Singapore 3A help please
Posted: Wed Nov 20, 2013 11:30 am
My 9yo (almost 10) 4th grader is doing Singapore 3A (life happened and we are behind!). He's a very mathy child and unit 4 when they start multiplying where carrying is involved, he is still doing it mentally. I don't mind, and I am thrilled he is capable. BUT, even though I told him I wanted him to write it out and learn the process so it would help him with larger numbers later, he didn't follow my advice 
So, he's somewhat struggling with the carrying in multiplying as the numbers grow.
Our bigger concern is he is really struggling with the long division we are digging into. He gets division. He can solve simple division in his head. He doesn't have facts down yet (that's coming up in the next unit). He gets what each step is doing when we do it, but he gets lost about what numbers to use, where to put them, and can't remember the steps. He's always been able to solve complex word problems on his own since he was tiny. But he struggles now reading the problems and knowing what operation is needed. He would choose repeated addition rather than just multiply, for example.
I know we will be fine in the next unit when it's about learning the tables for 6,7,8,9...but do I need to move on and we will recover the topics (I know it will be deeper, but will it start deeper or will it start from an introductory level?) or do I need to sit here for a while until he gets it?
My oldest has been through this but she's now in Pre-Alg so I dont' remember enough to know what to expect at this point
ETA: Are we supposed to be doing bar models for the word problems at this point? I didn't even think about it, I just naturally teach them that way now with having the older child. So, maybe having him do those right now if I'm not supposed to yet is a hindrance?
So, he's somewhat struggling with the carrying in multiplying as the numbers grow. Our bigger concern is he is really struggling with the long division we are digging into. He gets division. He can solve simple division in his head. He doesn't have facts down yet (that's coming up in the next unit). He gets what each step is doing when we do it, but he gets lost about what numbers to use, where to put them, and can't remember the steps. He's always been able to solve complex word problems on his own since he was tiny. But he struggles now reading the problems and knowing what operation is needed. He would choose repeated addition rather than just multiply, for example.
I know we will be fine in the next unit when it's about learning the tables for 6,7,8,9...but do I need to move on and we will recover the topics (I know it will be deeper, but will it start deeper or will it start from an introductory level?) or do I need to sit here for a while until he gets it?
My oldest has been through this but she's now in Pre-Alg so I dont' remember enough to know what to expect at this point
ETA: Are we supposed to be doing bar models for the word problems at this point? I didn't even think about it, I just naturally teach them that way now with having the older child. So, maybe having him do those right now if I'm not supposed to yet is a hindrance?
Riley, who is 10 yo, totally forgot over the summer how to do multiplication with carrying and long division, and he's in 4B now. What we did was move forward with the math plans, doing a lesson a day, but at the start of each lesson for a week or two, I wrote 2 multiplication problems with carrying and 2 long division problems for him to do. I just wrote one at a time in black marker in big numbers on a markerboard. I began by using number he could easily multiply... like 2's, 3's, 4's, 5's, and 9's (using the finger method for 9's). I had 2 colors of markers as well to point out arrows (like Tidbits of Learning's example above), numbers carried, etc., and I said the steps out loud as we did them. We clipped along with these and did them pretty much together at first. At the end of a few weeks, he had it. Maybe you could try something like that? I'd not let it take so much time it takes over the whole lesson though. As you said, it's coming in the future days of plans again anyway.