READING & VIEWING

• What is Reading and Viewing?

• What are the assessment objectives?

• How are they tested?

• What are the common errors?

• How to prepare ourselves for these components?

WHAT IS READING AND VIEWING?

• Making meaning from a range of representations

including print, film, television, technological and

other texts.

BY PRIMARY 6…

AO1 Demonstrate comprehension of a range of texts at the literal and

inferential levels.

AO2 Show understanding of implied meaning and make judgement and

evaluation, by reading and/or viewing closely and critically.

AO3 Show understanding of how contextual use of lexical and grammatical

items shapes meaning.

AO4 Demonstrate the correct use of grammar, spelling and punctuation, and

the appropriate use of vocabulary in given contexts.

HOW ARE THEY TESTED?

1. Visual Text Comprehension (8m)

- 8 questions / 8 marks / MCQ

2. Comprehension Cloze (15 m)

- 15 questions

3. Comprehension O.E. (20m)

- About 10 questions

- Mark allocation for each question is different.

- Different format e.g. one-word answer, sequence order of events with numbers,

fill in a table, etc.

1. How often is the Apex Creative Science Award held?

(1) every year

(2) every two years

(3) every three years

(4) every four years (Identifying information)

2. The main purpose of the competition is to ________.

(1) encourage Primary 1 to 6 students to think

creatively

(2) introduce science concepts to Primary 1 & 2 students

(3) teach students the importance of making safe

and sturdy toys

(4) provide students opportunities to create toys made of

recycled materials (Purpose of the text)

3.The sponsor of the awards for this competition is most

likely to be the _______________.

(4) (1) Ministry of Education (Typical features)

(2) Apex Electronics Group

(3) Singapore Institute of Technology

(4) School of Science and Technology, Singapore

4. Many exclamation marks are used in this flyer to

_______________.

(1) draw the students’ attention to the flyer

(2) demonstrate the ease in creating fun toys

(3) motivate students to participate in the

competition

(4) (4) show how simple it is to participate in the

competition (Use of punctuation)

8. Which one of these statements is true?

(1) The theme for the competition changes each year.

(2) Students who wear caps when creating

toys will impress the judges.

(3) All students will have a chance to attend

the Apex Science Workshop.

(4) Each toy must be submitted with an entry

form from the Science Centre.

(Identifying details)

According to studies presented by US researchers at a meeting in Orlando,

Florida, a daily dose of laughter may be good for the heart. Like exercise, a good laugh

makes ______________ vessels work more efficiently. Depression, on the

(1)

______________ hand can raise the risk of dying from _____________ failure.

(2) (3)

We are not recommending that you ____________ laugh and not exercise, but

(4)

we do ____________ that you try and laugh on a ____________ basis. Thirty

(5) (6)

minutes of exercise three times a week and fifteen minutes of laughter daily

______________ definitely good for the heart. Dr Miller and his _____________ of

(7) (8)

researchers showed two movies – one humorous _____________ one stressful – to 20

(9)

healthy volunteers and tested the function of their blood vessels _______________,

(10)

during and after the viewing of the movies. They found that blood flowed _____________

(11)

freely in 19 of the 20 volunteers ________________ they laughed at funny movie

(12)

segments. The blood flow_______________ about 22 per cent during laughter and

(13)

decreased 35 per cent ______________ mental stress. They advised therefore

(14)

______________ “a laugh a day might just keep the doctor away!” So have a daily dose

(15)

of laughter to keep in good health.

(Adapted from ‘The Upside Down Girl’ by Justin D’Ath)

Fill in each blank with a suitable word.

1.blood

2.other

3.heart

4. only

5. recommend/advise

6. regularly/daily

7. are

8. team

× Lack the vocabulary to fill in the blanks.

× Don’t know what the text is about.

What we should do:

(1) Read the passage to determine the text-type and main idea(s).

- Different text-types have different grammatical structures.

- Different topics/contexts require different vocabulary.

(2) Annotate while reading to start linking the clues.

• Check spelling, tenses and word form.

It was 2.50 a.m. when the captain of a Singapore-registered crude oil tanker woke to violent banging on his cabin door. On

opening it, he was faced with six robbers armed with long knives. They had already tied up three of his crew earlier. The

captain of Eagle Corona and his crew were unharmed, except for a small cut to the neck of one crewman, although they lost

their cash and personal items. However, after the attack, anti-piracy efforts were stepped up with the deployment of more fire

hoses to deter boarding attempts, while the ship continued on its voyage to Thailand.

The incident – which took place off Indonesia’s Pulau Karimata recently – was just one of many pirate attacks plaguing

shipping routes in Asia. In the first nine months of the year, there were 118 reported incidents of piracy against ships in the

region. Of these, 97 were successful, while 21 failed.

The first report released on Monday by the International Anti-piracy Group (IAG) said incidents in Asia had risen by almost

60 per cent compared to the same period last year. Piracy is classified as attacks on the high seas and robbery against ships

in state-controlled waters.

Pirates are also becoming more violent. Crew members were taken hostage in about a quarter of the successful attacks.

Half of the successful attacks involved knives and machetes and 18 per cent involved guns. The majority are happening in

Indonesian waters and the South China Sea, where there is heavy shipping traffic.

The deputy director of IAG said the increased activity is possibly the result of pirates making a shift from heavily patrolled

areas to less patrolled ones. He also said that more reports of pirate attacks have been received and these reports are sent

out as general shipping warnings. This helps remind other ships to remain vigilant when passing through potentially risky

areas.

5

10

15

20

25

In a similar report released on Monday, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), which

tracks pirate incidents worldwide, said the South China Sea saw 30 piracy attempts from

January to September, up from 10 in the same period last year.

Like the South China Sea, Indonesian waters also had more attacks, with 26 recorded

incidents, up from seven last year. The IMB said these two locations are attractive to

pirates since most ships travelling up to ports in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Japan

have no choice but to cross them.

As notifications about piracy had been sent to the Indonesian authorities, they then

increased sea patrols, which helped lower the number of attacks. To further minimise

risks, ships are advised to always be vigilant as the pirates who normally attack under the

cover of darkness, tend to retreat the moment they are spotted.(464 words)

30

35

Do you understand what you

are reading?

1. From paragraph one, how do we know that the crew

members of Eagle Corona escaped with their lives? (1m)

____________________________________________

Evidence

____________________________________________

2. Which phrase from lines 6 -12 tells you that the pirate

attack on Eagle Corona was a common incident? (1m)

Word Choice/Vocabulary

3. Choose words from paragraphs 1 and 2 which have

opposite meanings to the words below. (3m)

Vocabulary

gentle

encourage

succeeded

4. Based on the passage, state whether each statement in

the table below is true or false, then give one reason why

you think so. (3m)

True/False Reason

The captain of

Eagle Corona and

his crew were

prepared for the

first pirate attack.

Pirates are

becoming more

violent.

Evidence

All ships travelling

to Taiwan, China,

Hong Kong and

Japan have been

attacked.

Common Mistakes

1. 1. Careless Mistakes/Transfer Error

2. - Spelling, tenses, word form and punctuation

3. 2. Too much information

4. - Lifting a paragraph/sentences without rephrasing he information to address the question.

5. 3. Because it is incomplete

6. 4. It is false because it is not true.

Statement True/False Response 1 Response 2

The Annual Briefing for

parents started at 7.30 p.m.

F The Annual Briefing for parents did

not start at 7.30 p.m.

The Annual Briefing for parents started

at 6.00 p.m.

The school is working with

the parents to prepare our

children for PSLE.

T The school is working with the

parents to prepare our children for

PSLE.

The school organised the Annual

Briefing for Parents to discuss ways we

could help our children prepare for

their PSLE.

HOW TO PREPARE OUR CHILDREN?

Before exam:

• There is no quick fix. It is a process.

• Annotate. Train the brain to be engaged during reading.

• Read widely to expose ourselves to the different text-types

and their different purposes.

• E.g.

• - Brochure encourage readers to buy or educate

• readers

• - Passage tell a story or provide information

• Practise (complete the paper within the stipulated time)

During exam:

Take time to read the text.

Annotate (habit should have been built).

Read each question carefully. Think about what the question is asking him/her to do.

Plan how to express the answer before writing it down.

E.g.

Which linking word should I use?

- Reason

- Compare and Contrast

- Sequence

• Be careful and check after they have finished their paper.

• - Read through once to check meaning.

• - Check spelling, form, tenses and punctuation.