Struggling to teach Singapore

[Meg429]

For my DD we used Singapore Essentials Kindergarten A and B, and we both did relatively fine with the concepts taught.  She struggled a little bit with the addition/subtraction but I knew we would hit those topics many times again in the future.

 

Now we have just started Singapore 1A.  We are in our third week working on number bonds.  I am having such a hard time teaching this in a way that she understands.  She just doesn't seem to 'get' it, and honestly I am struggling with teaching it.  At this point, she is just guessing and it's frustrating for both of us.  I am not mathy, and it doesn't seem to her her strong suit (she is very artsy and loves to read) but I don't want to label her, she's still so young - it may just be the style of teaching.

 

I keep looking at different programs and wondering if I should switch to something more scripted or laid out for ME so I can help her more (Saxon?  MIF?).  Or just stay here with Singapore and spend as much time as it takes memorizing before we move on?  We're new at this - any advice is appreciated!

 

Megan

[Crimson Wife]

Are you using Standards or U.S. edition? Do you have the HIG?

 

Right Start is similar to Singapore but totally scripted if you really are having difficulty teaching Singapore.

[Courtney_Ostaff]

The HIG is excellent, I think. We stopped at Chapter 2, because my daughter doesn't have her addition facts memorized, and I believe the HIG made it clear that she needed to know those before we moved on. So, we're just stopping and working on those. I made up a Montessori addition strip table for her to practice with, as well as a math facts testing app, and a couple of Montessori addition apps. I also made some Cuisenaire type rods out of snap blocks (but ordered some actual Cuisenaire rods).  I'm determined to get better at teaching her math, so I also bought Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics, and subscribed to a number of math teaching blogs.

 

This is tough stuff. I have been discouraged too, and picked up Dehaene's Number Sense. I found this quote revealing:

 

Why is it so difficult for us to store them? After all, hundreds of other arbitrary facts crowd our memory. ... At the very age when children labor over arithmetic, they effortlessly acquire a dozen new words daily. ... The answer lies in the particular structure of addition and multiplication tables. Arithmetic facts are not arbitrary and independent of each other. On the contrary, they are closely intertwined and teeming with false irregularities, misleading rhymes, and confusing puns. What would happen if you had to memorize an address book that looked like this:

• Charlie David lives on George Avenue.
• Charlie George lives on Albert Zoe Avenue.
• George Ernie lives on Albert Bruno Avenue.

And a second one for professional addresses like this:

• Charlie David works on Albert Bruno Avenue.
• Charlie George works on Bruno Albert Avenue.
• George Ernie works on Charlie Ernie Avenue.

Learning these twisted lists would certainly be a nightmare. Yet they are nothing but addition and multiplication tables in disguise. They were composed by replacing each of the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 ... by a surname (Zoe, Albert, Bruno, Charlie, David ... ). Home address was substituted for addition, and professional address for multiplication. The six above addresses are thus equivalent to the additions 3+4=7, 3+7=10, and 7+5=12 and to the multiplications 3x4=12, 3x7=21, and 7x5=35. Seen from this unusual angle, arithmetic tables regain for our adult eyes the intrinsic difficulties that they pose for children who first discover them. No wonder we have trouble memorizing them: The most amazing thing may well be that we do eventually manage to memorize most of them!

 

[Flowergirl159]

Definitely purchase Cuisenaire rods. They will help in most areas of math all through primary school. Have a look at educationunboxed.com

 She has a heap of videos on how to teach using Cuisenaire rods. The videos are meant for the parent, but my girls love watching them too :)

[TheAttachedMama]

You are using this with a 5 year old?   If so, keep in mind that she is on the young side for Singapore 1A.  You know your child best....but I would be willing to bet that if you did NOTHING but review for awhile.....you could come back to number bonds in a few months and she would just get it.   This has happened time and time again with my own children.  Sometimes the problem isn't that you aren't explaining things correctly, it has to do more with giving the child time to mature. 

 

Also, just to warn you:  Singapore 1A/1B starts out very simple---but it quickly ramps up and becomes a pretty advanced math program for such a little one.  You will move on to concepts like multiplication and division in just a few short months.  So even if you get past these number bonds, things don't get easier.  (This is about as easy as it Singapore level 1 math gets.) 

 

If you decide you want to do something more than just review, I would look into RightStart. 

I really, really, really like RightStart math for this age group.  It is amazing.  We use Singapore math right now....but I like RightStart A-B even better than Singapore.  In fact, I would still probably be using Right Start except that it is very, very teacher intensive.   And I was unable to keep up with the lessons after the birth of my third baby.   So I had to switch to Singpaore for that reason. 

 

With RightStart, you can expect to spend 20-30 minutes of one-on-one instructional time in math every day.  RightStart has very few worksheets...so it is NOT a 'teach a 5 minute lesson and then do a workbook page' program.  Instead, you can expect to be giving your child your complete attention for about 20-30 minutes per day.  You will do lots of hands-on demonstrations with math, play games, etc. etc.   BUT RightStart does a great job of teaching children how to think about math.    I am a math person....and IMHO there is no better early math program than RightStart level B.

 

If I were you, I would take a look at either Level A or Level B of Right Start.  (She may be ready for Level B if you have already done Singapore EB with her...but I would use the placement test to be sure.)  I think some work on the RightStart abacus will REALLY do a lot to help you understand number bonds.   THEN, perhaps switch back to Singapore after you use RightStart for awhile. 

 

Another option would be math mammoth.  It is very similar to Singapore....but if you don't like Singapore you probably won't like Math mammoth much better.  I don't think the way they explain number bonds is all that much different. 

 

ETA:  Like others have said, Cuisenaire rods are another manipulative often used to explain number bonds.  So look into those too.  HOWEVER, to me it is much more straight forward to teach things on an abacus.  It is just so much less fussy than the rods.   And RightStart would have the instruction scripted for you.  BUT the Cuisenaire rods / online videos might be a less expensive solution. 

[redsquirrel]

5 is young for 1a1b. I started SM 1 at 6, a more typical 'first grade' age, and my kids are strong in math. I can imagine them having a different experience with SM1 if I started at age 5. When they were 5 I used MEP reception and SM kindergarten.

 

And are you using manipulatives? Rods are nice, but you can use dried beans or pieces of macaroni etc. Anything she can hold and move around.

 

There is also Math In Focus, which is Singapore math by a different publisher, and with more teaching support. They have it at Rainbow

[Tanikit]

I did Singapore 1a with my 5 year old. She did not learn the facts at that time - what I did teach was making 10s - ad I made certain that she had her facts to 10 memorised - she would ride round the pool on a motorbike and I would stop her and give her a number and she had to give me the number needed to make it 10 before she could go round again - I allowed her to use her fingers initially since it helps the concept that 5 and 5 make ten and also helps the factors of 5 at the same time but she soon left using her fingers and just called out the answer. And then with manipulatives I taught her to play making tens - even now halfway through 2B she still sometimes uses making 10 to add numbers that add between 11 and 19 and it happens so fast it looks like she knows them off by heart. 

 

Definitely use manipulatives - cuisenaire rods or base ten blocks and work on tens and units as much as is needed. People are often afraid of manipulatives - but really numerals are very abstract and numbers are about quantity (for this reason I prefer the blocks that stack together more than the cuisenaire rods, though I do know that they have their own advantages and have used them too) - quantity can only be seen and experienced through manipulatives. Also a small child can show you with manipualtives more than they can tell you and if you let her play the sum to you with the manipulatives it will be easier to see what she does not understand than you would if it was all written even if she says nothing.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

Even in early grades the Home Instructors Guide can be an valuable resource, if you don't have it then order a copy.

 

It will help you out.

[Meg429]

Thanks so much for the input!

 

She really did well with the vast majority of the K books so I felt ok moving onto the 1A book (was planning on taking it 1/2 pace and spending the entire year on it).  It is Standards edition and I have the HIG, which explains that this should be memorized before we move on.  We have been stuck on memorizing for a while and don't seem to be get anywhere.  We are using the connecting cubes as our only manipulative but she is still having a hard time grasping it.  

 

I will definitely check out education unboxed with c-rods.  I may have to invest in some of those, and I will also check out Right Start.  At this point, I'd rather keep Singapore for later when she can grasp it than push her faster through a program that she will not retain info from.  We are expecting a baby next month, however, so I will have to see how our time allows.  Maybe we'll just play some games and wait for 6 months or so before trying again when life calms down.  Hmmm lots to think about.  Thanks all.

[Rachel]

One thing I did when my son was struggling with memorization was to practice the facts with him daily but I skipped ahead to the next subject in the book. I think it's measuring or something, he didn't have to know his facts to do that part of the book. Xtramath.com or games using dice, cards, or dominos help with practicing facts.

[Ad astra]

One thing I did when my son was struggling with memorization was to practice the facts with him daily but I skipped ahead to the next subject in the book. I think it's measuring or something, he didn't have to know his facts to do that part of the book. Xtramath.com or games using dice, cards, or dominos help with practicing facts.

This is what I do with 1A standards now. While moving ahead, I supplement it with various math apps, flash cards, fact drill worksheets and other math texts to reach memorization. Think I used 10 cheerios for number bonds.

[redsquirrel]

Lol, I didn't know we were supposed to have them memorize their 10 facts. Clearly I moved on without bothering. But, it did happen.

 

We played LOTS of a card game 'making 10'. You only play with the number cards and the ace is a 1. Your goal is to 'make 10' with 2 cards. If you can make a 10 you put it to the side. If you can't make 10 you pick up a card from the pile in the middle... and something else? Does anyone remember how to play that?

 

Anyway, whoever gets the most 10s wins. My then 6 year old could play that with me for hours..and hours..and hours.

 

Might be a good way to pass the time when new baby is napping. :001_smile:

 

and play lots of simple games with dice.

 

and don't sweat it too much. Memorizing is more difficult for some kids than others. My boys have always had a difficult time memorizing when numbers are involved. They are genuine dictation whizzes, but numbers take them a while. But, they are both very good at math, so I don't worry about too much. It happens eventually. I let them use their fingers and skip count as much as they want.  Sooner or later it seems to sink in

[Kathie in VA]

I really liked using the abacus. We learned how with the RightStart Tutorial book. It was a very good intro for dd. we switched to Singapore and still use the abacus whenever we can. It helped so much with place value and with number bonds.

[Carolinagirl1]

I haven't read all of the responses and I am sure they are all great ideas on how to use Singapore. We started out with Singapore and I felt the same way you did. It was hard for me to teach and it was hard for my daughter to understand. We switched to CLE and it was like a breath of fresh air. So easy to teach and so thorough. Her standardized test scores have been great after using it too!

[Joyful Journeys]

One thing I did when my son was struggling with memorization was to practice the facts with him daily but I skipped ahead to the next subject in the book. I think it's measuring or something, he didn't have to know his facts to do that part of the book. Xtramath.com or games using dice, cards, or dominos help with practicing facts.

We are doing this too. Math was mind-numbingly boring after weeks and weeks of facts within 10, within 20 etc. I jumped to the next sections while still doing mental math, "addition adventures" and just random quizzes in the car. I was told that mastery of the facts comes with repetition and full memorization shouldn't be expected until second grade. We're hitting double digits now in 1b and doing just fine. She's recalling them much faster and I'm glad we moved ahead.

[Julie of KY]

Like others have said, get some manipulatives like Cuisenaire rods.

 

I mixed Miquon (which uses Cuisenaire rods) with Singapore, but Miquon does not have much instruction at all.

 

Take it slowly, used rods to demonstrate ooncepts and to figure out problems. I'd heard the HIG is very good, so consider that.

[SereneHome]

You are using this with a 5 year old?   If so, keep in mind that she is on the young side for Singapore 1A.  You know your child best....but I would be willing to bet that if you did NOTHING but review for awhile.....you could come back to number bonds in a few months and she would just get it.   This has happened time and time again with my own children.  Sometimes the problem isn't that you aren't explaining things correctly, it has to do more with giving the child time to mature. 

 

Also, just to warn you:  Singapore 1A/1B starts out very simple---but it quickly ramps up and becomes a pretty advanced math program for such a little one.  You will move on to concepts like multiplication and division in just a few short months.  So even if you get past these number bonds, things don't get easier.  (This is about as easy as it Singapore level 1 math gets.) 

 

This is EXACTLY what happened with my kid.  I started when he was 5 and I thought one of us would end up in a loony bin.  I thought he was going to be good at math based on all Critical Thinking company books he did.  I am great at math and it was soooo frustrating that he just  wasn't getting it.

 

I came back to it MONTHS later, now, that he is almost 6 and boom - he remembers and understands everything and we are moving along nicely

 

[Flowergirl159]

Yes I just want to add too, that adding in Miquon is a fantastic idea. When one of my DD gets stuck on a concept, we pull out Miquon and work in that book for a while. Then to back to Singapore and they are then ready to understand it. Miquon supplements Singapore perfectly :) And yes you need Cuisenaire rods for Miquon. You can purchase these books quite cheaply.

 

Also, don't fret about moving on. As long as you are working on memorising the facts, you can move on as Singapore covers many topics in a one year period.

[acsnmama]

BTDT

 

My son did Horizons 1 book 1 before beginning Singapore 1A. He had plenty of experience in addition, but I tell ya, something about the first part of Singapore 1A that really got me! It was a frustration for a time. I do recommend the HIG even in such a low level, the teaching tips are good! It did get easier!

 

I'm reminding myself the exact same thing again as I work with my daughter in Singapore 1A. She did the Essentials A & B books, so I thought she would be better prepared than my son was, since she has begun with Singapore. However, I'm finding the same result of the beginning of 1A. It's as if they expect too much the first few exercises, without pictures to count, etc. we got through those, now she's working through exercises with pictures. I know she needs to work on memorization, but the beginning of 1A has always thrown me off.

 

With all that said. My son is now flying through 3A and is very good at math! I'm glad I didn't throw in the towel, we love Singapore!

[gardening momma]

We started with Right Start but switched to Singapore. I'm not sure if I used RS with my younger one at all--maybe a bit. She started in SM level 1. Neither of mine had their facts down before we moved on. It comes with time & practice.

 

As far as math manipulatives, I prefer separate counters like tiles, counting bears, pennies, base 10 blocks, RightStart abacus, etc. What I like about base 10 blocks rather than Cuisenaire rods (we have both) is that the 10-rod (in base 10) has marks so that you can see that it is made of 10 ones. The same is true of the 100 flat and the 1,000 cube. The Cuisenaire rods are color-coded, which doesn't translate well to counting real-life objects. Interlocking/snapping blocks would be fine, because they still show the number of pieces when they're connected, rather than just a comparative length.

 

ETA: if you get an abacus, get one that has half of the beads on each rod in one color and half in another color (5 + 5 = 10) like the Right Start AL Abacus, or this one: http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/036942/ff4bdf7a0f64a464f5ea5a83

[Flowergirl159]

 The Cuisenaire rods are color-coded, which doesn't translate well to counting real-life objects.

 

 

 

When I first purchased Cuisenaire rods, I gave it to my girls to play with, as suggested by education unboxed. My older two who would have been around 7 and 5 at the time, knew the names of the rods, the number value for each one, really quickly! I was amazed!!! Still now, I have to ask "Is this the 6?" or they will catch me out because I used a wrong rod. I called them by colour names with my then 3yr old and it didn't take long before she knew all the proper names for them. She learnt on her own and by listening to her sisters, it wasn't something I had to teach her.

 

I could not teach math without the rods now! They are fantastic.

 

A couple of months ago, before starting DD5 on Singapore 1A, her and I just played with the Cuisenaire rods each day. That was her maths lesson. I would pull out a 5 rod and talk with her about matching other rods to equal 5. This only took a couple of minutes, then she would play with the rods for as long as she liked. The next day, we did it again. Then a couple of days later, I did the same thing with the 6 rod, then the 7.

 

Throughout our day when something came up to work out what equalled say 6 for example, I would quiz her. Amazing at how this simple exercise helped her to learn her facts under 10. And you know what, it was fun! It was a game to her. No boring fill in the missing numbers worksheet. I feel that this way set her up for a stronger beginning in math than any of my others who started out with the workbook/textbook.

 

Even now, I say the colour name, but my girls mostly use the number name.

[gardening momma]

When I first purchased Cuisenaire rods, I gave it to my girls to play with, as suggested by education unboxed. My older two who would have been around 7 and 5 at the time, knew the names of the rods, the number value for each one, really quickly! I was amazed!!! Still now, I have to ask "Is this the 6?" or they will catch me out because I used a wrong rod. I called them by colour names with my then 3yr old and it didn't take long before she knew all the proper names for them. She learnt on her own and by listening to her sisters, it wasn't something I had to teach her.

 

I could not teach math without the rods now! They are fantastic.

 

A couple of months ago, before starting DD5 on Singapore 1A, her and I just played with the Cuisenaire rods each day. That was her maths lesson. I would pull out a 5 rod and talk with her about matching other rods to equal 5. This only took a couple of minutes, then she would play with the rods for as long as she liked. The next day, we did it again. Then a couple of days later, I did the same thing with the 6 rod, then the 7.

 

Throughout our day when something came up to work out what equalled say 6 for example, I would quiz her. Amazing at how this simple exercise helped her to learn her facts under 10. And you know what, it was fun! It was a game to her. No boring fill in the missing numbers worksheet. I feel that this way set her up for a stronger beginning in math than any of my others who started out with the workbook/textbook.

 

Even now, I say the colour name, but my girls mostly use the number name.

But they had to memorize which color = which number, which does not correspond to real life objects. I can see that eventually they translate the color-number to addition problems without the rods (after first learning color x rod + color y rod = color z rod), but the color-number correlation has to be learned first.

[Flowergirl159]

But they had to memorize which color = which number, which does not correspond to real life objects. I can see that eventually they translate the color-number to addition problems without the rods (after first learning color x rod + color y rod = color z rod), but the color-number correlation has to be learned first.

 

I understand what you are saying :)

 

I don't remember it being an issue. Like I said, my children grasped what number each rod is, before I even began teaching them using the rods.

 

My youngest, DD5, has never been taught as such, what number they are called, she just picked it up by playing with them.

 

So in my opinion, it is not difficult to correlate the rods with numbers.

 

Each family, and each child will be different. There are so many manipulatives that work or don't work.

 

This manipulative worked wonders for my family :)