ProudGrandma Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 We just started using Singapore Math and my son is in the book 2A. We are doing place value...and I am trying very hard to use the terms and the method used by Singapore because I don't want to confuse him down the road...but he is just not getting this...maybe you can help me. The HIG wants me to ask him these questions: How many 1's are in 10 tens? (100)...he understands that there are 100 ones in 100...but not in 10 tens. How many 1's are in 10 hundreds? (1000)..again he understands that there are 1000 ones in 1000, but not in 10 hundreds. How many 1's are in 30 tens? (300)...he just can't make the jump from 30 tens being 300....or 10 hundreds being 1000, or 32 tens being 320. So, how can I help him??? It's weird to me that they want me to help him figure that out, but then in the workbook, they really don't address that...they just show pictures of bundles and then have the kids count the 100's count the 10's and count the ones...so then that process isn't used anymore...but I know it is important for them to understand...will it be addressed more later and I can leave it for now?? Please help me. Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 We just started using Singapore Math and my son is in the book 2A. We are doing place value...and I am trying very hard to use the terms and the method used by Singapore because I don't want to confuse him down the road...but he is just not getting this...maybe you can help me. The HIG wants me to ask him these questions: How many 1's are in 10 tens? (100)...he understands that there are 100 ones in 100...but not in 10 tens. How many 1's are in 10 hundreds? (1000)..again he understands that there are 1000 ones in 1000, but not in 10 hundreds. How many 1's are in 30 tens? (300)...he just can't make the jump from 30 tens being 300....or 10 hundreds being 1000, or 32 tens being 320. So, how can I help him??? It's weird to me that they want me to help him figure that out, but then in the workbook, they really don't address that...they just show pictures of bundles and then have the kids count the 100's count the 10's and count the ones...so then that process isn't used anymore...but I know it is important for them to understand...will it be addressed more later and I can leave it for now?? Please help me. Kathy 1. Generally, children aren't confused by different explanations. Once there is one that they "get", it helps them understand the others. And it's the concept that you're going for. 2. Use manipulatives. I like base 10 blocks (the interlocking kind) but you can use any kind of manipulative. For instance, you can glue 10 dried beans on a popsicle stick. Once you've got something concrete, most kids will get the concept. If your child doesn't get it right away, stop there for a while and keep using concrete manipulatives over a period of days until he gets it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted February 23, 2010 Author Share Posted February 23, 2010 it's not the idea but the wording of the idea in Singapore that is confusing to him. He gets that there are 10 tens in 100...and he gets that there are 100 ones in 100...but to to make the jump to there being 100 ones in 10 tens is where he can't grasp...so my main question is HOW important is it that he grasp that idea using THOSE terms?? Does that make sense?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 1. Generally, children aren't confused by different explanations. Once there is one that they "get", it helps them understand the others. And it's the concept that you're going for. 2. Use manipulatives. I like base 10 blocks (the interlocking kind) but you can use any kind of manipulative. For instance, you can glue 10 dried beans on a popsicle stick. Once you've got something concrete, most kids will get the concept. If your child doesn't get it right away, stop there for a while and keep using concrete manipulatives over a period of days until he gets it. :iagree: One of the helpful things I learned before becoming a parent was how important it is to teach the child not the system, ie look for a way to explain it that your dc understands. A better way to put this is to modify SM to meet your dc's learning style. I learned it teaching piano. What I have observed over the years is the tendency of some teachers to merely repeat themselves when teaching, but it doesn't help. I freely use which ever terms help my dc understand. I liken it to learning synonyms. One of my dc needed to learn some of her math the MUS way, so she did SM & MUS together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 I like to use Dixie cups and small items like beans to teach this concept. It seems to really help if you make a large piece of paper and write the place values on it. Have them combine cups of 1's into cups of 10's, then show them that since 10 has 2 numbers it needs to take up 2 places on the place value chart. Showing them that 10 1's equals 10, then that 10 10's equals 100 ....etc. Have them combine various quantities and write the numbers on a place value chart. Like the previous poster, I glue 150 beans onto popsicle sticks so they can put them into the cups and not have to recount them over and over. I have used legos and 100's blocks in the past but get tired of pushing them all together and the kids getting distracted in the process. DD also used mini stickers, buttons, rice (tedious), pieces of yarn (tied into bundles), pennies/dimes/dollars, chocolate chips and various other things. She used to love to do these types of things. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usetoschool Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 Do you have enough stuff that you can do the whole explanation twice using straws or something that you can bundle up and show him the creation of 100 and then do it again showing the creation of ten tens and then show him the piles are the same. When you are making the 100, count out the groups of 10 - one ten is 10, two tens are 20, three tens are 30, ten tens are 100. Just keep using the words interchangeable and showing that they are they same thing? I think that part of it is that at 2nd grade a kid can understand the manipulative math concept but their language skills aren't quite there yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narrow Gate Academy Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 We added in an intermediate step for these problems with my oldest. It went something like... How many 1's are in 10 tens? How much is 10 tens? (Blank stare) How much is 10 groups of 10? (Light bulb goes on. "100") So if 10 tens equals 100, then how many 1's are in 10 tens? "100" How many 1's are in 10 hundreds? How much is 10 hundreds? (Blank stare) How much is 10 groups of 100? (Light bulb goes on. "1000") So if 10 hundreds equals 1000, then how many 1's are in 10 hundreds? "1000" After working through a couple like this, she caught to what x tens or x hundreds meant and continued on by herself. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted February 23, 2010 Author Share Posted February 23, 2010 We added in an intermediate step for these problems with my oldest. It went something like... How many 1's are in 10 tens? How much is 10 tens? (Blank stare) How much is 10 groups of 10? (Light bulb goes on. "100") So if 10 tens equals 100, then how many 1's are in 10 tens? "100" How many 1's are in 10 hundreds? How much is 10 hundreds? (Blank stare) How much is 10 groups of 100? (Light bulb goes on. "1000") So if 10 hundreds equals 1000, then how many 1's are in 10 hundreds? "1000" After working through a couple like this, she caught to what x tens or x hundreds meant and continued on by herself. HTH thanks for this....I just couldn't figure out how to put the process intowords and this helped me. THANKS!!! Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne in ABQ Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 You definitely need to use some sort of manipulatives to teach this concept. We have base-10 blocks, and we have used them countless times through the years. http://rainbowresource.com/search.php?sid=1266966363-1018194 You can also get them at teacher stores, if you have one. But, you can easily make your own base-10 system by glueing 10 beans each on popsicle sticks to make "tens". You'll need at least 10 "tens" to show a "hundred". You can glue them together (with two or three empty sticks behind for support) to make a "hundred". Ideally, you'll have at 10 "hundreds", so you can make a "thousand" by stacking up the "hundreds". This is vital: you need your ds to understand that each "place" can only hold 9 items. It sounds like you need to back up a bit and make sure your ds truly and thoroughly understands place value. He needs to understand that each "place" can only hold 9 items, and then it's "full" and you need to bundle the items up and place them in the higher unit value. Draw, on a blank piece of paper, three boxes labeled "Ones", "Tens", and "Hundreds". Tell him that each box can only hold 9. Throw this fact in as often as you can during the course of your lessons. Drill it in! :) Then, get out your manipulatives, and start showing him how things work: The ones place can only hold 9 ones, then they are bundled to make a 'ten'. Show him this by physically lining up (and counting) the 9 "ones", and adding one more. Then say, "Oops! We can't put 10 in the Ones Place. It's full! It can only hold 9!" Show him how you can exchange the 10 ones for 1 "ten", and place it in the tens place. Do this over and over again, adding more "tens" to the Tens Place. At least once (but again the next day, if needed), go through the process of placing ones in the "ones place", lining them up and exchanging them for tens, and starting over with the ones, making more tens, until the 'tens place" is full (with 9 "tens"). Then, do it one last time, this time, setting the tens side by side, adding one more ten, and exclaiming, "Oh no! We can't put 10 tens in the Tens Place! It can only hold 9!" Then exchange it for a "hundred", and place that in the hundreds place. Hopefully, by this time, he will have seen the process enough times to understand the concept of "bundling". You can then extend the concept to teach what a "thousand" looks like. And, he'll have a true appreciation for just how many a thousand really is! It's not just an arbitrary word that means "a lot" (like zillion). It means that 10 ones makes a ten, and ten of those makes a hundred, and ten of *those* makes a thousand. Thats a lot! :) Be patient to make sure he really understands this! It will be vital for every operation he learns from here on out (multiple digit multiplication, long division, decimals, percentages, etc.) Oh, and keep your manipulatives. you will need them over and over again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Do you have enough stuff that you can do the whole explanation twice using straws or something that you can bundle up and show him the creation of 100 and then do it again showing the creation of ten tens and then show him the piles are the same. When you are making the 100, count out the groups of 10 - one ten is 10, two tens are 20, three tens are 30, ten tens are 100. Just keep using the words interchangeable and showing that they are they same thing? I think that part of it is that at 2nd grade a kid can understand the manipulative math concept but their language skills aren't quite there yet. They tend to come in boxes of 100+ You can have him count them out. Then have him make chains of 10s. Ask how many clips are in 10 10s. Then put the chains in a bag and ask how many are in the bag. How many 10s and how many 1s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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