What is the difference between SM PSPS and CWP?

[lazycat]

I saw people mentioned Singapore Math Process Skills in Prob Solving. I went to their website did my research. From the sample pages, I found they are very similar to their Challenging Word Problems. So what is the difference? Can anyone help me? TIA!

[MrSmith]

PS teaches. CWP is just a bunch of problems. Both great for their intended purpose.

[desertflower]

Processing skills is a book that teaches the bar model approach to solving word problems.  Not many problems.  A lesson can be broken into 3 parts and then about 3 - 5 problems for each part.   

 

CWP is nothing but word problems.  Usually 15 - 20 per lesson.  A lot harder than the word problems in the workbook.

 

I really like the PS book. 

 

Hth.

[sweetpea3829]

PS does a really good job of teaching HOW, but very little practice.  CWP does do some teaching but it's shoddy.  But...they have much more practice.  I use both.  

[lazycat]

Thanks a lot for the above response. At first I thought PSPS is more like a textbook, and CWP is the workbook. But when looked at contents closely, I found PSPS covers far less than CWP. This is very strange..

[sweetpea3829]

Thanks a lot for the above response. At first I thought PSPS is more like a textbook, and CWP is the workbook. But when looked at contents closely, I found PSPS covers far less than CWP. This is very strange..

 

I wouldn't say that Process Skills covers much less.  I guess, technically, they do cover less.  But not really.  Process Skills really focuses on teaching the actual model approach to problem solving.  They cover bar models for the four operations, and then they have some other problem solving approaches, and then in later books, they go into the model approach with fractions, etc.  

 

To be honest, if you don't have a strong background in the model approach (as I did not), I strongly suggest Process Skills.  CWP does cover the model approach as well, but not as well as Process Skills.