Tiong Bahru Housing Estate Change and Continuity

Transcription

1 Pupil Activity Booklet Tiong Bahru Housing Estate Change and Continuity Primary 3 Social Studies Mohamad Zaidi Bin Hasbollah, Matthew Chua Cheng Qian, Mark Kim Xian Jin and Bryan Fok Jun-Feng (Dip/Ed July Intake, Class of 2014) Name: Class: Date: (Note: This fieldwork package has been adapted with permission from its instructional designers. Graphics, photographs and/or maps in the original fieldwork package which are copyrighted have been removed.) 1

2 Inquiry Questions What kinds of change and continuity have occurred to the housing in Tiong Bahru over time and why? What are the residents views about living in the Tiong Bahru housing estate? Fieldwork Rules Listen attentively and follow your teacher s instructions at all times. Do not wander on your own. Work as a team. Follow traffic rules when crossing the roads. Watch out for one another. Inform your teacher if you are unwell or you need to use the washroom. 2

3 Station 1: Present Housing Guiding Questions What type of housing can be found at the station site? Why is such housing built? What are the facilities in the housing estate? Why are the facilities provided? Location: Tiong Bahru Plaza A Where is the Tiong Bahru Housing Estate Located? 1) Refer to the map provided by your teacher (taken from the Street Directory) which shows all the housing estates in Singapore. The Tiong Bahru housing estate is found within the Central Area*. Which part of Singapore is the Central Area located? (Note: *Use the north arrow at the top right hand corner of the map to help you. The Central Area of Singapore is made up of areas such as Outram, River Valley, Rochore, the Singapore River and Tiong Bahru, just to list a few. It contains the Central Business District (CBD) and is one of the busiest and most densely-packed districts in Singapore.) The Central Area, where the housing estate of Tiong Bahru is located, can be found in the northern, southern, western or eastern part of Singapore. (Please circle the correct answer.) B The Meaning of Tiong Bahru 1) Make a guess of what Tiong Bahru used to be. My guess is that Tiong Bahru used to be a If you have no idea, let s get some clues by studying its name. Tiong in Hokkien means Bahru in Malay means Therefore, Tiong Bahru means 3

4 Ask one or two questions of your own about housing in Tiong Bahru and write them in the space below (3 minutes). Question 1: Question 2: Location: Block 4B, Boon Tiong Road C Present Housing 1) The flats in front of you (Block 4B, Boon Tiong Road) are built by the Housing and Development Board (HDB). HDB was set up in the 1960 by the present government to build public housing for its people. Walk around, observe the flats and the surroundings. Choose a spot and sketch the housing scene before you in the box provided below. When you sketch, focus on the housing design and the available facilities (things that are built to serve certain purposes) in the area. Label the things in your drawing. How would you describe the flats and the living conditions? Use adjectives to describe them. Flats: and Living Conditions: and 4

5 2) Recall the other available facilities in the housing estate which you saw on your way to this place (Block 4B). List them in the space below. 3) Why do you think the HDB flats and the estate are designed in this way? 5

6 Guiding Questions Station 2: Present and Past Housing What type of housing can presently be found at the site? Why is such housing built? What was housing like during the British colonial period? What were the impacts of fire on people? How did the victims lives changed after they moved into the HDB housing? Location: Blocks 5 and 6, Jalan Bukit Ho Swee A) Present Housing 1) Walk around, observe the flats and the surrounding. Compare these flats and the surroundings with those you saw at Station 1 at Boon Tiong Road. When you compare, you should state both the similarities and the differences. Jalan Bukit Ho Swee Boon Tiong Road Flats Surroundings 2) Why are there differences in the housing designs? 6

7 B) Past Housing Before the HDB flats were built in the 60s, the Tiong Bahru area was made up of several kampongs (meaning villages in Malay, of which the Bukit Ho Swee Kampong was one such kampong, see the map provided by your teacher). These kampongs existed alongside some Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) housing during the British rule of Singapore. The SIT was set up in the 1920s by the British to tackle the overcrowding and squatter conditions at that time. You will learn more about SIT housing at Station 3. (Note: The map is taken from Loh, K. S. (2013). Squatters into citizens: The 1961 Bukit Ho Swee Fire and the making of modern Singapore. Singapore: NUS Press.) 1 Study the photographs (provided by your teacher) showing the past housing and living conditions in Tiong Bahru. (Note: The source for photographs is: Contrast the photographs of the old housing with the HDB housing you see before you and record your observations in the table below. Past Housing Present Housing Differences Housing Design and Space - Exterior - Interior Surrounding Facilities 7

8 C) The 1961 Bukit Ho Swee Fire 1) In your group, read the article provided by your teacher (taken from It is about the housing conditions before the 1961 Bukit Ho Swee Fire, the impact of the fire on the residents and the emergency housing that was built to house the fire victims (see below). Emergency Flats Refer to the emergency flats (see source: The emergency flats were designed to be useful and simple, to maximise the use of space and to keep costs low. They were also easy to construct as homes were needed to be completed quickly to re-house the population still living in unhygienic environment. These early flats were the 1 or 2-room flats. These flats, with simple designs and communal corridors, were a vast improvement over the slums and squatter housing. Each flat was small (about 210 square feet) and came with its own bathroom and kitchen. There was also electricity. This was a major step up from the communal toilets and shared facilities for washing and cooking in the squatter housing, which tended to give rise to many quarrels among neighbours. People had to get used to living in the high-rise and high-density flats. After reading, record your findings in the table below Living Conditions Before the Fire Impact of Fire on People Living Conditions in Emergency Flats 8

9 2) Act out the living conditions before and after the fire using freeze frame. Reflection Time! Checklist Put a tick in the right box if you have achieved the learning objective in the left box. Learning Objectives Tick 1 I am able to locate the Tiong Bahru housing estate on maps. 2 I am able to explain the meaning of Tiong Bahru. 3 I am able to sketch and label my drawing. 4 I am able to contrast the past and present housing and living conditions in Tiong Bahru using observation and photographs. 5 I am able to explain the factors that contribute to the changes in Tiong Bahru housing. 6 I am able to feel for the fire victims in the Bukit Ho Swee Fire. 9

10 Station 3: The Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) Housing Guiding Questions Which aspect/s of the Tiong Bahru public housing remain/s the same? Why is SIT housing under conservation (to keep something from being damaged or destroyed)? Location: Post-war SIT housing (Block 23 and others) along Lim Liak Road A) SIT Housing The SIT flats in Tiong Bahru were built before (between 1936 and 1940) and after the World War 2 (between 1948 and 1954). Most of the SIT flats in the housing estate have been conserved by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) since Do you know why? Let s find out. 1) Observe the housing design of the post-war SIT flats and the surroundings. Based on your observation, draw the following housing features in the space provided below. Number of Storeys Shape of Building (What does it remind you of?) Roof/Materials Walkway/Staircase Windows Other Observed Features (Note: The pre-war SIT housing (for example, Blocks 81 and 82) is located along Tiong Poh Road in the Tiong Bahru housing estate (see location map provided). For those who are interested, you may wish to visit them with your parents the next time. ) 10

11 2) Based on your observations and sketches of the SIT flats, why do you think this type of housing still exists in Tiong Bahru today? Why does HDB not build housing like the SIT housing? Reflection Time! Checklist Put a tick in the right box if you have achieved the learning objective in the left box. Learning Objectives Tick 1 I am able to practise observation skills. 2 I am able to sketch my drawing. 3 I am able to explain why there is continuity in the Tiong Bahru housing. 11

12 Station 4: Life in Tiong Bahru Guiding Question What are the residents views about living in Tiong Bahru? Location: Tiong Bahru Market and Food Centre near Seng Poh Road Area A Asking Questions Each group will think of five questions to ask one resident on the topic of Living in the Tiong Bahru Housing Estate. Your questions should focus on the following aspects of the topic: Reasons for choosing Tiong Bahru as a place for living Type of public housing which the resident lives Advantages and disadvantages of living in such type of housing Changes in the living environment of Tiong Bahru over time Impact of changes on the residents Use the 5W1H types of questions to help you craft your interview questions. Write your questions in the table below. B Seeking Answers Interview a resident using your questions and record his/her answers in the table below. Remember to greet the resident and thank him/her after the interview. You will share your group s findings with the class. No Question Resident s Answers

13 No Question Resident s Answers Other Questions (Note: You may wish to ask questions to find out about the other aspects of living. Remember to record these questions and the responses in the table.) C Drawing Conclusion Based on your classmates sharing of their findings, what can you say about the general views of the residents living in Tiong Bahru? 13

14 Reflection Time! Checklist Put a tick in the right box if you have achieved the learning objective which is in the left box. Learning Objectives Tick 1 I am able to craft questions for an interview. 2 I am able to practise my interviewing skill. 3 I am able to draw a conclusion based on the interview data collected. Conclusion We have come to the end of this fieldwork. Write down one main takeaway for each of the following in the box below. Change and Continuity of Housing in Tiong Bahru Inquiry in the Field (Skills Learnt/Practised) Teamwork THE END 14

15 References Fernandez, W. (2011). Our homes. Singapore: Housing and Development Board. Loh, K. S. (2013). Squatters into citizens: The 1961 Bukit Ho Swee fire and the making of modern Singapore. Singapore: NUS Press. National Heritage Board (2013). Tiong Bahru heritage trail brochure. Singapore: National Heritage Board. 15