Singapore textbook writing question

[amyrobynne]

Last year, I gave my kids graph paper to answer their Singapore textbook practice questions. I would split the page into boxes and number the boxes for each question. I think I fell into this after starting the year with Saxon - I had a lot of leftover copies of the Saxon 30 question graph paper pages and then continued similarly once those ran out.

 

This year, my oldest son is doing Singapore 4A and is in 4th grade. I'm debating whether to give him a wide ruled notebook or plain white paper or some other option. I don't think I should need to carefully give him boxes to write in anymore. A notebook would be nice because they'd be contained, but I'm not sure if he's ready to fit numbers onto those lines.

 

What do you use?  We do a lot of the textbook orally, but usually not the practice pages.

[mamamindy]

We're not as far as you, so I'm not sure how much the TB changes... but we just use the whiteboard.

[matrips]

We are in 4a and my kids still just write on the page, squeezing the answer in. If they need more room to work, they just grab scrap paper. I have a bunch of old penny notebooks that they use for scrap.

[kiwik]

We always used quad paper for maths at school starting from our second or third year of school.

[boscopup]

My son started doing the Practice sections of the textbook on regular lined paper last year in 3rd grade. The big thing was to teach him how to use lined paper. For example, where to put the problem number, where to start writing your problem/answer (close to the red line!), and even which side of the paper was the front. :tongue_smilie: I sat with him and showed him where to write everything the first time or two, and then I eased off and just reminded him as needed. He now knows how to properly write from a textbook (he also does his R&S English on paper from a textbook).

 

I use wide ruled paper with him, so it's plenty big enough for his writing.

 

I personally prefer engineering paper for math, but he's not ready to write in boxes quite that small. :D

[amyrobynne]

I ended up giving him a notebook (wide-ruled) and he did great! He numbered it clearly and although the first assignment was writing, in words, numbers up to 1,000,000, he was able to write small and neatly enough. 

 

Now I'll have to figure out whether my 2nd grader's ready for that or not. He writes tiny when he wants to. Maybe I'll do it but number the problems in it for awhile.

[NittanyJen]

We use graph paper for math still, and DS12 is in algebra 2. It's just easier to line up decimals, keep track of division, and when you have to sketch or graph, you're all set.

[KeepItGoing]

My sister was having some trouble in math in college, and her professor suggested that she use graph paper. At that time I'd never heard of doing that. It made a big difference for her. In some countries that's the standard practice, so I don't think there's a disadvantage to continuing it as long as the student prefers.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Yeah, here in Switzerland almost everything is done on graph paper.  We have not gotten to that level yet, though.  You could always take a sheet of regular graph paper or lined paper and show your kid how to fold it 4x one way and maybe 8x the other way- that would give you 32 boxes to work in... maybe a good transition method?

[twoxcell]

The textbook lessons we do on a white board but the practice and review sections I have my ds write the answers in a spiral bound regular lined notebook. He uses scratch paper or a small white board if he needs to write out the problem. When he is done we grade and correct. Some times we do the review sections together but he always dose the practice pages like a test.