HELP! More mental math practice?!?!

[3sweeties]

Hi everyone,

We are nearing the end of Singapore 2B (we are at the reviews at the end of the book)for my DS, almost 9. He is doing really great in everything except the mental math with addition and especially subtraction. What would you wonderful ladies suggest I do? Should I stop and have him practice more of the mental math(get the SP Intensive Practice 2B book)? I am a little nervous to just move on to 3A until he has this down pat. I was just going to "make up" some of my own problems for maybe a week and see how he does, but I'm wondering if it will seem more "official" if it is in the form of a workbook? I have contemplated off and on switching to another math program, but I would hate to do that just because he is struggling in this one area. It is not how I learned math (no carrying or borrowing on paper--all in your head) so it still makes me (a math dummy) , anxious that he will miss something and it will mess him up in the long run! Any thoughts? Thanks ahead of time!!!

[my3sons]

Hi Jessica! I would just take some time to review the hands-on strategies HOD teaches for adding and subtracting. I would redo 1 hands-on lesson each day, just redoing the hands-on lesson in the HOD guide, and then writing 5-10 problems from the day's matching Math Workbook page(s) on a markerboard for ds to do, utilizing the hands-on strategy you used that day as needed to complete them. Specifically, these are the units that teach these strategies that would be good to review:
Unit 3 Day 1 through Unit 7 Day 4
Unit 18 Day 2 through Unit 21 Day 3
Unit 26 Day 2 through Unit 27 Day 4
Not every day has a hands-on activity, so you will be able to move through them in a timely fashion, and it will be an excellent mini-review before moving on to 3A. On a side note, if ds uses scratch paper and borrows/carries, does he get the correct answer? I guess I feel like although Singapore encourages mental math, that does not mean that difficult problems may never be written out. Singapore does eventually teach borrowing and carrying anyway - though learning the mental "tricks" is good to do first. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[3sweeties]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, Julie!!! That helps -- I forgot there were some hands-on activities -- you were referring to 2B, right?

Is it bad for me to admit that he doesn't seem to remember how to write out borrowing and carrying? We did it when we were using another math program about a year and half ago, but I'm not sure he remembers it b/c I have been so afraid of confusing him further if I write it out on paper. I don't remember writing it out in Singapore (we've been using Singapore since 1B)...did 1B or 2A go over that? Just worried about making him even more confused!

[my3sons]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, Julie!!! That helps -- I forgot there were some hands-on activities -- you were referring to 2B, right?

Is it bad for me to admit that he doesn't seem to remember how to write out borrowing and carrying? We did it when we were using another math program about a year and half ago, but I'm not sure he remembers it b/c I have been so afraid of confusing him further if I write it out on paper. I don't remember writing it out in Singapore (we've been using Singapore since 1B)...did 1B or 2A go over that? Just worried about making him even more confused!

The hands-on activities I listed are from 2A and 2B, and they refer to addition and subtraction skills. You can see how far you believe it is beneficial to go back. The first hands-on lesson refers to fact families.

I am near the end of 2B with one of my sons, and the end of 4B with my other ds. I wasn't sure when we first learned to borrow and carry, so I looked back, and BHFHG's plans Unit 5 Day 4 is the first hands-on lesson to teach addition with regrouping. The hands-on lesson does the problem "62-19" . It has dc divide a paper into 2 columns, the 'tens' column, and the 'ones' column. It has dc first make 9 ziplock bags with 10 counters in each (as more bags are needed for other problems later). Then they put 6 bags in the "tens" column and 2 loose counters in the "ones" column to show "62". Leaving a space below this, dc then show "19" by placing 1 bag of "10" in the "tens" column and '9' loose counters in the 'ones' column. To add the 'ones' column, push together the counters and add them. Since the total is '11', trade 10 counters for 1 bag of '10'. Place the bag at the top of the 'tens' column (this step teaches carrying). To add the 'tens' column, push all the bags together. You should have '8'. Write the total '81'. The plans then suggest repeating the activity as needed. This hands-on lesson matches the 2A Workbook p.41. I was thinking that repeating activities like this one (and the ones to follow) using the workbook problems would be a wonderful review for your ds.

Likewise, Unit 7 Day 1 uses ziplock bags and 'tens' and 'ones' columns to teach borrowing, and this hands-on activity matches p. 51 in Singapore 2A. So these would be the first introductions to carrying and borrowing. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[Qtipper]

I am so glad you asked this! I have a bit of a math struggler and I was wondering how to intensify the process. I just prayed that your little one would catch on and wow you!!

Blessings~
Qtipper

[Mommamo]

The activity Julie described is one we refer to a lot. C and I are both "mathy" so we just did the activity once, but as we do subtraction I'll often say things like "make sure you get a baggy!" or "how much is left in your baggy?" even though we're not actually doing the activity any more. It made so much sense to C. I'm so glad Carrie included it in the plans!! I'm sure Julie mentioned this, but you might also go back to the hands on lessons where the mental addition and subtraction is first introduced in 2B. I don't have my guide right now so I don't have the specific lessons in front of me, but we recently finished that part and I know the hands on lessons really helped her to visualize how to do it mentally.