HELP please, Struggling in Singapore 3A w/bar models

[Mom2Monkeys]

I get them just fine and love them. My oldest is in her last year of primary series and though she struggles with math, she gets the models wonderfully. Theyre what make math click for her. My 9yo DS however, is naturally mathy. Great with mental math, quick with word peoblems, but he cant grasp the models. He intuitively knows how to immediately solve the problems oftentimes, but just cant grasp making or interpretting the models. Weve stalled several days and ive worked though extra problems plus the practice pages (in the text that we do between exercises 6&7) with him. He has never struggled in math so im noy practiced in helping him. I was considering Singapore math visible thinking in math books to help him dissect and digest various word problems with models since the books give three peoblems with same numbers but change the evemts so it changes the operstions or order and of course, the model and answer.

Any better ideas?? He has also slowed greatly with math facts and has suddenly started having some teouble with manipulatig numbers the singapire way for mental math (like breaking them apart amd completing the ten or hundred) as well as regrouping. Weve watched Khan videos and taken a math/school break. Im not sure what else to do!


ETA: This is his first year of formal mathematics but ive always taught him singapore methods since i was teaching his older sister from the books. Weve done math mammoth some so that is similar methods too. But he did not do SM 2A/B if that matters. He placed into 3B so we went with A.

[Mom2Monkeys]

anyone?

I've only found Thinking Blocks online, which are very visually appealing and step by step. So, I'm sure once I get him on there and going, it will be of some benefit. But I'd still like some good ideas or maybe he doesn't need to fully grasp them right now? Isn't he supposed to be using the bars from here on out with the word problems? Oh, I also thought about using our fraction bars we have so he isn't having to draw the bars, just place them properly and I can help label so he's focusing on "getting it" rather than writing it.

[my3sons]

Riley is in 4A and not able to always figure out how to use the bar model. I know from my oldest ds that it will eventually come. I am doing a lot of helping and modeling with the bar models at this point with Riley. My oldest ds didn't need the bar models always, and he sometimes balked at using them because he is very good and math and because some of the time he was very good at doing them in his head.

I realized the importance of requiring him to use the bar models about this same time you are mentioning here. I used a marker board and every time that I could drew the bar models. I also required him to draw them for any problems he didn't "get" pretty quickly. I don't think the bar models should be required if the child is quickly doing it in their head accurately, however, I usually still would show on my markerboard how the bar model would have been done. It becomes more and more important to do this.

We've been all the way through 6B and now are in Discovering Math 7A - we still use the bar method at times, only now Wyatt gets the "unit" of the bar stands for a letter, such as "x." It made the transition into early Algebra super easy. I'd move ahead rather than stopping, but focus on modeling the bar method and having ds use it as much as possible on a markerboard himself. Something about using the markerboard is a hit with Wyatt. Maybe that is just him, but he really was excited when I said I'd still let him work things out on the markerboard for 7A this year. The drawing out of the problem visually is huge, and it helps dc get to the 'unit' which helps them in turn be able to use the 'unit' to solve any kind of problem.

If you are moving ahead and finding math is taking longer than 30 minutes, I'd cut it off at 30 minutes. I sit by our kiddos as they do their Singapore Math virtually the whole time, except on Practice or Review pages. It's a small price to pay for 30 minutes to forgo any repetitive errors that can root themselves in their little heads, so that would be another idea too. HTH! Keep on, I really do think it will eventually stick!

In Christ,
Julie

[Mom2Monkeys]

Thanks, Julie!! We will press on amd perhaps when.he gets to math that stumps him amd he sees the need for the bars, he will grab hold easier. I know they are a must-know part of the program as i am only a year from starting 7A with my oldest. Wowza!