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1) Attended the one on Flipped Learning by MT. When well-planned out, it does save a lot of time as students can do their reading beforehand at home while the discussion takes place in class. During the discussions, teachers can monitor the students' learning and understanding of the texts. This is quite applicable to EL as there are also a lot of reading that we require students to do.

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1. Experiencing an SEN student's perspective first-hand with Mdm Chew's session was eye-opening.

2. Engaging in play and getting to do so with the teacher's lens (metacognition in my own professional development) allowed me to gain insights into how to improve T&L experiences for any students who may need the extra support. This was especially relevant after the morning's staff-wide sharing on SEN support as a school-wide approach.

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the MTL ICT sharing session involving the use of AI to aid student's discourse writing was helpful since it would be a strong tool to guide the weaker students who struggle with coming up with coherent and relevant points. however, I do think that there has to be a way to bypass the need to teach them how to use the tool, since learning to use the tool seems to take more resources than them actually using the tool to aid their writing.

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Attended Frieden and Cindy's Upper Sec sharing. I see the potential of gamification of our subject to encourage and motivate students to read. The breaking down of text into smaller portions is something we should definitely do more often for our G1 classes.

One possible application would to create more SLS resources with close reading in mind so that students can better build stamina and understanding.

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SEN Sharing by Mdm Chew

1. Understand the needs of students and be willing to modify lessons to accommodate their needs.

2. Be explicit in lesson objectives at the start of the lesson. E.g. Draw 'small' or 'big' ears/ mouths to indicate when they should be listening or speaking.

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I attended the MTL sharing on flipped learning and I thought it was useful as it helps to save time during lessons and it provides the opportunity to extend students' learning through collaborative activities.

I think that this is very applicable for Literature as I would want my students to read the text before coming to class so that the time spent during lessons can be productive and meaningful.

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During essay writing (especially non-fictional tasks) weaker students do benefit tremendously from clear discourse markers applied at specific steps to which helps them structure their essays, however the stronger students find it restrictive which ironically ends up making it more difficult for them to express their thoughts.

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1) Actually, I'm just heartened by all the continued efforts by teachers to innovate with the students' welfare/well-being/learning at heart. I liked the ideas shared by the MT Department on the use of AI to scaffold the learning of students.

2) I'd like to explore using more of AI to help students in generating ideas for essays, being more sensitive to the language and/or improving their own language in general (maybe as part of process writing).

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1) Using rubrics to deepen student learning (inspired by Science sharing)

2) Useful to get students to peer/self assess their work based on rubrics. Will deepen their understanding and allow them to look at their work with a more critical lens.

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1. What was one key learning point from the learning festival today?

2. What is one possible application of the learning point in our own work in 2025?

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1. What was one key learning point from the learning festival today?

2. What is one possible application of the learning point in our own work in 2025?

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Finding authentic texts that relate to students' interests and allow them to share their personal experiences

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Using materials in class that the students enjoy engaging with (e.g. mainstream media ) etc

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Question: ​

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What is one actionable step you can take to implement the CAR framework and ensure your next lesson plan's assignments are both purposeful and meaningful for your diverse learners?​

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To me, it's about giving a student a choice of assignments based on their abilities/ interests/ readiness to learn

My most commonly used DI strategy is giving students a choice of questions to do (based on readiness) and sadly, some students tend to pick the easier/ shorter tasks to do even though they could probably pick the harder tasks to do.

Trying to use different DI strategies (based on abilities especially) is a challenge for me as I tend to do DI based on readiness and not so much on abilities.

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1. What is DI to me?

Literature uses the LRF (Literary Response Framework) to respond to texts. The 3 areas of questioning guide students to engage with the text at different levels. To meet my students' different readiness levels, I have done Padlet activities with 3 columns of response. First is experiencing story, second is appreciating style, and third is interpreting theme. I challenge students of higher readiness to answer each column sequentially, aiming to reach level 3. I encourage other students to focus on the first 2 levels of questions so they can focus on foundational skills such as quote identification and analysis.

2. How is my DI journey so far?

I am not so versed in adopting DI in my classroom. It is an area I hope to grow in. The times I have tried it (in the way described above), students were encouraged by it and felt like they were able to move at their own pace. So students who were not ready for higher levels of questions did not feel overwhelmed. On the other hand, students who would often finish quickly (and feel bored while waiting) felt like they had more meaningful tasks to do.

3. What are challenges I face in adopting DI in my classroom?

I have seen many examples for DI during my studies which are based on western classrooms. I feel that I would benefit from some examples from colleagues to see how DI can be utilised for our local curriculum.

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In teaching visual texts besides teaching the identification of semiotic modes and the metalanguage of analysing visual texts, the thought processes needs to be made visual and taught to students. This I tried through the use of 'metacognitive' questionings to activate students line of thought processes.

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In teaching visual texts besides teaching the identification of semiotic modes and the metalanguage of analysing visual texts, the thought processes needs to be made visual and taught to students. This I tried through the use of 'metacognitive' questionings to activate students line of thought processes.

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1. DI is adapting our lesson in a way that meets the learning needs of out students.

2. I do think DI can be difficult to implement in every lesson but I do see its value. I do not DI as often as I want to (e.g different levels of scaffolding to challenge learners of different ability, giving students the liberty to choose so that student engagement can be improved)

3. I think DI requires a lot of preparation at the back end to really consider the students of different profile. Especially in a larger class, it can get messy at times giving different sets of instructions to students who already struggle to pay attention.

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1. What is DI to you?

Catering to the diverse needs of the students in my class by tailoring my lesson to suit different needs.

2. How is your DI journey so far?

I think it has been ok, just not extremely adventurous. I mostly use DI in my questioning technique. I also use DI for certain assignments where students have the autonomy to choose what they want to work on. But I have not really ventured past these.

3. What are challenges you face in adopting DI in your classroom?

DI can be time-consuming, so I tend to stick to the same DI strategy I usually use, which is to vary my questioning depending on the ability of the students. Also, I find it easier to implement DI in my upper sec classes since they are a smaller group and I see them more often compared to my lower sec classes.

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DI to me is about differentiating our lesson materials and activities to meet diverse learners at the various levels of progress they're at, with the goal of helping all learners develop to their fullest potential.

I often adopt DI in my Literature classroom by differentiating the materials they're given to work on (e.g. stronger students are given tougher passages to annotate) for group work. This also allows me to give targeted guidance to the weaker groups while students are working on their projects. I adopt DI in my English classroom by giving students choice and giving them different levels of goals to aim towards (e.g. in using various techniques in their writing).

I find it difficult to move beyond the above strategies for DI and to do it in a sustained way throughout the year (since the activities above only cover one area of learning). I find giving students choice is also not always an effective form of DI as students are not always motivated to push themselves beyond their comfort zone.

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1. What is DI to you?

DI to me isn't just about a fancy toolbox of teaching actions (e.g. tic-tac-toe boards or asking teachers to give you a high five when you mean raising their hands). It's a philosophy - understanding students are different within a mixed ability classroom, and catering to those different needs. To me, even something like putting a bit more scaffolding in your worksheets (e.g. helping words) is a form of differentiation - those who need it can refer to it.

2. How is your DI journey so far?

I should do more of it. Admittedly, it's tempting to go for the lowest-common denominator and help the students who are lower-progress, but we also need to stretch our higher-ability students.

3. What are challenges you face in adopting DI in your classroom?

The classrooms are very mixed. That's one obvious challenge. I think on top of that it's that the terminal end point remains the same, so any one who's deviated too far from the mean might be difficult to cater to.

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What is DI to me

A tool used to try and solicit engagement from the students.

How has my DI journey been

Frustrating due to a lack of time. The ideas for the DI lesson to promote engagement are there. However, time to adapt lessons are an issue.

Problems

Circling back to the previous point made. When most of my classes tend to have low attention span, it conversely places an increased strain on the teacher to create a lesson that inherently engages them. However, it takes time to adapt the lesson for that.

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1. What is DI to you?

(Consider specific examples from your own teaching experience or observations to illustrate your understanding of differentiated instruction.)

2. How is your DI journey so far?

(Share the frequency of adopting DI in your classroom and its

impact on student engagement and learning outcomes.)

3. What are challenges you face in adopting DI in your classroom?

(Share the constraints and difficulties you face, or areas for growth in carrying out differentiated instruction in the classroom.)

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Teaching Process:

Positive Classroom Culture

Teaching Area:

Setting Routines & Expectations

Reflection:

The GREAT routine is a great way to start. I find it helps students to organise their materials and reset their mindset so they are ready for class with me. They don't sit until we greet and we don't greet until they've checked their attire, materials, and focus.

This year I took advice from Surinder and have established certain "Grammar" and "Journal" days so students know what to bring and can be consistent with their work in order to grow.

I might start using the volume chart that Xin Yee shared to encourage my English students to speak up and guide my Literature students to use their inside voices. Having that quick way of showing students what I expect from them in terms of volume will be handy.

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1) Implement the GREAT routine before starting a lesson.
2) Use the Volume chart to remind students how to respond appropriately when speaking in class.

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Teaching Process: Positive Classroom Culture

Teaching Area: Setting Routines & Expectations

Reflections: I usually give the entire class 3 strikes in relation to misusing of PLDs before penalising them with 1 week of pen and paper. As I was reflecting, I realised that I should walk around the classroom more to better enforce this rule.

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Have set EL class requirements and expectations on learning, routines and written work.

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Have set EL class requirements and expectations on learning, routines and written work.

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Trying to refamiliarise myself on how to use SLS, Google classroom and padlet. Keen to learn other ICT tools for EL pedagogy.

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Trying to refamiliarise myself on how to use SLS, Google classroom and padlet. Keen to learn other ICT tools for EL pedagogy.

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Encourage students to respond to qns asked and probe them on their responses.  After each lesson, students are asked to think about 3 things they have learnt. Each ss to have an EL notebook to take notes during lessons.

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Encourage students to respond to qns asked and probe them on their responses.  After each lesson, students are asked to think about 3 things they have learnt. Each ss to have an EL notebook to take notes during lessons.

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Name: Makoto

Teaching Process: Positive Classroom Culture

Teaching Area: Setting Routines & Expectations

Reflection: I don't proceed if I don't have silence at the start. I find this effective in setting the right tone for the rest of the lesson. However, to do it differently, I may use the timer system Xin Yee shared to make it more quantitative and obvious to the students.

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I get students to tuck in their shirts and get their materials on the table while they stand before they greet me. It can get noisy so now I'm thinking of showing them the volume chart then.

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Teaching Process: Positive Classroom Culture

Teaching Area: Setting Routines & Expectations

Reflection: Using GREAT routine to set the tone at the start of the lesson really helps students to understand that I mean business and it's time to start the lesson.

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I have been using Peardeck to encourage students to participate more in lesson discussions and sharing of answers. This has encouraged more interaction and allowed me to conduct AfL especially among my Sec 1 and Sec 3 students who may not be so comfortable speaking in a class of new peers at the start of the year.

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I conducted a lesson on listening where students had to identify the tone of music and sound effects used. They then analysed this together with the text to infer the key message of the text originator. It helped students to make sense of a multimodal text and understand how sound effects complement the message of a text to impact its audience.

A learning point I have gleaned from this experience is to allow students to apply their learning beyond comprehension of the texts - for example, they could source for and share their analysis of other model texts or even create comprehension questions for their friends to attempt. As an alternative assessment task, students could also produce their own audio text that weaves sound effects together with a spoken text task.

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Have created a database of articles that students are able to revisit frequently, along with a padlet sheet that they can use to regularly submit reflections.

Making it a routine to open up to one unified database of materials helps with reviewing of materials and ensuring that everyone has contributed to the conversation about the article that is being discussed.

For higher-progress learners, we can get the students to take this into their own hands and curate/update the database on their own. Currently, I have one student who is familiar with the platform. It's a bit difficult to make it a habit given the time constraints, but will try to improve on it next year!

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I like to use Padlet for a little bit of friendly competition for my 4E class. To encourage my students to practice the descriptive writing strategies I taught them, I get them to write a short descriptive paragraph and we will compete to see who manages to include the highest number of appropriate descriptive phrases in their paragraphs. Padlet helps to facilitate this well as they enjoy looking at each other's paragraphs. This activity helps to get more of them excited about writing and helps them to remember the strategies I've taught them.

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Managed to link the articles that they cover weekly to values that I think are important for them in life and when interacting with people and their perspectives. I feel that keeping them up with current affairs is a good way to get them to share their perspectives and learn to respect the perspectives coming from others as well.

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I have been using GC more to update students on class content pages and then tell some parents I speak to on the phone to check their kids' GC to see all the things we have been doing in class because their children do not always tell them or do not show them their files or even have a proper filing system.

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I have been using short stories in the classroom like Story of an Hour and Straits Times Online and it is very heartening when I do not say, give time to my class on Monday to read the news online and I have kids reminding me that it is Monday today and they want to read the news! Also, some go on to read the other short stories on the website I used. And then tell me about it.

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I find google forms aside from padlet very useful for revision exercises in writing.
Google forms can be used in compre revision - because they allow for short question answers - once done the compre answers from students can be exported to excel and the teacher can showcase strong answers as well as weaker ones to the class (could hide names of students as well!) I heard of other teachers in other schools using this tool for sec four revision and our ex-colleague Weiling also used it. Worth trying out (especially for the harder compre questions).

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While overseeing the O level orals, I am happy to see that by and large, the majority of our students have been very well-prepared for the exams - given the requirements of the new syllabus, adjusting to a new segment in the 1184 paper (planned response), having to speak for two minutes and being able to structure well-organised points for discussion.

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For 3E EL, to change things up a little, I got the students to do a debate (The House believes that AI is a threat to humanity) as well as a Socratic seminar (living and working  in Singapore vs overseas). These lessons were mostly dependent on the students conducting their own research in order for them to benefit so it is more directed towards higher progress learners.

I used to be quite apprehensive as to the viability of the lessons but I felt that 301 was ready for the lesson so I attempted it. It was a good opportunity for them to learn from each other and through conversations, they were able to hit topics that I had also not expected. At the same time, it provided a good way for me to give feedback of their trains of thought and their logical flow of ideas.

Overall, I and the students felt that the lessons were a lot more engaging and the student-centricity of the lesson led to more relevant examples and allowed me to focus and think more about the students' work and how to provide feedback.

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I'm using padlet to get 201 to keep up with current affairs: https://padlet.com/qssteacher/201-reading-corner-lw9gafrmbwhzgwan

They have to read an article from a trustworthy source weekly, do a summary of the article and reflect about what they have read. They would also have to choose a difficult word from the article and construct a sentence using it.

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I'm using short stories on Commonlit.org for extensive reading. I've been integrating this on Google Classroom.

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The Crystal Stair

When teaching Langston Hughes' poem Mother to Son, I used it as a platform to discuss how resilience is important in difficult times.

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"Please use kinder words!"

I have found myself having to say this in my Sec 1 classes. It seems students are very comfortable blurting out their opinions, sometimes for reactions from peers and other times simply because they have no brain to mouth filter. I wonder if taking this phenomenon and turning it into a language use lesson activity would be a good way to address this issue. It could reinforce the PAC skills students have been building in terms 1 and 2.

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I attempted to get students to write their own success criteria as a means for them to understand their writing better. This was during a lesson I did with the students on drafting counter argument paragraphs. Using a simple frame, 'They say' , 'But I say', I modelled for them some good and not so good counter argument and rebuttal paragraphs. Then I told them to write out a success criteria for a sound counter argument paragraph for them. I could have given them an example of a success criteria here but i was surprised that without an example, some of them were able to come up with their own criteria using simple terms such as 'a topic sentence in a good counter argument paragraph must be opposite to the overall stand taken in the essay'. There were also groups that were doubtful about how to start writing a criteria so I guess the next thing might be to see how we can differentiate the learning for this.

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I attempted to get students to write their own success criteria as a means for them to understand their writing better. This was during a lesson I did with the students on drafting counter argument paragraphs. Using a simple frame, 'They say' , 'But I say', I modelled for them some good and not so good counter argument and rebuttal paragraphs. Then I told them to write out a success criteria for a sound counter argument paragraph for them. I could have given them an example of a success criteria here but i was surprised that without an example, some of them were able to come up with their own criteria using simple terms such as 'a topic sentence in a good counter argument paragraph must be opposite to the overall stand taken in the essay'. There were also groups that were doubtful about how to start writing a criteria so I guess the next thing might be to see how we can differentiate the learning for this.

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I enjoy using Kahoot with my students especially with low progress students to revise plot and character details from the Literature texts. My students are really motivated to read on because they want to top the quiz and they know my next quiz will be on the next chapter. The digital platform also allows me to track very quickly which questions most of them are weak in and who is doing really well in the class as well. It allows me to talk them about values as well because I have had to remind them that they should not cheat(some of them managed to at first) just to secure a top spot and that it was a means for them to test what they need to know about the text! The digital quiz also serves as a hook because it is a means to grab their attention right from the start of the lesson.

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Google Sheets --> WOTD Routine

In Term 1 I struggled to maintain the vocabulary builder routine with students.

So in Term 2, I have gotten students to tune into EL lessons by setting up a routine during the first 5-10 minutes of them settling into the classroom. Students tend to arrive at their own pace, so they open their PLDs upon arrival and start working on the word of the day (WOTD).

After the lesson, I check the cells using the traffic light system and leave comments if need be. I do this in time for students to see the feedback at the start of the next EL lesson. This is so they can reflect on their past sentences, correct their work, and then attempt the new WOTD.

It has been very meaningful for certain students, and it has been encouraging to see their spelling and grammar improve across the sentences.

However, I have noticed some students copying sentences from various dictionary websites. Despite reminders not to, some students do not put the effort in during this tuning in. So I may need to adjust my approach when using this WOTD routine in the future.

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My 2E students generally look forward to and enjoy listening to their peers' 120 speeches. Quite a number of interesting topics such as Food Coma and Prisons have been touched on. A few students who are really shy and reserved managed to step up when it was their turn to present, which is heartening.

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During the course of a lesson, should any teachable moment come up I expand upon it. Recently in Sec 1, I showed a photo of a vaping device that was pasted in the journal of a student and used it to talk about how bad vaping is and so on.

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I gave handles to 413, and repeated them throughout the term. E.g. students struggle with elaboration (i.e. oral, sit writing), so have repeatedly told them to 'tell stories'.

I hold weekly competitions, mostly to do with writing, in which students have to revisit some techniques such as starting a story or adding details in order to do well.

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I have managed to maintain a routine of regular English weekend homework this year. Students know every week, they have to complete one Spelling/Vocab worksheet of 9 words, and the next two editing exercises in their purchased book.

Keeping instructions simple and the same two assignments every weekend has helped set the rhythm.

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Using number codes to label each WS allows for easy reference down the road.

e.g. you could tell students to refer to WS 4.1 - reading text 1, as opposed to sieving through a stack of paper for a specific story name, should you need them to refer to a previous piece of work later in the year.

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Introduced a local poem about cultural identity with our 3E Lit class, and Jas and I had a very interesting conversation based on what we observed about students' reactions to it. We discussed how students had difficulty relating to it because the poem featured a minority cultural experience. We talked about how Jas identified with it easily while I didn't, and we would share how our cultural experiences influenced the way we read the poem to help students reflect on cultural identity in Singapore.

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Peer Assessment as a form of feedback for 1N EL class. Students are made more aware of the grammar structure being taught in class. Students are tasked to write a 50-word paragraph using the grammar structure taught.

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Rediscovering the Joy of Learning:
Shout-out to Kasthuri for sharing ideas/ brainstorming! <3 I tried to make poetry more accessible to students by using songs this term, this seemed to help in terms of boosting their interest and showing how literary devices could actually be relatable.

Also looking at how Makoto's strategy of mnemonics can be built upon, by using a similar framework for poetry: I M Just So Done, Sigh (Imagery, Metaphor, Juxtposition, Simile, Diction, Symbolism).

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Ive found that using AI powered tools to bounce ideas off helps me scope my LOs when I'm at an impasse of how to best proceed with the lesson.

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Adopted Jasvinder's Word of the Day Google Sheet for my 213 SBB English class as it is simply so hard to get these students do any work outside class. Students spend the first 5-10min writing a sentence for the word of the day, and I give them colour coded feedback and comments if necessary. Red - wrongly used, orange - some mistakes, green - perfect!

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Efficient tools for giving feedback:
1. Checklists breaking down the success criteria. Students can refer to this and do self-checking / peer-feedback before handing in their work. Teacher can then use the same checklist to indicate areas done well and/or areas for improvement.

2. Traffic light system on Padlet: colour-coding posts based on level of progress. Green for good posts / yellow for halfway-there posts / red for posts that are entirely on the wrong track.

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Having gone back to teaching a lower sec class, I've realised over strong-arming through the materials to cover the curriculum, it might be better to invest some extra time to ensure that the students have really grasped the learning task. It's far better prepare students at the lower levels with a firm grasp of the foundations, over trying to rework their basics at the upper levels. 

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Having gone back to teaching a lower sec class, I've realised over strong-arming through the materials to cover the curriculum, it might be better to invest some extra time to ensure that the students have really grasped the learning task. It's far better prepare students at the lower levels with a firm grasp of the foundations, over trying to rework their basics at the upper levels. 

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I would like to thank everyone in the dept for being excellent colleagues! You make work easier.

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Padlet
More use of Padlet to get students to focus on flash analysis in Literature. Leveraged upon Joanne's traffic light system(red - amber - green) to give feedback to students. Feedback was given through comments on Padlet, as well as verbally. Found this especially useful not just in giving feedback, but also to help with improving students' motivation, as they could actually see their progress from yellow to green. I also did a snapshot of their work, showing them earlier Padlets and more recent ones, to show them the progress that they had made in terms of close reading. This has resulted in students being more motivated during flash analysis and for their work in general.

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The SLS catalogue has been helpful for me to look for targeted resources I can use.

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I've been looking at giving some handles - e.g. using a structure like GENERAL STATEMENT-SPECIFIC STATEMENT to provide contextual sentences in essay intros.

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Pear Deck is something new to me. After trying it with my Lit class I must say it's an awesome tool. Hoping to become more familiar with it and use it more often in my lessons.

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Making Thinking Visible via questioning for Literature students to get them to draw inferences on characterisation and relationships (e.g. examine tone, reason for why the character says it, how they feel)

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Using Padlet/ Google Slides in class as a platform for collaborative work for students to share ideas and get peer feedback on each others' work.

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I have used Padlet in class so far for students to share their thoughts. I have used the chance to highlight good responses and encourage those who didn't put in much effort to do better the next round.

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Discipline Through the Deciding Line strategy Sec 1 students came up with the routines for a conducive learning environment as they have a sense of ownership in the production of the class routines.

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Have been exploring R18 SLS features to promote DI with my History students.

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For the 313 I am continuing with the Talk Moves and Visible Thinking Strategy for writing. The problem is the new batch of students NA need orienteering to this strategy. Also the large group of 37 students impedes effective roll out of this strategy. I am rethinking how to address this issue.

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As I am still quite unfamiliar to the new EL syllabus in terms of using the VAP, I try to follow the SOW closely. There are indeed a lot of resources for the students and I have adapted some of them and used them in a more logical way.

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4N EL- I have started using SLS for EL journalling. This allows me to provide stimuli (video, photographs, articles) for the students to respond to. Scaffolded questions are also given for students to reflect on their HBL experiences which link back to a form of reflective writing (Term 1 focus).

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For 4N EL, we use mentor texts to help students understand the features of reflective writing. Students also learn about the Gibb's cycle of reflection and used the guiding questions to help them plan their writing. We find this rather helpful as students are able to extend their writing and provides more in depth analysis of their experiences.

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Target setting-Graduating classes were exposed to the N-level syllabus and given time to look at the different assessment rubrics. They were tasked to set their goals for each component via google forms. This encourages ownership   on learning amongst students.

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For 4E EL, I shared authentic texts with them (e.g. article from The Guardian / short story by Roald Dahl) and based on these texts, crafted some comprehension questions as well as reflection questions related to the theme of Law and Justice. I felt this helped higher progress students to think about the theme more deeply while allowing all students to practice comprehension skills.

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Have brought the kids to the Library and shared book recommendations with the students.

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For 4E Lit, I've been (perhaps belatedly) looking at using mnemonics as a framework to approach annotating poetry and the set text -

C-DRILL (Comparison, diction, rhyme, imagery, line length) {for poetry}
Cool Cats Do Important Things - Conflict, Characterisation, Description, Imagery, Time {for looking at tension in a PBQ}

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SLS

I've been using SLS more to help structure my lessons as it's easy to implement the four-phase CLEARR framework. The SLS catalogue Aaron sent has also been helpful in  deciding what resources I can adapt / incorporate within my lessons.

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Thank you bosses for all the food and drinks during dept. meetings!

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1E Visual Text + Writing --> drawing reference from CPDD's IMs, repeatedly touched on Purpose, Message and Audience of text (packaged differently for essay writing, of course). Objective was to have students be more intentional in their reading/comprehension as well as writing tasks.

For essays, started with shorter pieces and closely following up with feedback using mentor texts (ref. their own classmates' work). Students would then either improve on their own piece (LR, MR), or continue with the subsequent task (HR), depending on their determined ability.

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Observed Frieden using quiz-like functions (think Kahoot, Peardeck) to go through comprehension answers. Students were a lot more engaged compared to lessons just going through answers via Word doc.

Personally, used Kahoot/ Peardeck to go through paraphrasing of summary points, to get students select accurately/inaccurately paraphrased points. Follow-up through discussion of common errors.

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Many thanks to all colleagues who have been so supportive of each other and spending time to bounce off ideas to engage students, sometimes even though things get busy! 🫶

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My focus has been on getting students to plan their work before writing using the PAC framework. I wanted to encourage students to think through the purpose and context of what they are writing before starting as most tend to repeat themselves when writing. Students subsequently showed that they were more cognisant of what needed to highlighted to their audience, given the nature of the issue they had highlighted in their plans earlier. In teaching VTs, I added an element of interpreting and using colours for purpose in VTs, which was something I saw the librarians learn in a workshop in Term 2. Students responded quite keenly by writing down how they plan to use colours to achieve effect in their VTs.

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I like the use of Google slides for collaboration and multimodal presentation of ideas! Students responded enthusiastically in using it to design a social media post with a narrative element, and they brought in features of authentic posts, e.g. hashtags, use of emojis.

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My lorong neighbour, Zhang Yi, introduced Quizizz to me. I used its live quiz function to review vocabulary and grammar items. Very similar to Kahoot and user-friendly, but it somehow lacks the ‘drive-you-nuts’ sound effects. In order not to lose students’ enthusiasm in doing the live quiz, it is best to keep the number of questions to 10. I have not tried its asynchronous learning homework function; I may explore and use it as a holiday assignment for my NT/NA students.

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I try to be more intentional in planning lessons where content is centered on the appreciation of values. A resource that I like is the Straits Times Generation Grit series, which comprises of short video clips that can be used to teach language features and presentation of one's ideas. The ideas (such as the importance of persevering in the face of adversity, turning over a new leaf) are directly shown, and the language used is accessible to most students. For texts centered on values, I like to use Todayonline's Gen Y speaks.

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To motivate students to read Wonder, I assigned student volunteers chapters to quiz their friends on. Students came up with their own Kahoot quizzes and led the quizzes. This was well received by the class I tried this in.

Student-led --> students owning the class. =)

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Our 1NA texts are rich in values and lifeskills. Learning about self and understanding perspectives in friendships and bullying are featured. It's not difficult to talk about values when they are weaved in our lesson materials.

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Menti still my favourite but now they have a new quiz mode! Think Kahoot but with more students on an animated leaderboard, rather than just the top 3. Great for grammar quizzes.

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It's been a really tough and busy term, and everyone has worked so hard. Hang in there and let's get some proper rest when the term ends!

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3E EL: Used students' recordings of responses to Planned Response prompt for oral to discuss how to organise and develop planned responses.

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Thanks to all EL and Lit teachers for the thought and consideration you put into planning and teaching your lessons. Appreciation also for generously sharing your lesson materials and resources with the team.

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Usually do this intentionally with the choice of texts in the classroom. When the sec three team did the unit on Empathy at the start of term 3, I felt it was a good way to introduce this value. The texts we used centred on migrant workers and domestic helpers.

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Brought in poems for Sec 3 EL as well at the start of this term in an effort to teach them literary language and how to analyse literary language. I found this to be helpful especially when they answer comprehension questions for the Section B text of Paper 2. The students were able to appreciate use of imagery and figurative language in poetry and identify these more quickly- works better than giving them a prose text to identify these devices from. Poetry in the EL classroom could be a good way to introduce literary language for non-Lit students!

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I use padlet quite often during HBL lessons when I have students discuss a topic usually based on a news article I provide them for supplementary reading. A very simple software but one that provides me a quick way to monitor students' thoughts and writing at the same time. It also allows for a quick class discussion of the current topic from the news article and creates opportunities for students to discuss fresh perspectives.

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Used frames shared by Makoto and other colleagues such as 5W 1H , past vs present, problem-solution with Sec 3 EL students in an effort to get them to elaborate on their spoken responses. This is to help them in their Planned Spoken Response. I also used peer feedback to get them to comment on each other's responses so that they could understand better how to make such spoken responses more engaging for the listener. Appreciated observing Ms Cindy Tan's lesson where she used mentor texts from you tube to teach students about features in a good speech. I found Michelle Obama's speech which she showed her class particularly useful for this purpose as well.

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Am trying to be a bit more intentional with the infusion of values. It may come up randomly or when I see a teachable moment, but it's important not to leave the teaching of values to chance.