Lower primary students may find it difficult to face school examinations such as the upcoming SA1s. This is because:
• for a Primary 2 student, the SA1 is his or her first Semestral Assessment
• if your child is in Primary 3, he or she will have to tackle Science as a new examinable subject
How do you, as a parent, then ensure that your child has adequate academic support leading up to the examinations? It begins with smart revision.
"Revision is an important process during which your child should not only consolidate the knowledge he or she has learnt the past term but also look through his or her previous papers to identify past mistakes — it offers young learners an opportunity to gain confidence for the exams."
— Ms Sue Lynn Lee, Academic Director for the Lower Primary Programmes at TLL, United Square
To better prepare your child for the upcoming SA1s, his or her revision should cover:
• a review of topical knowledge
• a review of exam skills
1. A Review Of Topical Knowledge
Encourage your child to look through his or her past work. This is a good way for him or her to review topics and content that are going to be tested for the upcoming exam.
Additionally, do not forget to go through your child's corrections with him or her. Analysing past errors and identifying the root cause(s) are important — it helps your child to reflect on areas of weakness and refine knowledge of examinable topics or chapters.
Some of the common pitfalls lower primary students may encounter at the SA1s include:
| Common Pitfall | The Learning Lab Top Tip |
| English: Composition Writing Plot is not logical |
Plan your plot on a story curve and constantly think about whether it would occur in real life. |
| Math: Short-answer Questions Transfer error — filling in wrong values from the question |
Write the value of each variable in the question. Show number sentence and check that you have transferred the correct number before computing. |
| Science: Free Response Questions Incomplete answer |
Revise past work to familiarise yourself with the phrasing or points needed for a complete answer |
It is important that your child has access to the right materials to engage in effective and targeted revision that allows him or her to consolidate the knowledge learnt thus far.
Download our series of SA1 revision guides which highlight a comprehensive list of subject-specific mistakes that lower primary students tend to make when tackling exam questions and detail how your child can avoid these common pitfalls.
2. A Review Of Exam Skills
Time management is one of the key examination skills your child needs to do well in the lower primary SA1s. Ensure that your child attempts his or her practice papers under exam conditions. When your child is familiar with the exam settings, it helps him or her to be calmer during the real exam, allowing for clearer thoughts and better time management. Practising different types of questions and components can also help to pinpoint key areas which require more help and clarification.
Related article: 8 Study Tips Every Student Needs To Know
Feel free to share these SA1 preparation tips and your own experience with fellow parents in the comments section below.
If you have any enquiries about our programmes, please email us at enquiry@thelearninglab.com.sg or call us at 6733 8711 and we will be happy to assist you.