iSSues Explorer (Aug 2020)

iSSues Explorer ISSUE 02 / AUG 2020

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SPOTLIGHT

Ms Natasha Binte Supa’at, shares how she uses the Frayer Model to help students understand concepts

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SPICE IT UP

with our new 2020 NT SS SLS resources for Book 1B, Chapter 2

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WHAT'S SIMMERING articles to discuss the impact of and responses to COVID-19 in your classroom

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WHAT'S COOKING in the fraternity in Semester 2

Stock images from Canva iSSues Explorer | 02

From the Editor's Desk

"You can't have a rainbow without the rain."

COVID-19 has posed an unprecedented challenge to Singapore and its effects would clearly reverberate for some time to come. As the storm rages on, let us also take the chance to reflect, to take stock, and appreciate the good things that have also happened. We've learnt to appreciate our loved ones more, rekindled a stronger sense of neighbourliness, honed our pedagogical skills in using ICT... The list goes on.

Here’s what you can find in this edition: Spotlight shares what teachers can do to teach concepts using the Frayer Model.

Spice It Up provides ideas for enhancing lessons on migration and integration with SLS. What’s Simmering examines how the government, organised groups and citizens can work together to overcome the pandemic; the social impact of COVID-19 and how we can respond to them; and the economic impact of COVID-19 and how we can respond to them.

From all of us in the Social Studies (Sec) Unit, Humanities Branch, we hope you will enjoy reading this latest edition.

Spotlight

In this issue, Ms Natasha Binte Supa’at, School Staff Developer at Kranji Secondary School, shares how she uses the Frayer Model to help students understand the concept of transnational terrorism. The Frayer Model activates students’ prior knowledge of an issue and helps them build connections between new ideas.

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Background To support my Secondary 5 students, who need more help in understanding concepts and content, I have made use of concept teaching strategies. When some of the students had difficulty understanding the concept of transnational terrorism, that prompted me to use the Frayer Model to help them. (Refer to TLG pages 181–182 for more suggestions on using the Frayer Model.)

How does the Frayer Model work?

The Frayer Model helps students articulate their understanding of concepts in a logical manner. Students are required to think about a concept in an iterative fashion by exploring its characteristics, examples, nonexamples and possible definitions. The model also guides students to think about a concept in the wider context as they need to bring in examples and non-examples to articulate their understanding.

The Frayer Model thus activates students’ prior knowledge of a concept, invites them to analyse its characteristics and think of examples and non-examples, before getting them to synthesise the information into a definition. This process offers students small successes and helps to boost their confidence as they enhance their understanding with each iteration. The Frayer Model charts submitted by students can be used for formative assessment as teachers can check for students’ understanding at the end of the lesson. Teachers can then use the feedback from the charts to plan accordingly to clear up misconceptions in subsequent lessons.

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Left: A Frayer Model chart

Using the Frayer Model in the classroom Before asking students to complete the Frayer Model chart, I demonstrated the process through Model Thinking Aloud. Using the concept of globalisation which students have learnt previously, I brought students through the process of filling in the Frayer Model chart by sharing my thoughts about globalisation as they came to mind. The demonstration gave students a clearer idea of what they had to do and how they had to come up with the necessary information to fill in the various quadrants.

Students were tasked to fill in the Frayer Model chart in groups based on the concept of terrorism.

Group discussion can be infused as an important element of using the Frayer Model. Students can bounce ideas off one another, clarify those ideas and come up with the characteristics, examples and non-examples of the concept. Over the course of the discussion, they may also start coming up with various draft definitions of the concept. Each group can then work together to develop its definition of the concept. This allows students to co-construct their conceptual understanding in a safe setting while tapping their peers’ prior knowledge.

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Checking for Understanding I collected the Frayer Model charts completed by the groups to gauge the class’s general understanding. In addition, to ensure that students individually grasped the concept of transnational terrorism, I asked them each to draw a cartoon depicting what they had learnt and explain their cartoon. Getting students to apply their understanding in a non-textual form helped me assess whether they had truly understood the concept of transnational terrorism. It was particularly helpful for this class as the students were hardworking but had weaker language abilities. Students were able to come up with good drawings of what they understood of the concept and substantiated their drawings with explanations. In a subsequent lesson, students deepened their conceptual understanding by critiquing some of their peers’ Frayer Model charts and concept cartoons, while also affirming their efforts.

Left: A sample of a student's concept cartoon

Conclusion While it was time-consuming to use the Frayer Model, the time invested was worthwhile because the Frayer Model helped students grasp the concept of transnational terrorism. Understanding the concept made it easier for them to relate to the examples and issues for the rest of the topic. What was perhaps more valuable to me was seeing how the process sparked the joy of learning in students and how they grew in confidence as they saw their own understanding deepen.

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Spice It Up

BOOK 1B: HI, I AM YOUR BUS DRIVER STUDENT LEARNING SPACE (SLS) LESSON FOR N(T) BOOK 1B

In Book 1B of the 2020 Normal (Technical) syllabus, students learn how they can respond to the global phenomenon of migration.

The Issue explores the roles that Singaporeans, the government and immigrants can play in creating a sense of belonging for immigrants in Singapore.

This section suggests a lesson idea based on the SLS lesson “Book 1B: Hi, I Am Your Bus Driver”.

This SLS lesson focuses on helping students understand that migration can bring about opportunities and challenges for citizens and immigrants.

In this lesson, students inquire into the question “What are the experiences of citizens and immigrants in Singapore?” This lesson allows students to think about the broader Inquiry Focus, “How far can we achieve integration in a society?”

Click HERE to access the SLS lesson.

THE LESSON IDEA AIMS TO TEACH STUDENTS TO: 1. DESCRIBE THE EXPERIENCES OF CITIZENS AND IMMIGRANTS; AND 2. EMPATHISE WITH AND DEMONSTRATE SENSITIVITY TOWARDS DIFFERENT HUMAN EXPERIENCES.

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Opening: At the start of the lesson, activate students’ prior knowledge and spark their curiosity about the topic by facilitating a class discussion using the question “What are some challenges and opportunities when Singaporeans and immigrants live together?” Consider writing the responses on the board as a point of reference. Inform the students that they will be watching a video on how a new citizen has integrated himself into Singapore society.

Students will learn how this new citizen has overcome challenges and created opportunities for himself.

Self-directed SLS Activity: Get students to complete a self-directed online learning segment about the experiences of a new citizen in the SLS lesson. At this stage, move around the classroom to provide technical assistance and learning support to students.

After students have watched the video, use the questions below to get them to identify the challenges and opportunities faced by the new citizen when he came to Singapore: 1. What were some of the challenges faced by Daniel Ellis when he came to Singapore?

2. How can you tell that Daniel Ellis has managed to build good relations with Singaporeans?

Opportunities for differentiated instruction Differentiation by content: For students who are able to complete the SLS activity faster, challenge them to think about an extension question (which you can write out on the whiteboard): “Based on the video, what have Singaporeans done to make new citizens feel more welcome and what attitudes do new citizens need to have in order to feel more welcome?” This will allow students to inquire deeper into how integration can be achieved and how efforts must come from both locals and immigrants.

Class Discussion: Once all students have submitted their responses via the SLS, use the dashboard to look at the responses. Get some students to provide their thoughts on the challenges faced by the new citizen and what he has done to build good relations with locals. The sharing will help students to make connections with what they already know and to construct new knowledge based on what they have just learnt.

Additional Resources In this lesson idea, we will also consider using learning profiles to differentiate the lesson.

Find out more about the value of using students’ learning profiles when planning lessons and how this could be done: Carol Ann Tomlinson on 'learning profiles 3 Ways to Plan for Diverse Learners: What Teachers Do

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Closure: Conclude the lesson by first asking students to respond to the Reflection Questions on page 35. Then, using Pass It Round, get students to share ideas and views with one another: Give each student a piece of paper with the question “What are some things you can do to allow for better integration among locals and immigrants?”

Students are to consider the question and write a response in the space around the question.

Get each student to pass his/her slip to the student sitting next to him/her.

Instruct students to silently read what has been written on the new slips they have received. They can choose to (1) add a new idea, (2) build on what has been written or (3) refute what has been written.

Repeat this process a few times before returning the slips to the original students.

Consolidate the responses and address the class, linking their responses to the broader Inquiry Focus in this Issue (“How far can we achieve integration in a society?”). Get some students to share their reflections to this question and highlight that both locals and immigrants have a part to play: The first step to integration can be achieved when locals try to make immigrants feel welcome; At the same time, immigrants must also make the effort to understand and get to know the locals and local culture better; and Integration is possible if people respect all individuals, regardless of their place of origin.

How does this lesson idea reflect the inquiry process?

Sparking Curiosity: The brainstorming activity at the beginning of the lesson taps students’ prior knowledge and sparks their curiosity about the different experiences that migration can bring to society.

Gathering Data: As students watch the video, they gather information on the experiences of an immigrant living in Singapore.

Exercising Reasoning: In responding to the questions that follow the video, students exercise reasoning. They support their claims in their answers using evidence from the video. Through the class discussion, students are also asked to elaborate on their comments and support them with evidence and real-life examples. In the Pass It Round activity, students analyse whether they agree or disagree with their classmates’ comments.

Reflective Thinking: Students reflect on how they can actively play their role as citizens to help achieve integration in society.

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WHAT'S SIMMERING: EXPRESS/NORMAL(A) ISSUE 1

How can citizens and the government in Singapore work together to overcome the challenges brought about by COVID-19?

Knowledge Outcomes Students will be able to understand: the functions of government and how governments work for the good of society; and how citizens and organised groups can participate in working for the good of society.

SYNOPSIS

Governments across the world have been working to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on society.

Efforts range from reminding the public to maintain good personal hygiene and ensuring social distancing, to more extreme measures such as imposing lockdowns on cities. All these measures aim to safeguard the interests of citizens by maintaining internal order and preventing the public healthcare system from being overwhelmed, while attempting to stop widespread local transmission. The Singapore government has made the effort to find every case and follow up with contact tracing to reduce transmission. It has also emphasised how every Singaporean needs to play a part in helping the country overcome the crisis. How can citizens and the government in Singapore work together to overcome the challenges brought about by COVID-19?

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Suggested discussion questions

ARTICLES Article 1: Singapore’s coronavirus playbook: How it fought back against the COVID-19 pandemic

How important are the roles played by the Singapore government and citizens in overcoming the COVID-19 crisis?

https://www.cnet.com/news/singapores-coronavirus-playbook-how-one-countryfought-back-against-covid19-epidemic

How can the government and citizens play complementary roles in overcoming the COVID-19 crisis?

Article 3: I am showing respiratory symptoms – where should I go?

Article 2: NTU terminates foreign student from postgraduate course for breaching Stay Home Notice https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/ntu-nus-nie-terminatedforeign-student-pass-covid-19-breach-12522588

https://www.gov.sg/article/i-am-showing-respiratory-symptoms-where-should-i-go

Article 4: Singaporeans step up to make hand sanitiser for community amid coronavirus outbreak https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/singaporeans-step-make-hand-sanitisercommunity-amid-coronavirus-outbreak

Article 5: Seven songs written by Singaporeans to motivate others during COVID-19 outbreak https://www.youth.sg/Peek-Show/2020/3/Seven-songs-written-by-Singaporeansto-motivate-others-during-COVID-19-outbreak

Article 6: Singapore launches TraceTogether mobile app to boost COVID-19 contract tracing efforts https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid19-trace-togethermobile-app-contact-tracing-coronavirus-12560616

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WHAT'S SIMMERING: EXPRESS/NORMAL(A) ISSUE 2

What is the impact of prejudice and discrimination arising from COVID-19 on diverse societies, and how can we respond to such tensions?

Knowledge Outcomes Students will be able to understand: the experiences and effects of living in a diverse society; and the various ways in which governments and individuals can respond to the effects of living in a diverse society.

SYNOPSIS

During peacetime, living harmoniously in diverse societies may not be difficult. However, it may be more challenging in times of crisis. Socio-cultural identities can become labels that lead to prejudice and discrimination. This negative phenomenon can be seen in the case of COVID-19. As the virus originated in the city of Wuhan in China’s Hubei province, it was initially called the “Wuhan coronavirus”. This quickly led to the virus being linked to China and the Chinese community. There have been instances of individuals being physically or verbally attacked simply because they were Chinese and therefore assumed to carry the virus. Such cases have occurred not just in other countries but also in Singapore. What is the impact of prejudice and discrimination arising from COVID-19 on diverse societies, and how can we respond to such tensions?

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Suggested discussion questions What is the impact of prejudice and discrimination arising from COVID-19 on diverse societies?

How can individuals and the government respond to the negative impact of COVID-19 to safeguard social harmony?

ARTICLES Article 1: Coronavirus gets a new name: COVID-19.

Here’s why that is important https://www.forbes.com/sites/victoriaforster/2020/02/11/coronavirus-gets-anew-name-covid-19-heres-why-renaming-it-is-important/#10fe93eb548e

Article 2: Some Chinese workers, businesses in Singapore shunned amid fear and anxiety over Covid-19 https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/some-chinese-workers-businessessingapore-shunned-amid-fear-and-anxiety-over-covid-19

Article 3: MHA to look into ‘racist, xenophobic’ remarks by religious teacher over coronavirus: Shanmugam https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/mha-wuhan-virusshanmugam-abdul-halim-racist-remarks-12403812

Article 4: More shock than anger: S’porean student opens up about Covid-19 racist attack in London https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singaporean-student-in-london-seekseyewitnesses-after-coronavirus-related-taunt-and

Article 5: London police arrest 2 teenagers linked to Covid-19 racial assault on Singaporean student https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/london-police-arrest-2-teenagerslinked-to-covid-19-racist-assault-on-singaporean-student

Article 6: Xenophobia ‘is a pre-existing condition.’ How harmful stereotypes and racism are spreading round the coronavirus https://time.com/5775716/xenophobia-racism-stereotypes-coronavirus/

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WHAT'S SIMMERING: EXPRESS/NORMAL(A) ISSUE 3

What is the economic impact of COVID-19, and how can we respond to tensions arising from it?

Knowledge Outcomes Students will be able to understand: the different responses to tensions arising from some economic impact of globalisation.

SYNOPSIS While much of the world’s attention is focused on the death toll of COVID-19, the economic damage resulting from the outbreak also has disastrous implications due to the interconnected and interdependent nature of the world. The economic fallout is best illustrated by the example of China, which has been dubbed the “world’s factory” and lies at the centre of global supply chains. When China shut down its economy to deal with COVID-19, its global partners were affected, which in turn led to a worldwide economic slowdown. Countries have been scrambling to respond to the economic slowdown. Asian countries have rolled out economic stimulus packages and slashed interest rates to help businesses deal with the economic impact of the pandemic that is threatening to plunge the region into recession.

As the pandemic deepened, Singapore first deployed S$6.4 billion in its annual Budget to introduce a slew of new measures and enhancements to existing schemes to stabilise its economy amid the nearterm uncertainties caused by COVID-19. The Singapore government then made the unprecedented move of launching three Supplementary Budgets between March and May 2020, before extending the support schemes through a ministerial statement in August. A combined total of around $100 billion was deployed to buffer the economic impact of COVID-19. What is the economic impact of COVID-19 and how can we respond to tensions arising from it? iSSues Explorer | 14

Suggested discussion questions How has the interconnected nature of the world worsened the economic impact of COVID-19?

How can we respond to the economic impact of COVID19?

ARTICLES Article 1: This industry was crippled by the coronavirus - here's how it's fighting back https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/02/coronavirus-china-automotiveindustry/

Article 2: The economic impact of the coronavirus – from IPhones to solar panels to tourism https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/02/economic-toll-coronavirusmanufacturing-tourism-china-asia/

Article 3: How the coronavirus made globalization a deadly threat https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/infecting-the-world-economy-howthe-coronavirus-made-globalization-a-deadly-threat-a-974703a5-59ca-436bae5a-bdfdb7898343

Article 4: 4 ways the Resilience Budget is helping Singapore’s businesses stay afloat https://www.gov.sg/article/4-ways-the-resilience-budget-is-helpingsingapores-businesses-stay-afloat

Article 5: Coronavirus could push companies to stop relying on China https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-supply-chain-disruptions-companiesdiversify-away-china-1488333

Article 6: 5 ways the Resilience Budget will help Singapore's workers https://www.gov.sg/article/5-ways-the-resilience-budget-will-help-singaporesworkers

Article 7: Singapore, China agree to strengthen cooperation to address global COVID-19 threat https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/coronavirus-covid19singapore-china-meeting-cooperation-12599434

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WHAT'S COOKING IN SEMESTER 2

Like to share any good lesson ideas or strategies with the fraternity?

We want to invite you to contribute articles to iSSues Explorer.

If you have good lesson ideas or strategies to share with the fraternity, get in touch with us here or by scanning the QR code to the left:

Please share your feedback with us...

We hope you have benefited from the articles in iSSues Explorer thus far. We want to continue providing you with relevant and useful resources for your teaching and learning of Social Studies. We invite you to share your thoughts here or by scanning the QR code on the right:

Check out some new classroom resources CPF Board released a new video resource in May 2020. You may wish to use it when introducing the shared responsibility approach to healthcare in Singapore (ENA Coursebook, pages 228-232) when discussing the management of socio-economic diversity in Singapore.

Explore 34 new ENA SLS lessons in the MOE Library!

Link to our SLS catalogue here.

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Issues-based Seminar for Social Studies Secondary (E/NA) – Issue 3 TRAISI Code: 22640 Date: 28 September 2020, Monday Time: 1430 - 1730 Venue: Online via Zoom This workshop provides a deeper understanding of globalisation and its impact through examining perspectives in assigned readings and videos, which will then be discussed at the webinar.

We are happy to announce the launch of the Social Studies (Secondary) Wiki on OPAL2.0. Access the SSS Wiki page today for instructional materials and resources useful in the teaching and learning of Social Studies syllabuses for secondary schools.

Learn about the design of the 2020 Social Studies N(T) syllabus TRAISI Code: 21748 Date: 5 November 2020, Thursday Time: To be confirmed Venue: Online via Zoom This workshop is reccomended for officers who did not attend the 2020 SS N(T) syllabus launch in 2019. Sign up to familiarise with the design and new features of the coursebook and performance task.

Participants will also explore the use of the TLG, TLS, coursebook and lesson ideas as aids when planning and conducting lessons.

and w no n s! i u o J ow foll

To access the SSS Wiki via supported web browser on your internet-enabled device: Access the SSS Wiki via the QR code (on the left) or go.gov.sg/ssswiki Log in to your OPAL2.0 account when prompted.

Select <Wiki> under ‘Community Menu’.

The SSS Welcome page will be presented with an index list that will direct you to the respective syllabuses and resources’ Wiki page.

To access the SSS Wiki via the OPAL2.0 app: Locate <Social> by clicking <More> at the extreme right of the bottom menu.

Next, use the search bar and type in ‘Social Studies (Secondary)’. Select the relevant search result.

Select <Wiki> under ‘Community Menu’ The SSS Welcome page will be presented with an index list that will direct you to the respective syllabuses and resources’ Wiki page.

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