Techniques/ Tips for Oral Picture Discussion

Dear Parents,

These were the techniques/ tips that were taught in class today:

• Start off the picture discussion with the following sentences - "This picture shows the scene in a..." or "This picture shows a..." or "This is a picture of a..." [Example: This picture shows a playground.]
• Proceed on to describe interesting events in the picture (but in a systematic manner). Describe interesting events in a clockwise/anti-clockwise direction, left to right or front to back. Do not "jump" all over the place. Be systematic. (To minimise confusion, I have told the boys to start off from the top left, then move on to the top right, bottom right and finally bottom left - they have learnt these terms in class already)
• When describing an interesting event in the picture, start off by saying "I see..." [Example: I see two boys on the slide. One is wearing a striped shirt and the other is wearing a school uniform. The boy in the striped shirt is pushing the boy in uniform down the slide.]
• After that, proceed on with "I think..." [Example: I think that this is wrong]
• Finally, end the discussion of this event by stating your feelings "I feel..." [Example: I feel that the boy in striped shirt should be punished for his behaviour.]
• After describing a few interesting events in the picture (about 3 or 4 events), you have to end off your picture discussion properly. If the picture is about playing in the playground, you can say "I feel that the playground is a fun place but everyone should be careful when they play". End your picture discussion according to the theme of the picture.
• Final rule: Always use PRESENT TENSE during oral (but use past tense when writing compositions). Over the years, many boys often get confused between which tenses to use for oral and composition, so right now we must start on the right track. Drill this into our kids right from the beginning: Present tense for oral and past tense for compositions.

Simplified version

• Start with a general statement of what the picture is about
• Describe what you SEE
• Elaborate what you see by stating what you THINK is happening
• Tell the examiner how you FEEL about it

Even more simplified version

• Describe --> State what you think is happening ---> Tell me how you feel about it (your opinion)
• Being able to state your opinions about the events will help to score more marks as it shows that a child is analysing the picture (analytical thinking) instead of merely describing.

Hopefully these tips are useful to you. Do make use of the 2 practice pictures that I have given out today as well as pictures which you can find in the assessment books. Get your child to familiarise themselves with these steps so that they will not get tongue-tied on the day that they are tested. I will be revising with them again. Hopefully the practices that the boys are receiving in school and at home will help them to do well in their first oral examination. :)

Please feel free to call me should you need to clarify any doubts in this area.

~Miss Joyce Tan~