Singapore Math question

[natashal]

Hi everyone,

 

My daughter (7 years old) has a natural aptitude for Math, she gets concepts more quickly than I do. We had been doing standard Math workbooks and I just recently got the Singapore Math 1B. We just started it and I feel like it's actually more confusing to her than what we were doing before. The first 30 pages were review, but when they jumped to adding things like 36+8 she was much more confused about how to do it in her head like they do in that book, than when we wrote it out and I had her carry the 1, etc. I'm not sure if I should listen to that and go back to the old Math workbooks, or if we should stick it out and that she will eventually grasp it. I don't want her to stop liking Math. It has only been 1 day, I should mention! I just wondered if anyone else had this experience.  Thanks!!

[a27mom]

If you are on the first day she really shouldn't be doing the problems in her "head". Singapore is supposed to be taught using concrete examples(manipulatives) then pictorial/discussion examples (textbook), then doing the workbook pages. We are at a similar place in the book. Did you have her do the problems with manipulatives? My daughter doesn't do them in her head. she does it with manipulatives, usually cuisenaire rods. (Occasionally chocolate chips :) ) even if you don't do it with manipulatives, the problems in our book and workbook at that level have pictures for regrouping, so she shouldn't have to do it in her head.

 

I think Singapore is a great program and regrouping is a very important strategy to learn. Try spreading it out a little more and spending more time with concrete examples :) hope this helps

[ErinE]

I recommend the c-rods. I also recommend the home instructor's guide. Singapore emphasizes mental math strategies like taking parts of numbers to get to the nearest 10. In your example of 36+8, the child would "break apart" the 8 to get to the nearest 10.

 

36 + 8

= 36 + (4+4)

= 40 + 4

= 44

 

If I remember correctly, SM teaches the nearest 10 concept before grouping strategies ("carrying the 1").

[boscopup]

The standard algorithm (carrying the 1) is not taught in the grade 1 books at all, so I would not do that.

 

Check out the mental math section of Education Unboxed. I assume you skipped 1A? Unit 6 in there taught how to do the mental math across 10s. 1B just extends that to bigger numbers. The EU videos should help you out.

 

http://educationunboxed.com/mental_math.html

 

Definitely work the problems WITH manipulatives first! Even my oldest who never needed manipulatives for anything else in math needed them for that concept. It took him a few days to get it. It took my middle son one day with manipulatives (but he's more right-brained/visual). It would probably be normal for a kid to take a week or two or three (I'm guessing here :tongue_smilie:).

[sunnyday]

A core concept of Singapore is to do *everything* with manipulatives first. Then do problems that have pictures alongside them. Only then do you go to just plain numbers. Even if the initial step seems silly and easy, it's building a foundation for later work. Seconding (thirding?) the suggestion to get the Home Instructor's Guide. I also skipped 1A, and it was the right choice for us, but the HIG has a lot of "in 1A, your student learned to see this problem like this. If you didn't practice that to mastery, do it now. Here is how we are expanding on the concept."

[lmrich]

Please use manipulatives and then draw pictures of the manipulatives. I am teaching a 6th grade math class. Only the singapore math kids can really picture math in their heads. It is not enough to do it in their head; they must be able to picture the concept as well.

[redsquirrel]

Did you just get the 1b workbook and not the text and/or the HIGs? There is so much more to Singapore than the workbooks. Singapore has you move from concrete to pictoral to abstract. So, you are presenting her with hands on objects to move and regroup. Things like c-rods, and base 10 blocks are very helpful.  I found that when it comes to place value (a very important topic) a place value mat helps.

 

Here are some printable SM helpers

 

http://icsdk5math.wikispaces.com/Singapore+Math+Templates

 

and yes, the education unboxed videos are fantastic.

 

And she should be able to demonstrate with objects what she is doing before she is adding in her head. If you skipped book 1a then you haven't done number bonds or addition within 10 and 20 using the SM method. So, 1b is going to have some vocabulary etc that will need to be explained.

[natashal]

Thank you so much for all of this!! So sorry it took me so long to respond to this, I didn't have my notifications on and I forgot I had posted here. This is all great and I think I was just rushing it and didn't read the HIG thoroughly enough. I'm going to get 1A and start at the beginning. Is there a forum here where people re-sell their books?