primary 3 science - parkviewpri.moe.edu.sg
TRANSCRIPT
KEY CHANGES IN P3
In alignment with MOE’s direction to reduce the over-emphasis on examinations and grades, and to enable students to discover the joy of learning.
The key changes are:
• No mid-year exam (SA1)
• Only 1 weighted assessment per term
KEY CHANGES IN P3
With removal of MYE in P3, the freed-up curriculum time of 2 weeks will be used to conduct:
‘Enrich’ Programme: ‘Every Child a Seed’ Project Work
Intent:To instil the joy of learning and make learning authentic for students
In collaboration with Nparks, this programme seeks to provide our studentswith an opportunity to grow their very own plant and enable them toexperience the challenges of the planting process as well as experience thejoy of seeing their plants grow.
Duration of Paper- 1 hour 30 min
Format of P3 SA2 Paper
Booklet Item Type Number of Questions
Number of marks per question
Weighting(%)
A Multiple Choice
22 2 44
B Open-Ended 10 2, 3, 4 or 5 26
Knowledge with Understanding
• Students should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of scientific facts, concepts and principles.
Application of Knowledge and Process Skills
• Students should be able to apply scientific facts, concepts and principles to new situations.
Assessment Objectives
1) Make a CLAIM or decision to the question
2) Provide EVIDENCE / data /information
3) Give REASONS to support or explain the claim, and this reason should be a scientific concept
(CER MODEL)
Claim: The water level rises.
Evidence: The metal ball occupies space in the water.
Reasoning: Metal ball and water have a definite volume.
Natalie should choose material R.
No water was collected in the beaker when Material R was used
Material R is waterproof. (scientific concept)
Claim
Evidence
Reasoning
Reasoning Pattern (RP) in answering Science Open-Ended Questions (OEQ)
(CER MODEL)
1. How much information is required from each open-ended question?
• Marks allocated to the question determines how much to write.
• Look out for key words such as ‘Explain’, ‘Describe’, ‘State’, ‘List’
• Avoid ‘over-answering’ as marks will be deducted for every ‘redundant’ and wrong concept.
• Important to know spelling of key words (especially in labelling-type of questions)
2. Avoid giving general statements.
Always answer by making reference to the question. This can be done by citing evidence/data from the question.
For e.g. Why did the fish in the tank die?
Living things need air, food and water. (X)
The fish did not have enough oxygen/food. (√)
3. Look out for Contextual Clues from the question
• Important to read and study the question stem carefully as it provides clues to answering the question.
• Encourage your child to highlight the key words/phrases found in the question stem
• Take note of data provided in the form of graphs, pie-chart or tabulated findings
The larva of the butterfly is considered a pest to farmers.
Why is it considered a pest? [1]
The larva of a butterfly eats leaves from the farmer’s plant E. (X)
The larva of a butterfly eats leaves from the farmer’s plant E
and destroys the plants. (√)
4. Avoid using ‘pronouns’ in answer.
For e.g.
What will happen to the plants in set-up P and set-up Q?
It will dry up and die while the other plant will continue to grow well. (X)
The plant in set-up P will dry up and die while the plant in set-up Q will continue to grow well. (√)
5. Important to know the spelling of key words
especially for ‘Labelling’ type of questions
Look at the diagram below.
It shows a germinating bean seed that has been split into 2 equal halves.
The part labeled G is the _________________.
G
Half Y Half X
Seed leaf
Before attending the Science Lessons:
Encourage your child read up on the topic content from the Textbook or Student Learning Space (SLS) Portal
HOW PARENTS CAN PROVIDE SUPPORT AT HOME
After each Science Lesson”
Ensure your child does periodic revision and assessing
their understanding via verbal/written Science Quiz and
Science Spelling
Remind your child to check that they have:
• shaded the OAS bubble correctly
• attempted all questions
• checked the spelling accuracy of key labelling questions
HOW PARENTS CAN PROVIDE SUPPORT AT HOME