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In Singapore, children in Primary 1 are usually spared from having to sit for school exams, but from Primary 2 onwards, they will have to get in the game.
&ldquo;Lower primary students may find it difficult to face school examinations such as the upcoming SA1s,&rdquo; says Sue Lynn Lee, the academic director in charge of early learning and lower primary education at The Learning Lab. &ldquo;For a Primary 2 student, the SA1 is his or her first Semestral Assessment. For a Primary 3 student, he or she will have to tackle Science as a new examinable subject.&rdquo;
Achieving success at lower primary examinations begins with a sound revision strategy, but how can parents help their children to ease into the process? Sue Lynn offers us her expert advice.
Between topical exercises and school exam papers, which is better for SA1 prep?
If your child is weak in a specific topic, then topical exercises will definitely be more beneficial for him or her to work on. Topical practices help to address any gaps in foundational knowledge and develop the skills your child needs, in order to apply his or her knowledge for each topic in the syllabus.
However, if you are looking to give your child a more holistic form of revision, exam papers will be most effective as they offer your child the opportunity to practise applying skills and knowledge by exam components. Working on papers will help him or her to become more familiar with the exam format as well as to engage in time management.
For a lower primary child, I recommend a mix of both topical exercises and exam paper practice:
<ol>
<li>Start with exam paper practices to identify areas of weakness or difficulty in terms of component or topic.</li>
<li>Proceed to use topical or component-specific practices to work on these areas of concern.</li>
<li>Follow up with more mock paper or exam paper practice to ensure your child has the opportunity to apply the revised concepts and components.</li>
</ol>
Apart from practice questions, how else can lower primary kids prepare for their exams?
Review Past Work
Your child should revise work that has been done before. A lot of learning can be captured from revising past mistakes and the corrections that have been made.
Simulate Exam Conditions
Lower primary students should also work on exam papers under exam conditions. This involves doing the exam paper within a set time limit without the option of wandering around. When your child is familiar with exam conditions, it can help him or her to be calmer during the real exam, allowing for clearer thoughts and more effective time management.
Expose Your Child To Tougher Questions
Lower primary students can also practise the skill of managing difficult questions. They should:
<ul>
<li>be mentally prepared to encounter questions that they are uncertain of answering</li>
<li>know how to work on these questions using a strategy like the elimination method to weed out incorrect options</li>
<li>be encouraged to move on to the other questions and not spend too much time dwelling on the difficult question</li>
</ul>
What are the most effective study methods for each subject?
Most revision techniques work across all subjects; the important thing is that the technique must work for your child.
Practice Makes Perfect
As a general rule, constant and effective practice is very important. Reviewing past errors and the corresponding corrections is also very important. In the weeks leading up to the SA1s, our students at The Learning Lab attempt mock papers to learn how to tackle questions with speed and accuracy and apply exam skills that were taught.
Consult Your Child&rsquo;s Teachers
Speaking to each of your child&rsquo;s subject teachers will allow you to find out subject-specific details on the common errors students make, and the corresponding solutions to these pitfalls. Your child&rsquo;s teacher is also the best person to turn to, to help you identify specific areas that your child needs to work on.
If students are feeling reluctant to revise for the exams, how can parents help?
As a parent, you may want to find out the main reasons as to why your child is reluctant to revise. It could be due to:
<ul>
<li>Fatigue</li>
<li>Feeling discouraged</li>
<li>Finding a particular topic/subject unmanageable</li>
<li>Not seeing the importance of the exam</li>
</ul>
There are many other factors, and understanding the reasons behind the lack of motivation can help you better address the issues. For example:
<ul>
<li>If your child is fatigued, you might need to look into reviewing his or her timetable, to strike a good balance between managing homework, participating in extra activities, revision time, and leisure time.</li>
<li>If your child is feeling discouraged, you can try to motivate him or her by giving words of affirmation, using incentives, or incorporating fixed pockets of play time.</li>
</ul>
What good habits should lower primary children cultivate, to help them study independently going forward?
Parents should help kids understand the importance of consistent revision. This can come in the form of constant homework completion and consistent practice. It also instils discipline and aids your child in remembering and retaining what he or she has learnt.
You can also help your child to set achievable goals. These goals have to be realistic and should consist of an end goal, accompanied by smaller milestones that will lead your child to achieve that end goal. Goal-setting exercises can go a long way.
Any final tips?
Emotional well-being is important. Exams can be very stressful for children, especially if they have not been exposed to them. You might want to look out for changes in general behaviour, energy level, mood, or appetite in your child.
Also, children look up to their parents. As a parent, you can be a role model and set realistic examples for your child to emulate. For example, when your child sees you managing challenges in a calm and methodical manner, he or she may be encouraged to know that feeling some stress is normal and that there are healthy and productive ways to manage stress.
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Secrets Of A Top Teacher: Exam Strategies For Lower Primary Kids

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It&rsquo;s exam crunch time, where every minute counts, and the quality of your child&rsquo;s revision could have a make-or-break impact on his or her grades.
&ldquo;At the upper primary level, your child will be required to manage and tackle content from the previous years of primary school,&rdquo; says Phua Kaiying, an academic director at The Learning Lab.
This is why upper primary revision should include a comprehensive review of important concepts covered in the previous years.
The main objectives of revision at this stage are to help your child:
<ul>
<li>read critically and analyse task requirements</li>
<li>develop an understanding of what examiners look out for in the exams</li>
<li>apply the most appropriate techniques to identify and analyse question requirements</li>
</ul>
What&rsquo;s the best way to carry out upper primary revision? Read on as Kaiying answers some common questions by parents.
Between topical exercises and school exam papers, which is better for SA1 prep?
Both topical exercises and sample or school exam papers are equally important&mdash;I believe that your child should place more priority depending on what he or she needs, and the key weaknesses or concerns that he or she has.
I would recommend that both you and your child take some time to consolidate the list of topics that need to be reviewed. Your child may start with topical exercises, before moving to sample or practice papers closer to the examinations.
Benefits Of Topical Exercises
While preparing for any examination, it is essential for your child to have a strong understanding of the topics that will be tested in the exam. Hence, topical revision comes into play as it:
<ul>
<li>helps to strengthen your child&rsquo;s foundation of the topics that are being reviewed</li>
<li>allows for more topic-specific and component-specific practice</li>
</ul>
Benefits Of Practice Papers
About two weeks before the examination, your child may like to attempt full practice papers. These mock papers can help your child to:
<ul>
<li>work on time management</li>
<li>familiarise himself or herself with the exam formats</li>
</ul>
Ensure that your child has time to complete practice papers for each subject before the examination for a better gauge of how he or she is coping with each subject. This can help to build up your child&rsquo;s confidence in scoring for his or her actual paper.
Based on your experience as a local educator, what are some essential revision activities?
In order to do well for any examination, sufficient time and effort must be put in. Here are three ways your child can prepare for the SA1:
a. Make Effective Notes
I have found that students who take time to compile summary notes for each subject, in the form of lists or mind maps, are able to revise the materials in a more systematic and clear manner.
I would also recommend that students write down the key points of what they revise, as the act of writing helps them to better remember what they read.
b. Review Past Corrections
Reviewing past mistakes and ensuring the same mistakes are not made is important as well. It helps your child to understand why he or she has gotten the questions wrong. It may also highlight areas of a subject that your child may not be particularly well-versed in.
c. Engage In Timed Practice
Last but not least, it is important for your child to include timed practice during revision sessions. This means that he or she should complete an entire practice paper within the allocated examination time. Such timed practices are effective in helping your child to gain a better idea of how to use his or her time efficiently during the actual paper.
At The Learning Lab, our teachers have also shared some tips and tricks with students, to help them score well for exams. For instance:
<ul>
<li>English: Students are encouraged to add in dialogue and emotions when working on a composition to make the story more descriptive.</li>
<li>Math: Students may stumble upon a question format that they have not seen before. Instead of giving up on that question, one suggestion for our students is to assign one unit to the unknown element, and try to solve the problem from there.</li>
<li>Science: Our students are taught to differentiate between process-skill words such as &ldquo;state,&rdquo; &ldquo;name,&rdquo; and &ldquo;list&rdquo; to give more accurate answers.</li>
</ul>
How can I get my kids to study independently?
Use the power of your relationship with your child to inspire a passion for learning.
a. Empower Your Child To Learn Independently
Children should be taught how to find out the answers to their questions. As a parent, you can show them how to utilise tools and resources to help them learn better. These tools and resources could include their lesson notes, their past work, a dictionary, speaking with their teacher, and so on.
If your child approaches you with a question, you can encourage your child to come up with solutions, by saying &ldquo;Try to solve it yourself, you can do it.&rdquo; or &ldquo;Think about possible ways to solve this question. If you try and you&rsquo;re still stuck, I will help you&rdquo;.
Empowering children to find possible solutions to the challenges they encounter will help to inculcate the good habit of being responsible for one&rsquo;s learning.
b. Encourage Your Child To Organise His Or Her Time Effectively
Help your child to practise good time management by using planners and timetables.
Any final tips for parents?
Look out for symptoms of stress such as insomnia, a lack of appetite, or a change in energy levels during the exam revision period. Reassure your child and consider sharing your own experiences to let your child know he or she is not alone.
During the examination period, it is important for your child to have time for rest and play. Taking breaks is necessary to reinvigorate your child so that he or she has the stamina to last through the exam season.
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