End of term 3

Dear all,

As we come to the end of term 3, it is ever so close to your PSLE. We will have intensive revision for your listening during the holidays and when we come back. The reason is that you will learn the skills and remember them better rather than me giving you listening now. Many of you have problems with retention of what has been taught so this would be a better strategy.

We have more or less finished all the practice papers for English with one more practice paper left for Science. Please ensure that you complete your Science PSLE booklet as we will be going through during the holidays.

One final composition test was given just recently based on last year's questions. That would be marked and returned during the holidays. You have done your situational test based on last year's question and generally, the results are good.

Here is part 1 of your Science revision:

P3

Living things and non-living things

• Living things need air, food and water
• Can move by themselves
• Can respond to changes around them
• Able to reproduce

Classification of animals 

• Mammals, birds, fish and insects
• Mammals have outer covering of hair of fur, give birth to young alive EXCEPT Spiny Anteater and platypus***. 
• Birds have feathers, lay eggs with shells and have a beak, two wings and two legs. Penguin and ostrich cannot fly! ***
• Fish have scales, live in water and have a tail, fins and breathe through gills. Guppies give birth to young alive ***
• Insects have 3 body parts and six legs. Two antennae help to find their way. 

Classification of plants

• Plants have roots to hold the plant upright and take in water and mineral salts (nutrients) **
• Plants have stems to help support the plan and transport food and water to all parts of the plant. **
• Plants have leaves to help photosynthesize to make food and also to transpire (lose water) and respire (take in oxygen/carbon dioxide) **
• Plants can be grouped according to flowering or non flowering plants.
• Flowering plants reproduce from seeds. 
• Seed -> seedling --> adult plant --> flower --> fruit --> seeds again
• Non flowering plants reproduce from spores such as ferns. 
• African violet reproduces from leave cutting! ***

Fungi and Bacteria 

• Fungi feeds on dead plants and animals
• Fungi reproduces from spores
• Example is mushroom which obtains its nutrients from dead plants and animals. 
• Bacteria can be found in soil, river, lakes, air and our body.

Materials 

• Glass (man made)
• Cotton from the cotton plant (natural)
• Wool from sheep (natural)
• Silk from silkworms (natural)
• Ceramic (man made)
• Rubber from rubber trees (natural)
• Metal (can be natural or man made)
• Wood from trees (natural)
• Plastic (man made)
• Flexibility / elasticity of a material - ability to bend without breaking
• Strength - ability to withstand weights without breaking 
• Hardness - ability to withstand scratches 
• Plastic, wood, cotton, glass, rubber, ceramic are poor conductors of heat. 
• Metal is a good conductor of heat. 
• A glass filled with water will sink when put into a container of water. However, an empty glass will float when put into a container of water because the inside is filled with air and air is lighter than water, allowing the empty glass to float above the container of water.

Life cycles of animals

• 3 stages (egg -> young -> adult) like frog, chicken, cockroach, grasshoppers.
• 4 stages (egg -> larva -> pupa -> adult) like moth, butterfly, beetle, housefly, mosquito and mealworm beetle.
• The young of a cockroach -nymph- resembles the adult but it does not have wings unlike the adult. 
• During the larva stage, the insect eats alot on food like leaves. During the pupa stage, it moults and gets ready to become an adult without eating much at all. 

Study hard. 

See you all on Saturday for the mid-autumn. As mentioned in class, I will open up an extra slot of lessons on Saturday from 3.30pm - 4.30pm if you are coming for the mid-autumn so you can head up to the classroom first. :) 

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong