cryotosensei

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When I taught Subject Verb Agreement (SVA) for the first time last year, I received this flowchart from a teacher named Ms Wu Huishan.

![](https://m.stacker.news/85581)

I initially wondered why she had to go to such an extent, conjuring superheroes into the mix.

Then, I realised SVA is the hardest thing to teach because the kids just *don’t remember* the rules. So, since I was teaching 13-year-old students, I thought I would use role play.

![](https://m.stacker.news/85582)

I would be the letter ‘S’ and force an unwilling male student (Student A) to hold my hand to illustrate SVA.

I would then ask another student, Student B, to hold hands with Student A. Student A would then release my hand, thus making me sad. 

I expected them to recall the rules of SVA easily because 1) they are at the age when they are experimenting with relationships, 2) seeing their classmates hold hands would send them into explosive guffaws. I assumed that I had created an indelible memory.

Their lackluster results proved otherwise.

This year, I wasn’t about to go down the same route since role play wasn’t that effective. I thought I would try **chanting**. It seemed like a juvenile method, but emboldened by my experience as a Science teacher, I thought I would give it a shot. In a previous life, I would get kids to chant “Mound On Bread, Yeast Make Bread” whenever we encountered a question on fungi.

So, my experience with regard to chanting is that there should be two parts, each part comprising three words. 

![](https://m.stacker.news/85591)

I have a total of 4 chants. And this is how I apply them:

![](https://m.stacker.news/85602)

![](https://m.stacker.news/85599)

Yes, I force them to recite the chants every other lesson. I think it is working out better than role play.

![](https://m.stacker.news/85600)

![](https://m.stacker.news/85601)

Chanting works

AskSN

Assuming all other needs are met, what do you want to leave the world with?

birdeye21

[My blog](https://diaperfinancingfund.blogspot.com/2025/04/vocabulary-in-context-questions.html?m=1)

It started off as a side hustle, but I gradually saw it as a place to park my area of expertise/life’s work. Maybe I would write sensible enough stuff for it to be considered my **legacy**

Education

I’m tasked to do a 5-min sharing at Staff Contact Time next Monday to entice my colleagues to sign up for a workshop next Wednesday. So I thought I would write my speech since the words are kinda ruminating in my head.

—-
Thank you for coming to my TED talk. [Pulls out my TEDTalk book] If you don’t give me a standing ovation at the end, you won’t be allowed to enjoy your Hari Raya lunch. Anyway, I will be running a Student Learning Space (SLS) workshop, along with JY and R. So I will like to tell you 2 things I have learnt about my form class, 2T6, as a result of designing the workshop for you all.

![](https://m.stacker.news/85497)

Why the focus on my form class? Because we design SLS lessons for our students, so it’s important that we keep in mind who they are. I have the perfect story to illustrate them. Last year, a group of four personnel from MOE PSB came to observe my lesson. I noticed that my students were getting restless though. So I asked them, “Do you guys want to dance to Baby Shark?” Being thick-skinned myself, I wouldn’t have danced in front of complete strangers, so I was expecting self-conscious teenagers to decline my offer. But boy, was I wrong! 4-5 boys really came to my table and danced to Baby Shark, oblivious to my visitors. I was surprised!

In a nutshell, my class can be divided into two kinds of people: outgoing vs soft-spoken. So, usually the outgoing people get a lot of airtime. SLS allows the soft-spoken students to respond in ways they wouldn’t have, so I like how it facilitates individual voice. For example, Rayn came up to me with his laptop twice to ask if he was on the right track. Yat told me an anecdote about saving $500 for a Nintendo Switch. I told Saiful that I was replying to his comment, and moments later, he informed me that he had already replied to me. Normally, these students might be sleeping in my class. But here they were, engaged with the subject material. 

The thinking routine “I used to think that…Now I think…” that was used as the exit ticket also provided useful feedback about whether I had achieved my lesson objective. During the first SLS lesson, I noticed that some quiet students actually exhibit pretty astute thinking. Hisham wrote about the need to focus - that’s a deeper introspection than the comment his classmates wrote. 

One reason why I was keen to try out SLS was the provision of the AI chatbot called SALiS. I think that as a language teacher, I need to find opportunities for my students to work with AI tools. However, my students’ first encounter with  SALiS wasn’t very fruitful. Jim, the most serious-minded student in class actually confessed to typing rubbish for the chatbot. He said that he got annoyed, so he just typed random stuff.

So, I realised that 2T6 peeps are not good at asking questions yet. For my second lesson, I chose a different function and got SALiS to provide questions for my students so that they could just click on the question they liked best and carry on a chat. Hopefully, they found the interaction more meaningful the second time.

When you attend the workshop, I will show you how I used:
- Spilt Media
- Discussion forum
- Embedding a Quizlet game
- ShortAnsFeedback Assistant
- Chatting with SALiS

More importantly, I will share with you unreservedly my intentionality, why I chose to design my lesson in a particular way, and also, whether I managed to achieve the desired outcomes.

Thank you. Now do I get the standing ovation? 

My 5-min speech

My students did poorly for their test today, so I thought I would need to zero in low-hanging fruits such as vocabulary in context questions. Fighting fire until the day of their mid-year exams.

1. I did not have time to have my breakfast, so I was really **famished** by the time we reached the GIC.

a) tired
b) lonely
c) hungry 

![](https://m.stacker.news/85351)

2. I was fascinated by the tall buildings, and the wonderful view made **my heart soar**.

a) upset
b) thrilled
c) irritated

![](https://m.stacker.news/85355)

3. I found the talk given by the speaker **beneficial** as she gave many tips to manage money.

a) useful 
b) careful
c) grateful

![](https://m.stacker.news/85360)

4. I was also impressed by the **novel** garden at the cafe; you don’t find such gardens in other buildings!

a) boring
b) unusual
c) amazing 

![](https://m.stacker.news/85361)

Visiting the Government of Investment Corporation

And did it give you a good boost of endorphins? Or were the trade-offs significant?

When was the last time you helped someone?

Stacker Saloon

saloon

Happiness Journal 2/4/25

Had to spend 45 minutes to an hour to help my student’s parents print all the necessary paperwork for her financial assistance application to be approved. This meant that I had to push all my other work to the side. But I recognised that helping my student get funded is the essence of my work, not a distraction.

Visiting River Wonders

Good try! 

Initially means at first for Q4. It’s the opposite of “At the end”

bitcoin

Lessons From My Short Trip Away From Home

siggy47

You are such a reflective person, always drawing lessons from your experiences.

Hope you managed to enjoy yourself with your chums despite the mishap! 

You are right! I changed it to *grateful* before 10 mins were up. Thanks for the critical eye

My students did poorly for their test today, so I thought I would need to zero in low-hanging fruits such as vocabulary in context questions. Fighting fire until the day of their mid-year exams.

1. Pandas are my favourite animals, so I was **enthusiastic** about visiting River Wonders and spending time with them.

a) excited
b) annoyed
c) indifferent

![](https://m.stacker.news/85196)

2. It was raining heavily though, and **my heart sank** because it would take a long time for me to reach there.

a) thrilled
b) grateful
c) disappointed

![](https://m.stacker.news/85198)

3. We loved the **delectable** panda buns so much that we were constantly licking our fingers! 

a) tasteless
b) flavourful
c) inexpensive

![](https://m.stacker.news/85199)

4. **Initially**, I did not know that panda poop was useful, but at the end, I learned that poop could be turned into paper!

a) At first
b) Always
c) Eventually

![](https://m.stacker.news/85200)

Tidying up my [notes on plants](https://diaperfinancingfund.blogspot.com/2025/03/psle-plants.html?m=1) today. Which was impetus for this question.

Do you grow plants? I know @Rothbardian_fanatic has milkweed plants.

Do you grow plants?

alter_native

![](https://m.stacker.news/85056)

My wife enjoys cooking, and she tries to involve my kid. Recently, she bought a [Bourbon bear train](https://www.yattajapan.com/en/products/kit-diy-bourbon-petit-bear-sweets-train). It comprised chocolates and biscuits - just the way my boy liked it.

My boy was participative in the process, whipping up the chocolate, scooping it to place into the moulds. My wife then made sure that all the pieces hung together and placed it in the fridge for it to freeze. Here’s their finished product:

![](https://m.stacker.news/85057)

My wife had transformed into a panda train, given his recently affinity with the pandas. We went to the local zoo to ogle at the two resident pandas last Saturday, in fact. 

What struck me the most was when my son mentioned how he had 一所懸命　(issho kenmei; tried his level best) in the chocolate train-making process.  I feel gratified because if he knows what he feels like to give his all, he can use this self-awareness to gauge how hard he has tried to achieve something - be it studies or co-curricular activities - in the future. I’m happy that he has gained an intuitive understanding of how he feels like when he has worked hard. 

[Parent’s Corner] Trying his hardest

So I just started using ChatGPT to help write my next novel because I’m so busy

realBitcoinDog

econ

March ~econ check-in

Undisciplined

You’re like an octopus, extending your reach in more ways than one. Media Empire!

The Hawaiian term for water, wai, is the root word for prosperity, wai wai

https://diaperfinancingfund.blogspot.com/2025/01/21-items-about-water.html

What is the worst thing about the place you live?

Aardvark

Photography

View from Alhambra, Granada, Spain

Carresan

![](https://m.stacker.news/84927)

Last December, I waited for 90 mins in the chilling winter air with my son at Ueno Zoo. Our patience was rewarded when we were given exactly one minute each at two different checkpoints to admire the pandas in all their majesty.

Compare this to our experience at River Wonders yesterday. There was no need to queue to see Kai Kai and Jia Jia. We didn’t have to hustle along either. In fact, we set our hearts fluttering by chasing Jia Jia from one end to the other, our time with her savoured like sweet nectar sipped by pollinators. Kai Kai seemed to be less active. But even watching him laze around felt like a luxury that was denied to us in Tokyo.

I was also surprised to find a corner devoted to 竹字旁 (the bamboo radical). Right now, I’m quite thrilled that my son recognises 熊猫妈妈, but I can imagine dragging him to this corner and teaching him all these words related to the bamboo radical: 笼、 篮 and 笛. I’m all about seizing opportune moments to drill a few Chinese words in my boy - River Wonder certainly supports my quest.

![](https://m.stacker.news/84928)

![](https://m.stacker.news/84929)

![](https://m.stacker.news/84930)

![](https://m.stacker.news/84931)

![](https://m.stacker.news/84932)

Chasing Pandas at River Wonders

Have you watched “Adolescence”

[Help Wanted] Tell us about your searches to help SN improve

SimpleStacker

It was a memorable article. Stuck in my mind!

You must be a good teacher because I understood the gist of what you were saying despite having no technical background. Thanks for taking the time!