Prepared And Ready For PSLE

By this time of the year, any student sitting for the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE), should have completed their PSLE English and Mother Tongue Orals Exams and already in the process of getting themselves ready for the Listening Comprehension (LC) papers and the written papers, namely English Language, Mother Tongue, Mathematics and Science. But then how prepared and how ready can anyone make an assessment if he or she is well prepared to sit for the exams? You may also ask how schools and teachers assess themselves on their students' readiness for PSLE.

There are varied ways to assess readiness and the simplest way is by question and answer. Sample questions are as follow:

1. What is my rating from 1 to 5 in terms of being prepared? (1 being not ready, 5 being ready)

2. What is my rating for English Language or MTL?

3. Which areas still need more practice or revision i.e. Composition, Comprehension or Comprehension Cloze?

4. What is my rating for Mathematics?

5. What is my average score for the recent practice papers?

6. Which are the weaker topics or areas where mistakes or carelessness should be improved upon?

7. What are some tips or guidelines from teachers to remember to put them into practice i.e. show workings?

8. What is my rating for Science?

9. What is my average score for MCQ and for Short Answer Questions?

10. What resources are available I can seek out to help in those key point Science questions i.e. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Resource book?

The above list of questions is simply a starting point to assess your preparedness and readiness for PSLE. Having answered them, you need to get to work and catch up whatever is lacking and maintain whatever are confident areas. In addition to that, you should also take short breaks in between and press on again.

You are into the final stride. Put in the effort now and look forward to the enjoyment later.

How To Prepare For PSLE Mathematics

In making preparation for any task at hand, it is a standard process to identify and plan out the task into simple steps. The same goes for getting yourself and your children ready for PSLE and in this section to prepare for PSLE Mathematics. Working on simple steps and single step at a time makes the journey easier and less stressful.

1. Work On The Basics & Concepts

In learning any subject it is essential to begin with the Basics and grasp Concepts. One best way to assess if you cover what is needed, is to refer to the subject textbooks. You will find the Contents page and then read through each topic at a time. Once you cover this area, the way to test out the understanding is to try out knowledge building questions. From the textbook, you can also find examples for your quick reference and revision when you face difficulty solving the Maths questions.

2. Attempt Step By Step Practices

Once you have an overview of what is required for the subject, it is to time to practice and practice. You can research for available resources from your popular or General Bookstore. You can simply find the latest edition of Step By Step Mathematics for PSLE to gain additional practice. Next, you should get a copy of Challenging Problems and a set of Examination Practice test papers.

3. Strategies For Success in PSLE Maths

Set An Aim For Their Choice School

In the Parents Teachers Meeting at the beginning of the year, the emphasis to communicate with the children is to begin motivating them where they want to aim at and expose them to their choice school. This will lay the necessary platform and image in their minds and give them the inner push for themselves to be disciplined to put in the extra effort in their studies.

Practice, Practice, Practice

When it comes to learning Mathematics effectively, the best way is to practice, practice and practice. Set down a timetable to complete at least one practice worksheet per day. Unless your child is unwell, you should emphasize daily practice. It builds the discipline as well as the momentum and stamina to sit for the over two hours PSLE Mathematics paper.

Attempt Challenging Problem Sums

To reinforce the previous strategy, you should provide at least a set of Challenging Problem Sums to practice. This will allow you as the parent or teacher to assess where the children are in terms of understanding and effort to practice what they have learnt. From here you can observe how your child is doing and make corrections accordingly. Then redoing the questions once more and a bit more practice questions, you can evaluate has achieved the required standard.

Seek Help From School and Tuition Teachers

The saying goes: 'When the going gets tough, the tough gets going!' When faced with very challenging questions, you should seek assistance from the school Maths teachers and the tuition teachers. They will be well equipped to provide the resources and guide your child to solve those difficult problem sum questions. Moreover, they may even provide further expertise and revision ideas from their experience for your consideration and exploration.

In summary, there is certainly more than a way or method to prepare for your PSLE, whether is it for Mathematics, Science, English or Mother Tongue. If you find there are just too many options or you feel for your children and they look lost, simply decide on one way, follow the steps and adjust accordingly.

As you adjust, you make improvements. In this way, you may even find it useful to jot these steps down for your own future use and reference. You may share with your friends and fellow parents whose kids are also preparing for PSLE these steps you have taken and proven useful and write a blog like this 'How To Prepare For PSLE' for their easy connect.

Staying Healthy for PSLE

Foundation of PSLE - Good Health

One of the habits which usually may be neglected is staying fit and healthy, especially when it comes to preparing for your PSLE. In fact this is the most important to success in being ready for the examinations and also for life. You can be ready 100% to take the exam papers whether is it English, Mother Tongue, Maths or Science. But if you are not physically strong and are prone to viruses and sicknesses, all your effort may be in vain. Therefore great effort must be put into staying healthy as well.

What are some ways you can keep yourself healthy and strong? Who can you team up with, to go the long journey in getting ready for PSLE?These are just some questions you should think about and take action to follow through with them.Outlined below are just some tips and ideas on staying healthy for PSLE. Some are simply reminders for you as you may already know them and may be practising them in your life.

Have An Exercise Routine. You should include in your PSLE preparation an exercise routine so that you are not only training your academic muscles, you are also developing your physical strength. You should at least have one light exercise and one heavy one each week. Anymore is bonus but be cautious not to overstretch as well. Your light exercise may consist of simply a slow morning in the garden or simple stretching or warm up exercises where you could perform anywhere. Your heavy exercise may consist of a 2.4km run or a game of your favorite sports like soccer, basketball and badminton.

Maintain A Proper Diet. How to eat healthily? Basically you can eat all you want, but eating moderately will save you from future problems that may arise. You should eat moderately on food likes pizzas, fried stuffs and fast foods and consume more of green items and fruits. This will help you with a lesser problem to tackle as you take your examinations. It will not create issues like breathlessness or overweight.

Get Enough Sleep. Keeping a proper sleeping routine takes a lot of discipline especially when you are those last minute preparers of examinations. Having insufficient sleep is not going to help you. Instead, your body will feel very tired and lethargic and your mind will not be alert enough to pay attention to instructions and details. Therefore getting enough sleep while preparing for PSLE is very essential, coupled with good planning in your subject revision.

Team Up With Friends and Family. You do not have to go on this journey alone. You can especially team up with your classmates who are also taking PSLE. Plan together. Schedule sports together and also revise together. In this way, you can help one another towards achieving a common goal of being successful in the examinations. You also have your parents and other family members whom you can approach to remind you, give you advice, study with you, exercise with you and even encourage you in this pursuit.

Keeping yourself healthy will help you to stay alert and attentive as you prepare for PSLE. You will need a simple exercise routine, eat moderately, sleep sufficiently and involve your friends and family to reach the goal you desire. Even if results may not turn out the way you want, cultivating this habit will prepare you for your future ahead. Therefore, do not be disheartened but press on to the next level.

How To Prepare For PSLE English

Preparing yourself to sit for the examinations is sometimes like preparing yourself to break the news of your report card results to your parents. You breakdown the various sections of how you want to approach your parents, what are you going to say first, assess the mood of your parents and then break the news to them. Work on improving and putting more effort in the process so that you could obtain better results the next time. Make every effort to be at peace with your parents as they are one of the key supporters towards your education and future. Similarly in preparing for PSLE English, break down how you want to approach in the preparation process.

Know What You Will Be Tested
Before preparation, you need to know what are the areas to prepare. You can simply pile up all the textbooks for the past six years and start read and revising. But knowing what you will be tested in the English PSLE paper should allow you to identify what you want to prepare. So pick up locate the Primary Five School Circular informing all students and parents what is expected of the coming Semestral Assessment. In this circular you will find the tabulated information sheet showing what you will be tested which is listed below.

Know the Components of PSLE English
1. Oral                                                          (30 Marks)
    - Reading Aloud A Passage
    - Picture Discussion
    - Conversation
2. Listening Comprehension                           (20 Marks)
    - Picture Matching
    - Listening to various situations
    and answer multiple choice questions (MCQ)
3. Language Paper I
    - Situational Writing                                   (15 Marks)
    - Continuous Writing - Picture or Situational Composition
                                                                     (40 Marks)
4. Language Paper II
    - Booklet A: Multiple Choice Questions     (30 Marks)
    > Graphic Stimulus                   05 Marks
    > Grammer & Punctuation        10 Marks
    > Vocabulary                           10 Marks
    > Reading Comprehension        05 Marks
    - Boolet B: Fill in the Blanks                     (65 Marks)
    > Grammar Cloze                         10 Marks
    > Spelling Punctuation Grammar    10 Marks
    > Comprehension Cloze                15 Marks
    > Synthesis & Transformation        10 Marks
    > Reading Comprehension             20 Marks
Total Marks                                                 (200 Marks)
The marks are indicated just for your reference. There may be slight difference for future papers, but they serve as a guide for your preparation work.

Know Your Areas of Strengths and Weaknesses
With the assessment components listed out, it is now important to identify which area you need more attention and which you need to simply continue to improve. If you have difficulty making an assessment, try purchasing a sample past year PSLE English paper from any neighborhood bookstore or from Popular bookstore. Then make an attempt on your own to complete the entire paper. You could recruit your friends or classmates or your parents to help you out on the Oral component. Once completed, mark on your own and identify which components you are strong and which are your weaker components.

Know Your Resources and Seek Them Out
Sitting down with your friends or parents, list down the resources you need to help you on the components of the PSLE English paper. The following is not exhaustive:
1. English Guidebooks i.e. Preston for Lower and Upper levels
2. Topical or Focus Test Papers i.e. Comprehension Cloze
3. Primary Six Model Compositions
4. Your Parents, Uncles and Aunts
5. English Teachers
6. Tuition Teachers
7. Enrichment Classes
8. Your Classmates

After listing out the above, depending on your budget, seek them out. In order to improve, make every effort to do your homework, read up and ask questions when you are not sure or in doubt. In this way, you will surely improve your way to better grades in PSLE English. You may never know that in your pursuit which takes discipline and sacrifice, you may lead others to follow your footsteps. Form a group study and work hard together towards a common goal.