LauraBeth475 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 For Singapore Primary Math. Do you find these helpful? How do you use them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal_Bear Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 IMO, if you skip the HIGs in SM, you miss out on a lot of the program. It is really helpful to introduce the concepts before jumping right into doing problems. There are usually hands on/concrete activities to do with your child. Also, there are plenty of points for you to stop and check to make sure certain things are solid and understood before moving on. It helps me to see how to keep linking back what I am teaching to previous concepts and really help my son get a deep understanding of what he is learning. It is really important to me that he conceptually understands and just doesn't copy and reproduce operations. I can see how everything he has learned continues to build towards later concepts. Hope that helps! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Yes, you'll be completely lost in understanding the Singapore method (I'm assuming you didn't learn it as a child and didn't major in math in college) without them. While we have moved away from using them as much as we used to due to time constraints, they were invaluable starting out. The schedule is nice to have as well. You don't have to sit there and line up which pages go with what. When we first started with Singapore, we completed the main lesson from the HIG and then many of the enrichment activities. DD will start 3B in the fall. Now, we pretty much only use information from the main lesson. If it's short, we might complete it in full. Many other times, we jump right to the textbook and then quickly off to the workbook. Just depends on the subject matter. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsleepymom Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I bought all the HIG's (and continue to buy them!), but really haven't used them at all. We have completed year 1, year 3, and year 4 (with three different students). I have a good math foundation, was not taught the Singapore way, yet it has not been tough to grasp and has in fact been intuitive. This fall I am going to try and look at the HIG's in the evenings just to see if there is anything I need to add to the textbook explanations (since I already have them!) and I also want to do better about using the Mental Math practice at the end of the guides. I'm not sure I'm being helpful after re-reading what I have written! So in summary: We have the guides so I'd like to take advantage of them, but life gets super busy and they've been cast aside. The kids have done great with Singapore despite my neglect of the HIG. Best bet would be finding them to take a look in person and see what you think. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I find them helpful for directing activities in the concrete-visual-abstract progression. They suggest manipulatives to use, how to model - this is not something you can just get from the text. I like the few challenge problems included, and I work through these with them as an assessment of how many of the workbook exercises will be necessary. (I think these start in 4th) I like the mental math sheets starting in grade 3 I like the answers so I can quickly assess how my kid is doing, and not have to work out all the problems (starting about 4th). 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraBeth475 Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 Thanks for the input! I have one of them floating around here. I'll have to try it out more consistently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraBeth475 Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 Somewhat of a follow up question. Which Singapore specific manipulatives did you find most useful? I have the classics (multilink cubes, base 10, cuisenaire rods) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Somewhat of a follow up question. Which Singapore specific manipulatives did you find most useful? I have the classics (multilink cubes, base 10, cuisenaire rods) I used the multilink cubes a little bit when doing bar models. I don't even remember if that was a suggested activity or if i just thought of it. We used base ten cubes a lot in k-3, shifting over in 3rd to the place value discs (i got the counting chips you can get at most teacher supply places - transparent, token shaped - and wrote on them with a wet erase pen) We used an AL Abacus for many things instead of the suggested manipulative. Look through the HIG for the level you are at, and see what is recommended. Then try and see what you can make on your own. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Oh, I wanted to add that I used c-rods for my girl who did a lot of work with c-rods (she was very comfortable with that manipulative from Miquon and Education Unboxed). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 I bought one, but didn't really get into using it. I found I was already naturally doing a lot of the suggested things. If that doesn't come as naturally for you, you might like it. They aren't too expensive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 I think that depends. If you think the Singapore method is different that how you were taught, then you need to get familiar with that method. I found nothing "new" about the way SM teaches math, but I made sure I read through the HIGs just in case. It also depends on how math intuitive is your child. Some kids need lessons laid out and taught before hitting the workbook. My kids just rolled their eyes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyful Journeys Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 IMO, if you skip the HIGs in SM, you miss out on a lot of the program. It is really helpful to introduce the concepts before jumping right into doing problems. There are usually hands on/concrete activities to do with your child. Also, there are plenty of points for you to stop and check to make sure certain things are solid and understood before moving on. It helps me to see how to keep linking back what I am teaching to previous concepts and really help my son get a deep understanding of what he is learning. It is really important to me that he conceptually understands and just doesn't copy and reproduce operations. I can see how everything he has learned continues to build towards later concepts. Hope that helps! I agree here. I truly love that it tells me "don't move on until they can do x" or "its ok to move on if they can't do x, just keep practicing". I like that it gives me a view of what's ahead so I understand fully why they're only teaching this certain portion of a topic. I love that it gives me the actual language I should be using. Getting my daughter to say it's 3 hundreds, 5 tens and 2 ones rather than just saying 352 is something I would not have known to do and it's huge for reinforcing place value. It even tells you what order to do some of the textbook problems in, often not exactly as they are presented. Perhaps by the second or third time around teaching this, I'll feel it's not necessary but being brand new to this style of math and homeschooling in general, it's been invaluable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarahtar Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 We did our first year with Singapore without the HIG, then the next year WITH the HIG and I could not believe how much content I/we had missed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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