Boston Incident and Food Webs

Dear all,

This is oral week and please practise hard on your oral reading. Look at the last post for the oral tips and skills. Also, you can log onto your WWW.LEAD.COM.SG portal and practise on some of the oral passages when you click on 'Primary 6' under the oral buddy heading on the main page. There, you can find materials or reading, picture discussion and conversation.

Today, we had our 2nd last practice for your SA1 comprehension open-ended. We took a look at the pre-reading thinking activity done in groups. The passage was about the Boston bombings and it was relational to real life. We talked about how Singaporeans can learn from the Bostonians - the united and gracious spirit in coming forward to help rather than just running away.

Read the questions carefully and link the questions today while you attempt the questions. Check for tenses, spelling and grammar errors.

We then went through the Synthesis and Transformation test 2 answers. The results could be better with some of you copying the wrong spelling being given to you. Always check and be careful. Don't rush through your work. Here are some of the rules for the following structures:

Neither.....nor......
Either.....or......

We always take a look at the second subject (that means the noun after the words 'nor' and 'or') for the singular or plural verb.

example: Neither the boys nor the teacher has taken lunch.
                Either the boys or the teacher has taken lunch.
the word after 'nor' and 'or' is the teacher (singular) and thus, we use the singular verb of 'has'.

There are two ways in using the word 'whom'.
1. When you have a subject each in between the word, e.g. Subject - Whom - Subject.
Father whom I am very close to is taking part in the marathon.
I am taking the cake to Paul whom Mother likes very much.

2. After a preposition, we always use the word whom to represent the subject.
e.g To whom does this parcel belong to? From whom does this bag belong to? By whom is this instruction given out?

You still have to work on your direct to indirect speech, especially the changing of tenses.

• Present --> Past tense
• Past tense --> Past Perfect tense

Most of you are unable to see that you need to change your tense, especially the portion for the past tense to past perfect tense.

Science

We completed the activity book on food web. Food web is slightly more complicated than food chain. You have a series of food chains. Thus, you need to really concentrate and look at the food chains involved. A single organism can consume several preys. Read and understand. In most cases, some of the names of the animals may not be given directly to you. They will give you letters of organisms and you are supposed to fill in the answers.

Example:

Q. In a habitat, organism A consumes Organism B. Organism C is a food producer is consumed by Organism B only. Organism D consumes Organism A and B too. Construct a food web.

In a food chain, there should at least be 3 organisms (1 producer and 2 consumers).
Plant --> Caterpillar --> Chicken

There are two food chains in the food web above:
C --> B --> A --> D
C --> B --> D

C is a producer.
B, A and D are consumers.
B is a plant eater.
A and D are meat eaters.
A and D are predators. However, A can be both a prey and predator.

In a food chain or food web, the producers are usually the most in numbers. In the above scenario, the number of C is the most followed by B, C and then D. If there are more predators than preys, there will not be enough preys left for predators to eat. As a result, the number of organisms in a food chain/web is kept balanced.

Thank you,
Sincerely,
Mr Nelson Ong

Decomposers and Keeping the balance in the food chain/web

Dear all,

You can do it! Last lap and counting down to your SA1. It is time to put in more hard work and work the socks off to ace your examinations. The first hurdle begins next week in your Oral Examinations. Please get some practice this weekend.

Here is a recap of what we have done today:

English

We discussed about your oral techniques. Let us recap.

1. For your reading passage, read carefully. Be clear, audible and read with expression. Be natural. You do not need to slang your voice. Remember to stress on the important words and express yourself, especially for the conversations. 

2. For your picture description, it is important to describe the picture in details. Look carefully and like writing a composition in your mind, you must have an introduction, main events and conclusion. Here is one example:

 

Introduction:

This picture shows/depicts a scene at a playground. It is probably a weekend or evening time as there are children playing at the playground. They are here to relax themselves. 

Main events:

**Use your DIEO method. D - describe (appearance and actions of the characters) I - Interpret the feelings of the characters. E - Elaborate and explain why they feel that way. O - Give your Opinion.

In the middle of the picture,  there are two naughty children standing on the swing and a man in stripe pants telling them off. One of the children has his back facing the man and both of them seem to be feeling mischievous and happy as they are smiling cheekily. In my opinion, they should not be standing on the swings as it is dangerous and if it breaks, they will suffer injuries. The man in stripe pants is doing the right thing by telling the naughty children off. They should heed his advice. 

At the top right hand corner of the picture, there are four children playing by themselves. Two of them are riding the toys. They seem to be happy as they enjoy themselves. In my opinion, they are doing it the right way and the two naughty children in the middle of the picture should follow their actions.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the playground is a public area for us to enjoy ourselves and share the facilities. It is important for us to observe safety rules and not endanger ourselves. We must learn to be considerate and gracious and not break the rules. 

3. Conversation

- A possible conservation could be linked to the reading passage and picture. In this case, I may ask about "Tell me an experience you had in a public place". 

- Same as your picture discussion, you need to formulate an introduction, main events and conclusion. 

Introduction:

I have been to many public places before such as shopping centres, hawker centres, parks and community centres. I have had many experiences at such areas, both positive and negative. However, I had one unforgettable experience!

Main event:

It was one particular day at the hawker centre and it was very crowded. My family and I were there for lunch. We were waiting around patiently for available seats. Just then, I spotted a table of people about to leave and signaled for my family to join me. As we were about to sit down, a group of 3 teenagers came rushing towards the table and immediately sat down before we could sit down.

We were so upset and asked them why they had done so. They did not apologise and scolded us harshly, saying that the table was not owned by us. My family did not want to argue any further and quickly left the place in disgust. We manage to get a seat later on. 

Conclusion:

This incident has shown me that there are people who are rude and inconsiderate. We should learn to share and be gracious in the public area and not act selfishly. After all, public areas are meant for everyone. 

Science

We have wrapped up on the topic of food webs and food chains with only the workbook activity and topical worksheet to be completed. Then, we will move on to adaptations next week before the revision paper will be given to you next weekend to be done. 

Today, we discussed about the importance of keeping the balance in the ecosystem and food chains/webs. It is important to keep a balance as a change in the population size of one organism will affect the other organisms in the food chain/web. 

Plants --> Caterpillars --> Birds --> Snakes 

In this particular example, if the caterpillars decrease in numbers, the population size of birds and snakes will also decrease as firstly the birds will have fewer caterpillars to consume. As a result, their population size will decrease. Secondly, the snakes will have fewer bird to consume and this will also result in a decrease in the snake population. The plants will experience an increase in numbers as there are fewer caterpillars to consume it. 

In this example, there are 2 predators (Birds and snakes), 1 producer (Plants) and 3 consumers (Caterpillars, birds and snakes). Also, there are 2 preys (caterpillars and birds). The bird is also both a prey and predator. 

A predator is an animal which eats other animals. They are often carnivorous or omnivorous. Herbivores ARE NEVER PREDATORS. 

A consumer is an organism which consumes any other organisms. They can be carnivorous, omnivorous or herbivorous. 

 Decomposition is carried out by fungi and bacteria. It attacks the body, especially the dead cells. So when organisms die, they do not have the cells and antibodies to fight against the bacteria and fungi. However, decomposition is important as it breaks down dead organisms or matter into smaller parts into the ground. With that, the nutrients are soaked into the soil and gives the soil nutrients. 

Happy revising during the weekends,
Sincerely,
Mr Nelson Ong

Food Chains and Food Webs

Dear all,

It is indeed, counting down to your oral examinations, the beginning of your SA1 examinations. Time to pick up your books and remember and revise. As mentioned today in the classroom, almost 50% of your studies requires you to memorise important facts. Be it English, Chinese, Maths or Science, there are facts you need to make an effort to remember. One of your identified weaknesses is in the aspect of retaining your memory of what you have learnt. Do not just read through once and that's it. Pick up your textbooks and re-read again. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. When I was going through some P5 topics yesterday, I was shocked to hear some of your answers. It tells me that many of you have not remembered and revised. You will forget if you do not read through so read through and remember the facts and key points.

Here is a recap of what we have learnt:

Science

We have finished half of the topic of food webs and food chains. You need to know that food chains are a single line of food relationships between organisms.

Plant --> Caterpillar --> Bird --> Snake

Food webs are a series of food chains, showing the relationship between several organisms. It shows that an organism can have more than 1 source of food.

Key question here is:
Q. What will happen to the population of the wild cat if an illness struck the mouse community and wipes out every single mouse?

Ans: The common misconception is that the student will think that the wild cat will die and decrease in numbers. That is not the case. In fact, the correct answer should be that it will not affect the population of the wild cats. They still have the rabbits as a source of food.

Always remember that the first organism in a food web or chain is always a producer (plants). Producers are able to make food for themselves. A food chain must have at least two organisms.

Homework:

English SA1 Practice Paper due on Monday, 29/4
Synthesis and Transformation Test Worksheet 2, due on 26/4

Happy revising,
Sincerely,
Mr Nelson Ong

Decomposition

Dear all,

Here is the recap of what we have done today:

English

We went through the correction for situational writing and generally, there is an improvement in this situational writing as compared to the last unit on write-ups. Do take note of the structure for report writing and be specific with the details given. Do not leave any out and do not add in your own details unless given. These are important points. Content is easy to score. You should worry about the language.

Date:

Dear ___________,

Report on (Underline the first letter of Verbs, Nouns, Adverbs and Adjectives only. Underline the title)

I was at (place) on (date) at (time) when an accident/incident took place. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reported by:
Name Given
Role Given.

Science

We did a topical worksheet on your Living together and characteristics of the environment topic. Key points to be learnt today:

• Concepts of overcrowding of plants --> When it occurs, plants compete with one another for sunlight, air, space, nutrients and water. 
• Concept of photosynthesis --> Plants need water, carbon dioxide and sunlight. 
• To find out what the aim of an experiment is --> (Find out what is the variable that is being changed) compare it to the (Process given in the experiment). e.g To find out if the amount of sunlight affects the rate of photsynthesis.
• Decomposition is the breaking down of matter into smaller pieces. Decomposition is carried out by fungi and bacteria. 
• Decomposition takes place in the presence of air (oxygen), warmth and moisture. The more of these variables there are, the faster the rate of decomposition. 
• In order to prevent bread from turning mouldy, it is often toasted to remove moisture. We can also keep it in the refrigerator. 

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong

Term 2 Week 5

Dear all,

Here are the important dates to take note as we reach the halfway mark of term 2.

June 6, 7, 10, 11 and 12: June Holiday Supplementary Lessons (Letters to be released in week 8 onwards)

May 2 & 3: English and Chinese SA1 Oral Examinations

Week 7 - Week 8: SA1 Examinations

We are really running on a very tight schedule and it is especially rushed. Please read up on the facts and concepts on your own and revise through your past year questions as we will not have enough time to go through the questions in details in class.

Recap of what we have learnt today:

English

We completed the last composition practice before your examinations and we completed the planning frame first before we did the composition. Always remember to plan as we look in details at the continuous writing scenario based composition. Make meaning of the scenario and please highlight the key words. Who are you supposed to be writing as? Who are the main characters? Where is the story taking place? What is happening and why did it happen?

Common Mistakes to Point Out:

• When you introduce your characters, make sure you tell me who they are and elaborate on their roles. Do not just give a generic name Tom and John. Who are they? Are they classmates? Brothers? Elaborate. I want to know. 
• Explain what happened in the events/scenarios of your story. More details. Do not just say a quarrel took place. What happened in the quarrel? Were nasty words exchanged? Were punches thrown? Who was injured? How did the characters feel? Why did the quarrel happen? And what happened in the end? Was it solved?
• Take note of your tenses - Should be in the past tense. 

We also completed a report writing on your situational writing practice. Please note the format and follow the structure closely. 

Finally, we had a practice on your listening comprehension. Good skill to take down notes while listening. Do not be too quick to write down the answers. Listen carefully once first. You can attempt the answers after that during the pause time or when the text repeats itself. 

Science

We talked about the living environment and its characteristics such as the amount of air, water, sunlight, temperature, soil, other organisms and food. These factors affect the environment and the living organisms in it. They are interdependent. 

The most important point are the keywords of predators and preys. You need to know the difference and what they are.

Predators are animals that hunt and eat on other animals. Some examples are lions (eat the deer), cheetahs (eat the zebra), eagles (eat the fish), etc. 

Preys are animals that are hunted and eaten by predators. Some examples are caterpillar (being eaten by the bird), fish (being eaten by the alligator), etc. 

We also talk about the food chain and food webs with a basic introduction . The sun is the main source of energy. Plants are always the basis of the food web and chain. A  food chain shows the food relationship between different organisms. It shows what an animal eats and what feeds on it. It also shows how energy is transferred from one organism to another. 

The keywords are consumers and producers. 

Consumers cannot produce their own food. They eat plants and other animals to get their energy. 

Examples are Men, Lions, Eagles, etc. 

Producers produce their own food and they have chlorophyll to photosynthesize under the presence of sunlight.

Examples are Ferns, Water Hyacinth, etc. 

Happy studying!

Thank you,

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong

End of Week 4

Dear all,

1 month of school term has passed by. Please take good care of yourselves as the weather is especially bad with the temperatures soaring very high or it raining heavily. Drink lots of water and refrain from the heaty food. Take good care of yourselves.

Here is a recap of what we covered today:

English

We went through the supplementary worksheet for Unit 6. The key points lie in the synthesis and transformation section:

The word 'being' is a verb and the word that comes after that is an adjective.
e.g Being sickly, ................ Being careless, .................. Being impulsive, ...................

We always use whom when we have a subject (person) before and after the word.
e.g My father whom I am close to......... Peter whom the principal dislikes................

Some verbs can be changed into its noun form. You need to take note and read up.
e.g Invited (verb) --> Invitation (Noun)
     Improve (verb) --> Improvement (Noun)
     Close (verb) --> Closure (Noun)

For comprehension open-ended, always take note of these key skills:

• Read the questions first and do the pre-reading thinking activity.
• Read the passage, understand and ask yourself who are the main characters, where the story is take place, what the main actions or events are and why and how they happened.
• Read the questions. 'Why' questions ask you for reasons and to explain. Take note of the tenses to answer in. 
• Spot for clues in the passage and underline and draw arrows to link them. 
• Answer in complete sentences and take note of your punctuation and spelling too.

Science

We talk about the different communities and habitats, namely on the Mangrove community and how Mangrove trees adapt to the environment. Mangrove trees have strong aerial roots which grow at the surface and above the surface of the water. Mangrove environments are usually filled with much mud and as such, it blocks off sunlight and much oxygen from going into the water. As such, we do not find much plants growing in the Mangrove swamp. Mangrove trees have aerial roots to reach up for air and get the oxygen needed for survival. 

You can watch more about the Mangrove community in the videos below. 

Take note of the classification of the types of living organisms in different communities as written on the board for you during lesson. 

We went through the layers in a soil sample and you need to know the different layers. In the presence of water, the heaviest item will sink to the bottom and that is the stones.Water will then fill the space in between the stones. Next, the rough sand and fine sand will collect on top of the stones followed by clay and dead matter. Some dead matter may float on the surface of the water too with it being lighter than water. 

However, in the absence of water, the stones will sink to the bottom but the spaces in between the stones will be filled by the sand. Air is lighter than sand and as such, sand will rush in to fill the space in between the stones. Water, on the other hand, is heavier than the sand and as such, it will fill the gap between the stones. 

This is the main difference I taught you about the soil sample in the presence of water and without the presence of water. 

Homework:

Journal Writing

Have a good weekend,

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong

A sad day in Boston

Dear all,

Newspaper article on the Boston Marathon Terrorist Bombings

As shared today in the classroom, the article looks at an 8-year-old boy who tragically lost his lift in the Boston bombings during a marathon. Terrorism is evident in the world and will always be a serious issue. Treasure everyday that you are living and work hard for your goals.

Today, we had full practice on comprehension open-ended. We went through the pre-reading thinking activity first before making sense of the passage through reading it. Then, i taught you how to look for clues, to underline the key words in the passage, draw arrows and write down the question number beside the information. You then need to look at the questions and ask yourself what kind of question it is and what TENSE I should use.

As you do your pre-reading thinking activity, there are 4 things you need to find out:

1. Setting (place, time of the story)
2. who are the characters involved
3. What are the main actions or events
4. Why and how the actions and events take place

We are getting there and that means that we will work together to pass our comprehension open-ended for every single individual by the end of the year. 

For Science, we carried out the group activity of finding out the temperature and light intensity of two difference habitats and environments - Open field and Shady garden. Today's main aim is to use the datalogger to show you how environments are different in terms of its living conditions.

For the open field, it is sunnier and more exposed to sunlight. On the other hand, the shady garden is cooler and more moist. Different animals adapt differently to different living conditions (habitats and environment). Tomorrow, we will continue with our second part of the lesson.

Thank you,

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong

Term 2 Week 4

Dear all,

Welcome back to term 2 week 4. We are about halfway through your second term. Every week is crucial. Your oral examinations is in about 2 weeks time. As stated in class earlier, you can go to the search button on the right hand side of the blog and type 'Oral' to revisit the oral tips given. We will revise on oral and listening comprehension soon.

Today, we went through your comprehension open-ended. Tomorrow's supplementary will focus on your comprehension open-ended and techniques to answer the questions. You do need to really watch out for your tenses and keywords. Elaborate your answers and think through as what was done today.

On to other matters. DSA (Direct school admission) is in place to secondary one. Take note of the brochure given to you. You need to be in a particular CCA and have excelled or taken part in competitions/events to be eligible. If you have a school of your choice to go to, check up the website of the school and take note of the procedures to be completed (e.g interviews and trials selections). Having experience/CCA/taken part in competitions in your desired aspect will be crucial to helping you with DSA. Of course, your results must still be good and that is your most important aspect no matter what. Work hard.

Tomorrow, I will give you back your English file for Unit 4 for parents' acknowledgement.

Sincerely,
Mr Nelson Ong

No Bullying Zone

Dear all,

I want to start off this post with an important message of anti-bullying. As part of being a family and following the right values, I will never tolerate anyone bullying other people in class or others in the school. I will stand up for anyone who is being bullied and punish anyone who is a bully. This year, I have seen an increase in bullying in the class. Bullying need not just be using violence to attach another person. It can also be through name callings and actions done on purpose to make someone feel unwelcomed and lousy.

I have already said before. If you are unhappy with a person, you either talk things out nicely or just avoid one another in a nice way. I know that we cannot please everyone and at times, there will be dislikes among one another. However, we do not take actions to purposely make another person's life miserable. Imagine if you were the one being bullied, how would you feel?

The difference between this year and last year is such that almost every one of you is going through puberty and factoring in the PSLE examinations, the stress level and emotional level runs at a higher level. I do understand. Most importantly, you must learn how to cope with stress and your emotions. Never ever make another person's life miserable because of your inability to cope with your emotions. All of us are equal and no one has the power to decide that another person is worthless.

As I have said, I always value integrity and honesty. If you have done wrong, admit and confess your mistakes. It saves you from further punishment if you were to hide in your shell and just wait. I don't judge and I don't pick on you further once the case is closed.

Article on Bullying!

Read the article above and you know that bullying can lead to depression and even suicide. So think twice. What if your actions lead to the person being bullied by you committing suicide? Are you going to live with that guilt for the rest of your lives? Can you pay back another life? Can you answer to the person's parents? So, I am going to be very clear here! Keep bullying out. I want a no bullying zone in 6R3 and in school. We are a family. We are not enemies!

On to our academics this week, here are the recaps:

English

We started on Unit 6 supplementary worksheet and once again, we carried out the pre-reading thinking activity. Some of you had an increase in your marks. The overall results for this comprehension open-ended is slightly better than Unit 5's comprehension open-ended although there can still be more improvement. Next week, I will focus on how to answer the questions and the grammar structure.

Please go to the back of the classroom to keep up to date with your progress with the marks being updated for different sections you have done. Trace your progress. Do I need to put in more effort? which sections do I need to put in more effort?

Science

We made a trip to the Science garden to take a look at different communities. Most importantly, you need to know the interdependency among living organisms. They depend heavily on one another and this is a common question which comes up often in your activity book which you have done so far. You must note that plants produce oxygen for the living animals to respire and in turn, the living animals provide waste that is useful as a fertiliser for the soil to help plants grow.

In the pond community, the plants also provide shelter for animals to hide from predators and to lay their eggs. They are also a source of food and energy for the animals when they consume the plants.

Other reminders:

• In association with our school's upgrading project, every one is given a walkathon card to help raise funds for the upgrading. Some of you asked me why bother when we are leaving the school soon and this upgrading project does not benefit us. My answer was then very simple. It is not about how it benefits you directly. It is about what you do which will impact future generations. Touch lives and with your amount raised, your money goes towards helping the future kids to use the facilities. Each time they use the facilities, it is because of you which make it possible. As such, I really encourage all of you to raise as much as you can. I understand if you cannot raise all of the $100 but whatever you can, it means alot. So, thank you in advance. 
• 
  
• Homework for the weekend: Newspaper Article 
• I have cut down to one newspaper article every alternate week and likewise, one journal writing one alternate week. I want quality work! Elaborate and truly reflect. You need to understand rather than just writing for the sake of it. Looking at the trend, most of the passages in your papers are information text or newspaper articles so please focus!

 Have a good weekend,
Sincerely,
Mr Nelson Ong

Term 2 Week 3

Dear all,

As we approach the midweek of term 2 week 3, let us recap on what we have done so far in our classroom learning:

English

We went through your composition corrections and the mark range for this unit's composition writing is average and lower than the last one.

Strengths:

• Able to apply the focus writing introduction and conclusion.
• Able to use the helping words given to you appropriately.

Weakness:

• Spelling and tenses 
• Not able to elaborate on the story such as describing why the two men were speeding and what had caused the crash
• Not able to describe the injuries the two men suffered and what the passers-by did to help them
• Fail to include the other characters in the story and elaborate on them

We also went through the new format of situational writing which is a write-up. A write-up is essentially about writing an information on a subject/event. The tone is usually formal. You have to take a look at the role and audience too! If you are writing to someone of a higher authority, you definitely need to be formal and polite in your language.

Structure of write-up

Dear _________________,

     State the purpose. Points 1 - 3 in the first paragraph.

     Points 4 - 6 in the next paragraph.

Name

Position if any. 

Skills to take note when doing your situational writing.

1. Read the question first
2. Identify the format of the situational writing and note the structure you should use!
3. Identify and write down your role and who you are writing as.
4. Identify your audience and the tone of language you should use.
5. Read the passage/note/advertisement

Science

We started on the topic of 'Living Together' and talked about the importance of living organisms, population, habitat and community. We built a terrarium to have a look at the topic of living together. A terrarium is useful as it is a representation of real life natural habitats.

We also talked briefly about the food chain.

Sun --> Plants --> Deers --> Lion

We talked about the first item of the food chain being the most importance. Without it, there will be a chain effect in which it affects the rest of the items. For example, when the plants all die, the deers will have no food and source of energy and they will die over time. Likewise, the lions will also die over time. This living community will not be able to function or survive.

Today, we examined the pond community in which the habitat is the pond. The living organisms that could be found are the water hyacinth, duckweed, hydrilla, cattail, elodea (PLANTS), guppies and tadpoles (ANIMALS). They all are living organisms coming together to live in the pond community.

We talked about how the water hyacinth and duckweed can survive and float above the water. The roots are submerged in the water to absorb water. For the duckweed, the leaves are waxy and this enables water to run off the leaves completely so that it is kept dry and will not cause the plant to sink. For the water hyacinth, it has swollen leaf stalks which contain air. The trapped air enables to plant to float on the water and not sink.

We also talked about the rotting log community and leaf litter community.

Other matters

Don't forget to bring your newspapers and tie them up for the recycling competition. We will have group points awarded for the groups with the most newspapers in our own class too!

Have you started revising on your oral?

Today, we celebrated International Friendship Day. Are you accepting of other races and religion? Let us remember that all men are equal and we should not discriminate others.

Have a good week ahead,
Sincerely,
Mr Nelson Ong

Living Together

Dear all,

End of week 2. Let us recap on what we have covered so far.

Science

We have finished the topic on forces which is closely linked to energy. So revise these 2 topics together when you are studying.

We went through the experiment on how different balls affect the bouncing height. The bouncing height is never higher than the initial height of the ball. The bouncing height always gets lower as energy is lost in the form of heat and sound energy. When the gravitational potential energy is converted to kinetic energy when the ball bounces, some of the energy is also converted to sound and heat energy. Thus, the ball has lesser gravitational potential energy at each bounce to be converted into kinetic energy.

(We can see the link between energy and forces here)

We also talk about the importance of how there is a layer of cushion in the helmet to help absorb the impact when the motorcyclist hits his head. This protects the head as compared to just the outer layer present only.

Remember that there are 4 main forces that we have learnt that they are:

1. Gravitational force
2. Frictional force
3. Elastic (Spring) force
4. Magnetic force 

Heat is not a force! We cannot see forces. We can only see the impact of the forces most of the time. For example, when we push a bowling ball, we can see the impact of the push when it knocks down the pins and rolls around.

Today, we moved on to the next topic of Living together.

• Living organisms - Living things such as men, plants and animals.
• Habitat - The place in which living things adapt and survive in. 
• Population - The size/numbers of the living organisms
• Community - Coming together of the living organisms to adapt and survive in a habitat

 

We also discussed a few important questions such as:

• Can a type of animal be found all over the world? The answer is no. Animals adapt to different environments such as the Polar Bear which can only be found in cold climates in which they adapt very well to. 
• Plants and animals can survive in the same habitat as long as they can adapt to the habitat's conditions. They depend on each other and are interdependent. The plants are eaten by the herbivores. In some cases, plants need insects to help them pollinate their pollen grains. Also, some plants need animals to disperse their seeds (through dispersal by animals). 

 Do you know that humans are also living organisms. We have different population size in different countries. We live in habitats too which differ from environment to environment. Some countries experience snow and the four seasons while some countries do not. Also, we live in a community where different races and gender come together. We depend on one another for survival.

English

We have finished the supplementary worksheet for Unit 5 and we have done a short exercise on making inferences. Inferences are important to help us elaborate and understand a story. It is an essential skill for your pre-reading thinking activity.

We also talk about gerunds which are special nouns made from verbs by adding the -ing to the back. Gerunds are usually found after a verb.

e.g We like swimming. (Swimming is a noun here which refers to a kind of sport).

Homework for the weekend:

• Journal writing
• With your parents' permission, catch an insect to put into our terrarium for next week's experiment. Insects can range from beetles to ladybirds to snails to earthworms (or any worms) to spiders. Be safe and do not destroy the nests! 

Thank you,
Have a good weekend,
Sincerely,
Mr Nelson Ong

Weight and Mass

Dear all,

Here are today's main learning points:

English

We finished up with the comprehension open-ended section in which we went through the pre-reading thinking activity again and read through the passage for deeper understanding.

Please note the difference between a word, phrase and sentence.

When asked to quote a word, take note of the punctuation too.
e.g The word is "excited".

Phrase is part of a sentence, not a word or whole sentence.

We also discussed about the synthesis and transformation structure of using who, which and whom.

• who - Used as a pronoun to talk about a subject (PERSON) before the word 'who'.

e.g I met Peter who is the director of that company.

Peter is the subject (person) used before the word 'who'.

• which - Used as a pronoun to talk about a subject (Animal, insects, non living objects) before the word 'whom'.

e.g The snake is a type of animal which crawls along the ground.

Animal is the subject (animal) used before the word 'which'.

• whom - used as a pronoun to separate a subject (person) before and after the word 'whom'.

e.g He is the man whom my mother often talks about.

man (subject - person) whom my mother (subject - person)
whom separates both the subject (person).

Rule: subject (person) whom subject (person)

Science

We move on to talk about the difference between mass and weight from the continuation of the last topic on gravity. Gravity is the force that pulls all objects down to the centre of the earth. Weight is the amount of gravity that pulls an object down. Mass is the amount of matter in the object itself.

Please note the difference of mass and weight as found in your textbook table. It is important.

Weight changes at different places depending on the amount of gravity but mass is constant no matter where we are. Take for example, a football on the moon weighs lesser than on earth because the amount of gravity is lower. But on earth, it weighs heavier because the amount of gravity pulling it down is greater.

Weight is a force but matter is not a force.

Thank you,
Sincerely,
Mr Nelson Ong

Term 2 Week 2

Dear all,

It has been a long weekend. Happy Easter weekends. It is week 2 now and in 1 month's time, you will sit for your Oral examination starting from the 2nd May. Please start to practise now with your oral guide books and read aloud at home.

Here is a good site for you ro practise on your grammar. Play this game while revising on your grammar structure.

Grammar Game

Here is an article on uncountable nouns which you may want to read up on.

Uncountable nouns

Today, we focused on doing your comprehension open-ended for supplementary worksheet unit 5. Using the pre-reading thinking activity, we worked on your time management in completing the comprehension open ended in class. Most of you managed to complete in time with a few of you needing to further work on your time management. We will go through the answers tomorrow.

Thank you,
Sincerely,
Mr Nelson Ong