conversation in the Oral examination, parents can use newspaper articles as thinking prompts to engage their children in topics related to life experiences or situations around them. 

What are thinking prompts?

Thinking prompts are devices that provoke conversation dialogue and deep thought. 

Types of thinking prompts:

Video clips, newspaper articles, cartoons, photographs, works of art, artifacts

What thinking prompts accomplish?

Promote dialogue

Help the child make connections

Provide background knowledge

Engage the child

Today we will share how an interesting newspaper article on a crinkly plate can be used as a thinking prompt.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/may/20/want-to-lose-weight-eat-in-a-crinkly-plate-obesity

After reading the article together with your child, you could ask your child to summarise the article by telling you in one to three sentences what the article is about.

Next, you could engage your child in a discussion on the following questions:

1. Why is there a need to address the obesity problem in many parts of the world?

2. How can the crinkly plate help to address the obesity problem / encourage people to eat more healthily?

3. What are some other ways to address the obesity problem?

Five Tips for Helping Your Kid Adjust to Sec 1

The Sec 1 posting results were out recently. Here's an article on tips for helping your kid adjust to Secondary 1. A good read for parents with kids moving on to Sec 1.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/5-tips-for-adjusting-to-secondary-1-now-that-psle-is-over-045841685.html

2016 PSLE Question on Carrier Crab and Sea Urchin - Check out this video

In the 2016 Science PSLE, pupils were asked an open-ended question on the carrier crab and sea urchin.

Watch this video (posted on Youtube) to see the carrier crab in action.

Science Concepts:

This is an example of symbiosis or interdependence between the carrier crab and the sea urchin. The carrier crab carries the sea urchin on its back as a spiny shield to protect itself from predators. In return, the sea urchin gets a free ride to new feeding grounds in the ocean so that it can get more food.

Good Read - Frindle by Andrew Clements

Recently, I gave my nephew, E, a book, "Frindle", by Andrew Clements as part of his birthday present. E enjoys reading the book as it is humorous.

The book is about a boy, Nicholas Allen, who has plenty of ideas. Mrs Granger, the language arts teacher, has X-ray vision and nobody gets away with anything in her classroom. To make matters worse, she is also a fanatic about the dictionary. However, when Nick learns an interesting tidbit about words and where they come from during Mrs Granger's lessons, he is inspired to invent a new word. A pen is no long a pen - it is a frindle.

Soon, the excitement about invented words spreads beyond Nick's school and town.

I would recommend this book to kids who are in Primary 3 and 4. If you have a Primary 2 kid who is an advanced reader, this book may be suitable for him or her too. In a nutshell, this imaginative tale about creative thought and the power of words will intrigue young readers.

What should you do after your kid has shown you the examination scripts?

It's the time of the year when kids take home their examination scripts or report books. After you have identified areas that your child has improved in and acknowledged the improvement, what could you as parents do?

The next step will be to identify the areas for improvement. Do not be too quick to judge your child and make comments such as "Why did you do so poorly this time round? Did you put in effort?" Yes, there will definitely be times when you  feel disappointed in your child's results. However, before you make any comments, I would suggest that you calm down and look through the examination script first. Ask yourself:
- Is the examination challenging? 
- Are there questions that are higher-order? Are these the questions that your child stumbles over?
- Are there concepts that have been taught and yet your child still gets the concepts wrong?
- Is your child weak in certain sections of the paper or certain topics?

A friend of mine was sharing with me recently how her daughter's school had incorporated a number of higher-order questions in the examination. As a school teacher, she knew that her daughter would probably not get some of these questions right as she did not have enough exposure in school. There was one Heuristic question that was taught in school but her daughter got the question wrong. She commented that it was a signal to her that her daughter had not internalised what was taught. Hence instead of reprimanding her daughter, she told me that she would work on the weaker areas during the December holidays. 

I agree with my friend's approach. I think it is important to look through the examination scripts and identify the areas for improvement. Make use of the December holidays to revisit the concepts or topics that your child does not understand. Work on the sections that he or she is weaker in. If you follow this strategy, you will realise that you can achieve much more than just doing assessment book after assessment book or paper after paper. This focused approach will be more effective given the fact that kids have little time as many still need to go to school for CCA sessions or supplementary lessons, especially the P6 kids.

There is a Chinese saying that highlights the importance of diagnosing an illness and prescribing suitable medicine after the diagnosis. I think it will be more effective if we spend time diagnosing the areas for improvement and work on them during the December holidays.

Tricky Science PSLE Question

One of my tutees sent me a message to clarify the following tricky question that was set in the PSLE this year. Try to do the following question using elimination!

What is/are the characteristic(s) that only birds have but not other animals?

A: They have a beak.
B: The have wings.
C: They have feathers.

(1) A only
(2) C only
(3) A and C only
(4) B and C only

Put on your thinking cap and try to solve this question.


Answer: 2

Explanation: Some pupils will be tricked into choosing option 3. However, a platypus is a mammal but has a beak known as a bill. Birds are the only animals that have feathers.

Real-life Application Science Question - Invisible Water Vapour

Parents can pose the following question to the kiddos.

Question:
Water vapour is not visible. How do we show that water vapour is in the surrounding air?

Approach:
The P5 kiddos  have learnt about water and its three states hence one easy way to prove that water vapour is all around them is to place a bottle of cold water or a can of cold drink on the table. After some time, water droplets will form on the outer surface of the cold bottle or cold can.

Science Concept and Keywords:
When the warmer water vapour in the surrounding air comes into contact with the cooler outer surface of the bottle/can, the warmer water vapour loses heat to the cooler outer surface of the bottle/can and condenses to form water droplets.

A Peek into Our Teaching Approach:
We believe in making learning easier for the kiddos. Hence we introduce our kiddos to template answers to certain questions. Template answers contain keywords that the PSLE markers are looking out for.

What Parents Say About Our Programmes and Teachers...

Here are some testimonials written by our tutees (from the 2016 graduating classes) and their parents. You may like to read some of the testimonials to learn more about our programmes, teaching strategies and teachers. We will continue to upload the testimonials written by our tutees and their parents. To the tutees and parents who have written testimonials for us, thank you so much for writing the lovely testimonials :)

Testimonials from our tutees' parents:

Testimonials from our tutees:

Tapping on Newspapers and Current Affairs for Learning

We believe that it is important for pupils to be aware of current affairs and what's happening around them. Hence we tap on newspaper articles and other media such as the Internet while preparing our English curriculum. When kids deem what they are learning relevant to them, they will be more motivated to learn.

For instance, pupils in the Primary 5 cohort have read our in-house resources on recent events in Singapore and in the world such as the outbreak of the Zika virus in Singapore, the origins of the Olympics and the Pokemon Go hype. Through our customised resources, pupils are kept abreast of current affairs. At the same time, we integrate essential language skills in the resources.

Keeping abreast of current affairs also gives the pupils an advantage in PSLE Oral as they can support their opinions on relevant issues with what they have gleaned from the articles.

Post-PSLE Activity: Watch a video on Periodic Table

In 1864, Dimitri Mendeleev published the first periodic table that organized all the known elements in the world. This tool was groundbreaking for many reasons–including the fact that Mendeleev planned with incredible foresight, leaving space for any new elements that would be discovered beyond his time.  

Go to the following website which has an interactive periodic table. Click on each element to watch a video and find out more about the element.

http://ed.ted.com/periodic-videos