Congrats to YD!

YD had been a student with me since Primary 5. He had always been a perfomer, scoring A* in Maths in PSLE. After which, he entered Hwa Chong Institution (IP programme) and had gone through his year 4 exams, scoring A1s in both A and E Maths and Higher distinction in Higher Maths. Kudos to these great results. I'm so proud of you! Cheers!

Suggested Answer for 2015 O'Level Elementary Maths

Suggested Answer for 2015 Additional Maths Paper 2

Suggested Answer for 2015 Additional Maths Paper 1

Finally, the Maths paper are over! The Amaths paper this year places rather high weightage on differentiation and trigonometry and some tricky questions on equations of circles and discriminants. 

Here are the suggested answers for Amaths paper 1.

      

Possible topics to be tested in O'Level 2015 Amaths Paper 2

Here are the possible topics for 2015 O'Level AMaths Paper 2:

1) surds, indices
2) sum & product of roots,
3) quadratic inequality
4) binomial theorem
5) partial fraction
6) coordinate geometry
7) coordinate geomtery (circles)
8) linear law, including graph
9) polynomial: factor theorem, remainder theorem, cubic eqn, sum and difference of cubes, finding unknown, A,B,C)
10) Trigonometries: quadrant qn, addition formula, double angle, special angle)
11) Trigonometries: R-formula
12) tangents & normal
13) differentiation & integration of trigo/log/exponential
14) definite integral

Cheers,
Clarice
Maths Tutor for PSLE & O'level

Possible topics to be tested for 2015 O'Level Elementary Maths Paper 2

Hi all,

Here are the possible topics for tomorrow's 2015 O'level Elementary Maths paper 2:

1. Number patterns( may test indices)
2. Proving of similarity & congruency
3. Properties of circle (may mixed with similarity)
4. Vectors in the form of a and b (may mixed with similarity)
5. Prove quadratic equation and solve (may mixed with mensuration eg trapezium parallelogram n circles, speed)
6. Hire purchase/compound and simple interest
7. Taxation, foreign exchange, utilities
8. Graph drawing, explaining what tangent represent. use intersection to solve eqn, simultaneous eqn
9. Algebra: combine as single fraction, complete the square, simultaneous eqn (may be problem sum format), standard form qn, map scale, inverse and direct proportion
10. Trigo: angle of elevation/ depression, area, 3d diagram eg pyramid, toa cah soh
11. Cordinate geometry: distance formula, y=mx+c, gradient, simultaneous with quadratic curve, find x and y intercepts
12. Mensuration, sphere, pyramid, cone, cylinder, prism, test volume
13. Cumulative freq curve, median, interquartile range, histogram, box-and-whiskers, stem & leaf and dot diagrams
14. Kinematics (speed, distance acceleration)
15. Sketching of graphs (power functions and exponential)

All the best to all students who are taking the examinations tomorrow!

Cheers,
Clarice
Maths tutor for PSLE/O'Level Maths

PSLE Intensive Maths Programme to start soon!

Dear Parents and Students,


The PSLE Intensive Maths Programme (10 lessons) will be starting soon in the June Holidays!

Kindly call in to book your seats and discuss available time slots. The PSLE programmes that I am currently offering are as follows:

1. PSLE Booklet Revision (questions extracted from Year 2007 to 2014)
2. Primary 6 topics: Area and Perimeter (Circle), Speed, Volume & Rate of Flow, higher level of model-drawing, etc)
3. PSLE Fundamental Skills: Ratio, Fraction, Grouping & Models Approach


Customization of topics to be taught is possible as the class size is small.  Vacancies left: 3 pax. Kindly contact Clarice @ 9824 0258  now to discuss more about your child's current progress and how the programmes can be useful to him or her. 

Sample of PSLE Maths Booster Programme Worksheets

Here are the sample worksheets for the PSLE Maths Booster Programme:

 

Hurry now and book your seats! Contact Clarice at 9824 0258 for further information.

2015 PSLE Booster Programme coming up!

Dear parents and students,

New PSLE Maths Booster Programme is coming up! This programme is due to demand by parents to practise more on PSLE Maths booklet questions, especially the more challenging questions.

The programme will extract questions from PSLE Maths questions from Year 2007 to 2014. Worksheets provided will be in the following structures:

A. Example: this is to illustrate the method used to answer the question.

B. PSLE Extracted question: student will use the example shown to help in solving the psle question

C. Practise questions: 2 to 3 similar questions will be provided to further enhance the understanding.

This programme consists of 8 to 10 lessons and will be conducted in the June holidays. Further samples of PSLE booster worksheets will be uploaded soon! For more information, kindly contact Clarice at 9824 0258.

2015 Intensive PSLE Maths Strategies Programme 2 : P6 Topics (10 lessons)

New Programme Added !

June Holiday PSLE Strategies Programme 2: P6 topics

Topics covered:
1. Speed
2. Area & Perimeter of Composite figures
3. Volume and Rate of Flow
4. Higher-level Model Drawing
5. Grouping methods
6. Geometry

Classes will be conducted during the June holidays. Concepts will be taught and intensive practise worksheets will be provided. The program is suitable for P6 students who wished to drill on the above-mentioned topics.

Venue: Tutor's place at 38C Bendemeer Road
Frequency: 2 lessons per week at 2h per lesson (total 10 lessons)
Fees: $120 per 4 lessons

For information on timing or to know more about the program,
kindly contact tutor Clarice at 9824 0258.

So very proud of my student's achievements...

Yesterday, when I had the usual lesson with my student, she enthusiastically showed me this...

My first reaction was "WOW!" Second was still "WOW!" Well done, Jolene! She had received an all-rounder's award from her school for achieving good academic results, good leadership and good CCA records. This award was only given to 1 person per stream per level. I must say she indeed deserved this award!

By the way, she was also awarded vouchers for being top in school for Maths and Geography in Sec One. Great job! So happy for you!

Using PSLE 2015 Maths Strategies approaches to solve PSLE Maths past year qn (2013 & 2014)

Using grouping approach enables students to see what is in 1 group and thus visualize better.

Branching helps student to see part whole relationship and understand fractions multiplication.

Ratio is the easiest way to break down a fraction and very useful in many types of percentage questions.

2015 Intensive PSLE Maths Strategies Programme (12 lessons)

Hi Parents and Students,

The 2015 PSLE Maths Strategies Programme (12 lessons) is now open for enrolling! The tentative date to start will be on 10th May 2015. 

This programme will focus on the following common strategies useful in handling many of the PSLE problem sums.

1. Ratio Approach: Repeated Identity, Unchanged Total, Unchanged Identity, Constant Difference & Making 'after' the same.

2. Fractions Approach: Fractions Multiplication, Branching, Reverse Branching & Equal Fractions.

3. Models Approach: More than/ Less than & Part-whole

4. Grouping Approach: Units & Values

If time allows, we may be able to visit some other important topics such as geometry, algebra and speed.

This programme is suitable for P6 students who are weak in fractions and identifying approaches to apply in problem sums. It is also suitable for P5 students as most of the approaches will be used in P5 problem sums going forward.

The programme consists of explanation of concepts, assisting students to identify which approach to use for each type of question and intensive practise questions to enhance understanding.

So hurry and book your seats now! For more information, please contact Clarice at 9824 0258. 

 

2015 Additional Maths Programme (12 Lessons) on Trigonometry, Differentiation & Integration

Hi Parents and Students,

The 2015 Additional Maths Programme (12 lessons) is now open for enrolling! The tentative date to start will be on 10th May 2015.

The programme will cover the following topics:
1. Trigonometry
    (Topics: Equations, Proving, Quadrants questions and R-formula)
2. Differentiation
    (Topics: the 4 rules of differentiation, application involving tangents & normals, increasing & decreasing functions, rate of change and maxima & minima)
3. Integration
    (Topics: Integration rules, definite integrals, area under curve and kinematics)

The above topics covers a weightage of about 60% of the AMaths paper, thus getting a good grasp of these concepts and having more practice on these topics is definitely a plus point to scoring an A1 for the AMaths paper.

This programme is useful for students who do not have any tutor to guide them and find it hard to cope with the understanding of these 3 topics. It is also suitable for students who wish to gain more practise and exposure to the commonly tested questions, including challenging questions, as the intensive drill will consists of many worksheets to practise on and quizzes to test your knowledge.

Hurry now to book your seats! For more information, kindly contact Clarice at 9824 0258.

Some appreciation from students of the school =)

All the best to the students who are taking O level this year!

Students from Secondary 4

Student from Secondary 3

After 11 weeks of Relief Teaching posting in Secondary School...

It has been a long while since I last updated my blog as I had been so tied up juggling between my relief teaching and tuition lessons. More than 12 hours of work each day on top of my pregnancy, though tiring yet fulfilling. 

It had been a great experience to get the chance to teach A/E Maths in a secondary school, for now I really understand the differences between a MOE teacher and a tuition teacher. It had also provided me a with clearer view that being a tutor is what I want after contemplating to switch to teaching career for many years. 

During this relief period, I had been assigned to one Sec 4 Express A/E Maths class, one Sec 3 NA Maths class and one Sec 1 NT Maths class. This diversity had provided me a great opportunity to meet students from different backgrounds and understand their needs and interests in academics. As a teacher, not only do you need to deliver the knowledge and inspire, you need to manage the students as well, especially towards those weaker ones and those who showed the lack of interest. It's definitely a tougher job as compared to tutoring, as those who walked in to us are those who at least showed some interest in improving their results. Most of the time, teachers may find that they get trapped in the dilemma of whether to spend more time to inspire students who show bare interests in learning or to nurture those who wished to learn more. The beam is already so hard to balance. Not to mention, teachers also need to cater to the speed of teaching for the whole class, as some students learn fast while others slow, and some students have tuition teachers, while others have none. 

Though frustrating and disappointed at times, this experience is on the whole worthwhile. It helps me to understand and appreciate my tutees more now. Now, when my student tells me that he or she did not understand a single thing the teacher is teaching in school, I can now understand his or her situation better and cater better to his or her needs. Making this comment can be due to many factors and not necessary always the teacher's fault. The class environment, was it too noisy? Or was the intelligence level of the class on the whole, very high, which might properly be a reason for the teacher to teach fast, or was the teacher incompetent to deliver or was it due to my student not paying attention in class? All these factors are very important to consider when we teach because the wrong assumptions can lead to the tutees losing confidence in their tutors, just like they did with their school teachers, or worse, lose interest in the subject totally.

Now that the relief teaching is over, I look forward to another new chapter in my tutoring career. It has always been my goal to enhance my teaching skills to further help any students in need. A motto that I always hold: There are no stupid students in this world, but only lazy ones. With the right inspiration, any lazy student can be taught to shine!

Clarice
2nd April 2015