Supplementing Singapore

[deut6family]

Hi there!

My daughter is 7.5 and in Singapore 1b. There have been a few areas where she had struggled and I am at a kids
For how to explain it better, not completely understanding the Singapore method
Myself. I noticed that on the Singapore website they have a homeschool instructors manual, manipulative a
And extra practice pages you can buy. Have any of you had experience using these manipulative a or the home
Instructors manual? I am wondering if it would help me and my daughter fully understand the method better
And for her to have consistant manipulatives that go with the program. Thinking ahead for 2a -2b on whether I should
Buy these additional things. Would like your opinions! Thanks !

Sarah

[bethelmommy]

I haven't used any of the extras that Singapore offers. Have you tried revisiting the hands on activities Carrie already includes in the guide? We have found these especially helpful for demonstrating the concepts covered in the workbooks. My oldest two are currently in 1a and 2a.

We do supplement, but in a very non-formal way. We really enjoy Life of Fred. Dh has been reading (and rereading) the elementary series to my kids at night since it first came out. As a result, my kids have already been introduced to a lot of mathematical concepts in story form before they come across them as part of school. This has been a good combination for us.

[agstefko]

I have used the HIG for Singapore and find them helpful in these situations too. Are you also using the activities that are in the HOD guides? 1b can be a bit challenging, we are on it right now with my dd. sometimes slowing down and spending a little extra time really helps. Remember too that 1B is considered advanced first grade or average 2nd grade so, at least for us sometimes slowing down really helps and adding in fun math games.

[Tidbits of Learning]

The only manipulatives that I have used over and over with all of my kids to help them visualize so many math concepts was a base ten set. The HIG is ok but for this age it doesn't give a lot of extra for teaching it. Do you have the textbooks? I would try getting the textbooks and seeing if they help.

[my3sons]

I depend on the HOD hands-on plans for teaching Singapore with Emmett right now in 1A/1B. I revisit any hands-on activities I need to as we move ahead. We found the HIG's helpful for 5A on up, but not before that - however, that is a personal decision. I have found it necessary to sit right by my dc and be available to help with Singapore as needed. This has helped not harmed their progress. I've especially found this to be true with Reviews and Practices as we moved through the levels. If you don't have the HOD hands-on plans for 1A/1B in the Beyond guide, I'd get the guide. If you do, I'd revisit the hands-on activities whenever dd is stuck. Having a marker board to use as I'm teaching Singapore is helpful too. Singapore Math is advanced, so just know that she will get it eventually, and you can just steadily move forward knowing it will come back around again. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[queenireneof3]

I'm a bit late to jump in on this discussion, but I visited the forum today to see if i could get help with almost this exact thing. My 7yo son is going through Singapore 1a right now and finding adding/subtracting very frustrating. I think I may have taught it poorly or misunderstood the main point of the hands on activities in the HOD guide. Should we stop where we are (into adding and subtracting numbers up to 20) and go back to a former lesson and reteach it with the HOD activities until he is not so frustrated? Today I just wrote four problems out on his whiteboard (ie: 7+1= 7-1= 8+2= 8-2=) without any stories and had him work through them with his abacus. After I helped him with the first four questions, he got the hang of it and I was able to fill his board two more times with problems that he could easily work through with the abacus. At this point, he should be allowed to rely on counters, right? I think I thought he was supposed to be able to do it without counters, which may be why he is confused and frustrated.

The odd thing is, if i just dictate a word problem to him, he can solve it without counters, just straight from his head. However translating that to the written equation can produce tears. In other words, if he hears a math problem, he cannot figure out how to write it in an equation, even though he can solve it in his head. So I obviously think I taught him poorly...wondering if we should just camp on the hands on activities in former lessons until he can understand the written equations better, before moving on in the workbook?

Thank you!

[my3sons]

I'm a bit late to jump in on this discussion, but I visited the forum today to see if i could get help with almost this exact thing. My 7yo son is going through Singapore 1a right now and finding adding/subtracting very frustrating. I think I may have taught it poorly or misunderstood the main point of the hands on activities in the HOD guide. Should we stop where we are (into adding and subtracting numbers up to 20) and go back to a former lesson and reteach it with the HOD activities until he is not so frustrated? Today I just wrote four problems out on his whiteboard (ie: 7+1= 7-1= 8+2= 8-2=) without any stories and had him work through them with his abacus. After I helped him with the first four questions, he got the hang of it and I was able to fill his board two more times with problems that he could easily work through with the abacus. At this point, he should be allowed to rely on counters, right? I think I thought he was supposed to be able to do it without counters, which may be why he is confused and frustrated.
For this stage, counters are just fine, as is the abacus. I think I'd take 1 week to go back and do one HOD hands-on activity geared toward subtraction each day, using the same problems from the Singapore Textbook/Workbook pages that match the HOD hands-on math activity, but writing them on a markerboard instead of having him look in the books. The order dc do Singapore Math problems in is important, as they build on each other, so go in the order they do. This will give him 5 hands-on math activities to use for help in the future, as well as help him better understand the 'why' of subtraction. After a week, I'd resume moving forward, even if he doesn't have it down pat.

The odd thing is, if i just dictate a word problem to him, he can solve it without counters, just straight from his head. However translating that to the written equation can produce tears. In other words, if he hears a math problem, he cannot figure out how to write it in an equation, even though he can solve it in his head. So I obviously think I taught him poorly...wondering if we should just camp on the hands on activities in former lessons until he can understand the written equations better, before moving on in the workbook?
For this stage, counters are just fine, as is the abacus. For auditory learners, just saying the thought process out loud and writing each accompanying step on a markerboard really helps them make the connection between the two for dc. I mentioned and gave examples of this here...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10942&p=79588

Thank you!

HTH!
In Christ,
Julie

[queenireneof3]

Thank you, Julie. I will go back to those hands on activities today. Since Singapore is different than the way I was taught, it seems to take me a bit to understand how to explain the process between the mental math and writing it down. That is something I never did when I was learning math.

At what point in Singapore Math is he supposed to have mastery over addition/subtraction? And does mastery mean, memorizing the facts, or being able to do it in your head, or writing the problem down, or all of the above? Since I've never been through this program before I feel very lost with knowing how much he should know by now and at what point he should have addition/subtraction down. I've been all over the singapore math website and looked at the scope and sequence and still can't get a feel for when he should have this concept of addition/subtraction down. I don't want to move too fast, or too slow. Not knowing when he should have this mastered by makes it confusing for me to know how fast/slow to guide him through.

Your suggestion about the subtraction activities is where we will start today and then we will keep moving on. Thank you!
Sara

[my3sons]

...At what point in Singapore Math is he supposed to have mastery over addition/subtraction? And does mastery mean, memorizing the facts, or being able to do it in your head, or writing the problem down, or all of the above? Since I've never been through this program before I feel very lost with knowing how much he should know by now and at what point he should have addition/subtraction down...

We have been through 6B and on to Foerster's Algebra 1 with our oldest ds now in high school, our middle ds in fifth grade is finishing out 4B, and our youngest ds in 1st grade is doing 1A. Some took to math naturally, some not. But all, are doing well. I have always only done the HOD math plans, doing the hands-on math with K through 2B, and then the Textbook/Workbook for 3A through 6B. I added the HIG in 5B or 6A, I believe. I've found that my dc learn their facts later than dc in other math programs. I taught ps for 7 years in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades, and tutored middle school at the library later before having my own dc to homeschool. Some dc never learned their facts well, and I think it was because they simply tried to memorize them. While this does work for some students, for others, not understanding the number sense behind the memorization made it impossible to transition into when to perform each operation. In other words, students were fine if the whole page of math problems was similar. If 15 problems all had subtraction with borrowing, then students knew for the story problems at the end, they should just subtract and borrow. In Singapore, problems are purposely NOT so predictable. Thinking is required. This means that dc need number sense about what they are really doing to be able to apply it. For my dc, it also meant memorization was more slow going, but then when it came, it came partnered with number sense and know-how of when to use each method. So, all that to say, my dc did not know their addition facts until the end of 1A and subtraction facts until the end of 1B. Now, they could SOLVE addition and subtraction problems with hands-on methods, and they UNDERSTOOD what they were doing, but shouting out the answers to flashcards in a super fast manner would not have happened. I found the same to be true with multiplication and division facts, as well as large number multiplication and long division. My advice would be to spend the time doing the hands-on activities, even if you think your child 'gets it' without them. I'd also do all of the problems, making sure to discuss anything noted in the plans and in the sidebars of the workbooks (and starting with 3A, also the textbooks). It is also important to do the problems in the exact order they are written, so 1, 2, 3... and even a., b., c.,... order. This is important, as they build upon each other. I'd also stay by your ds's side as he does his workbook, pulling out the counters and markerboard to remodel the hands-on lessons any time he is struggling. I hope this helps, but I think what you are describing is quite normal for Singapore Math students. By the way, all of our dc score very high on their math in state standardized testing, so Singapore has worked and is working for all of them - even for the less mathy.

In Christ,
Julie

[queenireneof3]

Thank you, Julie! I appreciate your replay and taking the time to explain how the math has worked for you. Nobody in my circle of homeschool famillies (not that I know very many, mind you!) is doing Singapore. Most are doing MUS, so it is hard for me to get a grasp on what my children are supposed to know. I grew up as a missionary kid in Japan and always admired the way the kids were so good at math over there which is why I was drawn to Singapore. It has been hard for me to determine if my son is just putting the math pieces together more slowly or is really not learning. We tried MUS for a spell and some of that was tricky for him too.

We have just been concentrating on going back through the hands on activities like you suggested and so far, so good! He doesn't seem to be struggling nearly as much. I also use cheerios as counters so that is a big perk!

Thank you for your advice and we'll keep plugging away here!

[queenireneof3]

Update: We (my ds 7 and I) went back and did all the hands of activities for 1a that I thought would help and we recently caught back up to where we left off. It was definitely good to go back through them again. We just finished the activity where I say a number between 10-20 and he has to write down the number before and after and then two before and two after. That has been very difficult for him, so we might practice that a day or two more before moving on. I have various number cards that I might be able to make a game out of it for him. After that, we'll keep plugging ahead.

My daughter (5yo) who usually finds math very easy, had trouble today with the tens and ones place value. My ds (7yo) had tons of trouble with that as well at the beginning of the year. I'm not sure why...I even pulled out the Math u see blocks and Decimal Street we had made awhile back. We only got halfway through our assigned pages today, so I told her we would work on it again tomorrow. Not sure why both my kids have a hard time with place value...