Calculator use in SM 5A?

[Tress]

I recently switched from Singapore Math Standard Edition to a Dutch translation of My Pals Are Here Maths.

This is very new program on the Dutch market (as in..they have only this school year started with it at schools and are still working on the 5th and 6th grade level).

 

My kids are very happy with it, because they can be more independent because they no longer need me to help translate the English to Dutch. :hurray:

 

The teacher guides are very expensive and full of edu-speak :glare:. There doesn't seem to be any mental math sheets :huh: and a lot fewer word problems :crying: .

 

Today I received the text (in beta) of book 5A and the second unit is a whole unit on calculator use! Whaaaaaaaat?

I still own the SM 5A and there is no calculator use there.

 

Is there someone here who works with My Pals Are Here Maths, who could check their 5A book for me? I can't find any samples online.

I would like to know if this is standard practice in Singapore now, or if this is something they inserted for the Dutch market.

[wapiti]

FWIW, there are "lessons" on calculator use in MM5A also, but we just skip those. I'm usually choosing a fraction of the problems in MM anyway, so I try to choose calculator problems as ones to skip in the rest of 5 and 6, when possible. No calculators here.

[Tress]

Thanks for the bump!

 

I could skip the calculator problems, although I don't particularly like to skip things...it puts my dd into a 'let's try to negotiate about everything' mood :lol: .

[Arcadia]

I would like to know if this is standard practice in Singapore now, or if this is something they inserted for the Dutch market.

 

 

It is standard practice now in Singapore.

 

"The introduction of calculators at P5 and P6 reflects a shift to give more focus to processes such as problem solving skills. The rationale for introducing calculators at the upper primary levels is to:

(1) Achieve a better balance between the emphasis on computational skills and problem solving skills in teaching and learning and in assessment

(2) Widen the repertoire of teaching and learning approaches to include investigations and problems in authentic situations

(3) Help students, particularly those with difficulty learning mathematics, develop greater confidence in doing mathematics

 

The introduction of calculators would not take away the importance of mental and manual computations. These skills are still emphasised as students need to have good number sense and estimation skills to check the reasonableness of answers obtained using the calculator." (From Singapore's math syllabus)

[Tress]

Thank you, Arcadia! That is reassuring. I was really afraid that they had altered it specifically for the Dutch market.

 

I still have a bit of a problem with the lack of mental math and word problems, I'm now translating CWP1-2-5 for my kids (like I have nothing else to do) and adding the mental math sheets from the SM HIGs, all the while paying 87euro (114$ !) per Dutch teacher guide (for half a year). And now I will have to convince my dd that she can't use a calculator with everything, because knowing my dd she will do everything to get out of doing mental math... Grrrrr.

[nansk]

Maths papers in Singapore primary schools are divided into three sections:

Section A tests simple arithmetic computations.

Section B tests applications of simple arithmetic computations to one or two step word problems.

Section C tests higher order thinking and problem solving skills via two or three step word problems.

 

Calculators are only allowed from Primary 5 onwards in Section C.

[Tress]

Thank you, Nansk!

 

The tests for grade 1 and 2 have been in that A,B,C format. The tests for grade 4 and 5 are not yet available, but I assume that they will have the same structure. It's good to know that only in section C will calculators be allowed! My dd is such a perfectionist that she doesn't want to do anything mentally, even the most basic sums she tries to do on paper....sigh, so I can totally see her wanting to use the calculator for everything (never mind that it is just as easy to make a mistake with a calculator :D).