Roxy Roller Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 We have not used Singapore Math, but I am interested in adding some word problems to my DC's math. Would I start out with Challenging Word Problems, or would I use the Fan-Math Process Skills in Problem Solving series from Singapore to introduce my DC to the method that Singapore uses? Would I use them a year behind? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fractalgal Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 (edited) I have read through both at level 4, and the Process Skills in Problem Solving (PSPS) will show you how to model and solve many of the problem types that come up in Singapore Math at that level by guiding you through each type in a step-by-step way. A little bit of the discovery method in the CWP 4 will be lost if you use PSPS4 first, but a person just starting out with Singapore word problems may find that PSPS4 gives more direction to get started with. If you are not familiar with the way Singapore word problems work, it may be useful to go through PSPS4 before starting CWP4. Good luck. :) Edited October 22, 2012 by fractalgal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 If the problems in CWP are too challenging, you can also try the Kumon word problems series. I find those tend to be more straightforward, so my kids often work out of that book first then attempt CWP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Roller Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 I have read through both at level 4, and the Process Skills in Problem Solving (PSPS) will show you how to model and solve many of the problem types that come up in Singapore Math at that level by guiding you through each type in a step-by-step way. A little bit of the discovery method in the CWP 4 will be lost if you use PSPS4 first, but a person just starting out with Singapore word problems may find that PSPS4 gives more direction to get started with. If you are not familiar with the way Singapore word problems work, it may be useful to go through PSPS4 before starting CWP4. Good luck. :) Thank you, Fractalgal. I think I may try to view both of these to decide which would work best. Would you recommend doing the books a year behind, since we are not following the Singapore method? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Roller Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 If the problems in CWP are too challenging, you can also try the Kumon word problems series. I find those tend to be more straightforward, so my kids often work out of that book first then attempt CWP. Thank you, Crimson Wife. I will look at the Kumon books as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AEC Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Thank you, Fractalgal. I think I may try to view both of these to decide which would work best. Would you recommend doing the books a year behind, since we are not following the Singapore method? We do them 1/2 year behind, even though we ARE doing SM. I want to ensure the focus in the word problems is on problem setup and math application, not on mechanics (arithmetic) and this helps with that. One other thing I've done, and it seems to help, is to set my kids up so they do a little bit of CWP every day. There's never a day were we just do tons and tons of word problems, nor do we have periods where there aren't any. Daily math looks like: -> warmup w/ arithmetic...1 example each of multi-digit (w/ decimals if they've covered that) addition, subtraction, multiplication, division. It's just 1 of each, but it's every single day. Also includes 1 each addition and mult of fractions. Occasionally, I substitute MathSprints for this. -> current math work...just moving through SM -> 2ish pages in CWP, 1/2 to 1 year behind. Not a lot of word problems, just 2-4 of them, but some everyday. The regular sprinkling in of word problems (and arithmetic) seems to really work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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