Singapore Lingo

[mothermayi?]

My kiddo is having trouble understanding the verbiage in Singapore math. If I explain the concepts in a different way, dc gets it immediately. Is this normal? Should I look for a different program that is clear for dc? I am considering BJU math but want to hear others' thoughts to see if it gets better. Thanks!

[Nealewill]

I think that Singapore is a really great program. It teaches kids to understand and not memorize. That is one thing about this program that really sets it apart. For myself, my son has trouble with understanding also and I have to rephrase stuff also. But it is worth it to me. I am not sure how old your child is but eventually it will come. My son is actually almost 8 and he still needs interpretation too. We just do stuff hands on to work it through and this is fine by me. I would rather he understand than memorize.

[MelInKansas]

I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but sometimes I don't even understand the pages! But I can usually figure it out. The thing I love about Singapore is the way they emphasize understanding the concepts rather than how to work problems a certain way, and story problems they start doing even in 1A, making the children think through them and problem solve. This is really important and how we apply it to real life.

[mothermayi?]

So it isn't just us ! Ok, now I feel better . An example of confusing wording for dc is "2 is 3 less than 5". This is from Essential Math book B. That is really confusing for her even though she knows how to subtract.

[MelInKansas]

Yes, my kids are confused by that wording too, but keep in mind that they are just getting exposed to this and it will help them understand the concepts. Instead of rewording all the time one thing I often do (when I can see that the concept is not the problem but the wording is) is have them study the picture and see if they can figure out by that this is another way of talking about subtraction.

[Gwenny]

I agree with Melissa. I don't think their working is an accident. They are building concepts and understanding.

[mothermayi?]

I agree with Melissa. I don't think their working is an accident. They are building concepts and understanding.

This is interesting...thanks for pointing it out. I figured it was worded that way because it was developed in Singapore and it is confusing due to translation since Singapore has 4 official languages . I just thought it wasn't written in English in the nation of Singapore.

[MelInKansas]

1B has a lot of this too. 2 is __ less than 5 and 8 is __ more than 6.....

It confuses my DD every time and I have just been having her study the picture (I have not seen Essentials Math because we did Earlybird Math but I assume Essentials must have pictures too) and then she figures it out.

[mothermayi?]

I didn't know the wording continued throughout Primary Mathematics. My other kiddo began Singapore in 3A and I guess I just never paid attention to the wording until now. He doesn't have a problem with it and actually thinks the wording is fun . Then again, he is my same child that has picked up on Mandarin so easily but dropped Spanish because it was "too hard."

Why are the problems worded this way? Another poster said it helps build understanding. I guess that happens over time?

I haven't had dd study the pictures on her own. I will try it with her next lesson. I suppose I just don't want her frustrated with the verbiage when she understands the concepts. This makes her frustrated with math rather than understand math.

[MelInKansas]

I felt that way, but now that she is used to the wording it is fine and she knows what to do.

I think it is pretty clever actually, they match up how many are the same and then the ones "left over" are the difference between the two. And the "how many more" and "how many less" questions have the same answer. I am not a math education expert, but I do think approaching the same kind of problem in various ways can either help a child understand it better, or show that they don't quite understand. I think having them think about the problems in various ways helps with conceptual, versus formula learning. As in, when a child sees a problem, do they understand what the numbers and symbols represent, or do they just solve the problem in a formulaic way? This is also why I think the pictures and activities written in the guides are so important.

Don't keep at it if it is super frustrating, but do try to give her the chance to understand the problem rather than quickly or immediately rephrasing it in a way you know she already understands. This would be enabling the "formulaic" approach to learning math. If it's not phrased in a way she understands, she doesn't know what it's about or how to approach solving it.

I also ran into a little of this because 1A/1B begins word problems and my DD doesn't always understand the word problems right away. We use manipulatives or pictures to show what is being told. One that really frustrated her but then she was so proud when she finally figured it out was "Susie needs 17 chairs for a party. She already has 9 chairs. How many more chairs does she need?" Boy, we talked that one over and drew chairs until she got it.

I am sure, with how much Singapore Math is used in schools and such, they have good translators and it's not a language problem. It is a different approach than what I was taught in school, that's for sure.

[mothermayi?]

Thanks for the words of wisdom, Melissa!! I don't have Carrie's activities for the Essential Math book. I will definitely be sure to order Beyond for the math activities for 1A/1B. Well, I plan to use more than just the math, but I look forward to using the activities . I need to give it time. I want SM to work for her bc I love the scope and sequence as well as proven results.

[StephanieU]

The wording does help with some story problems. So, using take away for everything doesn't work. Comparison and missing addend wording does help with word problems for sure. I don't know if I like how much Singapore uses the comparison wording, but I do like when curriculum uses it at least some. We use Horizons, and I had my daughter use linking cubes for the comparison questions there. We built two "towers" and then figured out how much taller one tower was than the other. We also used toys and matched the up. Now she knows (just finished 1st grade) that she can just subtract on those word problems, but it took 5 or 6 lessons before she totally got it (with only 1-2 questions per lessons and not every day).

[raindrops]

So it isn't just us ! Ok, now I feel better . An example of confusing wording for dc is "2 is 3 less than 5". This is from Essential Math book B. That is really confusing for her even though she knows how to subtract.

Hahaha! Yes!

That exact thing seemed confusing to DS so I said this and he could immediately relate:

You have 5 donuts and sister has 2. Sister says, "HEY Brother has 3 MORE than me! Why do *I* have 3 LESS!?" So sister has 3 "less" or you can say 3 "fewer".

Then the next day we would do something similar, with gummis, and make it personal. Bwhahaha. They GET it when you use FOOD and start naming names. LOL

I opened a packet of gummis and put them in 2 groups. One labeled "brother" and the other "sister" and had him draw lines to match up (like they do in singapore math) and then a line from the remaining gummies over to sisters with a ? Mark showing she has LESS. How many question marks visually showed how many she was missing... or how many less/ fewer she had.

O------O
O------O
O-----?

[MelInKansas]

raindrops I love it! I am not sure that my kids could get over the injustice of having fewer donuts and actually solve the problem though.

[raindrops]

raindrops I love it! I am not sure that my kids could get over the injustice of having fewer donuts and actually solve the problem though.

The lil' stinker loved this illustration because he always ended up with more donuts or gummis. Haha. And I always immitated sister "heeeeey he got 3 more than me!" Pout. LOL. It held his attention and got the point across WHY it is important to be able to see clearly the more/ less issue.

LOL, so funny. Oh, but I wouldn't attempt this with sister IN the room! Danger. Never attempt this illustration in an actual Krispy Kreme. unless followed up by a "and how can we make this fair/ even... quick!