BryRon Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 I just recently switched over to Singapore 2A - which my dd loves. However, I do not know if I am teaching her right. The whole mental math thing befuddles me. I have used my fingers to count on forever and have to write bigger problems out. I am most assuredly NOT math oriented. She pretty much is self-directed - and I let her go at her own pace. I guess I really don't know how to teach "mental math". I don't do it myself, and am wondering if this is something that is going to make or break her math abilities. Advice is most welcome, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 The strength of SM is it's mental math. Be sure to pay attention to the thought bubbles from the kids in the book. That will tell you what strategy is to be worked on in that lesson. Are you using the HIGs as well? That explains it pretty well and has games and practice sheets to practice the various strategies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryRon Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 I only have the 2A and 2B Textbooks. I will look for those HIGs online and get them, then. Thank you very much for responding - I appreciate your time! The strength of SM is it's mental math. Be sure to pay attention to the thought bubbles from the kids in the book. That will tell you what strategy is to be worked on in that lesson. Are you using the HIGs as well? That explains it pretty well and has games and practice sheets to practice the various strategies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedfamily Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I don't have the HIGs, but I've heard they explain it well. I think that's a good suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryRon Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 Thanks! It does seem mysterious and scary to me. All of this does! But, thanks to this board and the wonderful parents, it demystifies a lot of stuff. Big hugs to you - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 You might want to try MathExpress. It deals with mental math and is one of the Singapore supplements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 If you're willing to go back and learn the mental math techniques yourself, you might want to get the 1A and 1B books (you can use them for your son later if you stick with Singapore). It would be helpful to start at the beginning with the number bonds and try to understand why they do things the way they do. When I took math in elementary school, we simply memorized 8+6=14. With Singapore, they will teach you to make the 8 a 10 because it is easy to add 10 to anything. You learn to recognize that 8 needs 2 more to be a 10. That 2 will come from the 6, so you need to know the number bonds pretty well to immediately see that 6=2+4. So if you take the 2 from the 6 to make the 8 a 10, 4 will be left over. That is easily added to 10 to make 14. It takes just a second to do this all in your head once you've practiced it a bit. And now you have a skill that will transfer to harder problems. When you add 78+6, you mentally make a 10 (i.e. you need 2 to get up to 80) then add 4 to that to get to 84. When you add 78+16, you can add 10 first in your head to change it to 88+6, then make a 10 to get to 90, add the 4 and you get 94. You don't need to use calculators or paper and pencil. When you master it, you have a facility with numbers that makes math a lot less intimidating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryRon Posted February 18, 2009 Author Share Posted February 18, 2009 :) You might want to try MathExpress. It deals with mental math and is one of the Singapore supplements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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