Humanities Parent’s Briefing 2016 (Lower Sec

History)

Agenda

1. Introduction

2. Skills

3. Hands on activity: Sample Exam questions

4. What you can do to help

5. Questions

Introduction

• To get an understanding of the skills required for History

• To gain an insight on what will be in store for your child in the next few years

Aims of Syllabus

• Engaging students actively in historical inquiry so as to develop them into confident, self-directed, critical and reflective thinkers

• Acquainting students with an understanding of how the past has been interpreted, represented and accorded significance for different reasons and purposes

Aims of Syllabus

• Developing in students an inquiring mind, and the ability to ask relevant questions about the past and examine a range of sources critically in their historical context to reach supported responses about the past

• Develop in students the ability to organize and communicate their historical knowledge and understanding through a variety of ways using different media

Aims of Syllabus

• Equipping students with the necessary historical knowledge, understanding, dispositions and skills to understand the present, to contribute actively and responsibly as local and global citizens, and to further study and pursue their personal interest in the past.

Brief Outline of Syllabus (LS)

• Sec One

– Tracing Singapore’s Origins: How old is Singapore?

– Life in Colonial Singapore: Was it the same for everyone?

• Sec Two

– Was Singapore an Accidental Nation?

– Singapore’s First Decade (1965-75): How did life change?

Brief Outline of Syllabus (US)

• Sec Three

– How was Europe challenged by forces and developments in the first half of the 20th

century?

• Sec Four

– How did the Cold War impact the world order in the post-1945 years?

Exam Format

• SBQ

– Three to four source-based questions

– Sec One (25m)

– Sec Two (15m)

• SEQ

– One to two structured essay questions

– Sec One (10m)

– Sec Two (20m)

Assessment Weightage (Sec 1)

Assessment Weightage (Sec 2)

Historical Investigation (Sec 1)

• Students will be connecting the early Singapore past with their lives today, through engaging in sources from the past and their daily lives, and empathizing with the situation faced by the people from the past.

Historical Investigation (Sec 2)

• Students will be examining the impact of the Japanese Occupation on the lives of ordinary Singaporeans through engaging in sources obtained from the National Archives.

HI – Timeline

HI – Sample Rubrics Students

should be able to:

Group Contribution (10 marks)

Understand the HI question. Rationale for having only two levels of marks: Students have been closely guided by the teacher during this process of understanding the HI question. Hence, students are not expected to fail in this stage.

(4 marks) • The group

shows that they are able to understand the HI question, and provides clear evidence of this ability by being able to identify the key terms in the questions.

(2 marks) • The group

shows partial understanding of the HI question, and requires more monitoring and guidance from the teacher to identify the key terms.

Select relevant evidence from individuals’ contributions to construct a group’s conclusion to the HI question.

(6 marks)

• The group selects evidence that are relevant and strongly support the group’s conclusion.

(4 marks)

• The group selects evidence that are mostly relevant and support the group’s conclusion.

(2 marks)

• The group selects some evidence that are relevant. Some of the evidence support the group’s conclusion, some do not.

Skills progression over four years

Level Skills

Sec One • Inference• Comparison

Sec Two • Purpose• Comparison (content

+ purpose)

Sec Three • Reliability• Testing Assertion

(Study all sources)

Sec Four • Usefulness

Combined Humanities

• Social Studies (Compulsory) + Elective (Choose between GE/HE/LE)

• 50% + 50%

• Implications?

Assessment FOR Learning 1• Peer Evaluation

• Feedback Jigsaw

FAQ 1

• My child is weak in English. Will this affect his marks for History?

– We do not minus marks for poor grammar or spellink, but their marks can get affected if they have difficulty expressing themselves

– Tip 1: Try to find issues to discuss in depth (Try question generator)

– Tip 2: Practice writing sample PEEL paragraphs for each chapter

Questions Generator

• Observing

– What did you notice about…?

• Prioritizing

– Which is more important…? Why…?

– In what order would you rank…?

• Interpreting

– What does _____ mean to you?

– What is the significance of…?

– What is the role of…?

Questions Generator

• Explaining

– What reasons might explain…?

– How could you explain why…?

– What are some alternative explanations for…?

• Defining

– How would you define…?

– In your own words, what is…?

Questions Generator

• Evaluating– What is your opinion about…?

– Why did you like or dislike…?

– Would you prefer…? Why?

– Do you agree or disagree with…? Why?

– What are some positive and negative aspects of…?

– What are the advantages and disadvantages of…?

– Is it better or worse…? Why?

– By what criteria would you assess…?

Questions Generator

• Categorizing

– How might you classify…?

– What common criteria/characteristics…?

• Comparing/contrasting

– What are some similarities…?

– What are some differences between…?

– How is _____ similar to ______?

– How is _____ different from ______?

Questions Generator

• Connecting

– What connections can you make between…?

– What things do you think of when you think of…?

• Applying

– How is ____ an example of…?

– How could you use…?

– How does this apply to…?

– In your life, how would you apply…?

Sample PEEL paragraph

• Point: Firstly, one reason why early immigrants were attracted to Singapore was because Singapore had a free immigration policy.

• Elaboration: This meant that the immigrants could come and go as they please without having to pay for immigrant passes and papers.

• Evidence: For example, poorer immigrants from India and China who did not have money to pay the money for a passport or permission papers to enter other countries, could easily enter Singapore and look for work. Also, many of these poorer immigrants were not well-educated and had difficulty filling in forms to apply for permission to enter a country.

• Explanation + Link: Thus, when Singapore had a free immigration policy, it attracted many immigrants as it made it much easier for these poorer immigrants to enter Singapore and look for work, as they did not have to worry about filling in any forms, and could come and work with ease.

FAQ 2• My child has difficulty memorizing the

names, dates… is it important and how to actually study for History?

– Please encourage your child not to memorize blindly. It is meaningless and defeats the purpose of education.

– Tip: Improve understanding by practicing PEEL, writing sample PEEL paragraphs

FAQ 3

• Can you please provide model answers so that I can help my child memorize the teacher’s answer?

– There are no fixed answers

– Teacher’s answers are not perfect; if a student has a better answer, we will improve our suggested answers to accept theirs

– Tip: Try to understand, not memorize, because it is unlikely that exactly identical questions will appear again

5 Key Takeaways

1. History is not about memorizing (related, perfect English is not critical)

2. History is about grey, not black/white

3. History can be connected to our daily lives

4. Through consistent practice, students can do well in History

5. chew_mou_yi@moe.edu.sgnor_azahar@moe.edu.sg