Singapore placement help

[NicoleJ]

Hi! I have a dd who will be 7 when we start with Singapore Math. Could you please help me place her as I'm not sure if she should start with 1A & 1B or 2A & 2B.

She can add, subtract, knows all shapes (even some spheres, cubes etc, understands some of place value, understands patterns, graphs, 1/2 and 1/4, analogue clock time (only by the 5 minutes as yet), measure in cm.

Hasn't yet done: multiplication or division, has lots of trouble remembering math facts (even 3+4 or 6+3 etc will get counted out on fingers or with blocks), can *do* the times on a clock, but I don't think she has the understanding behind the concept. Needs more practice with place value.

Where would you place her? We will start in early Feb with Singapore so she still has a few months to go til then.

Thanks for your help! I will place this same message on the HOD yahoo forum. THANKS! Nicole

[2littleblessings]

You probably should find the placement test online for Singapore, but my bet would be 1B. 1B will get into multiplication and division and I think you'll want that introduction before hitting it again in 2A. I started with 1A/1B last year with my dd (age 5) who does very well in math (skills sounded similar to your child's), but we skipped around and fairly quickly skipped to 1B. I'm a math teacher, so we just filled in and found other activities to make 1B stretch a ways. We've started with 2A this year (for 1st grade, age 6) and have done fine with topics, but I'm having to really work on getting her math facts memorized and faster. (Singapore doesn't really do that for you.) I don't want her slowness to frustrate her and make her think she can't "do" math when really she has exceptional understanding of concepts but doesn't want to work at math facts!

[NicoleJ]

but I'm having to really work on getting her math facts memorized and faster. (Singapore doesn't really do that for you.) I don't want her slowness to frustrate her and make her think she can't "do" math when really she has exceptional understanding of concepts but doesn't want to work at math facts!

Wow, she really does sound like my dd! What do you plan on doing with her to get her math facts memorised? That is something I really need to do with dd but I am not sure of how to go about it in a fun way. Nicole

[Michelle]

Hi there, I've sooooo been in your position! I think Singapore is best used from the "ground up." My ds will be 10 in 1 month and I'm beginning him in at least 2A. My dd is 6 (today's her b-day ) and she'll begin 1A next week. I think I will even review level 1 with my ds because he can do math fine and has his mult. tables memorized, but had difficulty doing math in his head. I really want him to conceptualize math in his mind and he still counts on his fingers.
He will really need these mental math skills in the future and I believe that 'jumping in' at too high a level might be frustrating on the mental math side of things. In fact, it was very frustrating to him when he got to a problem in the placment test that asked him to do math in his head. Even if he had already "learned" everything on the test, he still was missing the mental math aspect that I want him to have.

Your dc is only 7, have your dc do the placement test and see how they react to the mental math parts and how problems are solved, to help decide. My thoughts would be just start at the beginning (1A) to cover all your bases and have a very firm foundation in SM. Your dc might think it's easy, but that will give a lot of confidence. You can go as fast as you want, too.
HTH! I just know you'll get good advice from this board!

[2littleblessings]

Wow, she really does sound like my dd! What do you plan on doing with her to get her math facts memorised? That is something I really need to do with dd but I am not sure of how to go about it in a fun way. Nicole

I've decided to do a "Number of the Week" with her for a while. I have never bought flashcards, but I made some out of some of my old business cards. The first day of this week, we just reviewed math facts with 6's (our number this week, because she is 6). On a paper, I started with 6 + 4 (where her memorization breaks down!) and wrote them in order for her to see the connection of going up one (which she has seen before but needed to review). When I got to 6 + 11, started writing them vertically and after a couple of problems, I emphasized the place-value addition and carrying (which she gets, no problem) and how much easier that would be if she would memorize the single-digit problems! After seeing them all in order, I folded the paper in half (so she couldn't see the answers) and wrote out ten double-digit problems for her to do (her preference), making sure she had one with each single-digit fact. After that 10 or 15 minutes, we reviewed some ideas in Singapore, but no homework.

The second day of this week, I pulled out the flashcards, but only with 6's (and all addition, she has a phobia for subtraction!) We got out the bean bag toss game and I sat behind it. She had to answer a card correctly to get a toss. She kept score for herself, too, but of her own volition. She likes to do the mental math of adding 10's, go figure. We did this until she worked her way through the stack of cards once (I do have duplicates, 5 + 6 and 6 + 5), took no more than 10 minutes. We did a lesson in Singapore after that, but slightly shortened since she'd already done so much review. (And all of it in Singapore is still review right now, anyway.)

Yesterday, we used hopscotch instead. We have indoor Princess hopscotch foam tiles, and she had to answer a card correctly to get a hop (which meant she did a lot of balancing on one leg unless she could answer rather quickly - speed, speed, speed!) I'm not sure what fun thing I'll come up with today, but she probably wouldn't mind bean bags again. We're including some subtraction today, so she'll complain some no matter what fun thing I do!

I've done penny flashcards in the past, use a timer and she can earn a penny for each card answered correctly in that minute. We did that with more than just 6's, though. I'm not sure if mine would respond to a timed race or anything, but the pennies work.

The only other thing I would say is that as a math teacher and a mother of a mathematically gifted child, going slowly with all review for a year would destroy my daughter's love of math. (She could count before she could talk, and she still mentally keeps track of what track a CD is playing every time we listen to something. She plays with negative numbers for fun.) Like I said, I started with 1A, but she began to hate doing math very quickly. Even now she balks when she sees the Singapore workbook because she hates worksheets (she likes the colorful textbook, though). Math is real life for her, not something on paper. If I hadn't skipped to 1B and flown through that, I can't imagine what she would think of math by now!

[Carrie]

Nicole,

Here's a link to the Singapore placement test: http://www.singaporemath.com/Placement_Test_s/86.htm

I'd begin by giving your child the 1A test. Make sure to give the U.S. Edition. If she passes, go on and give the 1B test. Make sure not to give help or guidance, as the test is meant to test what the kiddos know on their own.

You may end up with her in between levels, which is fine too. For example, she could end up doing 1B/2A which will work as well, because the Beyond guide contains plans for 1A/1B in the daily plans and 2A/2B in the Appendix.

Blessings,
Carrie

[NicoleJ]

Thanks beautiful ladies!! I think I will go with 1A and 1B - it wouldn't hurt dd to do some review and I want her to get the concepts behind all of her math, not just do the formula correctly to get the right answer (that is how I learnt math - and I hated math my whole life). THANKS!! Nicole