Primary 6 Past-Paper Vocabulary: How to Study Words from Raffles Girls SA2 2019

This page keeps the historical Raffles Girls Primary SA2 2019 vocabulary bank but gives it a clearer learning job: show learners how to turn vocabulary found in a past paper into durable word knowledge. It is an eduKate study resource, not an official MOE or SEAB prescribed vocabulary list.

The 32-Word Historical Bank

quiver, plains, antelope, crept, might, laced, potent, substance, bout, midday, startled, achievement, behaviour, modesty, heaved, indifferently, insult, subjected, treatment, forefathers, heritage, superiority, tolerated, tradition, equality, distributed, fairly, selfishness, intolerable, trait, frowned, machete.

Behaviour is the standard Singapore/British spelling; the original 2019 list used the US spelling behavior.

Step 1 — Infer Before Looking Up

When a word appears in a passage, do not jump immediately to a dictionary. First ask:

• What is happening in the sentence?
• What word class fits this position?
• Does the surrounding language suggest action, emotion, place, judgement or description?
• What meaning would make the next sentence logical?

For example, if a character crept towards something, the surrounding action suggests slow, quiet movement rather than ordinary walking.

Step 2 — Confirm Word Class and Meaning

Step 3 — Add the Natural Phrase

• a potent substance
• a bout of illness
• startled by a noise
• subjected someone to treatment
• proud of one’s heritage
• distributed among the group

Collocation is part of knowing the word. A definition without a usable phrase leaves the learner only halfway there.

Step 4 — Contrast a Nearby Word

• heritage / tradition: heritage is the wider inheritance; a tradition is a particular custom or practice.
• modesty / indifference: modesty concerns restraint about one’s own importance; indifference is lack of concern.
• startled / frightened: startled is a sudden reaction; frightened refers to fear more broadly.
• tolerated / accepted: tolerating may mean enduring something despite dislike; acceptance can imply fuller agreement.
• fairly / equally: fair treatment and identical treatment are not always the same thing.

Step 5 — Retrieve Without the List

1. A custom passed through generations: ________.
2. A wider cultural or historical inheritance: ________.
3. Without much interest or concern: ________.
4. Shared or handed out among people: ________.
5. A distinguishing quality: ________.

Answers: tradition; heritage; indifferently; distributed; trait.

Step 6 — Transfer to a New Topic

Past-paper learning is weak if the word works only in the old passage. Change the context:

• potent: The scientist handled the potent chemical carefully.
• heritage: The museum protects objects connected with the region’s heritage.
• trait: Patience is a useful trait in a careful researcher.
• distributed: The teacher distributed the materials among the groups.

Step 7 — Revisit After a Delay

Several days later, test the word again without the passage. Ask for meaning, word class, collocation, contrast and a new sentence. Words that fail return to active review.

Past-Paper Vocabulary Record

Idioms from the Historical Lesson

The old resource also carried expressions such as fit as a fiddle, a bolt from the blue, rain on someone’s parade, cut the mustard, make hay while the sun shines and call it a day. These should be studied for conventional meaning and register, not inserted into writing merely to sound colourful.

For the full 32-word glossary and idiom precision notes, see Primary 6 Vocabulary: Raffles Girls SA2 2019. For the wider system, use the eduKate Vocabulary Lists hub.

Historical Raffles Girls Primary Source Media