Your Secondary 1 child is navigating an entirely new academic and social landscape as compared with primary school. Curriculum for this level encompasses foundational skills and exposure to new examinable components. Secondary 1 students will be expected to think and write with greater sophistication across all subjects.
In the first year of secondary school, your child will be exposed to a wide range of reading and writing tasks.
Content and Language Mastery
Students will be introduced to the examinable components at the secondary level and their assessment requirements. These include:
- summary
- literary analysis of unseen poetry and unseen prose
- comprehension
- composition
Students will also be exposed to a new format of editing that requires identifying and correcting common grammatical errors.
- education and the environment
- global issues and social trends
- arts and the humanities
Skills and Techniques
Students will continue to build on their reading and writing skills through our weekly lessons. These include:
- building their writing skills by learning how to express their thoughts and opinions in an organized and fluent manner
- honing their comprehension skills by learning how to identify question types and recognize corresponding question requirements
- improving their summary skills by learning how to locate relevant information within a text and summarise content in a coherent manner
Students are also trained in their time management skills through practice tests in simulated exam conditions.
Programmes across English, Math and Science help Secondary 2 students to build a strong academic foundation in order to help them handle the rigour and complexity of upper secondary school materials. Students are constantly challenged to acquire and retain content knowledge whilst being exposed to lesson materials that pique their interest in each of the three major subjects.
This programme will help students to further hone their language skills in terms of reading and writing, especially in employing sophistication and precision in their writing.
Content and Language Mastery
Students will improve their grammar knowledge and skills by practising grammar drills, editing and sentence reconstruction exercises.
They will also learn how to review and edit their work for grammatical accuracy and clarity of meaning.
- politics and economics
- sport and entertainment
- global issues and social trends
Skills and Techniques
Students will continue to build on essential reading and writing skills through our weekly lessons. These include:
- training literary analysis and critical reading skills by analysing unseen poetry and prose for literary and stylistic devices
- honing summary skills by learning to interpret and rearrange information so that the response meets question requirements
- improving comprehension skills by applying active reading strategies to analyse diction and authorial intent
- building writing skills to include descriptive language and construct cogent responses that meet question requirements
Students are also trained in their time management skills through practice tests in simulated exam conditions.
Smart Excel’s Secondary 3 programmes aim to expand students’ knowledge and encourage them to pursue personal interests in each of the subjects. At this level, your child will be encouraged to think more deeply about the concepts, topics and texts presented to him or her in class. Being able to assess and solve complex problems whether in English, Mathematics or Science is part of honing their critical thinking skills, which will benefit them as they move into upper secondary and pre-tertiary education.
This programme aims to help students to fine-tune their language precision. Lesson materials help students to write logically and cogently whilst topics for texts at this level help them to build general knowledge and critical perspectives.
Content and Language Mastery
Students will be introduced to a new component — the application question — and will be trained in the examination requirements for the component.
Students will improve their grammar knowledge and skills by practising grammar drills, editing and sentence reconstruction exercises. Students will also learn how word order and punctuation shapes meaning in a variety of texts.
Through our comprehension, summary and critical thinking passages, our programme covers a wide range of general knowledge topics and current affairs to help students develop a global perspective and build their content knowledge for use in their essays. These topics include:
- technology and science
- global issues and social trends
- case studies of inspirational figures
Skills and Techniques
Students will continue to build on essential skills for mastering the key examinable components of summary, comprehension and composition. These include:
- honing their summary skills by learning to paraphrase ideas and concepts rather than paraphrasing word for word
- improving comprehension skills through error analysis and answer precision
- building writing skills to show maturity of thought and nuance in writing
Students are also trained in their time management skills through practice tests in simulated exam conditions.
For students on the ‘O’ Level track, this crucial examination year is about systematic revision and refinement of exam skills. If your child is from an IP school, the secondary 4 year is a time to prepare well for curriculum at the pre-tertiary level, which will require your child to dive deep into content mastery.
At Secondary 4, your child will be required to read more complex passages and to write with precision and clarity.
Content and Language Mastery
Students will improve their grammar knowledge and skills by practising grammar drills, editing and
sentence reconstruction exercises. Students will also learn to edit their responses for grammatical accuracy and clarity in writing.
Through our comprehension, summary and critical thinking passages, our programme covers a wide range of general knowledge topics and current affairs to help students develop a global perspective and build their content knowledge for use in their essays. These topics include:
- technology and science
- global issues and social trends
- case studies of inspirational figures
Skills and Tecniques
Students will refine critical reading and writing skills through our weekly lessons. These include:
- building writing skills by learning how to fine-tune language using signposting and hedging
- honing summary writing skills by learning how to paraphrase effectively and organize responses to match question requirements
- enhancing comprehension skills through error analysis and answer precision, and learning to construct responses in a clear and logical manner
- learning how to apply critical reasoning skills to evaluate information, recommendations and lines of reasoning presented in written and visual text
Review and Reinforcement
In the lead up to the examinations, students will be trained in techniques and skills to help them excel in their examinable components. Our Secondary 4 programme aims to help students:
- hone their time management skills through practice tests in simulated exam conditions
- learn to analyze and review their errors so that they can identify and work on their weaknesses
- recap and review question analysis and answering techniques, as well as analyse assessment requirements
- learn how to use the appropriate tone, register and structure to present ideas and opinions clearly and confidently during oral examinations
