I was just watching Fox News just now and a “News you may find interesting” bit was just shown and talked about how certain schools in the US have been adopting the “Singapore Math” method, and the classes have experienced a 25% jump since introduction.
I am from Singapore, but never heard of this Singapore Math Method. Never knew it had a name or it is now branded ! What I know is to just follow the school system, whatever the method was, as there was no alternative.
And as zlyne correctly pointed out, I went ,“Singapore Math?!! What’s that?” :blink:
But in general I agree that Asian standard of Math teaching has been very good. Take Abacus training, speed mathematics etc. My parents used to memorise the multiplication tables from x1 to x16 and even know, if u wake them from their sleep and ask them what is 16x16, they’ll say it correctly!!
I read the URL from Wiki. The bar system of teaching algebra as a pre-algebra module is difficult but a good beginning for kids who are more visual. I couldn’t quite grasp it when i was studying it (because i was used to trial and error mthds) but it worked well for some kids.
My aunt who is in her 50s now used to tell me that her dad forced she and her siblings to memorise up to the 12 multiplication table before starting Primary 1 (7 year-old)! Rather amusing but amazing!
But, I think kids now have started to know their multiplication table earlier than I did.
I couldn’t really get the bar-model method too. I used lots of algebra in Primary 6 which is more useful for secondary schools, isn’t it? However, I guessed there’s more problem-solving in lower primary now and since they have not started algebra, the bar-model system is the way out. Or is there any other methods ?
Ya… our kids are starting to learn everything earlier Zlyne!! lol
Just on this topic, I think the Little Math may offer some good ways for us to teach math concepts to our kids. In fact we could try to use abacus for early math teaching.
I’m planning on getting one in wood but i don’t know where to look for one. Do u have any Idea Zlyne?
A school I used to work at adopted the singapore math program. Like any other math program it is not a answer to all. Some of the brightest students who attended this school for over 5 years using this program were not able to qualify for AP classes when they went to the public school for high school. (The school was a private school that went just to 8th grade.) Actually, not one placed in the advanced classes! It has some good things but the students found huge holes in their education. As a teachert what we find is that there is not one program that is complete. Good teachers supplement their curriculum constantly! We try to learn as much as we can to benefit our students!
If you are looking for a site that sells good abacuses for young children: www.abacus.com. It is the site for the Right Start Math Program which is abacus based.
Thanks for the referral, Linzy! The link seemed to point to a different site, so after some quick searching, it seems like you were probably referring to this one: http://www.alabacus.com/
I had a look at the Right Start Program and their abacus. It looks and works different from the Chinese abacus that I’m used to. Here’s a link for the Chinese abacus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abacus
Abacus is taught in some Singapore primary schools. The school which my boy is starting primary 1 next Jan used to do abacus for all the lower primary students…But I am not sure if they still doing it in the past 2-3 yrs…I will find out and let you know when he starts P1! :biggrin:
I wanted to do abacus for my boy who loves maths…We did Shichida and Glenn Doman maths since he is 2. He has since developed a love for the subject which I hated! :wub: However, I had also received a number of negative comments abt abacus. Kids who are good at abacus sure can count very fast, however in school, they never want to follow the method of doing workings! That’s becos they already have the answer by the time they finish reading the question! Sadly, in schools, they require students to show workings! Actually my boy already has such issue with dot cards since he can count faster in his head. I did not want to complicate the issue by sending him for abacus. Now I had to sit down with him to show working as he practices his maths…He hates it and so do I cos it slows him down…But I do see the positive side of workings which let him understand that it allows him to self check for mistakes and also to slowly breakdown a tough problem which he will face later as he moves to higher grade level.
As I slowly understand the “singapore method” of teaching maths, I do see the reasons why educators from Us are adopting it… My boy’s tutor has an American middle schooler who seems to have improve alot in maths which she never did after she adopted the Singapore way of learning! However, working in an international school with American curriculum also allows me to make use of their method to teach my pre-schooler in concept building for early maths. Correct me if I am wrong, but I feel that their method seems to work more on concept building for the younger ones for the early primary years…
Btw, Chispa, I can’t agreed more than NO 1 method is complete or at least works for all… That’s why I am always looking out for other resources to supplement my boy’s learning experience. I think learning process has to be fun in order to enjoy it more yah!
I do see how the requirement to show detail steps can be a problem for kids who do mental arithmetics. One way to help them is for them to tutor others. When tutoring others they will learn to break down problems and they are forced to clearly articulate the reasons so others can understand.
Singapore schools have a special program for the gifted kids, maybe they won’t be so rigid in that program. I don’t think we should limit the kids because the traditional school system is rigid.
I would have to agree with chispa on finding supplemental math programs that assist with each student’s learning skills. One website that I found really helped my students learn new math concepts is Beestar. My students started to understand the concepts which really helped when there are questions that tested their understanding. Most of my students are active learners and Beestar was capable of teaching them the skills they needed. Their overall homework and test scores have increased and I am very glad that Beestar is able to give them that extra understanding that my students need. I would say that whether you use Beestar, Singapore Math, or even Kumon etc., it really depends on the students. However, Beestar has been consistent in keeping my students entertained in math and learning new skills.
We are doing Singapore Math at home with my 5 y.o.
That is something I would strongly advice to the parents who don’t know how to teach their children Maths (just like me:))
We have already finnished the EarlyBirds books A and B, which are for pre-schoolers and are now doing Standart Maths for grade 1.
Of course, it would be great to have a school using this method, but unfortunately we don’t have one in our city. So the books are working well for us.
My son loves the activities suggested there and the manipulatives that come with the books.
you can do a search on youtube and see how the lessons are conducted. It’s lots of fun for both children and teachers:)
We have been using it for a while with my youngest who turned 5 in October. He is finishing 2B after this level we will either have him do level three or transition him over to Saxon 4/5 (which is the program his older brother does, and we plan to use through calculus). It has been very helpful in developing mental math skills and number sense, which is something I feel like we could have done better with for his older brother.
Linzy, do you use the Home Instructors Guide with Singaporean Math? Which books from the program do you use?
As I understand it, there are a bunch of small books that make up each level of the program.
Textbook A and B
workbook A and B
Home Instructor’s Guide A and B
Intensive Practice A and B
Extra Practice A and B
Challenging Word Problems (No A and B books)
Assessment books A and B.
Which ones do you use with your LO? I doubt that many EL parents would do assessments with their LOs just because of the nature of the student but still, inquiring minds want to know and I figure it’ll be easier for you to NOT forget to mention something if I put it all up there.
I know that some people say that you NEED the HIG to do Singapores PM correctly, unless you have had “Asian Math” yourself, yet I think you’ve mentioned a couple of times that your younger son has a number sense from using PM that your older son doesn’t have, right?
For early bird we just did the workbooks. For level A we did the textbook and workbooks. The text books add quite a few extra problems with pictures which was helpful in explaining new concepts. In level 2 we added the HIG. It tells you what text pages to do with which workbook pages, it offers ways to explain new concepts with manipulatives, it suggests games to help with fact memorization and mental math strategies. It also and has mental math worksheets to do most days. I find it helpful, is it “necessary”? No you could certainly just use the other 2 books, but I do like the mental math strategies and mental math worksheets. My son does have great number sense and so we haven’t needed the extra practice book. Often he will choose to do 2 lessons a day. At this point we are just trying to decide if he should move on to Saxon after 2b or do level 3. He completely understands addition, subtraction multiplication and division. He has the mult/div facts memorized through the 6’s and uses skip counting to calculate the rest. So, we may just put him through to so on do as to not hold him back, although I do like the mental math skills he’s gained in Singapore.
) and came across a review and comparison at 